Balding Blog

I experienced further thinning one year on fin and stopped it. Im 32 years old NW1.5, should I give Fin a second chance risking 1 more year?

It’s not a good idea, assuming no side effects from finasteride, to stop it. That allows you to lose more hair. I tell everyone that finasteride is always working at the least to slow down the hair loss and at the best it may reverse it (common in men under 25). I would go back on finasteride and stick to it. You should be managed by a good hair doctor.

This is my original post: https://baldingblog.com/finasteride-is-a-risk-in-pregnancy-with-unprotected-sex/

In this study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29855987), the women, aged 39, was taking 2.5mg of finasteride daily alongside her partner during the entire gestation period. The male baby was healthy with no deformities of the genitals.

I can’t put it together but I did note the article. The report from the patient indicated that the scrotum and its support structures develop in the male fetus at the end of the first term or beginning of the second term of pregnancy. In this study, the woman only took the finasteride for the first 5 weeks of her pregnancy but her partner appears to have continued using it. Cause an effect is difficult to impossible to pin down in this troubled man.

What about wanting to have a child while on finasteride, should we stop medication? And for how long?

I have to think about this. The half life of finasteride in the blood stream and extracellular fluids is about 6 hours which means it should be out of your fluids in a day or two at most. I also know that it stays in some tissues, possibly everywhere, so I really don’t know any science that informs me how to answer your question. When your partner gets pregnant, you can resume protected sex with no problems and that is absolutely safe.

Well that’s rather concerning. Along with your conclusion, I’m assuming this also means that if you are trying to conceive you should not be on finasteride/dutasteride. Would you agree with that, Dr. Rassman?

I would leave that to you. As I said above: “The half life of finasteride in the blood stream and extracellular fluids is about 6 hours which means it should be out of your fluids in a day or two at most. I also know that it stays in some tissues, possibly everywhere, so I really don’t know any science that informs me how to answer your question.” I am no longer able to think through this problem at this moment.

Isn’t it kind of far fetched to link such statistical ‘tail event’ to the use of finastride in this scenario? The causal link imposed could very well be due to total randomness.

Could be!

I didn’t know this, and my wife is currently 25 weeks pregnant… we used a condom for the most part but I’m still terrified.

Statistically, the odds are in your favor and you should be fine. There are very few reports like the one brought forward by the man I referenced, but for all the men who read this going forward, they should engage in protected sex if they are on finasteride.

Hair systems never look good, IMHO. I know a guy who makes a lot of money and went very detailed on hair system versus transplant and explained very well why he got the system and it’s the first thing I notice every time I see him. Yeah, I know he has it and I can’t unsee it. So that creates a bias, but even if I didn’t know there is no way I would think it’s hair.

Some transplants look terrible, too, especially when I see one on UK celebs for some reason. A lot of unnatural looking hairlines. But I’ve seen a lot of good natural looking transplants, too. Micropigmentation looks good but only for a very specific style.

When hair transplants or SMP is performed in the right hands, it looks natural. The key is to get someone who knows what they are doing. You wouldn’t say Elan Mush’s hair transplants looks bad, would you?

The Post: After Hair Transplants, many doctors ignore patients’ questions – why? was followed on Reddit where it was posted initially with the following responses. I think that my point was understood.

Comment 1: Yes I totally agree. I had a good transplant so I am ok and don’t had much to complain about (post here if interested), but indeed, the customer care service sucks. Went to Cinik (Istanbul), he is a pretty reliable surgeons nontheless. But the clinic went from super reactive to automated mails, not even translated in the language we used when scheduling the operation.

I think they have a shit tons of clients. They ask you right after the operation to leave comments here and there to boost their ranking. Which is not illegitimate, the hair business in Turkey is highly competitive, but you must be thoughful and update your comment when you can truly assess the success of your operation.

Another behavior I have witnessed through several testimonies is clinics’ tendecy to minimize / wrongly reassure the patients when their result is obv unsatisfactory. Like “It is normal”, “you have to wait 12 full months to assess the result” bla bla bla etc. If you have blank spots or below 40% of your hair grown back at the 5 or 6 month mark it is worrying. After 6 months the result will only get marginally better. All the hair should have popped out by then.

Comment 2: Good idea (i.e. ask to meet his patients one-on-one) but how would you ever get access to patients contacts? Answer: To make the sale, put the burden on the doctor to supply you access to his/her patients. The doctor then will be motivated to do so.

Comment 3: Because they already got paid.

Comment 4: This is exactly my experience. The doctor was very kind and patient and buddy like prior to surgery. A few days after I started to get a spot that looked a bit dark. I came in and saw a “technician” who told me it was nothing to worry about, gave me some product to help the area and sent me home. That spot turned into an area that became a total nightmare with me concerned that my skin was dying (necrotic). I would send photos, they would bring me in to see this “technician” every week or so. Never did I see that doctor again.

Comment 5: This is exactly my case. My Turkish Dr. (Real Dr) is barely responsive since my surgery. I am exploring getting PRP to help regrowth and wanted to know his thoughts. Crickets.

Comment 6: you are right about the fact that one should be evaluated by an expert who specializes in hair transplantation, and is honest and doesn’t do it just for the money he gets from you

Comment 7: I took a really long time to heal. Lots of bleeding and oozing and anxiety about going out in public for a long time.

