Category: Uncategorized

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Is the Donor Hair Really Permanent?

My grandfather’s has what you call a Class 7 pattern and the hair around the back and sides is very thin. I asked him if his hair was always that thin and he replied that when he was my age, his rim hair was much thicker. He became bald in his later 20s. Is the donor hair really permanent?

The donor hair around the sides and the back of the head in some men is not permanent.

I have seen men like your grandfather in my office and their donor density is very low, but as they are usually coming for a hair transplant assessment, I, of course, turn them down. There is some miniaturization in the donor hair in these men and I suspect that the miniaturization process that impacted their original frontal hair extends to the donor region. These men are clearly not surgical candidates.

On very rare occasions (about once every few years) I see someone who lost hair bulk in the transplanted hair. These men have a drop in donor density as well, so I must assume that these men are losing this sacred donor hair. This introduces two more risk for patients who have transplants: (a) the loss of some of the transplants over time as the donor hair dies off, or (b) the hair becomes finer with age (a common finding). The few who I have seen that reported transplanted hair loss to me, fortunately did not lose all of their transplanted hair, but it is a risk. I have only been doing hair transplants for 20 years, a relatively short period of time in the life of my patients.

Amongst those men I have transplanted above the age of 70, they never showed miniaturization in the donor area and they behaved like the young men I transplanted. One of my most unusual patients who came to my office frequently during our Open House events, was a Class 7 patient who received 9900 grafts over 9 years and he maintained his donor density through the entire process without miniaturization. He was 74 years old.

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Is this a new breakthrough for Cloning hair?

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240206170882/en/Stemson-Therapeutics-Announces-Technological-Breakthrough-in-New-Hair-Growth

Hair has been cloned before. I was told that the problem encountered was when they put the cloned hairs into mice, they all died of infected hair follicles. This was because the hairs grew in all directions and didn’t orient themselves properly; hair grew out of skin. Think of hair as a complex organ that knows up from down and develops groups of hairs that work together in this hair organ with appropriate supportive vasculature and nerves. If it all doesn’t go up uniformly and grows down instead (relating to the scalp surface), an infection may occur as this foreign body (the actual hair shaft is a foreign body to everyone’s scalp) causes problems. The game isn’t over in a basketball game until the last pass is made and the clock runs out. Let’s see what they come up with. I wish them good luck!

 

 

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Is Triangular Alopecia from Menopause?

I saw some of your pictures of triangular alopecia and it seems to be what I’m experiencing except that it is not congenital and I am a 53 years old. Could it be menopause? Is there is anything I could do about it?

Triangular alopecia is not related to menopause. Triangular alopecia is an entity in and of itself, which both men and women may get and could appear almost any time, but usually is congenital. It can be treated with a hair transplant surgery very successfully.

Triangular alopecia has many appearances, but the common thread is that the hair loss is on the front/side of the scalp. These pictures from Google Image Search give some good examples of the diversity of its presentation.

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itching and scratching the scalp

I know this question might be silly, but I’m a little concerned. Some nights I find myself waking up from my sleep while itching my scalp really hard, like nails digging in a little in my scalp. Nothing too intense of course, but just enough to have some flakes peeling off.

I’m kind of freaking out that I’m causing some bad damage to my scalp. I was looking for input from people knowledgeable on the matter, or have had any similar experiences and know good remedies.

Any input would be appreciated.

Scalp scratching causes hair loss and can introduce folliculitis. Never scratch your itch other than rarely and softly


2019-06-22 09:27:34itching and scratching the scalp