Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Does Having a Lot of Body Hair Cause Faster Balding?

Hello, i’m a 16 year old male sophomore. I’ve tried searching for the answer to my question, but no one seems to have a definite answer to it yet. Does having a lot of body hair cause baldness faster/cause baldness? I ask this because, while I may not be completely covered in hair (at least not yet…I hope not though) my legs are very very hairy.

My arms have more hair then most, but its not to out of control, and my chest is mostly clear of hair, theres nothing noticeable. But I won’t lie, I am scared to have body hair, I don’t particularly like it, and i’ve also noticed that men who have more body hair seem to have less head hair, I don’t know if this is just a coincidence, but nonetheless I am still concerned, even though I still have a full head of hair. I’m just not sure how the future will play out for my body. Though I can say that while my dads side has a lot of hairy men, no one in my family has ever truly gone bald before. However, I could be an unlucky exception.

Thanks for reading, and hopefully my question is answered!

Body hair and head hair do not relate to each other, as they are separately genetic coded. Men with hairy bodies can have hairy heads with or without balding on the scalp. If you think that you are losing hair, then visit a good hair doctor who will determine if you are losing hair on your head or not.

Posted on

Reports of Rogaine Shedding Have Me Worried!

I’m 26 and have been thinning for the past year on top/crown and my hairline is receding a little. I have finally started rogaine and just found out about “shedding”. This makes me very nervous, and I have some questions:

  1. What percentage of men who use rogaine experience shedding?
  2. What are the side effects if I discontinue rogaine during the shedding phase?
  3. How many men who report shedding also report not regrowing the hair that was shed?
  4. Are there other drugs that can be used besides propecia that contain finasteride?
  5. If rogaine only regrows hair and doesn’t prevent hair loss how is it helpful in maintaining a full head of hair?
  6. How many of your patients who use rogaine see results?
  7. Do you recommend Propecia and, if so, why?

Thank you very much

RogaineCalm your nerves!

  1. Shedding from Rogaine (minoxidil) is really not that common, but I don’t have actual percentage statistics to back that up. I’m just going by my experiences with patients. It might seem like there are a lot of incidents as reported on the Internet, but remember that those with a complaint will often want to alert others, and those with no problems just go about their day.
  2. If you have taken Rogaine for some time (more than 3 months) you can shed hair when stopping it, as there is a dependence on Rogaine in some people.
  3. I can not answer this question. I’ve got no statistical info.
  4. There are two pills available that contain finasteride. They are Propecia (1mg finasteride for hair loss) and Proscar (5mg finasteride for prostate). Plus, generics depending on your country. You do not want to take Proscar for hair loss treatment though.
  5. Rogaine does not work all that well for most patients. Sure, there are some results, but I’ve never seen Rogaine give anyone a full head of hair. Hair growth is a side effect of the drug.
  6. My candid view is that minoxidil generally does not yield much regrowth in most patients. Again, I don’t have actual stats to tell me how many patients that just use a single medication have had positive results. This is the kind of information that is gathered by doing a focused study, of which I have no interest in doing. Plus, many patients that use Rogaine will also take Propecia, making it difficult to say which medication is providing benefits.
  7. I do recommend Propecia. For known genetic balding, finasteride is the drug of choice to stop, slow, or reverse hair loss.


2010-02-25 13:58:48Reports of Rogaine Shedding Have Me Worried!

Posted on

Does Obesity Contribute to Hair Loss?

Could the obesity be contributing to the baldness? Has anyone noticed that some obese people tend to have lots of wiry body hair in places other than the chest such as the back, shoulders, and arms. And overweight women tend to grow lots of facial hair.. perhaps the same hormones increasing body hair increases the risk of baldness??? Just a thought..

It is a good thought, but it is not completely correct. Genetic factors cause hair loss. Hair loss is not related to obesity or vice versa. However, I believe there are genetic factors that contribute to obesity (unrelated to hair loss).

Overweight women who have facial hair reflect a term called hirsutism, which you can learn more about here. It is related to hormonal imbalance and an increased amount of androgens in the blood stream.


2010-04-27 14:39:39Does Obesity Contribute to Hair Loss?

Posted on

Does Seborrheic Dermatitis Rule Out a Hair Transplant?

I have been on propecia due to MPB for about 2 1/2 months. In addition, I also have seborrheic dermatitis. I believe I am going through a shed however I can’t be sure as my seborrheic dermatitis has flaired up over the last month so I cannot totally tell which my accelerated hair loss is from. My questions are:

  1. When you shed from propecia, does shedding also occur in the hairline? If so, does this hair grow back?
  2. Hair lost due to the seborrheic dermatitis, does it regrow? I haven’t been scratching or picking at it, but hair has fallen out of parts of my scalp affected by it.
  3. Does having this condition make you a bad candidate for a hair transplant?

Thank you very much

  1. When you lose hair at the hairline, the hairs rarely grow back (even if you take Propecia). Propecia mainly slows down the shedding process.
  2. Seborrheic dermatitis is a skin condition, not a hair condition, so it shouldn’t cause hair loss. However, it might accelerate underlying MPB or you could be seeing loss if you are picking at your hair. Picking at seborrhea can produce traction alopecia, which can be permanent.
  3. I have performed hair transplant surgery on many patients with seborrheic dermatitis and there is no issue. Sometimes if it is severe, I will use a short course of topical steroids to calm it down.
Posted on

Reversing an M shaped hairline loss

I am using minoxidil, zinc, and biotin plus Dermaroll once a week. I believe that Minoxidil definitely works even without fin!

It would be unlikely to reverse this frontal M shaped hairline, but I would try with microneedling + minoxidil and use topical finasteride. After one year you will know. IF it doesn’t work a hair transplant is a good option.


