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Scared to Lose My Hair with Chemotherapy

I’m a 22 year old girl who will be starting chemo the first week of November ’07. While the thought of treatment is really scary, what’s scaring me the most is knowing that I’ll be losing my hair outwardly looking ill. I’ve been doing a huge amount of research on any ways to retain my hair during treatment. I keep ending up hitting a product called Thymu-Skin. I can’t find any sites that discuss if there are any side effects to using this product while on chemo.

Can you please help me out with this? I’d really appreciate it!!

thanks

Chemotherapy does not necessarily mean you will lose hair. Hair loss depends on the specific drug used in chemotherapy. Your doctor who will be overseeing your chemotherapy treatment should be able to answer all of your questions and tell you how chemotherapy will affect your health and hair. The good news is that if you lose your hair, it will probably come back strong after the growth cycle is invoked.

To my knowledge, there is no FDA approved product to prevent hair loss from chemotherapy. With respect to ThymuSkin, I have heard of this product from patients and readers like you. Most accounts of its success/failure are based on anecdotal accounts. Despite the claim of ‘research’ and publications, they are rarely in peer reviewed mainstream journals and even if it is, the design of the study needs to be scrutinized for biases in the research. A theme that often echoes here on BaldingBlog is that it is a “buyer beware” market.

Of note, the ThymuSkin website seems to account the expertise of Dr. Morton Walker. Dr Walker is a doctor of podiatry medicine (D.P.M.) I am confused how a foot doctor came to be an expert in hair loss and the thymus.


2006-10-19 13:28:13Scared to Lose My Hair with Chemotherapy

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Scared Hairless

I am 26 years and experiencing hair loss. I haven’t done anything different. This has been going on since Aug 04. Then it was not so bad but i noticed a difference. In November I went to my doctor & told them that it’s getting worse. She had my thyroid checked & it came back normal. She recommended a dermatologist. The derm said there’s nothing wrong. It’s getting WORSE. I wear hair pieces now so it doesn’t show. I’m to the point now that in every stroke of a comb/brush through, a quarter to half of my hair is in the comb just from that one stroke. I know this is not normal for me, this has NEVER been a problem before. can you please suggest where I can go or what my next step should be?

Sincerely, Scared Hairless

Your questions are very appropriate for hair loss in a young person. Now that we know you are healthy, then the most probable cause of the hair loss will be genetic balding if you are a male. The physical examination will determine if you have genetic balding as a female. This is a crisis for a 26 year old. Hair that is lost now from the genetic process (in men), will probably never return. For women, it will be a slow process over time with incomplete loss if the cause is genetic. The next step is for you to see a doctor who will consider putting you on Propecia as this is the only drug that can slow down, stop, or in some cases reverse hair loss in men. The use of a hair pieces/systems (wigs) will only make the problem worse as the glues, tapes and weaves will pull on the existing hair producing a condition we call traction alopecia. If you want to put the lost hair back, you should consider a hair transplant.

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Scar On Head Received Immediate Medical Attention — Will Hair Grow Back?

I had a gash on my head about an inch and a half that required 7 stitches. I received immediate medical attention and I now have a scar on that spot. It is close to my hairline, will hair eventually grow back?

If the ‘gash’ repair produced a scar, then the scar will not grow hair back. If the scalp repair was done scalp to scalp, it may grow hair back. The direction of the scar has a lot to do with what it may look like. Front to back scars near the hairline tend to do worse than side to side scars at the hairline. As you are in Los Angeles, pay me a visit in my LA office and I can tell you that answer after examining your scalp and scar.

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How do I treat a scar on my mustache? (Photo)

The scar on your mustache area can easily be treated with a small hair transplant either with beard hair from under your chin or scalp hair if it is thick enough.


2017-09-15 10:27:32How do I treat a scar on my mustache? (Photo)

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Scar Length

I am 25 and about a Norwood 2. Of 10 Uncles, father and Grandparents, one has been a Norwood 5 (mom’s father) the rest 2/3 or 4. My father had no hair loss. I had a hair tranpslant a year ago. It is pretty good, however there is not as much density in my temples as i would like. The doctor transplanted 600-800 hairs, and the scar left behinid is about 4 inches – it seems like a long scar (I have quite dense hair). Is this a normal lenght for such a small hair graft? I have been for a consultation and have been told that I have at least 7000 hairs remaining on the back of my head. I am considering if I should have more grafts in the temples, but i am not sure if i should, considering i am not sure how much more hair i will lose. Would another transplant of about 600 hairs make a huge difference? I would love to have the hair line if possible, but I am not sure what to do. Also, I am on Proscar, is it as effective as propecia, and does it REALLY stop further hair loss in the front hair line (temples and or the mid area?) Thank you.

