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I would like to ask men who had their hair transplants if they regretted it of if they really liked it?

In the 27 years I have been doing hair transplants and as the pioneer of FUE, I have transformed many, many men. Men need to feel young, and there is no single thing that a man can do that make him look young if he is balding than to get hair on his head. We have Open house events every month and our patients come in to talk about their experience and even better, their decision to do a hair transplant. The story is consistent, rather than worry every day when they look in the mirror, they get their hair back and then forget that they ever lost it.


2019-03-26 18:15:41I would like to ask men who had their hair transplants if they regretted it of if they really liked it?

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If I Don’t Take Propecia, Will My Transplanted Hair Fall Out?

Hello Dr. Rassman,
I have done a hair transplant surgery about 6 months ago and I am using Rogaine twice a day along with Hairman comb for maintaining my hair. I am not using Propecia as it is having sexual side effects. My question is that since I am not using propecia which stops DHT which causes hairloss, are my new hair follicles in danger of falling out? I am 26 years old.

Another question that I have came across a clinic in London and they are offering Minoxidil 12.5% which stronger then the normal 5% Minoxidil. Minoxidil 12.5% have to be used only once a day. Switching to Minoxidil is a safe idea, please advise.

Your prompt response will be appreciated. Regards

Transplanted hair is from the donor area (back of the head), so it should not fall out from genetic causes. If you didn’t experience shock loss after your surgery, particularly since you’re a young man, you are quite lucky. There is a chance your loss could still progress, but there is no laser or topical treatment that will prevent that. Actually, there’s nothing that will 100% prevent all future hair loss (that would be called a “cure”, which doesn’t exist).

Propecia helps slow the progression of genetic male pattern baldness (MPB), but if that isn’t an option for you, I’m not sure what to tell you. Did you experience side effects yourself or are just frightened by what you’ve read on the internet?

Minoxidil has been proven safe and effective at 5%. If clinics are offering stronger medication, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will work better. You do run a higher risk of irritation and other side effects from minoxidil as the concentration is increased. Have you tried the 5% without success? I’m confused as to why you’d want to try a very high strength right off the bat.


2011-06-07 11:17:22If I Don’t Take Propecia, Will My Transplanted Hair Fall Out?

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If I Restart Propecia, Will It Be As Helpful As If I Had Never Used It Before?

Hi, first of all, I’d like to thank you for taking some of your time to answer our questions. Losing hair is not something easy to deal with and having a knowledgeable voice is really helpful.

My question is about the efficacy of Propecia if you restart it after a long break. To make a long story short, I went to a dermatologue about 7 years ago for my slight hair loss and he didn’t want to prescribe me Propecia as he felt I wasn’t receding enough. But as I didn’t want to take any chances, I went to a generalist whom I persuaded to give me the stuff (incredibly, he didn’t even knew what it was). But after about a year, noticing that my twin brother wasn’t losing hair either, I kind of believed I simply had a mature hairline and stopped using it. But now, I’m pretty sure I have MPB, nothing to dramatic but enough to make me want to be proactive and start Propecia again.

My question is, will it be as helpful to me as to someone who never took it or will my body had developed some kind of resistance to it ? Thanks a lot.

You do not develop a resistance to Propecia. It is always better to take it earlier on in the hair loss process, but it is never too late. I can’t say for sure how helpful Propecia will be, but hopefully you’ll see some benefits if you stick with the medication this time.

As you are aware, Propecia is available by doctor’s prescription… so talk with your doctor about whether it is right for you.

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If I’m Completely Bald, Do I Still Have Follicles?

Im completely bald! I have heard that Curis can stimulate the transition of hair follicles from the resting to the growth stage of the hair cycle.
(line picked up from a proper source). Does this mean it can help grow hair on my bald scalp too?

My question may be silly, but if im completely bald….do i have follicles on my head?

I’ve written briefly about Curis previously.

There are many steps that initiate hair growth in a hair cycle. I have heard that some people believe that there are 200 separate steps. If any one step is impacted by some disease or genetic balding process, the hair may not grow. This suggests that the elements of the hair are present even in the very bald person and there is much research going on to identify each step in the hair growing process and the critical proteins or genes that are needed to fix the process when it goes wrong.

Simply put, the answer to your question is a probable yes. How to get the hair to grow is another process completely. The good news is that there are many people and research groups working on the problem, but at this time there is no answer to each and every defect that has been identified, even in the experimental mouse trials that are being most used.

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If Propecia Didn’t Regrow Hair, Will It Stop Maintaining My Existing Hair Sooner?

