Balding Blog – Page 1525

January 8, 2008

Can Hair Miniaturize and Then Stay Forever? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

hey there dr rassman. I have a question about miniaturization. Once a hair shows signs of miniaturization is it destined to eventually stop growing all together or can weak miniturized hair sometimes remain in that state and hang on into old age?

If so is this the basis for the head ‘mapping’ you guys do?

Miniaturized hair can reverse back to normal healthy hair or it can fall out. Or, I suspect, it can remain that way indefinitely. The percentage or how long a miniaturized hair will stay miniaturized is not well known and for genetic balding it is determined by your genes and your environment. Drugs such as finasteride (Propecia) or minoxidil (Rogaine) can reverse such miniaturization.

January 8, 2008

Alopecia of the Eyebrow? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

About a year ago I began to feel very small growths in my eyebrows. I consulted my dermatologist and was told that I had melia in my brows. They eventually worked their way out of the skin, and appeared hard and white. The melia stopped after a few months, but then I began to have itchy and red eyebrows. Bit by bit my brows became thinner and thinner. I took anti inflammatory injections, however they did not stop the thinning. I have had dark and thick lashes all my life and I am baffled as to what course of action I should take. I am 57 years old and a brow transplant seems the only answer, but since my doctor diagnosed alopecia of the eyebrow would a transplant even work? Are there any topical creams that have shown promise, or are there any medications I should try first?

Hair transplant to the eyebrow works but you seem to describe a skin condition and you need to follow-up with your dermatologist. I do not know how to help you without seeing you myself or getting copies of your doctor’s opinion.

January 7, 2008

Using Dandruff Shampoo After Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Doctor, I used an an anti-dandruff shampoo five days after my operation, as I thought it would be effective in dealing with the scalping. I’ve now read that this was the wrong thing to do and that by doing so I might have diminished the success of the transplants. To what degree should I worry about this?

While we do not advocate the use of dandruff shampoos immediately after a hair transplant, I doubt dandruff shampoo would have diminish the success of the transplants.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

January 7, 2008

Reader Says Not to Trust Finasteride, Even Though It Worked for Him – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I tried Propecia for two years.
This medication just stopped my lossing hair, but never regrow nothing exept a visual under a microscope. This medication was found by accident,who pretend they spend money with their own research budget it’s a nonsence and you knew that! This medication was found with the US,European Budget for a medication for the high blood presure! call finasteride generic name or proscar on commercial! Merck frost spend 0 dollars for those research! It’s like the research for aids! all world government gave money for those research! The only money they spend was for the guinea pig they use for test the good & bad effect on human body! Phase I,II,IIV,IV

Propecia or (finasteride generic name) gave a bad effect on the libido (sexuality)! don’t try it or you’ll regret until you stop for 14 month and your libido will back again, right after this long period only. even though they claim it’s happen on a small % of peoples don’t trust them.

Trust me!

Somebody sure seems very angry!

Despite the erroneous nature of the facts you present, the confusing thing about your post is that you said it worked for you! It stopped your hair loss! That is the most common effect of the medication. There is no magic drug to bring back all your hair and Propecia works better in some men (and sometimes grow new hair) than it does in others. At the very least your hair loss stopped.

Just to be clear for the readers out there that aren’t aware — Propecia is a brand name for a generic drug named finasteride in 1mg strength. Proscar is a brand name for a generic drug named finasteride in 5mg strength.

When taken at the 5mg strength level, finasteride reduces prostate size, treats certain prostate conditions, and has even been found to decrease the risk of prostate cancer by up to 25%. It is not a high blood pressure medication. Some of the studies done on Propecia are taken from Proscar studies (higher dose) and the negative sexual side effects occur in 1 to 2% of men and is reversible upon discontinuation of the medication. And while not a published side effect, Propecia can also increase one’s sex drive (occurs in about 10% of men in our experience).

January 7, 2008

My Hairline is Very Asymmetric – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hey there, I have been battling with a receding hairline for a while now. I’m a 23 year old male and have noticed that my hair has been receding on my right side, this has caused my hairline to be very asymmetric. I noticed my hair thinning quite considerably a the back center and top of my head however i’ve recently been taking finpecia and this has thickened right up. In a moment of madness i decided to shave my head and its very noticeable that the one side has receded a ”lot” more than the other side which remains as if it hasn’t receded at all. I’ve haven’t seen anyone else with this problem and i have had a few comments from family and friends on my hairline since shaving it. Is there anything i can do, it looks terrible.

Balding is a dynamic process and it may occur asymmetric. While hair transplants and medications such as Propecia and Rogaine can help, there are limitations and there is no “quick” fix. You can take some comfort in knowing that the other side will likely catch up in receding, but I doubt it is much comfort. If you are concerned about hair loss, you should see a hair transplant doctor. Remember that surgery is not the only option.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

January 7, 2008

My Hair Loss from Accutane is Different – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hey, I am currently going through Accutane hair loss for 9 months. I was diagnose with ‘Diffuse Alopecia Areata’ by my derm. and currently on steroids. The question is, what can I expect in the future? My hair loss is unusual compared to other Accutane hair loss sufferers. I shed mainly short and medium hair, only occasionally would I notice long hairs being lost. Some of the hair strands that I loose are finer compared to the rest which are thick in comparison. I only receded only at my right temple while the left is perfectly fine. Also both the hairs above my ears have receded at least an inches above, and its skin bald. What can I expect in the future? Thank you

I don’t know what to expect for your future. If you have diffuse alopecia areata, the hair loss may not be predictable. What did your dermatologist tell you? You need to seek the advice of your doctors who know you, not me who only sees a brief outline of your situation via email.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

January 4, 2008

My Hair Transplant Is Growing At an Unnatural Angle (with Photo) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr. Rassman,

Thank you so much for the service you provide the public with this site. It must be alot of extra uncompensated work for you, I appreciate it.

