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Hair Restoration Societies and Accreditations – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am researching the hair transplant doctors to find someone I want to tie my hitch to. On your New Hair site I noticed that you had four links at the bottom of the left column. Why do you link to them and what is the significance? Some doctors have similar links on their sites, but I haven’t seen the AAAHC triangle logo before.

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Here’s a little on each external link you’re referring to, as found on the New Hair Institute homepage:

  1. The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) is one of two national accreditation agencies for surgical centers. The “accreditation from this organization is a voluntary process through which an organization is able to measure the quality of its services and performance against nationally recognized standards. The accreditation process involves self-assessment by the organization, as well as a thorough review by the Accreditation Association’s expert surveyors, who themselves have extensive experience in the ambulatory health care environment. The accreditation certificate is a symbol that an organization is committed to providing high-quality health care and that it has demonstrated that commitment by measuring up to the Accreditation Association’s high standards.” I believe that our clinic is the only fully accredited HAIR TRANSPLANT facility in the United States (other than those that have plastic surgical accreditation) that has taken the effort to obtain such recognition. The reviewers have always rated our service as meeting or exceeding the best standards in the country.
  2. The International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons (IAHRS) is an organization of physicians who have banded together setting a standard for the industry’s standard of care, the Follicular Unit Transplant.
  3. The American Hair Loss Association (AHLA) is an organization focused on consumer education.
  4. The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) is a non-profit medical association of over 700 physicians specializing in alopecia and hair loss. The ISHRS provides continuing education to physicians specializing in hair transplant and restoration surgery and gives the public the latest information on medical hair restoration and non-surgical treatment for hair loss.

I believe in excellence, whatever the cost. There are no shortcuts to delivering a quality product. I have a terrific staff and pay them well so that they have a quality life at home and can focus upon my patients when they come to work. For this reason, I retain 100% of those that I want to retain and many have been with me for more than a decade. The AAAHC (a completely voluntary effort that is a very costly process for us and equates to the rigorous standards imposed upon hospitals today) is a way that I guarantee to myself that our standard matches the best standards in the world. To comply with these standards, I calculated that my annual cost exceeds $100,000/year and both of our offices are certified by the AAAHC. Our focus upon supporting national and international hair restoration / hair loss societies (like IAHRS, ISHRS, and AHLA) are reflective of our patient and physician educational efforts, which should be supported by those in this industry. Our involvement with them is consistent with the massive efforts we have made over the years to innovate (leading the standards that are accepted and adopted by everyone of value in the industry) and force an improving hair restoration environment along with others who share this objective. See the History of NHI and the NHI Timeline for more.

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Can My Grafts Be Dislodged 4 Years After Transplantation? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi there
I’ve had three graft procedures – the first of these 6 years ago and the last 4 years ago. The results were not that great (I still look balding) though there is quite a bit of new hair overall.

This past year I’ve been considering having another procedure done. However, just lately i’ve been waking up once or twice a month to find very tiny-pin pricks of blood behind my hairline in the area where the grafts are – sometimes just one, sometimes two or more. Despite all the time that has passed since the procedures, I am concerned I am managing to somehow dislodge some of the (still vulnerable?) tiny grafts while I’m sleeping (I’m told I’ve been thrashing around a lot in my sleep the last few months due to various stress going on). Have looked on my pillow and cannot establish whether this is the case or not. However, it seems the only logical explanation I can think of …

Grateful for your comment.

Thanks

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Transplanted grafts are permanent, except for those that may have been taken from areas of the scalp where the hair may not be the permanent hair. These areas include grafts taken too high on the back of the head (where the donor area balds like it normally would) or from the neck (where the hair is not always permanent). But in your case, something else is going on and you need to see an expert to let you know what is happening. Could you be picking on it at night and not knowing that you are doing this?

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Sarcoidosis and Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Female – In 1986 I was on a high dose of prednisone for sarcoidosis.The disease affected my eyes and my lungs.Within 3 weeks of taking the medication, my hair was thinning. I ended up being on the drug for a year. Needless to say all my hair fell out. Even after being off the drug, my hair never grew back. To this day I am still bald. I do believe that the sarcoidosis was started from fumes. I worked with a very strong glue and liquid rubber at work. Some of my co-workers were having nose bleeds also .I find the whole ordeal very upsetting. But I didn’t know how to prove the the fumes were the cause of my problem. Being on prednisone has been a life time nightmare for me. I kept the hair loss a secret for 14 years.I wore wigs or glued on weaves. I finally decided to tell my family in 2000. This situation has caused me much grief. I can’t date because I’m afraid that the person will reject me because of no hair. Thank for reading this.

