Category: Uncategorized

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Does a man become resistant to finasteride over time?

I am a 23 year old man who recently received a scalp miniaturization test at a hair loss clinic. I was told the hairs on the top of my head are about 85% the density they should be. If I’ve learned anything from tressless, it’s that prevention is key. My only fear about starting FIN or DUT is that my body will build up a tolerance to them. I want to take these drugs my entire life, but I’m worried that if I start before I actually begin showing symptoms, they’ll lose effectiveness by the time I really need them. I see a lot of posts about people thinking they’re building up a tolerance to FIN after 6 or 7 years, but that might just be that their hair follicles are becoming more sensitive to DHT. Does the drug itself build a tolerance in your body? If so, should I start with FIN and switch to DUT when I need it? Or will a tolerance to FIN also give me a tolerance to DUT?

No concern. These drugs block the DHT at the hormone receptor and they continue to work for years. This is the critical time for you if you want to see benefit from finasteride as the older you get, the less the benefit you will see when it comes to reversal rather than just slowing or stopping the process.

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Reader Response to Using Rogaine Foam

A reader wrote in with a quick review of his experience using the Rogaine Foam, and I thought it was worthwhile to post for those that are still looking into trying this newly released product…

It’s easily available now without a prescription and the foam does have some advantages. It doesn’t run, so it’s easier to apply. And it contains no propylene glycol as does the Rogaine XS solution. However, I have some reservations about its use. The beneficial actions of topical minoxidil are dose related and the Rogaine foam is only a 5% compound. The foam by its sheer volume deposits a large amount of each application on the hair shafts, where it cannot be absorbed and remains ineffectual.

Out of curiosity, I recently bought a bottle of Rogaine foam ($29.99). It seems to be more inconvenient to use than the Rogaine XS solution. Unless your hands are cold, the foam will immediately liquefy. You should also be aware of the fact that the foam contains both butane, isobutane and propane, so it is highly flammable. But, if the Rogaine Foam fits your needs, this might be a good alternative product for topical minoxidil use.

These are the inactive ingredients listed for the Rogaine Foam: butane, butylated hydroxytoluene, cetyl alcohol, citric acid, fragrance, glycerin, isobutane, lactic acid, polysorbate 60, propane, purified water, SD alcohol 40­B, stearyl alcohol. See product warnings.


2006-11-16 15:36:51Reader Response to Using Rogaine Foam

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Does Closing a Strip Scar Cause the Crown to Be More Visible?

Does the crown stretch when closing a FUT scar?

Hi there – First off I would just like to thank you for providing this excellent resource. I just have two short questions related to FUT scars:

1) Firstly, I know you have answered this in the past with hairlines, however since the crown is within inches of the incision site above the prominent bone, does it slightly move/stretch downwards towards the incision site once the scar is closed?. For example… I have some thinning in my crown but im lucky in the fact that it doesnt dip low at the back so its not very visible unless looking from above my head. If I had a strip procedure would this thinning crown be more visible from the back because the skin has been pulled down to close the strip wound?

2) Secondly, I believe avoiding strenuous exercise is recommended for about a month after the procedure to avoid scar widening, but is general head tilting and looking downwards in the weeks after surgery ok in terms of putting stress on the scar?

I would be most grateful for any response you have for the above questions. Kind regards.

Strip scars placed in the true donor area in the back of the head should not impact the location or the size of the crown area. Strip surgery takes up laxity that is there at the time of the surgery. Bending your head should also not impact the crown area.

I have never been sure why we tell the patients not to lift heavy weights. If there is a pull from the muscles, it comes from the trapezius muscle, which inserts below the scar at the base of the skull. I still tell the patients not to lift heavy objects, but I am not certain there is any value to the advice.

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Recent article suggest PFS is a delusional disorder

I am sure that this article will create a huge response from many forums that promote PFS and these patients giving them voices.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6751456/


2020-09-02 12:55:05Recent article suggest PFS is a delusional disorder

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Does eating steak, reverse hair loss?

I stumbled upon a video a month ago with over a million views where a doctor talks about how to regrow hair, and the main conclusion seems to be that eating steak will fix your hair, delivered with just enough half-truths to seem convincing. I’m not even a vegetarian, but this carnivore cult stuff is getting on my nerves. Is there anything to this claim?

