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I See Cyclic Changes in My Hair and Do Not Understand Them

Doctor can this happen on propecia. Ive been on it for 2 and half years with good results, maintained and thickened a bit, but my hair is weird. the first year on propecia it looked like it was getting worse, then into the second it started getting better over all. then again half way through the secong it looked bad again, and then a few months later it thickened again. I take pics, and that’s how I can tell. also there is a single hair that I excluded from the other hairs to follow and look at to see how it progresses, and to give me an overall picture on how the other hairs might be responding and growing. the last month or so that specific hair thinned and looked like it was gone, and then a few days a go I see It growing and thickening again. I know this is a weird email lol, but from you experiences does hair go through diff stages?

to be exact I started propecia in june 2011. from june 2011 to june 2012, it looked like I lost ground a bit, so I still stuck it with propecia. then around January 2013 my hair started looking good, and was thicker and the pics I took started to show a difference from the baseline. around april of 2013 my hair looked thin again and looked like I was reverting back to baseline. around august till about now my hair has looked its best. I started noticing new hairs sprout from the hairline that were not there before, and the looked so much thicker, and way different from baseline. its basically at its best. my question is why does it go through these stages? bad, good, bad, good, etc? is that normal?

Our hair will cycle and grow in different stages, so some hairs fall out while other grow from a stem cell that regenerates the hair follicle. You may be noticing some changes, but you cannot really say with scientific objective certainty what is really happening with just subjective observations or pictures. For example, dry frizzy hair in dry fall weather can make your hair seem voluminous, where oily damp hair in the humid summer days can make your hair seem flat and thin. Even different shampoos or hair products can affect how your hair may look and feel. For a more accurate analysis, we try to quantify it with measurements such as miniaturization study and hair bulk measurements and compare values on a yearly basis.

Finally, you need to understand that being on Propecia does not mean your hair loss will stop. Based on your genetic predisposition you will continue to lose your hair to the predestined hair loss pattern. Taking the medication (Propecia) means it will slow the process of hair loss down to each individual’s response to the drug. There may be some variations where you may notice less hair loss and more hair loss over the many months to years. We generally lose about 100 hairs a day (on the average), but this number is also highly variable with time for the individual. So I think what you are experiencing is likely normal.


2013-12-08 13:00:00I See Cyclic Changes in My Hair and Do Not Understand Them

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I Scrubbed Off Part of My Mustache!

I seemed to have damaged a small area of my mustache, and I’ve waited 6 months and the hair hasn’t grown back.

I was using 1 of those luffa (loufa) facial scrub pads, and went across my mustache, when I looked at the pad, I noticed complete hairs on the scrub pad, and the bottom tips of them were wait. And now there is a clear small bald spot in my mustache to the point that, I’ve decided to shave my mustache completely off. It just looks ridiculous with that patch missing.

My question is, is the area forever damaged, and what can be done to regrow the hair. My wife misses my mustache as much as I do.

If your mustache does not come back in another 3 months, the only way you can get it back is to transplant it. Hair transplantation works well in facial beard defects. At that point, you can make a trip to my LA office (you indicated you weren’t too far away) for a free consult. I’d give it some more time though to regrow on its own.

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I Scratched Away Some Grafts During My Hair Transplant Procedure

I just did a small fue procedure into my scar, I asked to be sedated but during the procedure I scratched away some of my grafts unconsciously. The operating team choose to put some of the grafts back in the scar, can you please tell me something about the grafts survival chances?

For starters, I do not know what, where, and how your surgery was performed. Generally, an FUE procedure may have lower yield and is HIGHLY variable with different medical groups and doctors; the procedure is almost never the same from one doctor to another. Moreover, hair transplantation to a scar may not have a high growth yield when compared to hair transplanted to normal skin.

Graft survival depends on how long it was out of your body with the real issue of graft drying. Grafts that are left in the open hair for 20 seconds will generally die and that is why we are compulsive in keeping the grafts moist as we move them. As you can start to see there are numerous variables at work here and it is not a question I can answer, but most of the time if the grafts come out, they dry and die. Your surgeon is the best person to address your concern (as it always should be).


2008-12-04 08:29:17I Scratched Away Some Grafts During My Hair Transplant Procedure

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I saw someone with hairs pointing in the wrong direction after FUE

Hair direction after any hair transplant (FUE or FUT) is controlled by the surgeon. Sometimes the surgeon doesn’t put the graft in the correct position and when that happens the hair grows as he planted it (wrongly if he put them in that way). I see this more commonly that one would think because not all doctors who do hair transplants really understand this very simple process.


