Category: Uncategorized

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My Hair Knots Up and Pulls Out When Applying Minoxidil

Hello Doctor

I’m a 27yo male with a full head of hair yet. I comb my hair a couple of times a day after my minoxidil application with a wide tooth comb. As I have medium length hair sometimes knots are formed and even if I’m gentle sometimes I feel little painful pulls.

Should I be worried about those? I doubt any hairs are being pulled out by the root because I try to be gentle, but if some hair does, will it grow back?

Thank you very much.

If you’re being gentle, I don’t know what to tell you. You could try switching to the foam instead of the liquid solution and see if it helps.

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Can grafts fail to grow and if so, why?

The three most common causes of graft failures includes (1) exposure to air for more than 15 seconds when placing the grafts or when preparing the grafts, (2) rough handling of the grafts during placement, (3) a recipient site that is too tight. These problems most frequently arise when the surgical team is sloppy, inexperience, poorly supervised, has no quality control systems in place implemented by the surgeon.


2019-01-21 14:57:33Can grafts fail to grow and if so, why?

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My Hair Loss Stops and Regrows Whenever I’m Pregnant

I am a 48 year-old mother of four who has all-over gradual hair thinning that began when I began menstruating at 12. I recently went through menopause, and although I have not experienced any chance in thinning since then, I do remember that when I was pregnant, I did not have hair loss, and my hair grew in again to a normal thickness. Each time, over the course of the pregnancy, the hair would grow thicker, until about three months after the baby was born, at which time it would fall out rapidly (over a few weeks). Is it possible that that regrowth during pregnancy indicates that I have some underlying hormonal issue?

I do not have hursitism, and twice in my life I have been checked for low iron and for thyroid problems, neither of which showed any problem. My periods were severe early in life but became easier over time and were roughly regular. The hairs that do grow are very soft and somewhat easily damaged but not severely.

I would be interested to know if you think some underlying hormonal problem could be the cause, given the regrowth during pregnancy.

Thank you.

Many women lose hair with child birth/pregnancy, menopause, etc. It is well described and known and you are not alone! But the hair growth during pregnancy, isn’t something I’m familiar with. I can only assume along with you that it is hormonally related, as there are a number of hormone increases during pregnancy.

Here are a couple of links I found via Google that might explain more — Pregnancy-Info.net and PregnancyEtc.com.


2010-01-26 08:38:37My Hair Loss Stops and Regrows Whenever I’m Pregnant

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Can Half of My Hairline Be Juvenile and Half Be Mature?

First I’ll like to say, I really enjoy your blog. I found your blog about a year ago and love it.

I have a question about hairlines. I have an asymmetrical hairline. I think its mature on the right and juvenile on the left. So could it be that my right side is juvenile and my left side is normal? I know you said they eventually even out, but are there any cases you know of where they DON’T even out?

You can have both the appearance of a juvenile hairline and genetic male pattern balding occurring at the same time. Unless you have an examination and also followed over a course of a year, it is likely difficult to tell. Other factors, such as your age, family history, degree/pattern of miniaturization, and even bulk measurements can aid in a more objective diagnosis.

Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about your case to give you a decent idea of what is happening to your hairline. Having an asymmetrical hairline isn’t impossible, but I wouldn’t be surprised if in time you see the other side catch up.

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My Hairline Is Diagonal

Hi, I am 19 years old and have a thick head of hair. There is no thinning present whatsoever. However, when i pull my hair back to look at my hairline, i notice that it goes in diagonally, not quite at 45 degrees but still noticeable diagonally (perhaps the mirror exaggerates how diagonal it is), the right side more so than the left as well. I have shown my mum, grandma and sister, and they have said that my hairline is normal and not receding. I know its hard to tell without seeing it, but are they right and is this type of hairline normal or is it a receding hairline. Like I said, when my hair is not pulled back, I have a thick head of hair and you would not notice that I had this type of hairline.