Comment 8: I am going to do a big write up at the 6 month point about my experience of going to Turkey. I wont deny it was the price point that pushed it into affordability but at the same time, and as of my experience right now, I would consider encouraging someone to spend the money to see a US Dr like Rassman even it it meant doing it sooner rather than later, and by assuming some debt. That says quite a bit coming from a financial planner.

Comment 9: Thank you so much. You just saved me some money. I’m completely serious about possibly visiting you next time I’m in LA. Perhaps even having you touch up whatever does not take with my Turkish hair procedure. Thanks for what you do for the sub.

Comment 10. (12/15) I think it depends on your expectations, how carefully you selected the doctor, and how much you need to interact with the doctor after the surgery. I had FUT x 2 and did interact with the doctor afterwards and felt the interaction was just fine i.e. it was what I needed when I needed it. After FUT #1 I had some questions and was able to reach the doctor by text (during the evening after the procedure) and later on by email, which was fine. The surgeon did call me on my cell the day after surgery to ask how I was feeling which was good as well. After FUT #2 (same doctor) he again called me the day after surgery to see how I was doing. About 10 days after that surgery I had some issues and communicated with him by phone and email and got my issues resolved, so I was happy. I have said in a few posts that you really, REALLY, REALLY need to choose your doctor carefully. If you are not 100% confident in your doctor and the procedure you should not do it. (I AGREE)

 

 

There is more than circumstantial evidence, as posted on https://www.pubmed.com, as to the efficacy of dermarolling. In their study, they used rollers with 1.5mm needles and essentially rolled over the entire balding area, going in many different directions. The rolling was completed once the skin was a pinkish color, with small droplets of blood visible. This was in addition to the use of topical minoxidil. The theory is either (1) the light wounding cause stem cells to create new hair follicles instead of skin (much like follica’s procedure), or (2) it allowed the Minoxidil to penetrate more deeply into the dermis. This was done twice per week, NOT everyday. As to the possible infection aspect, all I can say is…DUH!!! Basic antiseptic procedures MUST be followed when doing a procedure like this, especially if blood is produced. Spraying the dermaroller with a high concentration of alcohol (perhaps EverClear), washing the scalp, then using a high quality antiseptic solution on the scalp prior to the treatment is an absolute MUST. I would not be at all surprised to learn that those who do indeed acquire post-rolling infections are not adhering to basic pre-procedure antiseptic techniques. I have been derma-rolling for the past 3 years with NO adverse bacterial effect.

I have read this and agree with you. Thanks.

With male pattern baldness, large (terminal) hairs convert into small (vellus) hairs. This is the negative effect of testosterone and DHT, a potent testosterone derivative, on hair follicle stem cells. Despite lack of visible hair growth, hair stem cells remain largely intact in the bald scalp skin!

Human hair loss conditions result from abnormalities in the so-called hair growth cycle, the recurrent process of hair production separated by periods of inactivity. Current anti-hair loss treatments modulate only part of this cyclic process e.g., Finasteride lengthens hair production phase leading to longer hairs, but it cannot activate re-entry of dormant hairs into new growth phase. Because of this, such treatments show extremely slow and incomplete recovery from hair loss, especially when the condition is advanced. Additionally, the efficacy of new hair regeneration via stem cell therapy or the so-called hair cloning was never conclusively demonstrated in the clinical settings. Inspired by the naturally occurring human condition of excessive hair growth, UCI researchers have discovered that re-entry of dormant hairs into active growth cycle can be efficiently stimulated when hairs are exposed to a specialized type of pigment-producing cell or to the signaling molecules that this type of cell actively makes. This suggests that either transplanting cells into the skin or simply injecting their bioactive molecules is sufficient to drive new hair growth on the scalp.

UCI scientists also found that hair growth-inducing effect of pigment-producing cells is potentiated by other naturally occurring cells derived from blood. Moreover, they investigated the profile of secreted signaling molecules and determined that a wide range of skin specific cells, beyond pigment producing cells, can be coaxed to make them due to shared profiles of secreted factors. Injecting a synthesized cocktail of signaling molecules in to an area with dormant hairs in vivo in animal model induced rapid new hair growth. Prospective plans involve testing these effects on human skin. Targeting a signaling pathway for naturally robust hair growth in humans presents a promising approach for treating hair loss conditions.

The hairy nevus is a common, benign birthmark where vellus hairs convert into the terminal hairs normally found on the scalp. UCI scientists believe that this occurs because of a protein signaling molecule that is produced by the hairy nevus and UCI has identified key proteins that they believe is responsible for the hair growth.

The way UCI scientists will Microinject hair-growth promoting molecules, derived from the hairy nevus birthmark, into the scalp skin affected by male pattern baldness. The hope is that these molecules will act as a signal to dormant stem cells (as it happens in the vellus hair follicles of the hairy nevus). It is hoped that this will result in vellus-to-terminal hair transformation and a cosmetically desirable hair growth restoration in the balding male

 

This report was produced to sell a larger report to businesses interested in the hair loss business segment; nevertheless, I have shown the introductory part of this report because it outlines the various problems that contribute to hair loss. If you look at the post from today called “AS Hairs Grow Longer, they lose their thickness’ just below, you can imagine that this technology can actually tell you what would be the impact of taking supplements as it can track the value of the supplements on your hair as it grows. It would be much less expensive to have a way to measure the value of the supplement rather than take it blindly, spending a lot of money moving from one supplement to another and never knowing it your approach to treating your hair loss is working or not. https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/hair-supplements-market.html

4months on FIN from tressless