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Why Isn’t Minoxidil an Oral Medication?

Why isn’t minoxidil taken orally? I’ve always been under the impression that drugs taken orally (like Propecia) get to the root of the problem as opposed to ones topically. For instance, if caffeine theoretically helped hair loss, I would think consuming caffeine would work better than putting caffeine on one’s head.

Minoxidil was originally used as an oral anti-hypertensive medication for the treatment of high blood pressure. It was unpredictable in its use so it was abandoned, but people taking it (women) would notice face and body hair appearing from the oral pills. That is why it is not used orally today, as it has a tendency to drop blood pressure. That even occurs when you apply it topically, as some of the medication is absorbed into the body after a skin application.

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Why Isn’t Finasteride Considered a “Temporary Cure”?

Just wanted to know, if finasteride supposedly regrows or maintains hair for men. Why isn’t it considered a temporary cure for hairloss?

Is this just a question about the nomenclature? A “cure” is defined as a complete or permanent solution, which means it wouldn’t be temporary.

If you take a medication to control your blood pressure, that wouldn’t be called a “temporary cure” for high blood pressure — and the same goes for a hair loss treatment like Propecia (finasteride 1mg). It is not a cure, but it does help reverse the thinning (initially), slow down the hair loss, or maintain what you have.

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Why isn’t body hair FUE transplants to crown more common?

The crown isn’t a styling area, mostly just need the look of fullness over there. It’s common just to get that area micropigmentation. So why not just use some body hair to fill it in? I know there’s a reason why, otherwise it would be done more. But what is it?

Body hair donor sites have problems with them as follows: (1) they grow to a limited length, (2) they only grow about 6-8 months and then fall out, (3) their texture (bulk) is less than most scalp hair so that it takes many more to be equal to a scalp donor hair and (4) half of all of the transplanted hairs are in telogen (sleeping) half of the time which means that for every 10 hairs that are transplanted, only 5 are growing at any one time. In conclusion, it is not practical and very expensive. As for hair elsewhere in the body, beard as a donor source is good but not for the frontal area and only when you run out of good scalp donor hair. Neck hair is not permanent hair so it should never be used as a donor source.


2020-06-01 16:06:52Why isn’t body hair FUE transplants to crown more common?

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Why is there no FDA approval for Dutasteride?

The company that submits the application has to be motivated to prove safety and effectiveness on a large, statistical sample of men with hair loss. The manufacturer decided not to do this.


2019-03-27 09:45:14Why is there no FDA approval for Dutasteride?

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Why Is There a Minimum Fee for Surgery if I Just Want Touch-Ups?

Hello,

I have a unique situation, that I can’t quite seem to find an answer for. I have had one major hair transplant, and also a few small touch up procedures all from the same doctor.

I have had to go back a few times due to my right hairline being stubborn for good growth. As of right now, I have just a very small area that I am concerned with, that exposes my scalp somewhat.

My issue is that during my touch up procedures with my doctor, I no longer feel that he has the attention to detail for me to trust going back to him to get this very small area. I’m wanting to find a doctor that would be willing to help me out with a very small procedure without having me pay the minimum fee which could be thousands of dollars.

I understand the reasoning behind a minimum fee, but was wondering if there are any doctors out there that would be willing to squeeze me into their schedule, and not necessarily feel like they need to block out an appointment spot out for me.

Any information or direction that you might have would be great

Thanks

When there are small touch-ups to a procedure we did originally, we often reduce the minimum fee requirement. In your case, we would be doing work created by another doctor, so the reduced fees generally do not apply. That being said, sometimes we will reduce the fee if the work is small, even on someone like you (patient of another doctor).

But… what is a “touch-up,” exactly? I don’t really know anything about your case or what you consider to be small refinements. Questions that need to be considered include: How much of our time will it take? How many staff members do I have to commit to your case? How much time in the operating room does the procedure need? These are important to know and the fees should be made on an individual case-by-case basis once we can establish just what needs to be done.

Touch-ups can be done with follicular unit extraction (FUE), but it still requires anesthesia. All of this is costly to us. We often subsidize our former patients for small touch-ups, as they are generally rare requirements put on us.

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Why Is There a Dormant Phase After a Hair Transplant?

