Category: Uncategorized

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Switching from ScalpMed to Generic Minoxidil

I was unable to access your link that campares Rogaine to ScalpMed. The link is broken. Therefore, my question to you is this: Is the only ingredient in Scalp Med, (when mixed with “Vitadel” which is simply minoxidil) that actually effects hair growth Minoxidil? I suspect that all these similar products are merely inactive ad-ons since the only common ingredient ALL the products have is that they must be mixed with minox.

Is that so? In other words, if the product works for me-and it does so remarkably, would I see the same results by simply using the $20 a bottle minox and not spend the extra $100+ on the Scalp Med or Follicare, etc.?

I’d be very grateful if you could clear this up for me as I love the results but simply cannot afford their prices anymore. And stopping using will cause the new hair to fall out. Also, do
you think that a DHT blocker is important and/or effective in combo with minox? I look forward to your kind reply. Thanks much.

ScalpMed, as we stated before, does not have any scientifically proven ingredients besides minoxidil and I do not see any reason why minoxidil should not be as effective, possibly even better.

There has been some research done on topical DHT blockers (mostly by Japanese researchers), which shows effectiveness of these products. I guess I would like to see more research on larger groups of patients before recommending them to my patients on a regular basis.

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FUE Donor Safe Area Not Respected In This Patient (photo)

Your donor area removed is too high on the fringe, and it goes all the way down to the neck area with excision of these hairs as well. This is outside of the safe zone and the areas that doctors believe the hair will last a lifetime. I hope that your doctor discussed this with you because some of this hair may not last a lifetime and some might not even grow.

outside donor area


2018-06-22 13:04:21FUE Donor Safe Area Not Respected In This Patient (photo)

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Taking 1.25 mgs finasteride 3 times a week

Got the 5mg pill of Finastride and am thinking of taking 1.25mg on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, skipping Saturday and Sunday and restarting the same routine

That is essentially taking 0.54mgs daily. Merck reported that 0.5mgs is 82% as effective as the full 1mg dose, so this plan is a reasonable plan. The benefits are not the blood levels for finasteride but rather the tissue levels which hang around for a few weeks after taking the drug,

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Why Is FUE Not a Popular Surgery? (from Reddit)

As the person who pioneered FUE, it is now the most popular hair transplant done worldwide. The doctors starting doing FUE when I published the first paper on the subject here: https://baldingblog.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/mp-2002-fue.pdf. The public started to demand it, and within a year, doctors from all over the world were offering it but were doing it very poorly. Then, I licensed the hair transplant robot that we invented in 1998 to hopefully standardize the FUE. Over time, instruments got better and better and so did the doctors. Now, in every country in the world, FUE is a standard procedure for hair transplantation. Be careful as not all doctors perform FUE well.

Why aren’t FUE transplants a bigger deal? from tressless


2018-09-24 06:24:25Why Is FUE Not a Popular Surgery? (from Reddit)

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Taking Expired Propecia, Transplanting Spikey Hair

Thanks for your very informative blog.

Two questions: I’m 35 – MPB runs in my family. I’ve avoided using anything and think I’m ready to try propecia. I actually got a prescription for it about two years ago – just didn’t take it. Is there any harm in taking expired propecia?

I few years back I saw a transplant doctor in San Antonio, TX. He said I would not be a great candidate for a transplant because the hair in the back of my head is kinda spikey and the scar would be noticable. How do you deal with folks with spikey hair to minimize that?

Thanks so much!

If the Propecia was in a sealed bottle, it would probably be ok. I won’t recommend taking it, but I do recommend reading this article from Newsweek published a couple weeks back — Do You Take Expired Medications?. Contact your prescribing doctor for the final word on what you should do.

With regard to your question about spiked hair, I’ll assume that the doctor you saw was saying that your hair was very straight and strong in character. That should not be a problem for transplantation. Asians have strong, straight hair and I do such surgeries on this type of hair quite often with no problems.


2006-11-08 12:45:25Taking Expired Propecia, Transplanting Spikey Hair

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FUE Transection

Dr. Rassman,
I was looking at Dr. James Harris’s website and noticed some research he has done with new instrumentation for his SAFE System. I e-mailed him and asked if he planned to try to get this published and I have not heard back from him. Is there any data on the industry average of transection rates? Here is some of what his research stated according to his website:

“In the study by Rassman, Bernstein, et al, 20% of patients were “not” good candidates for FUE due to the high rates of follicle damage. Dr. Harris’ Safe System is being used by many doctors as a tool for FUE. It uses blunt dissection. It was this technology, that was adopted by the Artas® system and incorporated into their FUE protocol.

