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

How to Get Thicker Hair

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319862.php

This is a good review on the different approaches to getting a thicker head of hair. I am not necessarily endorsing this article, and certainly not all of the recommendations are valuable.

Tension in Donor Area After Surgery

How can you reduce tension in the donor area after a procedure. In other words, what can the patient do to ensure proper healing of the donor area scar?

Good judgments in determining the size of the donor area is the best determinant of the size of a donor scar. When the incision is too tight because the piece of excised scalp is too large, then the enemy is tension. The use of special closure techniques minimize the scars and the tension, but a bad judgment at the time of surgery can not be offset with a repair process.

Liquorice may reduce unwanted hair

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26626191

Glycyrrhizin (or glycyrrhizic acid or glycyrrhizinic acid) is the chief sweet-tasting constituent of Glycyrrhiza glabra (liquorice) root. Structurally, it is a saponin used as an emulsifier and gel-forming agent in foodstuffs and cosmetics (from Wikipedia)

The article doesn’t seem to say how it was used to reduce unwanted hair (not ready for prime time I suspect) as shown in these two photos


2020-04-19 09:00:35Liquorice may reduce unwanted hair

Terrible SMP of Crown (photo)

Too many people who seek Scalp Micropigmentation get this type of terrible work. This man is now worse than if he would have done nothing as these terrible spots stand out. He could get a laser done to remove them but he may suffer some hair loss in the process


2020-12-05 11:31:31Terrible SMP of Crown (photo)

Diet And Hair Loss

Doctor Rassman I have a question. once every 2 months I eat Veal Liver that is milk raised. I just want to know can that cause genetic hair loss because liver has high cholesterol and stuff. and its always a very small piece that it every 2 months.

I’m not sure how you made that correlation, but there is no connection with a veal liver or higher cholesterol diet with hair loss.

Are testosterone supplements safe and does this cause hair loss?

These are the problems that you may not be aware of. Please be cutious when asking your doctor for Testosterone replacement which many more men seem to be taking today.
1- Thromboembolisms from deep vein thrombosis can not only impact the circulation to your legs, but also kill you if a clot is dislodged into your lung.

2- Increases your risk of heart attack and stroke with a poor outcome for those men on this drug. For men over 65, the risk doubles or triples for such complications

3- Increases your hair loss in every man with genetic hair loss

4- Decreases the size of your testicles and may impact your other glands including pituitary gland (master gland for the body).

5- Possibly increases the risk for developing hypoxia and sleep apnea

The indications for use is known clinically significant low testosterone possibly caused by hypogonadism (small poorly-working testicles) and it should be done under a doctor’s management.

Not- Hair Loss News – Three Glasses Of Milk/Day Can Be Harmful

Swedish researchers published an article in the British Journal of Medicine (October 2014) which showed that a “high intake of milk may be associated with higher mortality and fracture risks in women and higher mortality risk in men”.

61,433 women and 45,339 men (women 39-74, men ages 45-79) were followed during a medium of 22 years. They were asked about diet early in the study with questionnaires. 15,541 women died and 17,252 had fractures. during a 13 year follow-up, 10112

They analyzed outcomes from enrollment (from 1987 to 1990 for the women and January 1998 for the men) through December 2010. During a median of 22 years of follow-up, 15,541 women died and 17,252 women had a fracture. During a median of 13 years of follow-up, 10,112 of the men died and 5379 men had a fracture.

The harm came from drinking 3 or more glasses of milk per day. “The researchers found that women who drank three or more glasses (680 g) of milk a day had almost twice the risk for death compared with women who drank less than one glass a day (hazard ratio [HR], 1.93, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.80 – 2.06). Women who drank more milk also had a higher risk for any type of fracture (HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.08 – 1.25) and for hip fracture specifically (HR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.39 – 1.84).”

Although the researchers found that men who drank three or more glasses of milk had a slightly higher risk for death compared with those who drank less than one glass (HR, 1.10, 95% CI, 1.03 – 1.17), men did not have the excess risk for fracture seen in women.

Men did not see the high fracture rate thwt women experienced. Yogurt and cheese did not show higher risks for either death or fractures.

Further analysis of the men and women who had increased risk was not done.

The Corners of My Hairline Are About 2 Inches High

Good afternoon Doctor! I just want to thank you for this site.

Im an 18 year old boy, and since i was around 17 my hairline changed into what it now is today. However I’m not sure where to class ito n the norwood scale. The frontal hairline is, like you say in the normal place, exactly half an inch above the furrowed brow, however my concern is asscociated with the corners of the hairline. From the highest wrinkle, if i place a tape measure to the furthest point of the corner of the hairline it measures around 2 inches.

My question is with a corner reccession like this, could i still be placed in the Norwood 2 section? Because if you look at the stage 2 of the Norwood scale, the measurements found on this site for the mature hairline don’t appear to fit with it. The front of the hairline and the corners appear to have a far greater gap than the ‘norm’ of 1 – 1.5 inches…..

And just as a last question, if i start on Propecia at this age, is there a chance i could keep this hairline for the rest of my life? I hope i’ve been clear in what i’m saying. THanks alot and i look forward to your reply.

I’d stop trying to categorize yourself into a particular Norwood class. Perhaps you are a class 2 or class 3, but I really do not know (photos might help). Are you measuring at an angle? Assuming you’re seeing 2 inches when measuring perfectly vertical from the brow to the corner, it sounds like it’s past the Norwood class 2 level. But it seems more like things are changing and evolving as you are maturing. You’re 18 years old, and a maturing hairline is definitely not uncommon at that age. The real issue is finding out if you are actually balding or not.

Before thinking about Propecia or putting yourself into a category, go see a doctor and get your scalp mapped out for miniaturization. If you are indeed thinning, Propecia may be an option to halt further loss.