I am have had surgery and love the results. I do have a guestion however, I am taking proscar 1/4 tab per day and it seems I have gained weight that has not been easy to control… I know workout and eat right… but will this drug cause weight gain…
I do not believe that weight gain is a described side effect of Propecia or Proscar. You should explore other causes for your increased weight.
I’m a 52 year old male in good health. I had a series of small transplant sessions – first 3rd of the head with last one being 8 years ago. Was completely satisfied until the last year when hair throughout scalp has become thinner and crown more “shiney”. Could propecia reverse some of this change over the last 18 months or so?
Finasteride (Propecia) is well known to slow down or even reverse thinning of hair in the crown area. While I have seen patients with (as you call) ‘reversal’ of balding in the crown area, it is patient specific. Every patient is different and results will vary.
In a previous post, we have shown such a patient who maintained the full reversal of his hair loss for 10 years on Propecia. Of interest, this patient still has 40% miniaturization in the crown hair even though it is not visible with the naked eye.
I am a 31 year old Caucasian male. My facial hair is most prominent around the mustache and chin areas of my face.
I am concerned about what I perceive to be irreversible “damage” to some of the hair follicles on my face from shaving. I now seem to have small “bald” patches from improper shaving techniques (shaving against the grain, shaving without allowing enough hot water to soften the beard).
These bald patches in my beard show up pretty well as my facial hair is dark and I seem to have 5 o’clock shadow even after shaving.
Will these hair follicles ever repair? Can I use Rogaine to revive them? Are there any other suggestions you can offer me (besides being more careful with my daily shaving routine)? Help!
Unless your shaving technique involves cutting into the skin by 5mm and shaving off the the top skin layer, you cannot damage your hair follicle.
The bald spots on your face were likely there before and you are just noticing them or you have a disease like alopecia areata that is causing these bald spots to appear.
I have used laser to remove body hair. Can laser have an effect on DHT levels in the body?
I do not believe that a laser that was used to remove your body hair will have an effect on your DHT levels.
hi, i have been using proscar and minoxidil 7% for over 4yrs. while the results have been satisfactory, i have been told that there is no such thing as minoxidol 7%, and i should just use the 5%. I would like to know if i am getting scammed by paying $250 a bottle for 100mls of minoxidil 7%. and should i just go to my pharmacy and buy minoxdil 5% which is so much cheaper? by the way my bottle claims to have retinoic acid 0.01% which is suppose to make a difference. One other thing i was considering having surgery done on the front hairline, as there doesn’t seem to be any other solution. thank you for your insight. i am also 28yrs old male. thank you
I do not know of a minoxidil 7% solution that is commercially sold, but it may be privately labeled. I am more familiar with the standard minoxidil 5% solution. This does not mean the 7% solution does not exist. Moreover, a stronger concentration (such as the 7%) does not necessarily mean you will have more benefit and grow more hair. Higher and higher doses may produce negative side effect such as dizziness, fatigue, and dangerously low blood pressure as your body absorbs more of it into the blood stream. The use of retinoic acid essentially causes irritation to the skin (it is an acid and produces a low burn) which, in theory, is supposed to increase the blood supply to the scalp and hence the absorption of the minoxidil. I am not a proponent of this approach. Producing a burn just does not seem like the right thing to do.
A couple of years ago, I noticed a bald spot in my head and got shots for the hair to grow back. I just got another one, but not as big. What is the cause of this? Can I prevent it from happening again?
What kind of shot did you get? Did your hair grow back after you got a shot a few years ago? I would hope a doctor gave you this shot. You should ask him/her these questions and ask him/her what they were treating so that you have a working diagnosis. Doctors have the obligation to educate their patients and communicate with them so that they are able to understand that is going on with their bodies. I would strongly suggest that you go back to your doctor and ask what was he/she was treating. I cannot diagnose your condition or even give you advise on your treatment since I do not have the advantage of examining you in person.
My 62 year old wife had heart valve replacement surgery over a year ago. Since that time she has been steadily losing hair — not in clumps, but rather over her entire head. Her dermatologist advised that this may well be due to the stress of the surgery.
a) Do you agree? if so
b) then what can she do about this,and how long should it last before the hair
grows back?Thanks
I agree with the dermatologist that the stress of the surgery may be causing your wife’s hair loss. We know that those people who carry the genetic hair loss genetics, can precipitate hair loss from stress. Furthermore, certain medications that your wife is probably taking (after the valve replacement) may also be contributing to the hair loss. There is not much you can do about this type of medication induced hair loss if these medications are critical to your overall health. Explore the medications with your dermatologist. You should never change or stop any medication without discussing it with your doctor first.
There is a good chance that the hair will return after the hair goes through its sleep (telogen) cycle. That generally takes 3-6 months. Minoxidil may help as well.
Hello Doctor,
I’m 24 (male) and noticed my hair thinning around my temples and a bit in the very front less than a year ago. At first, I wasn’t accustomed to the new hairline and worried that I was beginning MPB. I was unaware of the “maturing hairline” between ages 19 and 29 and feel better knowing this. However, I recently noticed what seems to be minaturization in the front of my scalp. My hairline is still defined, but the hair in the front seems finer and a bit more separated (to me). I notice about 15-20 hairs coming out after washing and more coming out throughout the day. Could this be just a cycle, part of the maturing process, or the beginning of Type IIA. Also, I just began Rogaine Foam as a preventative measure and heard shampoo containing Panthenol without sodium laureth sulfate is good. Would Propecia be good to take or am I overreacting? Your thoughts?
Generally, I like to get a map of your scalp hair to examine for miniaturization and only prescribe Propecia (finasteride 1mg) if there is miniaturization present (meaning, if genetic balding is present). If there is no genetic balding, then there is no point to the use of Propecia. I am not certain if Propecia stops the maturing hairline from happening, but it probably slows that process as well.
Dr.Rassman, I have had mild gynecomastia since child hood. Am I going to be more vulnerable to worsening it if I go on Propecia?
You can try it and if it makes your problem worse, you can stop it. Not much risk for the short term.
Dr. Rassman,
I have noticed an increased amount of shedding which started at the very end of summer till now. Is there such a thing as increased shedding during the change of season (specifically summer to autumn)? I am also approaching my fifth month on propecia, so I suspect that the increased shedding can be attributed to the medication? I remember you writing that you can experience increased shedding during the first 6 months. In any case, I was wondering if you could provide some insight into my situation. I appreciate your help Dr Rassman; your blog is extremely helpful!
I have heard some of my patients reporting that they lose hair during certain seasons. Humans have asynchronous hair cycling, which means that we generally shed uniformly over the entire hair cycle of about 36 months. We lose about 100 hairs per day and replace that number each and every day. Animals have synchronous hair loss, which means that they molt once a year, usually in the Spring when their hairs go into telogen (the sleep part of the cycle) and in the Autumn when they go into anagen (the growth part of the cycle).
