Balding Blog

Your explanation of the mature hairline is very helpful. However, is possible to have general thinning in the frontal hair regions at the same time the mature hairline develops. Could that still indicate the beginnings of male pattern baldness?

This is a very good question. Yes, you can experience balding at the same time that a maturing hairline develops.

Greeting Doctor Rassman. I am a 15 year-old male. I realize that your website relates to hair loss information, however, I was interested in asking you a general question about hair since you founded the New Hair Institute. At the current time, my facial hair grows at a decent rate for my age in my opinion. I considering having facial hair at such a young age a luxury. I’d love to be able to grow a beard over the next couple years. Although there is one problem, my facial hair does not grow as evenly on the left side of my neck as it does on the right side. It’s more empty on the left. I was wondering if you had any solutions to my problem, or if it is just because I haven’t fully matured yet. How long do you think it would take? I really appreciate any input you would have on this. Thank you for your time.

I have facial hair and I consider it a curse personally, because I hate shaving. The asymmetry of hair density on your beard can be normal. Not everyone develops symetrically. Be patient, the less hairy side will catch up all too soon.

Hi,

Im 22 and I have noticed some wierdness around my scalp. What happens is I develop pimples on my head and removing the hairs that grow out of the pimple have a very wierd end. They have a short white film on the bottom with the bottom of the hair showing a black dot. The difference is tat normal hairs come up fine with no black dot and no white film. Is this a type of disease?

From your brief description, I do not think you have a “disease”. If you have pimples on your scalp or skin, the white material is just dead white blood cells, cellular debre and bacteria that have accumlated that caused your pimple. The tiny black dot may just the end of your hair root. Unless you see the black dot crawling with tiny legs, I wouldn’t worry.

I’ve been feeding my Sphynx (aka Canadian Hairless) cat propecia and rubbing it with minoxidil on a daily basis to see whether hair can be grown. So far there’s been no response, however, I’m hopeful.

I honestly hope this is a joke, but you’d be surprised at some of the emails I receive that are completely serious. Most people would think that the funnier notes I receive were sent to just mess with me, but either way, I’ll answer it seriously…

Cats lick their fur and will ingest these medications. I suspect that the minoxidil may drop your cat’s blood pressure, if nothing else. Silly things like what you are doing to your cat, may make discoveries where no man has gone before. I don’t recommend experimenting on your pets though.

At least you made me smile, something that your cat may not be experiencing.

Hello Dr. Rassman,
My hair is extremely porous, yet certainly not over-processed. I colour the gray roots once every 4-6 weeks and do not blow dry or straighten. No matter how expensive the salon or the hair product, it’s always porous. In the Summer it loves the humidity and in the Fall and Winter it looks like string.

I am also at 6 months post-hair-transplant, and I am hoping for the best hair possible. Is there a relationship between female pattern baldness, which began in my teens, and porous hair? Can you recommend anything at all for my hair, which has been treated very carefully all my life. Thanks a million, and God Bless you! xoxo

I generally do not like to make recommendations for daily hair grooming and hair management. There is clearly dry and moist hair and the difference does reflect the porous nature of the individual hair shaft for that person. The transplants should behave as it did when the hair was located in their original ‘home’ in the back of your head. I would stick to the recommendations of a good stylist who works with individuals with different hair characteristics (porous and non-porous) every working hour of their lives.

Hello Dr – I read with interest your answer about MRI scans and how there is no link from them to hairloss as they use magnets. What then, would be your opinion on CT Scans? Could these cause hairloss and if so over what time period? i.e – a few days after the scan or a few years? Thank you for your time.

The amount of radiation that a CT scan (also known as a CAT scan) will administer is not sufficient to cause hair loss. It takes much, much more radiation to cause radiation sickness and have the side effects to cause hair loss.

For more information about CT scanning, please see: Wikipedia – Computed tomography

Hello Doctor,

I’m currently a 21 year old male with some signs of MPB. I would say that I currently am between a NW II and III and I do have a family history of MPB on my mother’s side.

My question is more for future reference as I know you advise against most people under the age of 25 to get hair transplants.

Now for the question, I’ve always had “fine” hair (much like my mother and her father). Would this affect my ability to get a hair transplant in the future since my donor area’s hair would be much finer and not cover as much as personal with “full” hair? Have you ever turned away a patient because of this?

Also, which technique of hair transplantation would you recommend for someone with “fine” hair? The FUE or the Strip procedures?

A transplant with fine hair will produce coverage that you have always had. The transplants bring you your hair, with all of its characteristics. Most people with fine hair have a see-through look when they at 12 years old, so a hair transplant will bring you back to the see-through appearance you had all of your life. Fine hair is not a contraindication for hair transplants. The harvesting mechanism should be up to you and your budget, the supply of the donor hair you have, and the size of the bald area you are transplanting. FUE is not a good surgery for extensive hair transplants in a very bald man, just because of the number of surgeries you have to go through to achieve the numbers of grafts.

I have written before, forgive the repeated question (I have not seen it answered to date). I’m 36, female, thin hair. Is there a certain amount of thinning hair that should have taken place to be on Minoxidil (generic Rogaine-women)? It’s over the counter, and I’m having hair shedding now, due to either childbirth (I had a baby 5 months ago) or medications. My hair is thin and my dermatologist recomended I take minixidil for three months, tapering off it at that point, to get hair jump-started growing. I’m scared to not stay on it once I start it for fear of losing hair again, and want to know if there’s anything wrong with being on Minoxidil if you are not really thin-haired or balding? What constitutes the need for it? Is it up to the consumer?

If you have lost hair from the pregnancy, chances are that your hair loss will reverse over the next 6 months or so. You might want to hold off on the minoxidil, just for the reasons you suggest. If the hair came back and you were on the medication, you might ascribe it to the drug rather than the normal reversal which you will probably experience. If after 5-6 months, you still have not had your hair loss begin reversing, then consider the drug at that time.

Dear Dr. Rassman,

First off, great site! Very informative.

I’m a 21 year old male, and am currently on Propecia. My hairloss isn’t noticeable yet, and in fact am not even sure I’m losing it yet (need to get it mapped out for minaturization), but I’m pretty sure I didn’t get lucky in the genetic lottery. When/if I ever need a transplant, I’m definitely coming to you.

Anyway, this is all unrelated to the question I wanted to ask you. I’ve begin to wonder recently what my head would look like shaved, and I think I’d look really awesome. I tried this stuff called Nair on my leg- and it removed the hair as well as any doubts I had about its efficacy. But, would it work on headhair? The directions instruct not to apply it to the face- but I’d like an alternative to shaving, as I have sensitive skin.

I always wondered about that myself. Beard hair is thicker, so it may be resistent to the way that product works on leg hair. If I were you, I’d follow the intended instructions and NOT apply it to the face. I just did some searching and discovered that there is a Nair Cream for Face that would probably be your best bet for the facial hair.