“Discussion/Results: Over 40 patients have been subjects of this new methodology and instrumentation. The range of grafts extracted in this series has been between 50 and 1400 grafts. Transection rates of hair follicles have ranged from 0% to 8% thus far. All patients so far would be considered candidates for FUE using the SAFE System, as the follicle damage rate is less than 20%. The rate of follicle extraction has been as high as 300 grafts per hour. A test case on the extraction of 20 grafts each on an African American patient and a gray haired patient revealed a 0% transection rate.”

Conclusion: The SAFE System has the capability to expand patient candidacy for FUE to virtually 100% of patients, including African Americans and those with gray hair.

Source: https://www.hsccolorado.com/Research.aspx

Cheers

Dr Harris is my friend and he is a great surgeon. He has devised a powered blunt punch technique which seems to solve the transection problems in the hands of many doctors. There is no data on the industry average of FUE transection rate. My publication with Dr. Bernstein is the only publication I know of and in my opinion the true industry average for transection is probably more than 10%. It’s just that nobody will ever admit to it since it will kill their business. In my practice with Dr. Pak (in which he performs most of the FUE procedures), our transection rates range from 3 to 10% (depending on the individual patient’s hair/scalp characteristics). In the past, we have disqualified patients who were poor candidates (produced transections above 10%) as we test them prior to the scheduled FUE surgery.

In my humble opinion, there is no such thing as 100% success or 0% transection rate. Only thing 100% in this world is death and taxes. Transection rate is not necessarily the golden standard, as damage to the hair grafts occur when they are removed and probably cause more damage than a transection rate of 10%.
death and taxes


2014-08-25 07:22:19FUE Transection

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Taking Propecia — Is Breast Pain Going to Mean Breast Enlargement?

Hi Dr.,
I am taking finastride 1.25 mg daily splitting the 5mg. tablet. I have been taking it for 5 months. There were no side affects, but recently i am experiencing some pain in my right breast. I am 24 years old and i have a very tight and manly figure. my breasts are tight and hard. The pain in my breast can go away in future i think. But my question is, does the pain is correlated with breast enlargement or any breast problem?

is there any problem regarding sex related issue with wife if i take finasteride? Finasteride is working great for me.

Thank you Dr. Your blog is very helpful.

Propecia (finasteride) might cause breast pain, often around the nipple area if at all. If it does not lead to breast enlargement, then you may have to put up with the pain to keep the benefits of the drug on your hair, but give it some time and hopefully the pain will subside. See you primary doctor for an examination of your chest.

As for any problems for your wife from you taking finasteride, I wouldn’t be concerned. See Official Word from Merck Regarding Propecia’s Effect on Sperm and Pregnancy for information on that.


2008-11-10 10:30:09Taking Propecia — Is Breast Pain Going to Mean Breast Enlargement?

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Tattoos Can Cause Eye Problems, Article Reported to Me by Physician Patient of Mine.

I have read that body tattoos when performed in volume, placed deep in the dermis, can migrate and develop embolisms to the brain and other organs, in this case, the eye. I have discussed some of this in my article: https://newhair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Journal-of-clinical-and-aesthetic-surgery-Article.pdf. Most of the inks used by the tattoo industry have insolvable material and heavy metals. These particles can move into the lymphatics of the skin where they get transported to the venous system, into the heart, and then pumped almost anywhere blood goes. I don’t believe this is a significant problem for SMP; however, it is a real risk for those in the population who have extensive tattooing. The more the tattoos, the greater the risks.
We use only organic pigments that are placed at the very upper part of the dermis as shown in my recent post on baldingblog: https://newhair.com/baldingblog/smp-scalp-micropigmentation-alopecia-areata-can-activate-disease/. I believe what we use is relatively safe because the organic pigments are placed into the superficial dermis with Scalpmicroigmentation.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2723634


2019-02-20 08:17:49Tattoos Can Cause Eye Problems, Article Reported to Me by Physician Patient of Mine.

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Generic Finasteride Approvals

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I have been reading some things on the internet and I’m confused about whether the FDA really approved a generic for Finasteride last summer. I thought that Dr. Reddy’s Finast was approved, but I am not seeing it available yet. Any news on this?

All pharmacies will now fill generic finasteride prescriptions of the 5mg dose. There appears to be two producers for this medication, one comes from India and the other from Israel. The cost ranges between $54 (at Costco) to as high as $90 at some pharmacies. These pills can be cut into quarters with a pill cutter.


2006-12-12 16:30:58Generic Finasteride Approvals