Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Tomatoes and Hair Loss

Have you ever heard of tomato consumption causing hair loss?

TomatoNo, I have never heard that before.

Here are some interesting facts about tomatoes that I’ll repost from Epersimmons.com:

  1. Tomatoes originated in the South American Andes. They were cherry sized and grew wild. The tomato was once considered an aphrodisiac, and in fact the word tomato in Italian is poma amoris or “love apple”.
  2. It’s hard to believe that this main ingredient of our diet was not that long ago considered poisonous, by Americans. We have Robert Gibbon Johnson to thank for saving the tomato. In 1820, he stood on the steps of a New Jersey courthouse and ate a tomato, proving they were harmless. Thank you Robert, after all where would we be without ketchup for our french fries.
  3. Today, far from being poisonous it is considered one of the most healthy vegetables around. And yes, I did say vegetable. In 1893, the Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes are vegetables and not fruits.
Posted on

Hair Gel and Hair Loss

You responded to a post saying “good commercial” hair gel does not cause hair loss. Ok, what about cheap ones? And what is your conclusion based on, can you provide me with any studies supporting this position? How has this “myth” survived for so long, other than how most do in general – stated differently, what do proponents of this accusation base their claims on and why are they wrong?

Thanks in advance

OK, you got me on language and meanings. “Good and cheap” commercial hair gel should not cause hair loss. Otherwise they would be sued and go out of business or possibly go into a hair removal business. There is no medical study I am aware of to support my claim — it is just my opinion. I never knew there was a myth about gel and hair loss. I use gel everyday, as do millions of people.

Posted on

Hair Implanter Carousel (with Videos)

I have heard alot about the Implanter Carousel which i find very interesting and a great method of preserving the hairs and keeping them moist in the ‘carousel’ unlike the choi implanter were the hairs are left on a tray open to drying with warm air until they are put into the implanter. If you dont mind me asking, was the choi implanter an influence with its design and was the carousel, put simply, designed to better the disadvantages of the choi implanter. As they are an automated method of implanting the hair would that not take remove the artistry of a manual job. You once said on a answer to a blog on the subject of ‘The choi implanter’, ‘The Choi implanter is just a surgical tool. It makes some aspects of the transplant easier to perform, especially for those people who did not develop the difficult placing skills with the more traditional transplant tools used throughout the world. An instrument is only as good as the person using it, so I can not package the tool with the technique. The Choi generally requires ‘skinny’ grafts, which tend to dry out more easily, therefore, this instrument requires special skills, different than those that do not have to make the grafts skinny’. My question is how is the carousel different in the sense that an automated implanter such as the choi implanter makes some aspects of the transplant easier to perform, especially for those people who did not develop the difficult placing skills. Thank you, for all your advise.

It sounds like you know all the technical difficulties associated with follicular unit transplantation — are you a hair transplant surgeon?

As you mentioned, I wrote about the Choi Implanter before — What is the Choi Implanter?. There’s nothing else I can really add to that. The Hair Implanter Carousel was patented back in the 1990s and it works distinctly different from the Choi Implanter. It was designed to take advantage of a ‘machine gun’ approach to loading the grafts for implantation and percutaneous use and keeping them moist (as you wrote). I’ve used both and found the Carousel to be much easier than the Choi. The drying of the grafts was not a problem for the Carousel as it was for the Choi. Unfortunately, the instrument manufacturer was unable to produce a consistently high quality product and we ended up in court trying to get my money back for the build out of the Carousel, rather than getting the tool into the transplant surgeons’ hands.