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Your hair loss maybe due to both Sarcoidosis and steroid. Sarcoidosis involves inflammation that produces tiny lumps of cells in various organs in your body. The lumps are called granulomas because they look like grains of sugar or sand. Sarcoidosis can occur in almost any part of your body, although it usually affects some organs more than others. Thus, in theory, Sarcoidosis could cause hair loss. I am not certain about fumes causing sarcoidosis, but that is clearly a distinct possibility and more research would be a good idea (not something that I can do through the site). You may want to see a dermatologist and ask for a referral to a toxicologist for better evaluation of your hair loss and possibly biopsy the scalp to rule out inflammation and disease that may cause your hair loss. Good luck and please let me know the outcome from the referral sources I discussed here.

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Female Thinning Hair and Kevis – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a 41 year woman and for the past two years I have noticed my hair beginning to thin. My Mother (67) and Aunt (58) both have thinning hair which did not begin until their fifties. I am hypothyroid but it has been well undercontrol for 8+ years now. The texture of my hair has changed significantly over the past 3 years or so, much less thickness etc. I do not want to see my hair thin anymore if I can avoid it, would I see a dermatologist or an endocrinologist for this issue? Also there is a “natural” hair loss product called Kevis on the market that is suppose to stimulate new hair growth – do you have any experiecnce or knowledge of this product? Thank you

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There is no scientific data to support Kevis is any different than minixodil, which is actually the active ingredient in Kevis (but many times more expensive). Minoxidil comes in generic form or Rogaine (brand name). Use the minoxidil made for women, which has alcohol and is easier to style your hair with, rather than the variety made for men.

If the thinning is already in two members of your family who turned through menopause, then it is likely that this will also be your fate. I would like to see that you have an accurate diagnosis, which can be obtained by mapping out our scalp for miniaturization. In addition to pointing to the diagnosis, it should clearly show the degree of hair loss and give you a good baseline for future comparisons. Please be sure that you are medically OK; read through the Female Hair Loss category for more info.

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Patients with Forward Hair Direction – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman,
I was curious after looking through all the before/after pictures on your website, and also on some others, why I can’t find any pictures of people with hair direction going from back to front. They all seem to have either a comb over, or a slicked straight back look. Is there some aspect of transplantation that makes these hair styles “work” in an aesthetic sense while hair that falls forward (like mine which just falls forward when i comb through it) will not look as good after a transplant?
Thanks.

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Hair normally grows forward and that is how it is transplanted. Patients use styling to accomplish their goals, whatever they are. I have seen men go from spiked styling to side combing all in a week. Some people feel that once their hairlines are fixed, they must show them off, so the photos that you see in our patient galleries reflect what the patient wants his hair to look like. Plus, when we photograph these patients, the hair is usually combed back just to show the status of the hairline.

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Hair Loss InformationFUE for Wavy or Curly Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I don’t see too many people on the website with wavy or curly hair. I have wavy hair and I’m wondering about how well this type of hair responds to the FOX procedure. For instance, does it inhibit harvesting and when it is transplanted would it go along with the naturally wavy pattern of the hair that is there now or would the individual hairs wave in different directions?

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I have performed the FOX Procedure (Follicular Unit Extraction / FUE) on many wavy/curly hair patients with great success. After shaving the hair down to a short buzz cut, most hairs will stand straight and show their angle as they exist in the skin. I will harvest the hair to the exact angle where the hair grows in order to extract the follicle with high yield. Most of the African American patients will have spiral roots to the hair below the skin, while Caucasian, Hispanic, and Asians do not. The yield of viable hair from FOX/FUE will depend on the physician’s expertise/skills.

The way your hair grows out reflects both the angle the hair is put it in and the character of the hair itself. When grown out, other than density considerations, you should not be able to tell the transplanted hair from your original hair.