If you are taking Proscar, make sure you cut the pills into 1/4 or 1/5th size. The higher does could cause more side effects.

Your narrative above leaves me uncomfortable. As a Norwood Class 2, I would want to see you before I draw conclusions. Temple hair transplants in a Class 2 is unusual. That bothers me a bit. Can you send me digital pictures to the email address on the Contact page, or come in for a consultation with me?

Scar length reflects the size of the area removed. For 800 grafts and a 1.2 cm width, the scar might be 4 inches in length but should not be more than 1-3mm wide in normal healing. I can not comment on your remaining supply, other than to guess that with normal densities and normal laxities, a man should be able to supply 8,000 grafts of 16,000 hairs from the sides and back of the head. This number can vary between patients.


2005-12-15 15:44:31Scar Length

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Scar Formed Where I Received a Chemical Burn — Will Hair Regrow?

Dear Dr. I am a 24 year old female who recieved a chemical burn on my scalp when I went to get my hair highlighted at a salon. This was in March 2007. It has been over 5 months now and the skin is now flat, shiny and a bit pink in color. There is no hair growing. The bald spot is about 2″ long by .75″ wide on the upper part of my head towards the center-right. I went to see a dermatologist and he said a scar had formed over the area where I was burned and my only options were scalp reduction or hair transplant. My question is will hair successfully grow back on the scar if I decide to do hair grafting?

It is unlikely that if the hair was ‘killed’ that it will return. Thin, shiny skin you see 5 months after a burn to the scalp probably reflects a ‘kill’ of the hair in the scarred area. If that is the case, you need to see a good hair transplant surgeon. Scalp reductions are generally frowned upon today. As you are in the Los Angeles area, I invite you to call my office at 800-NEW-HAIR to setup a free consultation.


2007-09-11 13:32:22Scar Formed Where I Received a Chemical Burn — Will Hair Regrow?

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Scar and deformities from brow bone reduction (photo)

When this happens, I would go back to the surgeon who performed the surgey and that surgeon should make this ‘right’ filling in the defect with bone cement and correcting the scar.


2017-12-31 09:04:31Scar and deformities from brow bone reduction (photo)

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ScalpMed

PLEASE NOTE: I do not sell ScalpMed. I’ve been getting quite a few angry emails from people stating that they feel deceived by this product, that they want their money back, etc — but I have no relationship with ScalpMed’s manufacturers. I can’t help get your money back, nor can I offer much advice about this product. It is not FDA approved and I would not recommend it for that reason alone.

 

Let me begin by letting you know my situation. I am a 22-yr.-old female who has been diagnosed with both AGA and alopecia areata. My dermatologist tried steroid shots in one of the areata spots but they didn’t cause any growth.

That said: this morning I saw an infomercial for a product called “Scalpmed.” I don’t usually give infomercials a second thought, but I thought, what the hey, I’ll ask Dr. Rassman about this one. The product is *supposedly* for women and men, contains the highest FDA-approved dose of minoxidil, and does not cause sexual side effects or dry out the hair or scalp. The website admits that individual results will vary but offers a full refund of the purchase price (less shipping and handling, of course) if one is not satisfied.

Just thought I’d ask if you’ve heard of this, and, more specifically, if you’ve heard of this scorching anyone’s scalp off or anything similar. Don’t worry, I don’t intend to make any rash phone calls 😀

It took a bit of research and a call to a consultant for FDA issues to answer this question properly. I could not find Scalp Med or Vitadil in the FDA database. The website says, “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.” If this product were FDA approved, the FDA would certainly evaluate the labeling for the product. The second statement is part of the FDA definition of a drug. The second part, “Affects the structure or any function of the body of man” is relevant to the use of this product. It is strange that the first part of the website says it is FDA approved while the second part says the FDA has not evaluated the labeling. This is clearly an inconsistency that indicates that you should take what is claimed here suspiciously.

The website says that “Vitadil-5A and Vitadil-2A are FDA-approved formulas for hair growth.” The company may be saying that they used a formula that had been approved for another company. This is possible. However, a company cannot just copy the formula of an FDA approved product. The company must submit an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) and may be required to do bioequivalence studies before the FDA will approve it for this company. The company also has to meet Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) as well.

I always end such comments suggesting as a consumer you must ‘BEWARE’ and be your own protector. The government can not always enforce its regulations in a timely manner to protect you.