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So I went to a GP as I wanted to get a prescription for Finasteride. Of course the doctor had never heard of the drug and apparently he had never had anyone come to him about hair loss. He started reading about the drug online and asked if I had tried minoxidil. I told him that I have been on minoxidil for two weeks but I wanted to use both treatments together. He responded to this by telling me that I should only use one treatment at a time and that I would have to choose which one I wanted to use. I told him I’d choose Finasteride and he wrote me script for it. I’m still considering using the two treatments together as I can’t find anywhere that says there’s something wrong with using these two treatments together. Has anyone else heard of this before and do you think that I should still use Minoxidil and Finasteride together anyways?

Brief History: I’m a 21 year old male, started noticing my hairline receding 2 years ago, it has been receding very slowly ever since but my hair loss has progressed to the point where I need to stop it before it becomes too noticeable. No hair loss on the crown and all my hair is still very thick.

If you have a balding or thinning area already, using minoxidil on it in addition to finastetide is something I often recommend. I like to get a HAIRCHECK test on all of my patients to be able to measure the progression or the reversal of hair loss while you are under treatment.

Guest Article addressing addiction

Seniors in Addiction Recovery: Making Amends and Reclaiming Your Life this Holiday Season

Photo Credit: Jessica Monte, Stock Snap

With the holidays approaching, we enter a time of the year when emotions can run high. The holiday season is meant to be festive and fun, but it is not always joyous. Sometimes parents do something that ruins the relationship with their children, and the holiday season is a painful reminder of the relationship that they lost. If you are one of these individuals, follow some tips to turn this year into the year that you make amends and reclaim your life and your relationship.

“Children, by their nature, want to love their parents. That longing never leaves,” says Huffington Post. There are many reasons why parent-child relationships become estranged, but reunion is always at least a possibility. However, it is typically not going to just happen. If you have made a mistake, you will need to make a solid effort to try to rebuild those bonds. For example, if you’re a senior who has struggled with addiction in the past, it’s not too late to make amends, even if your past substance abuse created a rift.

Making amends is a process, and you start by apologizing. Own up to your mistakes and shortcomings. Say that you are sorry and ask what you can do, if anything, to set right the wrong you did. Once you have apologized, you have to hold out hope that your child will forgive you and accept your apology. The timetable for that acceptance and forgiveness is not up to you, but is solely up to your child.

Let go of your expectations. Even if you apologize, there is no guarantee that you will be forgiven, and even if you are forgiven, your child may still not want you in his or her life. Remember that you are not apologizing so that the relationship will improve; you are apologizing because you are genuinely sorry and wish to portray that remorse. However, you should also remember that your sobriety and happiness do not depend on anyone else but yourself, so do not let your disappointment result in a relapse.

Try to understand how your child wants to receive love. People express and receive love in different ways, and if you want to work on mending the relationship, you have to “speak your child’s love language.” If your child equates quality time to love, then showering him or her with gifts will not show your love and may make your child feel as though you are not listening to or thinking of his or her wants and needs.

If your child is struggling to forgive you or welcome you back into his or her life, acknowledge that your child’s perspective is valid. You may wonder whether or not your child can see that you are really trying. While your child may recognize your efforts, that does not make his or her pain disappear. Accept this as a fact, and let your child speak openly about the ways in which he or she was hurt or is hurting.

If you want the relationship to prosper, then you must put in the effort to mend the fences. Even if your child is open to your apology and building a relationship with you, the work is still yours to do. If the relationship is truly important to you, keep working on yourself and reaching out in healthy ways. If you are doing the work, there is always a chance, and eventually, your child may respond positively if you’re consistent. While making amends isn’t easy, reclaiming your life, sobriety, and relationship will be well worth the effort.

My mother and aunt have a similar problem. What should I do?

Clearly you are very thin and have a see through appearance. If this is in the female side of your family, it is most likely genetic. First, you want to make sure that it is not caused by some medical condition.

Female hair loss is a difficult analysis and requires many tests, not just thyroid testing. I simply can not write a textbook on the subject on this site, but here’s a list of past posts that may help you understand what you’ve got going on:

1. Female Genetic Hair Loss Is Different From Male Genetic Hair Loss
2. Birth Control Pills and Hair Loss
3. Woman With Thinning Hair After Family Tragedy
4. Diseases Causing Women’s Hair Loss
5. Female Hair Loss

The first step in evaluating hair loss in women, after a detailed history and physical exam, is to rule out any underlying medical causes of hair loss which can be treated. If clinically appropriate, the following disease processes should be considered: anemia, thyroid disease, connective tissue disease, gynecological conditions and emotional stress. Furthermore, over 50% of women going through change of life hormone fluctuations (menopause) experience significant hair loss. It is also important to review the use of medications that may cause hair loss, such as (but not limited to) oral contraceptives, beta-blockers, Vitamin A, thyroid drugs, coumadin, and prednisone. The following laboratory tests have been recommended to rule out the aforementioned medical conditions:

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

Assuming that you do not have a medical cause and it is genetic female hair loss as seen in your aunt and mother, then one of the better cosmetic treatments for this is Scalp Micropigmentation: https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/smp-for-women/

I have been to 4 different doctors about my hair loss and none of them gave me a diagnosis or treatment recommendation other than Rogaine. I am not happy with the results of the Rogaine and I want a solution to find out what is wrong with me and what can I do about it. Any suggestions you might offer will be helpful.

You most likely have some component of female genetic hair loss. I look at you and would ask: How can I help you if you came to see me. Assuming that your blood tests and medical history was clear of causes for hair loss, I would do the following:

1- Perform a hair transplant in the frontal 1 1/2 inches where there is clear balding

2- Perform Scalp Micropigmentation for the rest of your scalp where your hair is thinning as hair transplants don’t do well with thinning hair in women (see here: https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/smp-for-women/)

See if you can find a doctor who can do both of these processes. If not, consider coming to Los Angeles, as we do offer travel subsidies.

Very nice results from just using minoxidil plus microneedling. The corner hairline was the focus and the arrow shows his starting point