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Hair Loss InformationCorrecting a Scalp Reduction – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have undergone several transplants and scalp reductions over several years. Unfortunately the results have not been adequate and I have exhausted my donor area. I would like to consider cutting my hair short (to the scalp) or going with a shaved scalp. I am hesitant to do this because of scarring from scalp reductions and donor areas. Are there procedures to correct these imperfections or have I backed my self into a corner.

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I doubt that you can shave your head without showing the obvious skin deformities that were caused by the various surgeries that you had done. Before packing it in, however, you should be seen by a good, honest, competent hair surgeon. Maybe your conclusions are not derived from knowing what can be done today.

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Avodart (Dutasteride) Info – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have been using propecia almost 4 months and I didnt see any response yet .My hair got thinner I am 28 years old who has very thick hair and i have type 2 male pattern .My goal is to keep my hair , not to regrow . I have seen my hair receving from the frontal hair line little bit last couple weeks. Avadort has 50% better growth response than Propecia according to some research.Is it better for keeping the hair. And would you say i should keep using propecia and i started earlier than average patient , would it help me to keep my hair.when would htere be a drug that will stop the hair loss 99%.It doesn’t have to bring it back.And my family hair loss history is 3 A .

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If you have been using Propecia for only 4 months, you should wait out a period of from 8-12 months before judging if it is effective at stopping the hair loss. Usually, people will see less fall out in the first 4 months. If after 12 months, there is still no cessation of the loss, then a visit with your doctor to talk about other options like Rogaine, Avodart, etc… may be appropriate. There is much new information out there that suggests, as you stated, that Avodart is more effective than Propecia. Avodart is not promoted as a hair loss prevention drug by the drug manufacturer, and the FDA has not ruled on its safety and effectiveness when used for hair loss. Safety is an issue and the FDA guidelines are generally worth following. The half life of Propecia is 4 hours which means that it will essentially be out of your system within a day or two, but Avodart may last for months, so if side effects occur, they will be with you for a long time. Get a good, open-minded doctor and establish rapport with him/her.

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Corrective Hair Transplant Questions – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

dr.rassman, hello. as a former patient i cannot give you enough praise for the corrective work you did on my scalp. my reason for writing is to ask a couple of questions. first, can my old punch style grafts, be redistributed to create a softer look? secondly, can my donor area which is according to you less than a 2 be used to soften and thicken my hairline. i still wear a hair system behind my frontal hairline about 2 inches back. i am afraid of my donor area being bald yet i want a softer look in front to disguise my system. i would stop wearing a hair system but i now have a medium sized bald spot on top and i don’t see a way of covering it up with a very small amount of donor hair left. dr. can you help me? maybe i can fly in to california and have a procedure done to correct my first 2 questions.

People who have depleted donor areas are very difficult to treat. Yes, you can redistribute hair from the old plugs that you received years ago. What you must do is define your problems and your goals, then prioritize them, then visit me or some other competent doctor who can address your problems. Without seeing how you look today, I can not reassess your situation with the new tools and techniques that are now available.

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Hair Loss InformationScalp Colorings – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I got the spray on hair from an infomercial. My baldness is just a small spot in the back, barely noticable. I must say, without looking at it closely, it is very hard to tell that it is not my hair. But my best friend picked it up and made fun of me. I understand that there are some scalp coloring agents that appear like hair. Are there other such things on the market?

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There are a series of products that do this, with differing applications. Toppik is applied by shaking onto the scalp and surrounding hairs, binding to the existing hairs and making them thicker, and it also colors the scalp. Dermatch is more of a scalp colorant applied with a sponge, and you can find a product called ‘Tween Time (by Roux) at beauty supply stores, which is applied to the scalp with a lipstick like tube. These products come in shades to match your coloring and I have recommended them to patients before.