A paper about the Carousel was published in 1998 and three videos of the instrument can be seen below:

Part 1:

 

Part 2:

Part 3:

 

Posted on

Hair Loss After Craniotomy

(female)
Previously someone mentioned she had had surgery and was losing hair. The reply was something about stress and medications, and a predispostion to balding. My question is how long does the stress and medications phase last? There does not appear to be a predispostion to balding to any of us in the family. I had a craniotomy 2 months ago and I now have a bald spot in the middle of my head about the size of four quarters. It seems to want to grow and then bends and breaks off. Now what? The reply also stated to see a Dr., but what kind? I have asked my neurologist and my PCP – neither has seen this before and the only response I get is “I think it will grow back.” Not an answer, if they haven’t seen this before. Would a dermatologist work? (I also have what looks like dandruff that attaches itself to the hair. But I can actually hear it when it hits the sink (I take a comb to it occassionally to help remove it.).)

Thank You

Hair loss in random patches about the size of a quarter sounds like alopecia areata that can be precipitated by surgery or stress. Also included in the differential diagnosis is telogen effluvium (see article). Your description and condition sounds a bit more complicated than just that, though. You had a craniotomy and there are other issues (things falling from your scalp that makes a sound when hitting the sink?!). I would definitely see a dermatologist.


2008-09-10 15:29:20Hair Loss After Craniotomy

Posted on

Transected grafts placed for counting (photo)

Almost all of the grafts collected by this surgical team was either transected or mutilated. It was surprising that the team was proud of them enough to publish this photo. Significantly less than half of these hair will survive the transplant. Is this a brargain?


2021-01-18 10:39:59Transected grafts placed for counting (photo)

Posted on

Hair loss and lost! I try to teach young men what to do (from Reddit)

You should get a HAIRCHECK test to find out if you are losing hair and how much is lost (see here: https://baldingblog.com/haircheck-test-how-it-is-done-video/ . I always tell patients to be smart about hair loss and get Metrics on the degree of hair loss you have and hook up with a good doctor to manage it so that you keep your hairy look as you go through the genetic balding process.

[16][M][Help] Have a family history of Hair loss. None of my 3 brothers got to kept their hair. I would appreciate some advice regarding what i can do to slow down or stop hair loss. from tressless


2019-09-18 12:33:48Hair loss and lost! I try to teach young men what to do (from Reddit)

Posted on

Transplant Scars in Donor and Recipient Area

A couple of quick questions.

  1. I had several sessions of grafting done years ago and I have some of the comman pitting where the transplants are on my hairline. I just had two scar revisions done (3/06 ane 6/06) and the HT’s have not really started growing yet. Will microdermabrasion (“Diamond Tome”) to the top inch or so of my hairline hurt my hairs I currently have and affect the growth of the the new HT’s that will soon be growing in? I know you might not know to much about this but I just have a hard time trusting DR’s anymore and would really like your opinion.
  2. I was reading in your blog about a guy who always had stretching to his scars (everywhere on his body). You recommended his scar be closed by “sub-fascial closure below occipitals muscle fascia”. Do you have an article about that and/or what is that in lay mens terms :o) Does this also include undermining the scar? Do you use undermining for scar revisions?

Thank you for doing all you do for all the men who got butchered by the bad Dr’s out there.

  1. I do not recommend dermabrasion, as it produces a different quality of skin that shines and is a different color (less pigment) then the original skin, often making things worse than the problem you are fixing.
  2. In reference to your questions on scar repairs, please see Techniques to Minimize Donor Area Scarring. These scar techniques will not work on everyone, particularly those who have a tendency to stretch their scar because of the way they heal the wound. I can not predict this group from the rest of the population.


2006-09-12 10:19:03Transplant Scars in Donor and Recipient Area

Posted on

Hair Loss Following Pregnancy

Hello,
I recently had a baby at 28 weeks, due to a serious kidney infection that was almost fatal. since then we’ve been doing wonderful. Though, for the last month I have been noticing excessive hair loss. I know its probably due to a serious infection or hormonal but, how long do you think it will last and could I go bald before it then? Please help me!!!!

Hair loss following pregnancy is not uncommon and can be expected to reverse in most women within a year or so. In addition, I am sure that your serious illnesses contributed to the hair loss as well. You must show patience while you are going through this waiting process. I am assuming that you did not have a hair loss problem prior to the pregnancy. If this is incorrect, then I would have to know more about your history.