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Shaving the Recipient Area

I came into your office for a hair transplant in September of 2004. It was very successful and I now scheduled to come in for a second transplant to add density in a few weeks. When I came in for my first transplant I was surprised to hear that the doctor wanted to shave the recipient site of head to about 1/4″ in length. At the time it did not bother me, because I was able to wear a hat where I work. I am now coming in for a second session and things have changed. I need to be able to go back to work within four days of the surgery. I have spoken with several staff members at your office and they all have stated that there is no reason for the doctor to have to shave my head except in the donor area, but if my hair is long enough it will cover it up. I wanted to ask you personally if it is true that I don’t need to have the recipient site cut or shaved at all. My hair now is about 1 1/2″ long and I would like to leave it at that. If so I would also like to know why I had to do it the first time or was it just a personal preference of that doctor.

The recipient area does not have to be shaved for a hair transplant, but there are some doctors that prefer to make the recipient sites in a shaved area. When I am the physician I do not have the recipient area shaved.

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Shaving head with FUE

If you decide to shave your head after a FUE hair transplant, will it look stupid/horrible (owing to all the scars in donor and recipient regions) and, if so, can this be countered with SMP?

You might see the white scars from the FUE punch. That would call attention to your hair transplant.

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Shampoos with Sulfates (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) and Hair Loss

First of all, many thanks for this great blog. I’m a regular reader.

My question is about mild shampoos. I often read contradictory comments about whether or not washing your hair on a daily basis could cause hair loss particularly when these extra mild shampoos contain ingredients like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate and all parabens, that may cause skin irritation, drying, and hair loss due to follicle damage. So if someone has to wash his hair every day, is using a shampoo without those ingredients is better for the scalp and the follicule ?

Shampoos and washing your hair does not cause hair loss in general. In men genetic traits (androgenic alopecia – male pattern balding) causes hair loss. In women hair loss can also be genetic or hormonal (example: menopause).

Shampoos have ingredients that can irritate the skin/ scalp in some people and that can be an issue, but it is not the main cause in terms of hair loss. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and its likes are just detergents that wash way dirt in the most basic sense. Some believe these chemicals may be too harsh and there are other alternative (more expensive) shampoos that do not contain such chemicals. If you believe your shampoo has something to do with hair loss then it is rather easy to change your shampoo over reading through blog posts and conflicting Internet information.

In general, if you have the genes for hair loss (male pattern hair loss) washing your hair with or without the Sodium Lauryl Sulfate as it’s ingredient will likely not be a factor. There is, however, a multi-billion dollar industry that will try to convince you otherwise.

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Shame On You for Recommending Rogaine

dr rassman,,, shame on you as a medial professional to encouge people to use rogaine,, a drug only desighned for for high blood pressure… even the FDA banned minoxidil for all its sideeffects,, rogaine,,, ie ,, minoxidil is certainly absorbed into blood stream, from topical solution, which can cause heart enlargment amounst many other side effects,, rogaine itself admits they dont event known to how this drug reacts,, therfore cannot say for certain all the posiable sideffects,,what is ceratin that many people have complaine about the side effect ,, even to your site,, why take the parachical evidence and not the prof of the people,,

Thank you for your concern, but where are you getting your information?

It is true that minoxidil is a high blood pressure medicine when taken orally. Some of it may even be absorbed through the skin. When minoxidil is applied topically (Rogaine) it can also have many side effects when absorbed by the skin including a light head feeling, irritation to the skin, etc, but is not banned by the FDA and some patients have good results with their hair loss. In fact, it is only one of two FDA approved medications for genetic hair loss in men, and the only medication that is FDA approved for treating genetic hair loss in women.

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Sexual Stimulants and Finasteride

Hi doctor,
Does taking sexual stimulant tablet or testosterone booster, prevents finasteride to work full?

Ask the doctor that is providing you sexual stimulants or testosterone boosters before starting or stopping any medication (including finasteride). Generally, what do you mean by a sexual stimulant? Viagra? Or some pill you buy from the back of a men’s magazine? There are many items that could qualify as a sexual stimulant.