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Hair Loss InformationAccelerate Hair Growth After Transplantation – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have recently seen a product called ‘Oat-Beta Glucan’ which a friend of mine had been recommended to be applied to his head after hair transplants. What do you know about things that make hair transplants grow better and faster, and how do they work?

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In 1998, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its final rule allowing health claims to be made on the labels of foods containing soluble fiber from whole oats (oat bran, oat flour and rolled oats), noting that these foods, in conjunction with a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. In order to qualify for the health claim, the whole oat-containing food must provide at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per serving. The soluble fiber in whole oats comprises a class of polysaccharides known as beta-D-glucans.

There are copper peptide solutions that are used after surgery which have claims to accelerate hair growth. I have not seen that result. I do use them on occasion because these products have some value in reducing the redness of wounds in people who have strong tendencies to develop redness when scratched. This persistent redness is caused by histamine release at the neurovascular junction points under the skin, at the site of a scratch. To get the benefit of reducing this redness in those prone to it, the solutions must be used immediately after the surgery and then twice a day for about a week. The classic person who has this problem has very fair skin, often red or blonde hair or has a history of persistent redness after scratches. You can test yourself by scratching you arm with your fingernail. If you have such a tendency, the scratch will turn red within a minute.

To summarize your exact question, there is no reference to hair stimulating effects of ‘Oat-Beta Glucan’ following a hair transplant in what I was able to find. When I was in Vietnam, many locals believed that putting cow dung on the hair stimulated hair growth. It is was also used to treat fresh war wounds when modern medicine was not available for those wounded in the war. Both ‘Oat-Beta Glucan’ and cow dung have about the same value for hair growth as much as I can tell.

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Minoxidil After Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am one month after having a hair transplant. I have been using minoxidil 5% as recommended by my doctor since the surgery. My head itches and is pealing. Can this be caused by the Minoxidil?

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Minoxidil can be an irritant and has been known to produce these side effects. I would suggest that you stop it and see if it goes away. If it is caused by the Minoxidil, it should go away in a week or two and the time off of it should not have any negative effect. I recommend that my patients who are already using Minoxidil wait for at least one to two weeks after a hair transplant, before they resume its use.

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Hair Loss InformationPropecia, Avodart and Body Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Do DHT blockers reduce body hair?

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It has been reported that both Dutasteride (Avodart) and Finasteride (Propecia) can reduce chest hair. One doctor did report that he counted body hairs and found the count dropped by half on one patient he followed. The patient, of interest, did not notice the reduction.

Based upon this, one might expect that it will also reduce nose hair and ear hair, or at least the build up of these unwanted hairs. If I knew for certain that there was a solution that was as simple as a pill, I might offer it to all of my patients and I would even take it myself. The story, however, is still out.

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Hair Loss InformationArtificial Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I understand that there is something out there called artificial hair. Where can I get it and how does it work?

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Artificial hair is a product sold in Asia and limited countries in the western world. It has been banned by most countries because it must be surgically implanted with a special sewing needle. This would be a procedure that would need FDA approval and it has not been approved as safe in the United States. Many patients’ bodies will actually reject the artifical hair as it would any foreign body once it is implanted into the scalp. I have seen some patients with wonderful results. It gives ‘instant hair’ and as a result it is a big selling point in countries where it is allowed, BUT I have also seen patients that have developed massive scalp infections from these ‘artificial hairs’. There is a trade off and safety is sacrificed in exchange for short term benefits. Biofibre is one of the sites for artificial hair. Reading it might give you more information, but I would strongly caution your pursuit of this as a solution for your hair loss.

Artificial hair does not need to be included in any hair cut and you can not grow your hair out with them as you could with hair transplants. Hair transplants allow you to grow your own, natural hair for as long as you live.

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Hair and Low Self Esteem – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi, this might be an unusual question but how much and in what way can the low self esteem/ balding thing affect how a man interacts with women??

