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If I’m Completely Bald, Do I Still Have Follicles?

Im completely bald! I have heard that Curis can stimulate the transition of hair follicles from the resting to the growth stage of the hair cycle.
(line picked up from a proper source). Does this mean it can help grow hair on my bald scalp too?

My question may be silly, but if im completely bald….do i have follicles on my head?

I’ve written briefly about Curis previously.

There are many steps that initiate hair growth in a hair cycle. I have heard that some people believe that there are 200 separate steps. If any one step is impacted by some disease or genetic balding process, the hair may not grow. This suggests that the elements of the hair are present even in the very bald person and there is much research going on to identify each step in the hair growing process and the critical proteins or genes that are needed to fix the process when it goes wrong.

Simply put, the answer to your question is a probable yes. How to get the hair to grow is another process completely. The good news is that there are many people and research groups working on the problem, but at this time there is no answer to each and every defect that has been identified, even in the experimental mouse trials that are being most used.

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If I’m a Norwood 1 in My Late 20s, How Likely Is That to Be My Final Pattern?

Hello,

I am curious about something. I have read several of your blog entries where you write something like “if at this age somebody doesnt look like pattern X, fully advancing to pattern Y seems unlikely”. I would consider myself looking like Norwood 1, perhaps a bit from 2. I have to completely pull back my hair to notice a tiny hint of a corner recession, and I have had that since I was 17 (I am 29 now). Men from the mother’s side all have full hair, men from the father’s side tend to start balding. However, my father started to bald at something like 23, and never had hair as strong as mine. On top of that, I can still see a few (rather thick) hairs left from what used to be my juvenile hairline (which was really low).

Now, I know a definitive needs to be done with scalp mapping and bulk measurement, but statistically, with the hair status I have, how likely is it that my final pattern will be norwood 3 or higher?

At the age of 29, I can not tell you what is going to happen to you over the next 10 years. It’s possible the tiny bit of corner recession you see is actually just a matured hairline. Without photos, I have no way to know what you’re seeing. I don’t have a statistic to give you, but it is possible to remain a Norwood class 1 for years.

The best way to estimate what will happen to you is to look at your family pattern. If neither side has balding and you are presently a Norwood 1, then it would be likely that you will remain without any significant loss for years. But since your father’s side has some balding, you very well could have the genes. That said, I wouldn’t worry about unless you start to see some thinning.


2013-03-08 15:14:49If I’m a Norwood 1 in My Late 20s, How Likely Is That to Be My Final Pattern?

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If I’m 30 Years Old with No Hair Loss, Could I Still Be Bald in 10 Years?

Hey Doc,

Just a quick question (trying to understand more about MPB). Would it be possible for a 30 year old with a juvenile hairline to be a norwood 7 by age 40? Just wondering.

Thanks

Norwood 7I don’t recall ever seeing a patient that had a juvenile hairline at 30 years old go to the baldest Norwood class 7 within a decade.

So to answer your question — it’s very doubtful!

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If I’ll Have Propecia Side Effects, When Will I See Them?

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I’m a 30-year-old male who recently started taking Propecia. My question is, if there are any side effects, how long until the side effects would show up? I haven’t noticed anything, but believe your answer would be a good piece of information to have, regardless.

Thanks!

If a man on Propeica is going to get a decreased sex drive (one in a hundred) they should see that side effect in the first couple of weeks. If you have had no sexual side effects, welcome to the majority of men who have taken the drug daily for years.


2006-10-06 07:27:21If I’ll Have Propecia Side Effects, When Will I See Them?

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If I Won’t Take Propecia or Rogaine, What Else is There for Me?

I am in my early twenties and am in Type II of my hair loss. I started losing here about 2-3 years ago and in the past year it is becoming quite noticeable, i am losing hair at a faster rate then ever and am concerned that I will end up like my father (type 6). I have been staying away from Propecia and Rogaine due to their irreversible side effects concerning sexual dysfunction. Is there no viable alternative other than hair transplant for me?

Nope.

Side effects are not proven irreversible from Rogaine and Propecia, but if you don’t want to try either of the two FDA approved hair loss medications, that is your choice. Unfortunately, hair transplantation is the only permanent solution at this point if you do not want to manage your balding problem with medication.


2011-07-06 06:43:57If I Won’t Take Propecia or Rogaine, What Else is There for Me?

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If I Touch a Flattening Iron to My Scalp, Will I Damage Follicles?

If a straightening iron touch your scalp, can it damage the follicles? Will the hair in the area that was touched by the straightening iron stop growing?

If it’s a quick touch, you might create some temporary damage… but if you left the iron to burn your scalp (I don’t know why you would), it will probably kill the hair touched by it.

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If I Take Finasteride, Can It Effect My Child’s Growth?

