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Isn’t high testosterone related with a higher risk of balding? I’ve had a lot of blood tests+ urine tests these last couple of months (bone problems) and they found out I have low testosterone for my age. I’ve also been shedding for the past ~10 months. So is something weird going on with me or did I get it wrong

Testosterone at any dose can cause hair loss if you have the genes for it.

Long-term use of both mobile and cordless phones is associated with an increased risk for the brain tumor called glioma which is the most common type of brain tumor. The study was published online October 28 in Pathophysiology.

The Glioma risk tripled for people who used any wireless phone for more than 25 years. The risk was increased in those individuals who started using the phones before the age of 20 reported Lennart Hardell, MD, PhD, professor, Department of Oncology, University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden. He suggested that doctors speak with their patients about this risk. In this phone based society, we can protect ourselves by using hands-free phones with load speakers, text messaging and blue tooth technology in our cars.

Rassman Comment: We have seen this concern raised many years ago but there was no proof that the risks of brain cancer with phone use was so high. This article may be a game changer requiring all of us to keep the hand units away from our brain. When I walk in public places or pass by schools, young people can be seen with phones looking like they are ‘glued to their ears’. As parents and grandparents, we should be cognoscente of this risk and get our young people to use text or hands-free instead of long term phoning.

Dear Dr Rassman,

Your blog entry of 17 July 2007 includes before and after pictures of a man with a receding hairline who has been transplanted. I am curious how you would mange his follow-up care if he was 30, 40, 50, 60 or 70?. Is balding in this particular pattern common in younger or older men? Am I right in assuming that most men with this kind of hair loss will need more transplants later on as the balding progresses?

His before photo is on the left; after photo on the right. Click the photos below to enlarge. For more photos, see Results After a Single Session.

 

This patient has a Norwood Class 3 balding pattern, and yes, it is quite common. He is over 50 years old but we commonly see this pattern in men in their 20s and 30s,. The older they are, the more stable is their hair loss. As he is 50, I would not expect his pattern to advance much at all. If he was 25 years old he could lose hair behind the transplants particularly if the balding pattern was really much worse. Many men like this develop crown balding (a Norwood Class 3V pattern) which may require another procedure. For men with only frontal hair loss like this patient (age 50+), I would probably not use Propecia (finasteride) but in men 20-40, that would probably not be my position. By taking Propecia (finasteride 1mg) the hair loss pattern may not progress very fast and is more likely in younger men. I don’t like surprises and nor do my patients, which is why miniaturization mapping and a good Master Plan in the hands of a caring, experienced and focused doctor go together hand in hand.

This patient had a hair transplant many years before. The surgeon clearly didn’t understand the hairline or the balding potential for this poor man. He is now stuck with a terrible frontal hairline presentation and an isolated hair transplant in the front and top surrounded by his balding scalp. He needs to have a real expert manage his problem today and it will not be inexpensive.

Dear Dr Rassman

I have been using Minoxidil once per day since November 2013 on the temples and hairline (as well as finasteride)

I haven’t ever experienced a noticeable shed, or any regrowth. My hair has continued to get slowly worse. I have continued using Minoxidil as I thought that maybe it could at least be contributing to help slow down the MPB process – but I am unsure if this is the case

The Rogaine website states that treatment should be stopped if no results (i.e. regrowth) are seen within one year. My questions are therefore

1) Is it best that I quit using minoxidil?
2) Is there a risk that healthy hair would have become dependent on minoxidil, and fall out if minoxidil is stopped?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks

If you hair loss is just the frontal hairline and the temple peaks, I would not expect to see hair regrowth in thise locations. The maturing hairline does not respond to minoxidil or finasteride. If you are sure that there was no benefit from the use of minoxidil, then stopping it should not make a difference; however, if there was some benefit, stopping it might cause loss in those hairs that benefited (something I doubt). So it really is important to be sure.

https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/science-hair?ecd=wnl_day_100521&ctr=wnl-day-100521_lead_title&mb=DIjjZuHpe4pLfebJPo6kGpOenxSl%2FWb1cYT6skpYnrs%3D

https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/hair-loss-diagnosis-women?ecd=wnl_day_100521&ctr=wnl-day-100521_support_link_1&mb=DIjjZuHpe4pLfebJPo6kGpOenxSl%2FWb1cYT6skpYnrs%3D

The concept is simple enough. The normal scalp is stretched slowly over weeks with a balloon placed under the healthy part of the scalp. The balloon is then inflated three times a week until enough stretch is achieved to be able to advance the normal hair to cover the scarred area, which is removed on the same surgical procedure. It is not as painful as it looks. I have had patients wear a soft hat and they disguised the entire distortion. The scarring on this man most likely came from either an accident or a burn (if the photo does not show, click on the Icon).

Balloon expansion theory from tressless