I am wondering becuase I recently dated a bald guy and I think he had a few hangups about it and I really think that it affected the way he percieved himself, and me , and the potential relationship. I only went out with him about 8 times. On our first date, he asked me if I was only going out with him because my car was towed, and this was a serious question ( he never thought that I thought he was attractive). Then when I would flip my hair around my fingers he would tell me to stop playing with my hair, and implied that I was being vain. But I have long hair that I like to twist and play with, and I kept doing it, not thinking it was an ACTUAL problem. Until he really got kind of upset, I mean he didnt yell but he got really weird and short with me and told me that It was a sign of nervousness and low selfesteem to play with ones hair….WHAT?!?!?!

Then one night I was a little late getting ready for a date with him and he asked what the hold up was, and I told him I wasnt finished with my hair, it takes an awful long time to dry it, style it, etc. So he made fun of me for it, and told me I would rather “fart around with my hair, than hang out with him”. Then he dropped the subject, for the moment..but brought it up again at dinner…but in a really sarcastic and mean way…”so what else do you like to do, besides, fart around with your hair??” Then, I tried to explain to him that my hair, while lovely and all, is really a pain in the butt to take care of…and he got mad at me and said “ya, I wish I had hair”

Our relationship ended soon after that as he got more and more focused on the idea that I was a prissy girl who farted with her hair all day long, and really wasnt attracted to him. but I was really really attracted to him. Is it in my mind, or did he have something going on in his brain because he was bald. I thought he looked very confident and masculine, its not like he combed it over…he shaved his head for godsake!!!

Is this a common thing with bald men or is it just this guy???

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This is an important question. Low self esteem is an issue for men who are impacted by balding. Balding in men, and how to treat it, goes back thousands of years as evidenced by much of what we have learned from older civilizations. But in our modern world, not only are we studying how to solve the problem of balding, we are also considering men’s feelings about balding. Just like women who are proud of a good figure, a pretty face, or a nice head of hair, men spend time grooming themselves to look their best. It is hard to groom your hair if it is not there! I often refer to the lion’s mane as a symbol of virility, for without it the lion might be mistaken for a lioness. No man wants to look less virile than they feel.

Men do get impacted by their balding. When he loses his hair, a man who has relied on his physical appearance to project his personality and virility, may then become self conscious. This may change the way he interacts with his environment. I have seen this happen to men from all walks of life – famous men, billionaires, and geniuses are no different in this respect to the ordinary, average Joe.

I remember a very wealthy man who I did transplants on, who was a great speaker, CEO of a company, dynamic and very outgoing. Two years after he had his transplants, his wife came to me and told me that the man she married came back. His hair impacted his behavior in many subtle ways that she did not appreciate until he became the hairy man she knew 20 years earlier. I was very surprised to learn about it. The person he presented to the world was clearly different than the person she knew privately. They had a very successful marriage and I envied him in many ways, that being one of them.

I could go on and on with all sorts of stories, but bottom line, be kind, do not draw attention to your hair when you are with balding man, particularly if he is sensitive to it as you claimed in your question!

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Women and Proscar – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I can honestly say that my thinning began in high school, I have just been lucky enough to make it this far being creative although very limited in style choices to make my hair look full,however I’ve done my best to keep what I have as healthy and free of scalp debrie as possible, The rate seems to be excellerating and concerns me greatly, I work in the public and have for as long as I can remembeer, it’s how I earn a living and provide for my children, my doctor has recently put me on 5mg. of proscar and I’m about ready to start Minoxidl.

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It seems radical for you to be taking Proscar when the drug has not been proven safe for women, plus if you are taking 5 mg of Proscar daily, this is FIVE times the dose that I prescribe for male hair loss. There are many questions with regard to your safety and as a mother who has the responsibility for your children, your future health is critical. Taking this drug may not be good for your health. There is no evidence that Proscar works on woman’s hair loss. Minoxidil, on the other hand, may work to help you out and is worth trying. I would suggest that you have a doctor who knows about hair loss in women to evaluate you. This is a specialty in itself.