Dear Doctor

First of I would like to congratulate you on this wicked resourse, I have a buring question wondering you can shed some light on. One of the common side effect of taking Finastride is that it directly effects the sperm making it watery etc. We planning for a baby and I am wondering taking Finasteride will directly effect the child, growth etc? I have not yet seen my GP but everytime I put my hand through my hair I get 2-3 hair that come out, front and crown. but still got a thick head of hair.

Thank doc hope to hear from you soon.

If you are worried about the quality of your semen, then get it check out by your doctor. Finasteride does change the quality of the semen in some men (about 20%), but it has not been reported that it will reduce your chance of getting your lady pregnant or effect the child’s growth. It is normal to lose 100 hairs/day.


2009-02-12 14:27:15If I Take Finasteride, Can It Effect My Child’s Growth?

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If I Switch from Propecia to Avodart…

Hi. I have been using propecia for 8 or 9 years with great success but in the last few months I’ve really noticed loss. This happened a few years ago and the hair seemed to come back after a while . I have read a little on cyclical shedding while on propecia and rogaine. Do you think it happens? I have also been under a ton of stress too. I am considering trying avodart now after reading some people are having success with it after propecia. How does one go about switching meds? I’m worried if I stop propecia and start avodart I might shed more. Also I had no adverse side effects with propecia, am I at greater risk with avodart?

Thanks

ps I love this site, it’s too funny… you have a great sense of humor.. well done

Robo-RassmanYou need to speak to your doctor before starting or stopping any medication. So first have this discussion with the doctor that has been prescribing you Propecia. I hate the idea that people are taking my words and using that as if is is a substitution for their physician, so please consider this a disclaimer (there’s one on every page anyway). That’s a general statement and not directed squarely at you. Remember — I’m not a substitute for your doctor, unless I am indeed your doctor, in which case cyber-Rassman is likely as good as in-person-Rassman.

Moving along — Avodart (dutasteride) is not yet FDA approved for treating hair loss, so doctors that prescribe it for that use are doing so off-label. We’re all waiting with baited breath for clinical trial results, but regardless of whether the benefits are better than those of Propecia (finasteride), I’m concerned over the safety of dutasteride since the serum half-life is measured in weeks, as opposed to hours with finasteride. In other words, dutasteride stays in your system for a long time. They are different drugs, of course, so if you had no side effects with Propecia it doesn’t automatically rule you out for side effects with Avodart. There is just no magic drug that will solve your problem. I suspect Propecia is still working for you and your doctor may increase the dosage of finasteride to handle the problem, as it may show more improvement. It is just that you can’t cheat nature and the gradual process of balding may not be stopped forever.

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If I Stop Propecia After 2 Months, Will There Be Sudden Negative Effects?

I have been taking propecia for 2 months. I haven’t had any side effects yet but reading about gynecomatia and the sexual side effects have me worried. Also I read on your site that proscar in 5mg has had some connection to breast cancer. So I was wondering if I stopped using it will I lose any hair? I am not sure if it has slowed down my hair loss but will there be any sudden effects on my hair?

If you have been taking Propecia for 2 months without side effects, I suspect you probably will not have the side effect you’ve read about. 2 months is a relatively a short span of time and I suspect you will not have much negative effects on hair. For example, you will not lose hair suddenly if you stop the medication because the medication has not been taken long enough to work. It goes without saying, please speak to your doctor before starting or stopping any medications and express your concerns to him/her (I am not your doctor).

Propecia will not cause breast cancer, but in a very small number of men, it may cause breast enlargement (less than 1:500).


2007-07-10 15:19:31If I Stop Propecia After 2 Months, Will There Be Sudden Negative Effects?

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If I Still Have My Hair By Age 33, Will It Be Unlikely to Lose It?

Is it true that by the age of around 33, if no genetic balding pattern has shown much of a sign of appearing it is unlikely that it will appear in a way that will result in major hairloss?

Although this is largely true, it is not a hard fast rule 100% of the time. Sean Connery had a perfect hairline (see update below) in the first of the James Bond movies (when he was in his early 30’s), yet today, his hair loss is quite advanced. His genes kicked in late enough for him to have developed that frame to his face which women find sexy. All of the James Bonds have that perfect, youthful hairline that set many standards for the sexy male image in Hollywood for years.

You need to find out what you have in terms of miniaturization. It would be unlikely that you would bald significantly if: (1) there was no miniaturization of the hair in the front, top or crown at 33, and (2) no one in your family started to bald later than 33. You can check your scalp for miniaturization by mapping it out. If none exists, the probability is that you may never bald, but nothing is ever certain, even for James Bond.

Update: A reader pointed out something I was oblivious to. Sean Connery was bald in his 20s.
From NNDB: “With an especially bad case of male pattern baldness, Connery began losing his hair at the age of 21. Without his toupee, he has been thoroughly bald for decades, except for a small ring of now-gray and thin hair above his ears”

Oops.


2006-04-26 12:48:01If I Still Have My Hair By Age 33, Will It Be Unlikely to Lose It?