This clearly bothers you. I suspect that there is some maturing of your hairline at 19, which is common in men. You could send me pictures with your eyebrows lifted high (a good digital photograph) and I will give you an opinion. Please reference this blog posting when/if you send photos. Thanks.


2006-09-21 15:00:12My Hairline Is Diagonal

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Can I Eat Peanut Butter to Prevent Hair Loss?

Hey there I realize your very busy, but I was wondering, since hair is made of protein, do things like eating alot of peanut butter or whey protein shakes help prevent hair loss in any fashion???? Or would it even be harmful to the hair follicle???? Im 18 and trying to stop hair loss before it starts or gets too bad, I would APPRECIATE VERY MUCH if you would answer this question, THANK YOU :).

There is no connection with preventing hair loss by increasing peanuts in your diet. It’s not harmful… unless you put the peanut butter in your hair and then rip it out. If you want peanut butter health benefits, check out this page.

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My Legs Below the Knees are Bald

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I love reading your blog and after educating myself and talking to my doctor, I am now taking Propecia.

I have an “odd” question for you. I don’t have any hair on the outside of my legs below my knees. It is almost completely bald. Have you heard of this before, or could you offer any advice?

Thanks!

I assume you’re not shaving them in your sleep…

But yes, I have heard of this before (many times). We do not know the causes, but sometimes it comes from rubbing of the outside of the leg on the other leg (crossing them). There is probably a genetic cause of the problem if you can not associate any chronic rubbing that could cause traction to the leg hairs.


2009-12-08 12:34:38My Legs Below the Knees are Bald

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My Shock Loss Was So Bad, My Hair Looks Thinner 8 Months After the Transplant!

Hi Doc

i had previously done a minor HT of 500 grafts onto the thinning mid scalp. Shock loss was bad and now at 8 months post HT, my hair looked thinner than before.

my question is is it advisable to plant the hair grafts onto the thinning mid scalp or is it more advisable to plant only onto the bald area and leave my thinning mid scalp until more serious before i start to tackle them.

I would have hoped that you were on finasteride prior to getting a hair transplant, as this drug minimizes the shock loss some young men experience. Were you warned ahead of time about the possibility of shock loss?

Everyone is different and you certainly have a unique problem, though I don’t know much about your case (age, hair loss pattern, hair character, etc). I would have to see you, or at least you should email some good photos that show your scalp, and we might be able to setup a phone consultation.


2011-03-08 10:47:16My Shock Loss Was So Bad, My Hair Looks Thinner 8 Months After the Transplant!

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Can I Really Trust My Surgeon?

I recently had a hair transplant and I can tell that the grafted skin is clearly visible in only one particular area (I keep the hair extremely short). All other grafted areas are perfect. The difference is night and day. Can the surgeon tell if there will be a mark in one spot by inspecting the grafted areas during surgery? What causes one grafted area of skin to be visible and not all others? Could it be that the incision wasn’t deep enough…making the grafts not go in far enough and stand out a bit resulting in bumpy grafts? I hope you can answer because I am concerned about returning. I need to know if I can really trust the surgeon. Maybe I made him angry?

It is difficult to understand why you would have surgery without being able to trust him/her. Afterall, they are cutting you open. You really do need that trust. Furthermore, I cannot stress the importance that the relationship between a doctor and yourself should be a partnership and one of mutual respect. Your surgeon should be able to address any and all of your concerns before and after surgery without any reservations. I understand that it may not be a perfect world, but I would recommend that you speak with your surgeon first.

With respect to your particular situation, it is virtually impossible to know what was done and what the plan in your surgery was without examining you or asking your surgeon/and yourself the pre-operative plans and expectations. The ability to see the transplanted skin in the graft could be caused by many factors, including the deployment of minigrafts rather than follicular units, placing the grafts too deep or too superficial, angular placement that is inconsistent, inadequate trimming of the grafts when they were harvested, etc…