I am 28 y.o. female & have no history of balding in my family, on either side. My aunt has thinning hair, but her hair has always been very thin. I have always had tons of hair. Even hairdressers have commented on this. Within the last year or so, I have noticed that I lose a lot of hair in the shower & now I am worried that my hair is thinning. Could this be a vitamin deficiancy? I have gone online & see vitamin products such as Hair Formula 37 & Viviscal. Do you think these or similar products would be helpful for me? Are there specific vitamins/minerals that aid in hair growth, or are these products marketing scams?

I have referred to Viviscal in the past and the same answer applies to Hair Formula 57, based on the information I’ve read on their website. You need a good assessment of your hair and scalp for miniaturization to rule out causes of hair loss that can make a proper diagnosis. There is much written on this site for women that addresses this, so I would suggest that you review the Female Hair Loss category for more information.

Dear Dr Rassman,
I’m a 26 year old male who has experienced some frontal hair loss for the past 3 years. I used to where my hair slicked back in high school and some time after, but I noticed my forehead increased in length and I started to get a higher hairline. I guess being of English/French descent, I would have to deal with this soon enough. I never slicked my hair back ever again,because my forehead is just too long. I leave my hair natural and lay it foreward, but i have to have bangs just to keep the attention away from my forehead. It helps, but i don’t care to have long bangs. It sometimes makes my forehead breakout. I wish I had alot of money so I can take care of this, but i live on $8.00 per hour in the Bush era. Plus I need LASIK eye surgery because I look a lot better without glasses. My eyes are the only decent thing about me. The rest of me is 6’1 1/2″ of high foreheaded European human waste. Looks are almost number 1 on the priority list for me, but its difficult when u don’t have successful genes to help u in the long run.

I do not want to rub your financial predicament with more salt to the wound of $8/hour wages. Sometimes, you have to figure a less expensive way out. The least expensive way for you is:

1. Start taking Propecia to reduce the loss further. This will run you between $55-80/month, something you probably can afford to do.
2. Change your combing style (forward to hide the long forehead). This will cost you a good 10 cents for a comb.

Be creative, and when your time comes for a hair transplant, reach out to us for our Standby Program where our prices are lower and more affordable for those that are more flexible with their schedule.

Hi,

I have male pattern baldness. it started at age 18 from my temples and has been receding terribly over the years, and more esp over the last 5 years. I am now 43. I used to have severe psoraisis on the face and scalp and was told the hair loss was because of that. Now the psoraisis has gone down considerably, alomost completely but the receding continues. i also have thick scabs on my scalp on and off that do not look like psoraisis scabs, i think it could be symptomatic of systemic yeast/eczema?

I used to have a very thick full head of hair, more than the average person so the hair loss over the years was more apparent to me than to others. Now, it is apparent to everyone. i just have a strand or two to cover my unnaturally high forehead, the hair on top is very thin, weak and sparse, there is more at the back but that too has recently thinned a lot.

In the last 3-4 months, my hair has been falling out in clumps, and is extremely coarse, dry and brittle. Please dont tell me it is age because this has been happening throughtout my adult life , but has has gotten much worse recently and esp since my first ever perm a year ago. But the frontal hair has been receding steadily since age 18. It has been very distressing and depressing for me, and nowadays, i dont even like to look in the mirror and see my unkempt hair. No matter what i do – hair oils, etc, it is as dry n weak as ever and receding all the time. help would be very welcome and appreciated.

This is an area where I have first hand knowledge, with the worst form of scalp psoriasis one can have. Mine, like yours, burned out in the scalp and I have almost none of if at this time. But I never lost hair because I was careful about not pulling off the plaques which would have almost certainly produced traction alopecia. Psoriasis does not cause hair loss unless the plaques are pulled off and the hair comes out with the plaques regularly.

With regard to hair transplants, I am frequently asked by people with psoriasis, if the psoriasis can be moved from one part of the scalp to another. In my experience, psoriasis can not be transplanted from the affected area to an unaffeced area, but any surgery done on active psoriasis, can make it worse, unless it is treated topically prior to the surgery.

