Category: Uncategorized

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Americans Haven’t Voted a Bald President Into Office in 51 Years

Lincoln (bald)
16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (image manipulated)

In the November 5th issue of TIME Magazine there is an interesting article titled ‘The Bald Truth‘, which talks despairingly about the absence of a full head of hair for a presidential candidate. Not since Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s and Martin Van Buren in 1836 has any bald man been elected to be president of the United States.

From the article — “The country’s most prolifically failed presidential candidate, Harold Stassen, ran nine times, and in many of those elections he wore a toupee so alarming that the Washington Post thought it resembled a ‘sullen possum that had been dipped in bronze.’”

The essay by Steve Rushin is well written and shows society’s strong prejudice against bald men for political office. Many other such articles back up this position on the need for hair and it is pointed out that “the last time Giuliani was elected to anything (re-elected as mayor of New York City in 1997), he had a scalp full of hair“.

Some years ago when I was doing my radio show, The Inner Man, we had a caller who was vice president of sales for a rather large company. He said that although he was bald, he would never hire a bald man for a senior position. What does that say?

Full article — TIME Magazine – The Bald Truth

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I love my hair transplant, but what about next year, will I?

The real issue is that hair loss is a progressive process in men. You need to find out what your eventual balding pattern is now and what it might be, how fast your hair loss is moving to more balding and then build a Master Plan with a doctor like me, who cares about you (not your money) and is willing to invest the time to follow you as your situation progresses, maybe to a hair transplant eventually. I turn down a lot of young men, because they are not ready yet (pattern not right or they are too young) and just work with them. That is why I am successful and have such a great relationship with my patients. I believe that I defined first class hair transplants as far back as 1991. You did not state your age, but if you are 21, then you may be in trouble because you could be chasing the hair loss every year with more and more hair transplants, not good

i love my transplant

 

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Anger appearing on finasteride

Started taking fin around a week ago, and I feel like I’ve been getting really mad and annoyed very easily. Has anyone else experienced this?

If you think that the drug is causing this, try stopping it for two week and see if things go back to normal. There have been reports of changes in mental states in people taking this drug, although rare.


2020-08-08 09:53:04Anger appearing on finasteride

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Magnetic Helmet for Hair Re-growth

read in the news yesterday that a ‘helmet’ had been launched in the UK which uses electromagnetic waves to combat balding.It costs £750. Have you heard about this latest ‘baldness cure?’

Also – if someone has hair miniaturisation – does that indicate that those hairs will definitely be lost or is there a chance that they will just stay thin?

Thanks again Dr!

I have heard that electromagnetic waves can have a positive impact on hair re-growth. In fact, I was approached by a company wanting my endorsement on this type of therapy, but as there is no science behind these claims, I did not agree to what they were asking.

Miniaturization means that the hair shafts have a reduced diameter. In the balding process, the hair diameter generally gets thinner and thinner, eventually disappearing. Without doing something, this process is progressive. There is never any guarantee that these miniaturized hairs will all fall out. Many people who can profit from claims of producing hair re-growth and companies pushing such products are hopeful that the hair looks fuller. If that happened, one might think that miniaturization is reversed.

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Two post op patients (with photos)

This patient had surgery yesterday. Other than the tape that is applied to his forehead to prevent swelling from working its way down, there is no evidence of the surgery from yesterday. He had 1600 grafts from a combined strip and FUE surgery. He came in for his hair wash this morning which guaranteed that there was no crusting present anywhere to see. On the third day, he can remove the tape and go to work Monday morning.

 

resized_IMG_0189 resized_IMG_0190 resized_IMG_0191

This second patient is 10 days after his surgery and there is a small beard present in the hairline that goes in front of his previous natural hairline which you can see; however, when looking at him from any reasonable distance, there as no evident hair transplant unless you had to look at it up close as this photo does. These hairs should fall out in the next week or so.

PAK70176 PAK70180

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I am male and I want to lower my hairline. Should I have a hairline lowering procedure?

For men, my concern is in the potential balding that may occur in your future as most balding starts in young men and is progressive so it advances with age until the mid-thirties or even later. If that happened to you (your risk) then you will have to get a hair transplant to cover it as the frontal area is the place where genetic balding starts in most men. If you are under 24, you may become a set-up for hairline recession so that if you lower the hairline with an advancement surgery, hair loss that will occur behind the scar. If you develop balding, it will require a hair transplant to keep up with the recession and the scar from the advancement will show. A hairline advancement procedure is not the best option for a male but a hair transplant lowering procedure allows you to follow the recession back if and when it should occur.


2017-01-17 12:00:24I am male and I want to lower my hairline. Should I have a hairline lowering procedure?

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Any Difference Between Generic Minoxidil Brands?

Hey doc,

I want to know if there is any problem if I switch brands. Lets say i’m using brand A of generic minoxidil and switch to brand B of the same type (i.e: 5%), would there be any problems?

Thanks

As long at the minoxidil concentration is the same, there should be no difference. The FDA has rules that control the quality of the drugs and the claims in ingredients.