As for the patients in the NHI photo galleries, we only post patients that have signed a photo release. Some folks just do not wish to participate, and that is totally fine. Upon first glance, I can spot quite a few curly haired patients, including:

More information about FUE can be found at the links below:

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17 Year Old with White Hairs – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a 17 year old male. I started noticing that I was losing just a little bit of hair when I use shampoo. I know its normal to lose a little bit of hair. I also started using a hair dryer to style my hair. I noticed that I was starting to grow white hair. I have only a few white hair right now. Is this normal? Does this mean I will be losing hair??

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White hair has nothing to do with hair loss or the shampoo you select unless there is a bleaching component in the shampoo, which could bleach your hair. Some people genetically grow gray/white hair earlier than others. It is normal to lose up to 100 hairs per day. Excessive blow drying may affect your scalp and hair by making it more brittle, thereby leading to hair loss.

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Cowlicks, Widow’s Peaks, and Hair Transplants – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have a question. The hair on the left side of my head, from the hairline to about 1 to 1.5 inches behind it moves in a fully forward direction instead of backwards and down. This cowlick creates a very messy look and contrasts with the normal direction of hair on my right side.

Is there any procedure that can be done to just change the angle of direction of those hairs? If so, who performs this?
Thanks very much

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Cowlicks are hairs that grow in a different direction than adjacent hairs. They can be very sexy or they can be annoying, much like your complaint about them. Grooming can be a problem if you are a perfectionist, your hair character is strong, and the direction abnormality is in an obvious place, like the very frontal hair line. This is most often seen in the central area of the frontal hair line, frequently in association with a ‘widow’s peak’ or as in your case, it can be off center. There is little to do about them without damaging the frontal hair line. When we transplant near them and they are strong, there are many artistic judgments that the surgeon must make on how to deal with them. I love and hate them, depending upon what I am asked to do with them and the patient’s opinion of what he wants and what he can reasonably achieve.

My suggestion is for you to accept the cowlick, learn to style around it and not to aggressively go after it unless it is very limited to a small area, in which case, FUE might be possible. You need an expert to evaluate this in person and to protect your interests.

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Hair Loss InformationAdvised To Not Take Propecia? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

HI Doc,

Im a 20yr old male and have just noticed that my hair is thinning out and im losing it. My hairline has been reduced and in the middle and back ive lost a significant amount of hair too. I can see through my scalp now in many parts. Also, in the front you can see through my scalp and actually count the hairs that are in front! I look at my pictures from last year and even this summer and im seeing a huge difference! im really getting scared.

Im using rogaine now, started a week ago. I want to take propecia but been advised not to. i ve also looked in getting FUE or FUT! Please let me know what you think? And also do the hairs extacted from the donor area grwo back or not?

Thank you very much for this amaizng service!

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Propecia is only for male patients treating male pattern baldness and it is the ideal drug to prevent or possibly reverse your hair loss.

I would say that you are too young to consider any type of hair transplant. At the very least, you should try the medications and then develop a Master Plan for your future with a good doctor. You need to be evaluated for miniaturization. I am the physician who helped shape the Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) procedure, which extracts 1 follicular unit at a time using special instruments leaving very minimal scarring. The hairs are moved from the donor area — so no, they can not grow back into the donor area.

More information can be found at the links below:

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Options After Propecia Loses Effectiveness? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’ve used propecia for about 5 years (28 now). I started really at the first signs of trouble, as there is a lot of baldness in my family- my older brother was about 21 when he started thinning very quickly. The propecia worked well (1 mg) up until about 1 year ago, when I started losing quite a lot, so I bumped up to 2mg, which stopped it for another 6 months, but now it is really coming out again- I guess the effectiveness is just wearing off. I’ve also used 5% minox 2xday as well (the whole time). My question is: what options are available for me? I see that legally you cannot recommend avodart since the FDA has not approved it, but do you know whether its mechanism is similar enough to propecia that a resistance to propecia would also imply a resistance to avodart? I’m not looking to regrow really, just to stop the shedding and keep what I have. Thanks!

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Avodart is a more effective DHT blocker than finasteride (Propecia) and in the hands of those who prescribe it, it does work in situations like you describe. Find a doctor who understands this medication and consider its use.