What are the chances the regrowth I have from microneedling my scalp is “permanent”. I have diffuse thinning and microneedling has given me regrowth without any topicals.
I am fairly certain that these new hairs will not be permanent. They may last as long as a single hair cycle which is usually 2-3 years for the average young male. This is an educated guess, of course.
2020-09-03 03:58:022020-09-02 08:59:37How long will microneedling results last
I’m considering upping my dose of finasteride. When I began taking it 18 years ago I took the full 5mg daily. About 6 years ago I started taking 1mg Propecia, and I feel it has not maintained my hair as well.
Now, I’ve read the argument, and seen the graph explaining that finasteride suppresses DHT at a rate that platoes at about ~70% DHT for 1mg to 5mg. So the suppression rate of DHT is no better for 5mg of finasteride than for 1 mg. My question is this, if the amount of DHT suppressed by 1mg – 5mg finasterde is virtually the same, why BPH patients proscribed 5mg instead of 1 mg? If purpose of the medication is to reduce the amount of DHT wouldn’t 1 mg be as effective in the treatment of BPH, if dosages of 1mg – 5mg produce the same effect on DHT concentration?
For this reason I’m skeptical of doctors who say that increasing my dose of finasteride won’t produce better results (as I believe I’ve had before). Can you tell me where my reasoning is wrong?
Thanks a lot.
When drug doses are assessed, they are tested against large, statistically valid populations who have symptoms. The effectiveness of a drug is determined by balancing the safety of the drug.
In the case of finasteride, huge populations of balding men were given graded doses from as small as 0.25mg to as large as 5mg, and the researchers looked for what dose produced the best response with the least side effects.
For balding, although the drug worked well in ranges of 1-5mg, the 1mg dose produced essentially the same results as the 5mg dose with the least side effect. The same approach was done for those with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and the conclusions were that the 5mg dose was the most effective dose for that disease.
2013-06-18 14:00:212013-06-17 10:16:53Why Are BPH Patients Prescribed 5mg Finasteride if 1mg Suppresses the Same Amount of DHT?
I was wondering why you are running this baldingblog.com site rather than participating in one or more of the many chat groups on the internet?
The chat groups have a scattered agenda. Many are using it as a magnet for doctor advertising, charging doctors a fee for participation and favoring those that participate. Some of these sites have a combination of content focused on hair loss and chat activities. These sites are frequented by many of the same people who dominate the chat agenda, so it is less focused upon subject content and more focused upon selling something. With the anonimity of the internet, you can not always be sure which of the posters are honestly trying to help and which are trying to line their own pockets. Some of these sites thrive on things that go wrong. In our practice, things rarely go wrong, so a site that focused on the exceptions rather than the rule, gives a false impression of the process to the new inquirer who wants to learn about the reality of today’s modern hair transplant process. I have always liked to have free forums where new people can get answers without intimidation or salesmen hawking their every move. In my office, I started having open house events and hotel seminars 13 years ago with patient participation long before a hair transplant recipient ever came ‘out of the closet’ where he hid his hair transplants. We never used a salesmen anywhere in our business model. In those days, the ‘standard of care’ was the pluggy graft, so showing off a patient without plugs made our seminars and open house events very successful. Those who came, expected to see pluggy patients and what they saw were normal looking people where the hair transplant could not be seen. At these events, I always held an open forum, allowing interruptions as the audience fell into the tempo of the subject material and conversations. It was the audience that ran the ‘show’ not me. The BaldingBlog.com site allows the type of freedom that I have in our seminars and it put the agenda into the hands of the questioner. I am more a responsive participant as a content expert. I have had many emails that I do not put on the BaldingBlog because I am frequently responding to a follow-up question that may not have a public interest.
I have in the past experimented with participating in these chats, but many of the aggressive participants love to go after a doctor who is not paying his ‘right of way’ for immunity in the for-profit sites. Some of the comments have been tasteless. Hearsay comments dominate. If I go down in the mud with those that are hair obsessed or angry, I generally get frustrated. Arguing with an irrational person is akin to a Jerry Springer milieu rather than an educational and informative framework. The worst part of anonymous free speech is that some of these chat groups don’t care if any statement can’t be proved to be true. One can say that Dr. X is a murderer, a heartless transplant mutilator, a mercenary who is driven by the almighty dollar, and if there is no recourse to identify the person who sends out such comments, then you can not necessarily believe anything you read. I have seen people say that they have personally seen patients of Dr. X …. Or that they are a patient of Dr. X and certifies to the crime personally. Defending oneself from baseless attacks are pointless and a wasteful use of time. I would doubt that any of this audience would want to read the JerrySpringerBaldingBlog.