You may have a skin condition and this must be defined by a good dermatologist. The rest of your needs are easily dealt with through traditional hair transplantation, which is extensively discussed in my book, The Patient’s Guide to Hair Restoration.

Dear Dr. Rassman,
First of all please let me thank you upon your excellent work (as i overheard from sources). Am 25 year old and had a HT procedure of about 1600 grafts by strip method 4-5 weeks ago for increasing my facial hair density around the chin and goatee region and due to the fact that i live in the middle east i didn’t have the chance to perform it with you,otherwise things would have been different. Without any exaggeration am now having cruel restless nights with lots of suffering. I have two major problems or should i call them concerns, first is that the recipient areas are exhibiting significant redness (even after more than 4 weeks post-op). Add to this a long battle with infections, second is that after going through many forums, i’ve found that infinitely many people are depressed about their donor area linear scars as the scars tend to stretch and looks ugly which restrict them from having their heads shaved or get a simple buzzcut. Is there anything i can do about the redness of the transplanted areas? Sorry for elaboration but you are saving a man’s life Dr. Rassman

I am assuming that you had only the chin and goatee region hair transplanted. With that assumption, 1600 grafts seems a bit high. If larger than one hair grafts were used, I can imagine a great deal of reaction to them. including skin changes like puckering of the skin. If you look at typical beard hair, these hairs rarely are more than one hair per grouping so if you had more, then there are wound issues in healing which might point to problems. Without seeing you myself or knowing what you had, I can not be certain. Infections are rare indeed, but if you are having them they are most likely the results of cysts at this early stage where sebaceous glands from the transplanted hair are producing sebum below the skin and becoming reactive cysts. There are usually best treated with soaks at least twice daily and meticulous hygiene. Antibiotics may have value but good cultures should be done prior to starting antibiotics in the event that you have a bad organism causing the infections.

We have spent a great deal of time discussing scars in previous blogs.

Hi doctor how are you, Thanks for your time. I have been using propecia almost 5 1/2 months and so far nothing has been happening positive way and there is some thinning .i have pattern 2 to 3 going for 3 soon. I am 28 years old. I have been seening this beatufil girl almost 3 months we are so into each other and last night we been together firt time but i had a major erection problem.Everything went so bad… i cant explain wierd feeling. This never happened in my life. It did feel really bad.Aspecial because it happened with her but i was wondering if i stop taking propecia this kind of side effect will be gone and how long after stopping the medication i can expect to get back to normal if it is caused by propecia. I know you cant have all the answer but according to your knowledge, could you suggest something else to keep up love life and control hair receding problem. Sincerly.

A poor erection may come from many causes. If you stop taking Propecia, the drug will be out of your system in just a day or two. If there is a relationship between this drug and your erectile problem, then it should disappear within a week. More men get an increased sex drive than a decreased sex drive. However, in your case it does not sound like you are having a sex drive problem, which is more frequently an observation with Propecia than an erection problem is. First, stress is probably the single most important cause of erectile problems in young men. Just the anxiety of performing well, in many men, can make erections a problem. In older men, what we call erectile dysfunction, is more common. This is easy to understand when you think back on your 16 year old penis, which may have had spontaneous erections as many as 5-20 times an hour. No man in his 20’s experiences that type of problem and as you age, your penis function changes and you may experience perfomance challenging symptoms. I would say that 20% of men in the 20’s, 30% in their 30’s, 40% in their 40’s and 50% or more above the age of 50 would complain about their penis function. Therefore, I would conclude that it is not a disease, but a fact of life; as the male penis ages, so does the man’s production of male horomones that drive it and the blood vessels that make the erection a reality. For most of the men without anxiety problems, those who take medications that impact penis or libido function, those with diabetes, or those with vascular disease, drugs that enhance performance of the penis are useful.

The initial benefits of Propecia usually take between 8-12 months, so it is important to be patient.