I got a 1300 hair graft about 9 months ago to the area that I roughly outlined in red (on both sides of my head of course, I am only showing one side). As you can see it is growing at nearly a 90 degree angle on my head whereas my natural hair falls forward. Even though I cut my hair at the same length, the transplanted area looks twice as long because it is growing directly ‘up’. My two questions are this: 1. Is this a lack of skill on the doctors part that it is growing at an unnatural angle? and 2) if I keep trying to comb it forward can you gradually adjust the natural angle of the hair so that it matches with the rest of my hair as to the angle that it grows (or will the transplanted area permanently be at odds with my natural hair growth angle)?

My doctor recommends a second procedure because as you can see the transplanted area looks quite thin. I am 26, do you see any concerns with having a second procedure done with this doctor, or do you sense a lack of skill and I should look elsewhere? I have minor thinning in the crown area as well, but I do not plan on transplanting anything to that area. I have been on propecia for 9 months, and while it has not totally regrown the crown area, I am hoping that it will prevent further loss in that area.

Many thanks, and feel free to post the picture.

Block Quote

Thank you for permission to post your photo. Please click the photo to enlarge.

You are correct. It seems your hair was transplanted at different angle than your native hair. The surgeon planning for the correct angle and direction of hair is a very important factor in a hair transplant procedure. Unfortunately, this is very difficult to correct and relatively impossible to reverse. Your transplanted hair will always grow in that unnatural direction. One of your options is to have another transplant procedure and make sure that the new transplants are in the correct direction to “blend” in with your hair.

With respect to a second surgery with the same doctor, you need to be able to trust the doctor before having any procedure. Doctors are human beings and they can make mistakes or misjudge the many decisions that are before them in a treatment plan. If you and your doctor have a good trusting relationship, I am sure he/she will see the difference in angle and your concerns and will be more than happy to accommodate accordingly. The key here is to directly discuss this with your doctor first, and then make decisions on the value of the doctor/patient relationship.

January 4, 2008

Hair Loss InformationCan Scalp Exercises Cause Traction Alopecia? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello doctor

Could exercises that many doctors are recommending to increase the looseness of the scalp, when performed for a long time, cause any problems ( e.g. traction alopecia ) ?

Thank you

Block Quote

Scalp exercises are used to increase the laxity to the scalp, as shown in this video:

As long as you are pushing down on the scalp and not creating constant pull 24 hours a day, you should not have traction alopecia from this. Traction alopecia occurs when you keep your hair pulled or braided too tight constantly over the course of many months. Traction alopecia and scalp exercises are two different things.

January 4, 2008

Two Cases of Significant Sperm Count Reduction While on Propecia – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

See Propecia-induced spermatogenic failure: A report of two cases. by Liu KE, Binsaleh S, Lo KC, Jarvi K.

The conclusion of the article states:
Two cases of infertile patients with azoospermia or severe oligospermia who showed significant improvements in sperm concentrations 6 months after the discontinuation of finasteride. In one case, improvement in semen parameters prevented the need for testicular biopsy and corrected the azoospermia. Stopping finasteride in the infertility population may improve semen parameters, and may allow for less invasive fertility treatments.

We have already heard about similar, more frequent side effects with Avodart (dutasteride). While I am not completely surprised, I suspect the frequency is very low. I’ve written about sperm count and Propecia in the past:

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

January 4, 2008

Tooth Abscess and Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

i am a 21 year old male and i have been experiencing diffuse hairloss for the past 2 years give or take…my family tells me im crazy but i believe my hair has thinned alot….if i dont put it in exactly the right place u can see right threw into my scalp….my problem is that it doesnt appear to be male pattern baldness because it didnt start at the back of my head or my temples it started in the middle of my part (i used to have long hair) it honestly resembles female pattern baldness more than male pattern baldness-although recently my hairline did start to move back on the right side(only about a 1/4 inch if that)… my question is can an abcess tooth gone untreated be causing this???…after racking my brain for a reason this seems to be the only logical thing since the hairloss started happening just after i hurt my tooth…but my hairloss hurts me more than my tooth also my older brother who is 23 still has his hair and my little brother 19 still has his hair though my dad waas completely bald by 26 and acctually i naturally have thicker hair than both of them….please let me know i want to get this taken care of…. thanks alot!

A tooth abscess should not produce hair loss, other than an added stress in your life (stress can cause hair loss in some people or accelerate genetic hair loss if the stress is prolonged). You need a diagnosis, which I really couldn’t begin to help you with unless I see you.

If you are balding, then you do not have to start at the back and move forward with your balding process. Every man is different. What you are calling female balding is what I call diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA) and that diagnosis can be made by mapping out the scalp for miniaturization. Get a diagnosis by seeing a good doctor and then develop a Master Plan for what you might go. You do want to for sure know what’s going on with your hair loss, right?

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):