2008-08-11 14:11:42Any Difference Between Generic Minoxidil Brands?

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Man with hair loss from Chemotherapy

Several years ago, I was treated for testicular cancer. That included 4 rounds of chemo: Bleomycin, Etoposide, and Cisplatin (BEP). Before chemo, I had a nice, full head of hair. I lost all of my hair during chemo. After the chemo, my hair was drastically changed. It was much, much thinner—especially on the top. After a while, I just started shaving my head. I assumed that there’s nothing I could do about it. I did a little searching and didn’t find anything conclusive

Your chemo may have induced genetic balding. You should be evaluated by a hair expert to quantify if you have a reasonably good donor supply left for a hair transplant. Another good alternative is shown in this post: https://baldingblog.com/smp-on-a-class-7-patient-completed-today-photo/ . This can be made darker but it looks great and it is all a specialized tattoo (https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/gallery/bold-shaved-look/#!). This is a completely headache solution for those with not enough hair for a hair transplant or for those who don’t want a hair transplant.


2020-09-01 09:54:41Man with hair loss from Chemotherapy

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Appearex

Hi,
I’m a 40 year old female experiencing severe hair loss. I’ve had problems with hair loss for the past 13 years but last summer I went to a local salon to have the graying covered with some highlights. Whatever she used burned it because after that the hair strands are very thin and dry. I use alot of conditioner and it doesn’t help. I noticed that when after she washed the hair that it was severly tangled which resulted in her having to cut 3 inches from it to get the knots out from the burning. My hair was at that time past my knees with very few split ends. It is now around knee length and I keep it pulled up in a clasp. I have enclosed some photos to show the hairline-thinning-damage. I’ve been prescribed (Appearex) and don’t know much about it. Does this product actually help the hair as it states on the box that it’s a nail product? I have taken Lupron injections in the past and not sure if those created some of the hair loss but the problem is getting much worse and I don’t have a clue what to do about it. Thank you for taking the time to help others, and any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Appearex is a dietary supplement. Its generic name is biotin. Biotin is a water-soluble vitamin component of the vitamin B complex. As an essential nutrient, biotin acts as a coenzyme for the body’s carboxylation reactions and is a factor in maintaining healthy muscle, hair, nails, and skin. If you are Vitamin B complex deficient, then this may help your problem, but few Americans have such Vitamin problems with any reasonable American diet.

Because dietary supplements are essentially unregulated in the United States, you can not be sure what you are getting when you buy an over the counter supplement product. There are many preparations on the market (prepared or manufactured with different techniques that are not fully disclosed or regulated with different additives). With different preparations, the same supplement may not have the same effects or equal potencies. Because there is no regulation, the efficacy or the validity of such ingredients cannot be guaranteed. That is why you sometimes hear it is a “buyer beware” market.

There are many causes for hair loss. You should be evaluated by a medical doctor to rule out a medical cause for hair loss. If you are still not satisfied, you should see a hair transplant doctor to map your hair for miniaturization and a possible pattern for your hair loss.


2006-04-06 13:36:13Appearex

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Mapping Your Own Scalp for Miniaturization, Part 2

This is part 2 of a series. For the first part, see Mapping Your Own Scalp for Miniaturization.

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Interpreting the Results:

Is miniaturization present? Hair shaft thickness should be relatively comparable from one part of the head to another. There are exceptions to this rule in the first 1/4 inch of hairline, the temple prominences, and the hair of the neck where the shaft thickness may be less than that found throughout the scalp. In any one area of the scalp, the hair shaft thickness may be reduced significantly in 20% of the viewed hairs. These reflect vellus hairs, not mature normal ‘terminal’ hairs — so any measurement below 20% can be thought of as normal without miniaturization.

The area of the head may have different findings. For example, frontal hair in the balding Norwood Class 3A will show varying degrees of miniaturization eventually leading to complete balding, while crown views of the hair may show no miniaturization whatsoever. The balding patterns shown in the Norwood classification chart will parallel the distribution of miniaturization as the balding process develops.

All miniaturization is not equal. Some hairs in any one part of the scalp may show different degrees of thinning. That is because the impacted hairs are self-destructive and different times. Eventually, those miniaturized hairs at the beginning of the destructive process will progress with more and more miniaturization until they just fade away. In the various stages of miniaturization, the hair’s growth slows (no longer growing at 1/2 inch per month) and they will lose their pigment (become gray or transparent). These changes will be appreciated by those of you who become experts on your own miniaturization process.

Now What?

This week, I’ll be posting a tutorial video on BaldingForum.com to show how the process works using the sub-$100 Celestron handheld microscope I mentioned in part 1 of this series. First though, you’ll need to get the microscope. I provided the links in part 1, but to keep things convenient here they are again:

Assuming you have the microscope, the tutorial video (Below!) will be a big help. It’ll not only show you where to map on your scalp, but it’ll also show you how to create files of your historical record on your computer and compare the pictures you obtain over time may give you insights into your balding problems.