I have been taking Propecia for about two years. It has always worked fine until roughly six months ago when certain side effects began to appear. My lips were swelling quite frequently and I would get hives on my body. I was able to combat this with a daily dose of claritan. I am worried though that these effects could be dangerous to my body, even though the hives never appear while taking claritan and the lip swelling is only a few times a month at most. Also, I was curious to know if there is any correlation to these side effects and the ineffectiveness of propecia. I have noticed an increase in hairloss over the past six months, but still nowhere near as bad as before I went on the drug. Any light you could shed on this matter would be great. Also, I thought I would add that I have experienced no sexual side effects.

Thanks

You need to have a good dermatologist take a look at you. Although some of the symptoms are reflective of a drug allergy, you may also have some other medical problem. Don’t play doctor. There is an old adage: a person who treats themself has a fool for a doctor. Adhere to good common sense and have a professional look at you.

Hair Loss From Propecia – Update

Sep 26, 2005/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /Drugs

There has been some discussion by physicians about patients who take Propecia, or Avodart, who may experience shedding of hair. When this occurs, they believe it may be simply a phenomenon that as the finasteride or dutasteride begins converting the telogen hairs into anagen, the shedding reflects an acceleration of hair cycling. The same theory implies that some people may have a significant amount of hairs in telogen, so their shedding may be increased in the first few months of starting the drugs. If these people wait out the cycle, I believe for a 3-5 month time frame, the benefits of the drug will come on strong.

In my practice I do not remember hearing this complaint so what I am presenting here was precipitated by some questions that came through this blog and information I gleamed from my recent trip to Sidney at the ISHRS meetings where I asked other people about the experience hair loss on Propecia. But the explanation above makes sense to me, assuming the premise that hairs in telogen may be shed more once they are moved along into their anagen (hair building) cycle.

Can you please tell me what the latest information is on Propecia beyond the 5 year mark ? There was a hypothesis that a plateau might be reached at the 5-6 year mark as hairs entered a new growth phase and the hair counts might improve. Is this the case?
Thank you

The formal Propecia study only goes out 5 years, and I can’t seem to find any official published data beyond that (even from Merck, the manufacturer). The suggestion from what I have seen in the 5 year study is that the number of hairs will probably drop off slowly, possibly more slowly than it would without the medication. It is also the experience of many that this is not just a ‘number of hairs’ game, but it is also one which reflects hair quality. The thickness of the hair shaft in those treated with Propecia gets better and will probably stay better while the drug is maintained. But your question is asking for the difference beyond 5 years, and I am afraid that a solid answer would only be speculation on my part.

i’m a 32 y/o male suffering from hair baldness. i still have some good quantity of hair on the top side of my head. i am using now saw palmetto trying to stop hair loss, i am now very interested to use your method and looking to strength the hair i still have. can you please tell me whats your procedure to deal with hair loss and does the hair you transplants grow like a normal hair

To answer this question would take a book, which I have already written. In fact, you can receive the book, The Patient’s Guide To Hair Restoration, which is available from me free of charge by mail or by download in PDF format.

Baldness can be treated with medications and surgery. Medications slow down, stop and sometimes regrow the hair. Hair transplants move hair that is permanent (from the side and back of the head) to the balding area. As a general rule, these transplanted hairs grow naturally and last your life time. The problem with hair transplants is that people often lose more hair than they can transfer with a hair transplant so that the supply of donor hair is inadequate to meet the need of the balding area.

You need to arrange for a visit to a good doctor who specializes in this type of field to find out what are your options and balance them against your need and your budget.

Daily Hair Loss – What is Normal?

Jun 17, 2005/by William Rassman, M.D./9 /Hair Loss Causes

Dr.Rassman,
I heard from somebody that the average person loses 100 hairs a day. This seemed really high to me, is it true?

Yes, this is true. It is believed that the average person has about 100,000 hairs on their head and the life cycle for a hair (before going into its cycle shut down and regrowth) is 3 years. Wtih that said, that means 35,000 hairs lost per year or about 100 (rounded) hairs per day for 3 years will equal the total number of hairs on the head of an average Caucasian Male.