2020-12-21 11:52:39Reversing an M shaped hairline loss

Posted on

Does the Follicle Eventually Just Stop Producing Hair?

Hi doc,
is it true (..or partly true under certain conditions) that the follicle will go through the growth, release and snooze phases a specific amount of times and then stop to produce hair?

If so, MSM and it’s claimed increase in hairgrowth speed would actually do more harm then good in the long turn.

It is normal to lose 100 to even 200 hairs a day (though the average would be closer to 100, I’d say). As hair falls out, there are hairs that are also starting to grow. Hair may also grow in cycles and you may notice more hair falling out at different phases and seasons of the month. Hair follicle cells have three phases of growth:

  1. Growth phase (Anagen phase) which lasts anywhere from 2 to 6 years. This is the phase where your hair is actively growing at approximately 10cm per year. 85% of hair is at this phase at any given time.
  2. Transitional phase (Catagen phase) which lasts about 2 weeks. This is the phase where the hair follicle shrinks and prepares to enter the resting phase.
  3. Resting phase (Telogen phase) which lasts about 1- 6 months. This is the phase where hair does not grow but stays attached to the follicle. Some hairs are shed at this phase, but at the end the hair follicle re-enters the growth phase to start the cycle over again. 10-15% of hairs are at this phase at any given time.

Eventually, as we age, some of the hair follicles will die and stop producing hair. But keep in mind the life expectancy for a hair follicle can be over 100 years (provided that you live that long). My great grandmother had a full head of hair at 114 years of age, so clearly the hair can live longer than we do. I’ve written about this before — At What Age Does Hair Stop Growing Naturally?

Finally, there are no products or medications proven to speed up or increase hair growth. Drugs like minoxidil are thought to prolong the hair cycles and that might mean, in the long term, that hair treated with minoxidil might last more years. I would be interested to see product results on half a scalp to see if that half has faster hair growth, longer cycles, or whatever.

Posted on

Risk of Post Finasteride Syndrome Reported as High as 1.4%

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/28289563/

CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: Risk of PED was higher in men with longer exposure to 5?-RIs. Among young men, longer exposure to finasteride posed a greater risk of PED than all other assessed risk factors.

Comment: I have prescribed finasteride since it was first introduced. I have never had a patient with this condition reporting to me that their sexual side effects did not go away. I am having trouble reconciling this data from my own experience in private practice with well over 20,000 patients prescribed finasteride by me and the doctors working for me over two decades.


2019-02-20 08:03:36Risk of Post Finasteride Syndrome Reported as High as 1.4%

Posted on

Doesn’t the Scalp Still Shine with SMP?

Hey Dr Rassman. i hope your day is treating you well. As i am a frequent reader of this ever informative blog of yours a few questions have sparked my interest over the last week. It is in regard to the new micro pigmentation service NHI is offering. Now in the past i have noticed you were quite the skeptic about this type of procedure. I recall reading a few comments made by yourself which made me think they were: wouldn’t the scalp still shine? The lack of a ”sandpaper feel due to there being no actual stubble on the scalp and hair is 3 dimensional a tattoo is not.

However I was doing some thinking and this came to mind. If a patient were to come and request to have as many grafts that their doner supply would allow then have the tattooing procedure done in between those grafts and also had the scar camouflaged in the back of the scalp wouldn’t it be nearly impossible to tell the persons head of hair from a non balding person ? It would eliminate all of those issues i previously mentioned. Like for those individuals with high donor densities if someone had 10,000 grafts placed on their scalp then had the micro pigmentation procedure done i would think they would be able to get close to their juvenile hairline back and they would also be able to grow their hair out to probably a number 1 clipper with out it looking to odd. What are your thoughts on this ?

as I presently support the shaved head look but my hairloss is progressing i like the look i would just like more coverage. I have been on finasteride for 3 years when i first started it i was 20 and an early norwood three now my hair is really thin through out the top half of my scalp. I totally anticipate being completely bald by the time im 25 whether im on the medication or not.

HeadlubeYour scalp can shine with the oil that your scalp produces, so scalp micropigmentation (SMP) patients often use matting products available at cosmetic stores. There’s various brands of shine control lotions for the scalp, including HeadLube.

SMP has a use with some negatives and some positives. There is a natural symbiosis between hair transplants and SMP in some individuals. SMP is far less expensive than hair transplants, but you can not have it both ways (SMP in part with a limited hair transplant) unless the Master Plan takes into account what is happening to you now and later. There is a balance between SMP and hair transplants, but I can not give you an opinion over the internet.

It sounds like you need a Master Plan (I know I talk about that a lot), because you are changing with regard to your hair loss. Whatever you do, it should fit into the life plan; if you do go really bald, you’ll want to have a plan for what you’ll look like in the future if you make decisions about today’s problem. Come see me.

Posted on

Rogaine Foam Ruined My Hairline Within a Month — Should I Wait for It to Regrow?

Doctor..

Had slow diffuse thinning for years. Just turned 60 with what many thought was a full head of hair. Though i knew it was thinning. Thought I was years away from needing a transplant until switched to Rogaine foam which devastated my hairline within a month. Lost years in days. The company told me to stop using it. So the question is, should I consider a transplant now or wait to see if the hairline grows back? Read a lot about minoxidil shed hair grows back (though all I did was switch brands) and am on another brand now, but grow back at the hairline? I highly doubt it. What do you think?

Without an exam, this is a highly subjective question to answer. Moreover, we do not give medical recommendations on BaldingBlog.

Rogaine (minoxidil) can sometime cause initial shedding, but it should generally reverse over time (should wait at least 1 year). You may see the reversal in as early as 3 months.