2020-07-21 08:32:08I saw someone with hairs pointing in the wrong direction after FUE

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I Saw My Hairline Recede After Less Than 2 Weeks on Prednisone!

This past February I was prescribed a two week cycle of Prednisone to address a headache that would not go away. Though it was successful in treating the headache, I noticed my hair line receding at my temples after about a week and a half. I was finished with the Predisone just a few days later, but my hair has not come back after 5 months. I believe it may have even receded further.

I do not appear to have any hair loss on my crown, nor have I noticed any shedding on my pillow or in the shower. I have relatively fine hair, cut short at that, so it’s possible any shedding may go unnoticed. Should I wait to see if my hairline naturally restores itself, or should I try a Minoxidil product? Is it worth it to speak to a hair transplant doctor, or is that getting ahead of myself?

Corticosteroids (like prednisone) can accelerate hair loss in some, but I can’t say for sure if that is what you’re experiencing. You should get your mapped out for miniaturization (or learn how to map it yourself). You will probably find out that you have genetic balding and might want to see a doctor for a possible finasteride prescription. Minoxidil likely won’t regrow any hair in the hairline, and I don’t know enough about your hair loss pattern, age, or history to know if a hair transplant is in the cards for you at the present.

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I Saw Hair Loss After Dieting, Then the Hair Regrew a Different Color and Character!

Hi,

About a year and a half ago I went on a diet and lost over 100 lbs during the course of a year. After about 6 months my hair started to thin out all over my head. I got nervous and started taking a multi-vitamin and a vitamin for healthy hair. Most of the hair I lost gradually returned but it was much darker and thicker. My natural color is light brown/blonde. The hair that grew back had a straw like texture. It was black and wiry.

I visited my family doc and a derm and both said the color change and thickening was odd. They did a full battery of blood work but it showed nothing. Now after about six to eight months of having alien hair the dark, thick, black hairs are shedding like crazy. 90% are gone at this point. What is left is the hair that is my natural color and texture. It is much thinner than usual because of the shed the past few months. I can see some light colored peach fuzz sprouting up where the dark hair fell out but that just started in the last two weeks. Luckily, I had super healthy, thick hair before this so if I style it correctly I still have coverage.

When it turned black friends asked if I colored my hair. Now that it is going back, I’m getting the same question. Docs suggested hormones. I did have a stressful year and a half. They said I could use rogaine or propecia. I didnt want to start either of those because from what I read they need to be continued for life. Very nervous about propecia especially if my hormones were out of whack naturally and have recently returned to normal on their own. I doubt that would help make things better. No doctor would say for sure it is MBP, not even a local hair transplant doc I went to a consult with. He said give it 6 months and come back. He never saw hair get thicker and black before and couldnt explain it.

Everything I’ve read about MBP talks about receding and gradual thinning. My hair went from perfect with no signs of loss or family history on either side to thin to thicker and black back and now to normal color but thin in just over a year and a half. I do not have any bald spots just my normal hairline of the past but a general lack of density because of what I lost. I’m frustrated and out of options as far as I know. I’m hoping you could offer some insight. I just want to know what I’m dealing with so I can decide on a course of action. Thanks in advance for your help.

Hair color change and texture change are not likely related to dieting, but perhaps your hair loss was “triggered” by the extreme dieting (a common condition). I can’t explain the reason for the wiry, black hairs that you’re describing. It is a little odd, and I’m sorry to say that I don’t have any further insight.

Diffuse hair loss and patterned hair loss are generally two different things. For example, if your hair loss is deemed to be telogen effluvium, then your hair will likely grow back in a year. If you have another exam (find another doctor that can give you answers after an in-person examination) and can get the MPB diagnosis, then medication like Rogaine or Propecia would be helpful. If you don’t have genetic male pattern baldness, Propecia isn’t going to help you.

You need to figure out what is going on before you can figure out how to treat it.