Hi Dr Rassman

I was just wondering if you could explain why grafts enter a dormant phase immediately after being transplanted, and only start recovering after 8-10 months?

I’d also be interested to know why they initially grow back much finer, and then thicken up later. Essentially the follicle itself hasn’t changed, so why does the hair diameter it produces fluctuate in this way?

Many thanks

I do not know why there is a dormant phase after a hair transplant. To put it simply, when you have hair transplant surgery, your follicle was removed from your body, handled, cut, manipulated, put in solutions, manipulated some more, and put back into another new location on your body. If I was that follicle and I survived all of that, I’d be traumatized and go dormant for awhile. In all seriousness though, I do not have a professorial explanation.

The simple fact is that most follicles go dormant (telogen) and start to regrow in a period of 3 to 12 months. Most patients see results starting on the 6th month to 12th month. Some lucky minority of patients (< 5%) see results within a month! This is what we have observed over the last 20 years in thousands of patients.
[tags]dormant phase, hair transplant, hairloss, hair loss, telogen, hair cycle[/tags]

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Why is the temple corner of many transplant not look right?

I’ve noticed a lot of hair transplants even relatively good/expensive ones the thing they seem to not ever really get completely “right” is the upper sides/temple corner area but like on the side still where hair goes vertical up side of head. I think it has to do with the angle at which the hairs are inserted which is it because naturally those hairs are at such a steep angle that they can’t replicate the same? Always seem like hairs there in transplants end up sticking out weird and randomly slightly. Was curious if there are any doctors or techniques that remedy this? Thanks!

The corner hairline has a transitional hair direction as it goes from the frontal part where the hairs run parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground, to the side hairline where the hairs point laterally (look at your hairline and you will see this transitional zone that is about 1 cm wide where the hair changes direction. The surgeon must replicate this transition zone for correctly placing the hairline. See a good example here: https://baldingblog.com/repair-of-hairline-transplants-photos/


2020-12-04 11:34:44Why is the temple corner of many transplant not look right?

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Why Is Testosterone Highest in the Morning?

Is it better to take finasteride Propecia in the morning? I have read mixed answers, but what time approximately in the morning should I take the pill? Is testosterone levels highest in the morning because we sleep? In case I take the pill in the morning and go to sleep afterwards will it be less effective or will testosterone increase even more?

I hope you can help, I’m quite worried..

It probably does not matter when you take the Propecia (finasteride 1mg) each day, but I can rationalize and then suggest a morning dose will hit the testosterone and DHT when blood levels are highest. I don’t know why we produce more testosterone in the morning.


2011-03-08 13:01:00Why Is Testosterone Highest in the Morning?

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Why Is Propylene Glycol in Minoxidil?

what is the purpose of propylene glycol in minoxidil? why not just alcohol and minox only? thanks.

Propylene glycol reportedly increases the skin penetration of the minoxidil. Perhaps a chemist might be able to shed more light.


2012-07-12 10:01:24Why Is Propylene Glycol in Minoxidil?

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Why Is My FUE Hair Transplant Result Greasy?

Had a FUE about 3 years ago and was very happy with the results. Now, it seems like I have half the hair after the FUE and my hair gets very greasy – like one day after shampooing, it feels oily.

Could the transplant have transplanted extra sweat glands in addition to the hair which is causing this? Or is it because there is less hair now which causes more grease to be absorbed by the remaining fewer hairs?

Also, is it normal to have hair loss after FUE – I am thinking of going again, but if I have to do this every 3 years, not sure if its worth it. I am a norwood 6 so I’m assuming that whatever hair has shed in the last 3 years since the transplant is the actual hair (not the transplanted hair).

grease

Oily or “greasy” scalp / hair is not necessarily related to a hair transplant surgery. You may want to see a dermatologist or follow up with your hair transplant surgeon for an exam.

Transplanted hairs may come with oil glands but it does not mean you would have “extra” glands. You can try using different shampoos.

Finally, it is not normal to lose transplanted hairs after surgery. As long as you have good donor hair (and not losing donor hair) your transplanted hairs will behave the same.


2015-09-13 13:49:38Why Is My FUE Hair Transplant Result Greasy?