Hi doctor and a big thanks to you and your team. Im very interested to know at least to tell me how many hair cycles there are. i read somewhere there are 14 in another place there are 25-30 and i like to know not the exact number but for something close. where is the truth because i have been doing a little experiment. i had a single hair divided from the others, i mean theres not another hairs around this one and it keeps falling and falling and it has surpassed the number 20 of cycle and it keeps showing after some months before being full mature it will fall off again and im so confused. pls help. i will be glad for ur response and thank before very very much
The answer is not so simple. If you average 4 years for a cycle and there are 30 cycles per human (as an example) that would mean that your hair will last 120 years. Unfortunately, our cycles get shorter as we get older. How much shorter depends upon your genetics, so you see, nothing I just said is solid enough to hang your hat on. We tend to preach that hair has a 3 year cycle, but how do we really know that? The answers are illusive. Sorry!
Dr. Rassman,
I noticed you sell Revivogen in your office. I thought you do not endorse or believe these products work! What gives?
For the record, I do not endorse many products out there. I still maintain my buyer beware mantra, and I will be the first to say this to all my patients. But I also recently acquired a Dermatology / Cosmetic practice (Wilshire Center for Dermatology) and expanded my medical services with new physicians who offer non-hair related services.
The office also sells a variety of skin and hair care products, and Revivogen is just one of the many products we offer. Revivogen is a natural supplement (non-medical) line of products.
Dr. Rassman,
Thank you for answering my last question. I have one more for you, if you do not mind.
I mapped my own scalp for miniaturization per your instructions, and found it a very useful tutorial, though I took a nod from a recent entry and snipped a few bits of hair from my head instead. I compared 5 locks of hair from all around my head (temples, forehead, crown, donor area) using my donor area as a control, and to be perfectly honest I could not see a difference in the hair shaft width between any of the samples. Unfortunately I do not have equipment to give hard numbers, but my hair does not seem any less pigmented or thinner in any of the areas compared to my donor zone. I examined it under a magnifying glass, but have access to a microscope if that is insufficient.
I’ve also visited a dermatologist. He did not have the equipment to map my scalp but he said I was a NW2 and was fine.
That said, how often do you suggest this process be repeated? Every three months? Six months? Yearly? Is there a certain age after which you can just stop as there is unlikely to be further progression?
I am 26 with no known male-pattern baldness in my family; both grandparents died with Norwood 2 patterns, and none of my uncles have any hints of balding.
Thanks!
I am assuming that the mapping showed no significant miniaturization. If that is the case, once a year mapping or more frequent mapping may have value if you think that the problem may be appearing or getting worse. The mapping exercise is best when comparing:
As for age, some men will lose hair in their teens, some in their 20s and 30s… it can even happen in the 40s and beyond (though it’s less likely). You might be one of the lucky ones and not have any hair loss problems, but I really have no way to tell at this point (and without at least an exam).
So this thought popped in my head while a picture of Harvey Weinstein popped up on my news feed. The guy is rich as hell. Being in the entertainment industry he must have access to the finest cosmetic surgeons. Why the hell do people like this opt not to get a hair transplant? Same goes for other rich folk. Maybe they just dont need to since they are incredibly rich and it simply doesnt matter how they look. But seeing stuff like that makes me doubt that hair transplants are not quite as advanced as people claim them to be or the success rate isnt that high. I am probably over thinking it…could be a million reasons why. All I know is if I had the money I’d get the best damn hair transplant, lock myself in my big ass mansion until the scaring went away and I was presentable then just reappear to the public with a head full of locks.
2021-01-04 01:43:112021-01-04 14:45:20Why don’t rich bald men get hair transplants?
Vellus hairs are the short hairs that are mixed in with each follicular group of normal hairs. Miniaturized hairs are hairs that have lost their thickness and are noticeably thinner than the hairs on the back of your head.
2020-05-15 04:00:222020-05-11 09:04:56How to know the difference between baby hairs and miniaturized hairs on hairline.
what is the purpose of propylene glycol in minoxidil? why not just alcohol and minox only? thanks.
Propylene glycol reportedly increases the skin penetration of the minoxidil. Perhaps a chemist might be able to shed more light.
2012-07-13 08:50:232012-07-12 10:01:24Why Is Propylene Glycol in Minoxidil?
