How do I know if my donor area will look bad after FUE?

Basically from what I’ve seen discussed, when people get hair transplants, they move hair from the sides/back of head to the top. This sometimes leads to scarring, so what people do is the keep the sides/back a bit longer to conceal it. If i were to get a hair transplant would I still be able to get skinfade haircuts like this or would I be required to keep the sides/back long due to scarring or any other reason

The answer to that question is: (1) depends upon your donor density, the higher it is, the less the problem, (2) it depends upon hair thickness, the higher it is, the less the problem, (3) it depends upon how many FUE grafts were taken and transplanted and (4) it depends upon your hair length, the longer it is, the less will be the problem.


2020-03-02 12:42:25How do I know if my donor area will look bad after FUE?

What Shampoo Should I Use?

Dear Doctor,

I am a little confused on what shampoo I should be using.I was using johnsons & johnsons baby shampoo but a doctor suggested that I make the switch to Head & Shoulders containing 1% zinc pyrithione as this product has been known to thicken hair & even slow down hairloss. However,other arm chair experts on various hairloss forums have compared head & shoulders to sulfuric acid & claim it will thin out my hair even more.

Can shampoo have such an adverse effect on hairloss ? What are your thoughts on this product & can you recomend a shampoo ?
Thank you

Any reasonable commercial shampoo will work just fine and have no impact on thinning. What you could do is try different brands and then settle on the one you like. There are shampoos for dry and for oily hair, shampoos that give your hair more character and make it wave more. It is a trial and error process.

How do you select a doctor

I wrote about this here: https://baldingblog.com/selecting-hair-transplant-doctor/

This is a global approach to selecting any doctor for cosmetic work anywhere. We have monthly open house events for prospective patients to (1) meet many patients one-on-one and judge the quality of the work for themselves, (2) see a surgery live actually on the day of the Open House and (3) get a free consultation to get a Master Plan built for your hair covering short and long term hair loss possibilities. Few doctors will do this because dissatisfied patients come and can ruin such an event as happened a number of years ago where former patients actually picketed the doctor’s office. Your doctor should be proud of his/her patients and willing to bring patients for meetings to educate you. I also started doing this in 1993 at medical meeting where I brought my patients to teach doctors what a good hair transplant should look like. After many years, the ISHRS (International society) had established patient ‘live viewing’ sessions at every annual meeting. What is good for the doctor, should be good for you, the patient.


2019-12-31 09:36:36How do you select a doctor

what’s the average cost of a hair transplant these days and how effective is it

The costs for a hair transplant are usually priced per graft and the costs range from $4-10/graft depending upon the doctor, the location, and the reputation of the doctor for consistency and predictability. I always ask patients: Would you try to find the least expensive brain or heart surgeon? The hair you have on your head that the surgeon transplants can be seen by everyone. You MUST meet some of the doctor’s patients to see the quality of the work your surgeon does routinely. My patients have been coming to monthly Open House events months for 27 years just to help prospective patients learn about the process.


2019-03-26 18:26:21what’s the average cost of a hair transplant these days and how effective is it

How effective is oral minoxidil?

I’m 21 and I’ve used minoxidil in the past (foam and liquid), but it was just too much of a hassle to apply consistently so I never saw any gains. Has anyone here used oral minoxidil with good results?

Oral minoxidil can be effective for male patterned hair loss. For many years, poorer countries have been using it successfully for male patterned hair loss before finasteride was released in their country. In India, for example, many people couldn’t afford Propecia and genetic finasteride wasn’t available so oral minoxidil was the only drug for hair loss.


2021-03-04 09:07:15How effective is oral minoxidil?

When does the mature hairline become balding?

At what point do you know that it has receded beyond a mature hairline? And by asymmetrical, do you mean that the forelock can remain in the juvenile spot while the temples mature faster?

I’ve been told by a professional I am not balding but I still remain super anxious about it. Though I do have anxiety disorders which probably relate

You have to manage your anxiety. Yes, you clearly understand what is happening. If you think it is going beyond a mature hairline, you can see a doctor or even send me photos, but wait at least a year. Connect with me at info@newhair.com


2021-01-04 13:25:31When does the mature hairline become balding?

How Long Can A Hair Graft Survive Outside The Body

I was wondering how long can you have a hair follicle outside the body before it dies? I had surgery that lasted 10 hours and I am worried because I saw my grafts sitting in a clear solution for over three hours. Is this normal?

ice

A freshly extracted hair follicle or hair graft can survive outside the body for as long as 6 plus hours. It is very fragile and if mishandled it may desiccate and “die” in as little as a minute. A harvested graft must be hydrated, kept moist, and cooled as soon as it leaves the body. Cooling slows down the metabolism process. If your grafts were not cooled, it may be an issue!

It all comes down to the experience and expertise of the surgeon and staff. With poor coordination, and standardization the surgery may be failure even before it has a chance to be implanted.

Some doctors use special solutions and precise temperatures to keep the grafts alive longer. However, this DOES NOT guarantee that the grafts will go on to survive the implantation process! More importantly there have been recent concerns that these new “solutions” to maximize the graft survivability may actually do harm than good. Often times doctors may advocate PRP but these solutions also have not been proven by randomized controlled scientific studies.

The implantation process can also dry up the grafts and harm the grafts if mismanaged by an inexperienced staff. In other words, cooling or preserving the harvested grafts would all be for nothing, if the team cannot transfer it from the petri dish back to the recipient site with care and expertise.

This is one of the many reasons that hair transplant surgery is not a standard or a guaranteed process. In other words, shopping for “cheap” surgeries may sacrifice these critical quality control issues.


2015-08-18 20:35:20How Long Can A Hair Graft Survive Outside The Body

When to use both dutasteride and finasteride?

Should Finasteride and Dutasteride be taken on the same day? For example: should I take Dutasteride in the morning, then Finasteride at night?

It makes no sense to use both dutasteride and finasteride. Pick one or the other. Get a doctor to advise you.

How long does minoxidil last?

Ok, how is the long term efficacy of minoxidil when mixed with finasteride?

When you grow hair from minoxidil, it usually stays around until you stop it; however, continuing to take it, may not grow a wave of new hair.

Whey Protein and Hair Loss?

Dear Dr.Rassman,
Has consuming whey protein have anything to do with increasing DHT or accelerating the hair loss process/MPB?? I am a 26 year old guy from India and have hair lost only at the frontal temple areas while whenever I wet my hair i can see it thinning at the front. I am currently taking finax 1mg for the past 1 month. Do you suggest I take minoxidil along with it.

Thank you

I doubt whey protein is causing your hair loss. Finax is a generic version of Propecia (finasteride 1mg) sold in India by Dr. Reddy’s Labs. If you’re taking this, I’d hope that means it was prescribed to you. Nevertheless, you need to see a doctor to get the correct diagnosis. Don’t forget, the most common cause of frontal temple hair loss in young men is genetic balding. I wouldn’t look to whey protein as the problem, as it is more than likely your genes. You’re doing the right thing by taking the finasteride. I’d say that you should just be patient and the finasteride will at least stop the hair loss if not regrow some of the hair, especially in someone as young as you (about 30% chance of regrowth and 95% chance of slowing or stopping the hair loss). I would stick to the finasteride (per your doctor’s advice) and hold off on minoxidil for the first year to see what happens from the Finax.