I’m 23 years old with early frontal thinning but am currently a NW2. So I been on Propecia for 7 months now and everything is the same! By now I assume I should have seen if my hair was getting thicker or regrowing so I guess I should be happy if I just get to maintain. Now my question is if I won’t get any regrowth or my miniaturized hairs won’t get thicker are my chances to maintain my hair the way it is right now lower for 5 years which is the number of years for most men!? Because I read something that your hair count increases the most the first year and then gets less and less each year. So if I get nothing this year, I mean in like 5 years I will definitely look thinner although probably better then without Propecia but still thinner and I don’t want that.

The peak result from Propecia seems to occur by about 18 months, then some loss is common in the hair counts done by the drug company, Merck, in their FDA studies (over a 5 year study period). Some people have held their hair for years, while others slide in the hair counts. I can’t say for sure how you’ll respond to the medication, so I wouldn’t know how you’ll be 5 years on. I don’t know of any data that shows regrowth (or lack thereof) from Propecia correlating to the length of time the medication can halt your hair loss.

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If You’re Anti-Computer Generated Transplant Results…

You have repeatedly stated that computer generated images used to show hair transplant results are misleading and inaccurate. You recently stated “although using a computerized simulating system sounds like a neat idea, in reality the pictures are misleading at times and the final results may be considerably different from those shown on the computer screen.” Why then, did you stand on the stage on the American Dream show under computer enhanced photo of the contestant who won a transplant? Was this a case of letting the marketing opportunity of appearing on nationwide TV overcoming the deeply-held beliefs and positions you’ve espoused as a healthcare professional? If so this not speak well of your integrity.

Dream VoteI accepted to do the hair transplant on the patient (Russ) from The Great American Dream Vote show and the producers pushed me hard to project an “after” result for them that they could use for shock value on the show. With proper releases, I found another hair transplant patient who looked almost exactly the same as the Dream Vote show winner — he had the same hair thickness, color of hair and skin, and balding pattern as Russ did — and I used Adobe Photoshop to “move” the hair from the former patient to Russ’s head. It took a considerable discussion with the producers who wanted more so this was a compromise to meet what I thought was ethical. If I disappointed you by doing this, well I share some of your concern (and had pain as I negotiated the picture), but with the clear and proper disclosure, what I did was a reasonable exercise. Your point is nevertheless well taken.

I will post his after pictures following one or two procedures and we can see just how close my projected look would be.

For more about my appearance on this very short-lived television show, check these:

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I’m 17 Years Old and Wondering If My Hairline Is Receding (With Photos)

Dear Dr.Rassman,

I am 17 years old and I have started to worry about my hair line. The corners + the center of the hairline looks sharper than before. When I pull my hair back, the frontal hairs are actually smaller and thinner. I also have not seen any significant hair loss, so this is confusing me. According to forums like hairlosshelp.com, I am a Norwood 3 and my hairline is indeed receding.

What I would like is your opinion judging by some photos. I have no earlier ones to compare it to, which is unlucky.

Click the photos to enlarge:

 

We’ve been getting a lot of emails like this from teenagers asking about their hair loss. I’ll do my best to answer some of them here, but for everyone else, post your photos to BaldingForum.com, and you can get feedback from other members of the site. Keep in mind that there is only so much I can offer advice wise without an in-person examination.

Your pattern shows a Norwood Class 3 pattern. This is balding, as shown, when you pull your hair back. The corners have risen higher than a maturing hairline. You’re 17 years old, so you should get a parent involved and see a doctor if you’re concerned.

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I’m 20, female and have significant hair loss

First, check with your mom and the other females in the family (grandmothers, aunts, sisters, etc..) and see if they had the same situation in their 20s as this condition is often inherited on the female side of the family. You need to get a good doctor and a good examination of your hair with a trichoscope which shows classic genetic patterns in the area around the sides and back of your head.

Some common blood tests for female hair loss:

  • Sex Hormone tests
  • SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin) used to test status of male hormones
  • Estradiol is a sex hormone
  • FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) *not hair follicle but follicle in the ovary*
  • LH (Luteinizing Hormone) is a sex hormone
  • Free Testosterone
  • Total Testosterone
  • ANA (Anti Nuclear Antibody) used to test for Lupus or other autoimmune diseases
  • TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) used to test for hyper or hypo-thyroid disease
  • Test Iron status
  • TIBC (Total Iron Binding Capacity)
  • Ferritin
  • Iron

As these test may point to a cause other than genetic

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1 year on finasteride (photo)

This is a predictable response for finasteride. This drug works best on the crown and it is more predictable with response in the crown when compared to the frontal area. The older you are, the less responsive the frontal reversal will be.