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I Saw Great Results From Propecia In the First Month, Then Stopped Taking It

hello, sorry for disturbing you. i have used propecia for hair thinning and hair loss. i have seen great results just in a month. hair loss totally stopped from the first week and hair became very thick just with in 30 days of use. but i stopped using the medicine. after some days again my hair started shedding and thinning.

after five months again i started taking the medicine. i have completed one month on the medicine but still my hair sheds a lot and hair appears very thin. it is not working as it worked before. what might be the problem? is my body showing tolerance towards the medicine? should i continue or discontinue the medicine? please tell me…..

I have a hard time believing the Propecia caused your hair to become very thick in just a month. Maybe it was a placebo effect. Propecia usually takes about 6+ months to start working to that degree. It works on the new hair that is growing out of the skin, which grows at about 1/2 inch per month. Regardless, why did you stop after a month and then decide 5 months later to restart? The medication has to be continued daily for it to be effective, but I can’t tell you whether you should take a prescription medication (I am not your prescribing doctor).

Please follow up with your doctor who prescribed you the medication and discuss these issues to determine your next course of action. You need a good solid diagnosis of your hair loss and measurement of a baseline (miniaturization study, photographs, bulk measurement, etc).


2012-06-07 09:57:20I Saw Great Results From Propecia In the First Month, Then Stopped Taking It

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I Saw Great Results from Finasteride For 2 Years, Then Suddenly My Hair Loss Increased

Hello Dr. Rassman,

I am a 24 year old male who has been taking 1.25 mg generic finasteride for the past 2 years. My results have been pretty excellent, as I can see the outline of my juvenile hairline at this point, just not nearly as full as it was in my teens.

Over the past month the amount of hair loss I experience on a daily basis seems to have increased; instead of seeing 3 or 4 hairs on my hands during a shower, I see maybe 20 or so, and the area around my hairline feels somewhat sparser than what it was a number of months back. Could it be possible to see such good results from Propecia in under 2 years, only to loose those benefits in a number of months?

The only major changes in my life over the past few months have been the taking on of a full-time job with my full-time school schedule, and the addition of weight training. Though I don’t identify any of these as major sources of stress. I also take 2 showers a day, and have been finding my scalp to feel irritated once in a while, accompanied by a fair amount of dandruff.

Would any of these seem to be potential culprits, or is it simply a matter of my genetics making their presence known? Thanks for the excellent site, and keep up the fine work!

Think about a tug of war — on one end is the pull from your genetics on hair loss, from the other end the pull from finasteride. Sometimes it is a draw, sometimes the finasteride wins temporarily, and sometimes the genetics prevail. There’s no exact time table that all patients will see results from finasteride, but some patients can see results for over a decade.

In your case, it’s possible that finasteride simply isn’t keeping the hair loss at bay as well as it once did… or maybe you’re experiencing something completely unrelated. There’s no way for me to know just based on an email, so I would suggest you see a good doctor for the answer to your problem. A doctor should be able to provide you some metrics via measuring your hair bulk, which will tell you if your hairline is indeed thinning compared to the rest of your scalp.


2013-03-15 16:18:09I Saw Great Results from Finasteride For 2 Years, Then Suddenly My Hair Loss Increased

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I saw a guy with a great hair transplant and he asked: “Why doesn’t everyone get a hair transplant?”

Before one gets a hair transplant you have to:

1-be balding

2- be over the age of 26 so that your hair loss pattern is defined

3- be prepared financially for more hair loss and more hair transplants

4- failed on conservative treatments like minoxidil and/or finasteride

5- My saying is: A good decision today is a good decision tomorrow’ that tells you that you should think more than once about doing hair transplants and make sure this is the right solution for you.

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I Remember an Advertisement for Artificial Hair Implants

Years back I could swear, unless I’m imagining this, that I saw an ad in a magazine about hair replacement that consisted of attaching artificial hair into the scalp. This was not a “piece” either. It was actually inserting hairs directly into the scalp. The reason I think I could be imagining this is because it was so long ago and I have never heard anything about it since. The thing is…I really do remember reading it. Have you ever heard of this? If yes, can you tell me (and your readers) what you know about it? Does it work? Do you do it? Please share whatever you know.

Thank you very much for your time.

There are many problems associated with inserting artificial hair into the scalp, including:

  1. Infection
  2. Horrible scarring
  3. Scalp irritation
  4. Accelerated hair loss
  5. Infection, infection, infection!!!

As such, this type of procedure has been banned in the United States, yet this has been done for many years in the past, particularly in some Asian countries. For more info, check out the post I wrote about this a few years back — Artificial Hair.