Steak doesn’t reverse the genetics and the chemistry of hair loss. The internet is full of misinformation, that is clear.

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Reddit poster comments that there is no direction connection between Creatine and Hairloss

First, it’s not a study directly correlating creatine and hair loss. You’re assuming that the findings of the difference in DHT: T ratio and the increased DHT value from creatine consumption means it will lead to hair loss. Also, there’s been several other studies (listed below) showing that creatine doesn’t affect testosterone levels, and with DHT being a metabolite of testosterone, it’s doubtful it would cause an increase in DHT. Another factor to consider is that strength training has been correlated with increasing testosterone

Steroids in creatine? Why? What benefit does a supplement company gain from mislabeling? They have more to lose by incorrectly labeling a product. Oral steroids have been shown to be dangerous on the liver. Also, creatine would be more costly if steroids were placed into the product.

Here are the others studies showing that testosterone does not get affected with creatine consumption:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24633488

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21324203

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12945829

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19741313

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17136944

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11252073

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14685870


2019-12-02 08:22:35Reddit poster comments that there is no direction connection between Creatine and Hairloss

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Does Finasteride increase your sex drive?

Basically I’ve been on finasteride now for 6 weeks and my sex drive has shot right up. Is this normal? I thought finasteride has the opposite effect.

My own son reported it when he went on finasteride. His girlfriend loved it. I have heard this from many men. Few come forward on forums, just those who lose their sex drive.


2020-07-16 08:31:18Does Finasteride increase your sex drive?

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Relation Between Genetic Hair Loss and Oily Scalp

I have a question about the relationship between oily scalp and genetic hair loss, as I read a lot of your posts, it seems that the main reason of men hair loss is genetic factor, but I also heard that most balding men have a oily scalp, so my question is what the relation between oily scalp and hair loss? Thank you.

Oily scalp does not cause balding. Genetics cause male pattern balding. Other genes are likely responsible for oily scalp.

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Does FUE Mean Less Total Donor Hair Available?

This analogy on the subject of FUE really hit home:

…Your donor is like a grid of marbles. FUT is basically a line through the middle (strip) which is closed up leaving the grid uniform and balanced but when using FUE, you are removing marbles at random from all over. It is much harder to keep the grid “balanced” with FUE…

So Doctor…..when a patient elects the FUE procedure to restore their hair, is there considerably less total donor hair available?

I have heard only half as much as with FUT. Say it ain’t so!

“It ain’t so!”

I suppose your donor area can look patchy with little white dot scars if you have 3000+ FUE grafts extracted. This occurs when your original density was average or less than average. People with high density hair often will not show the white scars (dots) at all. Even with 1000 FUE grafts, you will notice these patchy white dot scars if you shaved your scalp, but in general, even with 3000+ FUE grafts, the scars and the less hair volume will be hard to notice (depending how close you cut your hair).

Remember — not all FUE or FUT (strip surgery) is the same, and not all patients are the same with healing. I have seen awful FUE scars and great FUT scars and vice-versa. Each and every patient needs to talk with their doctor and understand the unique advantages and disadvantages along with the risks and benefits of the surgery. This may sound like generic advice, but many patients who seek out FUE choose to go ahead with a FUT procedure after understanding the limitations of FUE and FUT.

With regard to your main question about which procedure will get you more hair (strip vs FUE), I think that the answer is probably strip surgery. Many doctors now doing FUE surgery actually get the hair outside of the fringe area, which means that the hair is not permanent. Some doctors (who think about $$$ above all else) will push the FUE harvest area to meet the projections given. The donor area has about 20,000 hairs in it and if an FUE procedure harvested 1/3rd of the available supply (assuming average density of the hair in a Caucasian male), that would be about 6,500 hairs or 3,200 grafts on average. All of the higher number we are reading about reflects, most probably, non-donor (non-permanent) hair.

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Removing Small Plugs with FUE

Dues FUE removal of small plugs with a 1mm punch leave “rolling” athrophic scars or just a tiny white scar?

A 1mm FUE (follicular unit extraction) punch has the potential to leave atrophic or tiny white scars, however it is rare. We routinely use a 1mm FUE punch to remove unsightly “plugs” from patients who have had old style hair transplants. Keep in mind that almost all patients with these type of repairs will additionally require a normal, modern hair transplant to fill in the area between the “plugs” to soften the pluggy look.