Testosterone is an anabolic steroid that is generally illegal to use without the supervision of a prescribing doctor due to many side effects, such as liver damage. It can also cause increased androgenic alopecia (AGA) so if you are taking testosterone (or boosters), clearly that will ‘pull’ in the opposite direction of finasteride on your hair loss, thus defeating the purpose of using finasteride at all.

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Sexual Side Effects from Topical Finasteride (from Reddit)

With regard to sexual side effects, we have been led to think that topical Finasteride is safer than systemic Finasteride (the pill). However, from this post, that is clearly not the case. Stopping the medication should solve the problem. From what I gather reading your post, you are still using topical Finasteride. I would call your doctors and ask them about it.

How to and how long to recover from fin sides. from tressless


2018-07-19 05:48:45Sexual Side Effects from Topical Finasteride (from Reddit)

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Sexual side effects on oral min?

I am 2 month in 2.5mg oral min and I have ed and weaker orgasms no sign of regrowth and none of those heart related issue and body hairstuff , I had low Bp but it kinda stabilized But I heard no one mentions those sexual side effects on oral min…. did any of your patients have this side effect?

There are no sexual side effects reported officially with the use of minoxidil. You may be having a placebo effect

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Sexual Side Effects Months After Propecia Use

Dear Dr. Rassman,

Last year I had a hair transplant done at the New Age Hair Clinic and along with that the recommendation of taking propecia to help prolongue losing more hair, which makes sense obviously. Propecia really worked for me and I was pleased with its results combined with the transplant, however, after six months I noticed those sexual side-effects I had been told about. I never worried about it because it had such a small percentage tagged to it so I figured I wouldn’t have to. But now I have no sex drive and difficulty achieving and maintaining erection…but others as well. There is no orgasm for me anymore and most of the time a loss of ejaculate and when something does come out, it’s almost like a gel… My penis has lost feeling and almost in a way “detached” shall we say from the body because i really can’t feel it that much anymore. This worries me because I have been off the drug for six weeks now. My real question is have you ever seen these adverse effects permanent in a patient? It’s really starting to scare and depress me… I figured it would take a few days to get out of my system and once I saw it was only temporary go back on it because I don’t want to lose what I worked at with the transplant, as is what my doctor recommended, but the effects seem worse now than when I was on it… Can you help me at all? Should I go back to using it or keep waiting till I see improvement and then perhaps use it? I would really appreciate any information you can give me… The dilemma of choosing between hair and sex drive is a hard one being I am only 23… I want both. My doctor can’t help me at all so maybe you can, I’m hoping. Also, have you ever heard of a hair-loss product called scalp-med? I saw it on tv and checked out their website at scalpmed.com and it looked good because they say no sexual side-effects because it’s applied directly to the scalp, but it all seems too good to be true so I was wondering if you knew if it was legitimate or not. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond to this. I appreciate it.

Propecia, hair loss, penis detachment, orgasm, ejaculation… OH MY! From the tone of your writing, I can see that you are very concerned about hair loss and sex. Worry not, for I would say you are like most men. If you obsess over something like your hair loss and image, you can produce impotence. Your sexual problems might be related to the Propecia use, but the problem should go away soon after discontinuing Propecia. Propecia certainly does not stay in your system for 6 weeks after stopping its use. Your sexual problems may be psychological or you may have an underlying medical condition that you have not been diagnosed with. If it continues to be a problem you should see a medical doctor for a formal evaluation. With respect to Scalpmed, there are numerous posts on the product here.


2006-07-10 08:43:50Sexual Side Effects Months After Propecia Use

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When Do Sexual Side Effects from Finasteride Go Away After Stopping It?

For people who experienced sexual sides but continued on finasteride anyway… when did your body start adjusting and the sides lifted?

Not asking about people who had permanent sides, or only had relief when they quit finasteride — that’s been discussed many times. Specifically interested in the experiences of those who had sexual sides, continued fin, and had the sides subside. If such a thing exists.

It generally takes about a month for the side effects to go away. There are traces of finasteride in the body for up to 10 days.


2018-04-18 08:39:53When Do Sexual Side Effects from Finasteride Go Away After Stopping It?