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I Have a Small Bump On The Side of My Head — Infection from Hair Accidentally Being Pulled Out?

(female) I have been looking through your webpage and have a question for you, that I can not seem to get a good answer to. I do have a doc’s appt for later this week though.

On the right hand side of my head, kind of directly above the ear, i have noticed a bead like bump. Its firm…is a little sore, is form..and I have had it for a while. I keep thinking it may have been caused by a hair being pulled while I was styling my hair…but think that if it was an infection, would it not be majorly sore and all? I am completely freaked out…is there anything you could suggest until I see the doctor?

Based on what you’re telling me, it doesn’t sound serious. Cysts can be caused by hair getting pulled, and it sounds unlikely that if someone pulled your hair out that you would not know when it happened. Hair pulled out once will not cause a problem and it would regrow. See your family doctor and I am sure he/she will address it.

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I have a scar from my hair transplant (photo)

I have a scar from my hair transplant, why did it happen, did my doctor do something wrong and what can I do about it? (photo)

You had a strip surgery and clearly scarred worse than many people do. I had three surgeries in the same place and have no significant visible scar. It is not that I had a better surgeon, I just healed better than you did. I am sure your surgeon did the surgery right. The best way to deal with the scar is to have scalp micropigmentation which covers up the scar nicely. Your picture is on the left, a worst case scar is shown on the right before and after scalp micropigmentation (https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/). There is hope!


2020-07-13 08:17:32I have a scar from my hair transplant (photo)

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I Have a Low Donor Density — But I Have a Large Head

Doc,

You talk of “donor densities”, but how about of donor areas? When you saw me a month ago, you told me I have a below average donor density of 1.8 hairs/mm squared and a fine hair shaft and a loose scalp. However, I have a fairly large back of head that can easily fill my Norwood 3A pattern. Will my large head help out the fact that I have a low 1.8 density compared to my caucasian brethren? This is just a curious question since I am not yet a candidate for a hair transplant and have been on 1 mg finasteride since our visit.

Thank you in advance

This is always a demand and supply issue for donor hair. Large heads have more donor hair than smaller heads, but lower Norwood balding patterns (Class 3) means that if you control your hair loss with drugs like Propecia, then your lower than average density may never be an issue for your need for donor hair. Large heads have larger Class 3 patterned areas than smaller heads.

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I Have a Lot of Scabbing a Week After My FUE Procedure (with Photo)

Hi Doc,

I had a FUE done with 3000 grafts exactly 8 days ago (photo attached).

My concern is that there seems to have been a lot of scabbing or crusting (what is the difference between the two anyway?).

The scabbing/crusting started coming off in places near the restored hairline and it now looks like a river delta (i.e. lines where there is no hair/crusting/scabbing with pockets of crust/scab/hair).

Is this normal? Or is it due to trauma (e.g. scratching) or bad surgery? I know when I am awake, I do not touch the area (I have worn a bandana lightly from the day after the surgery, but only for a few days and first 2 nights). Sometimes at night, I inadvertently brush my hand against the recipient area and wake up.

My doctor advised me to start washing once a day from Day 2 onwards with a spray bottle with a mixture of baby shampoo and water (and rinsing with plain water from the spray bottle) which I have done.

Should I be trying to get rid of the scabs/crusts with light finger pressure when shampooing or should I wait for the 10th day before trying any of this? It is difficult to see the hair due to the black scabs/crusts, but the transplanted hair is there.

Thanks!

 

The crusting is very bad, which means that your management of your scabs was not good. We rarely, if ever, see this degree of crusting. How is the scabbing in the donor area at the back of your scalp?

Be very careful not to rush to take these crusts off. Use a shampoo and leave it on for 10 minutes and then gently, very gently rub in the shampoo. The crusts will slowly loosen and eventually they will come off. Give it another 10 days and hopefully the problem will be gone.

The scabbing/crusting (interchangeable words) is pretty intense, but hopefully there is no problem with the grafts because of it. Of course, follow up with your surgeon if you are concerned.

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I Have a Hard Time Rejecting the FDA Approval of the LaserComb

In the world of hair loss, sufferers quickly learn to veer on the side of caution when approaching new “remedies.” It is for this reason that I stand behind your skepticism of the Hairmax lasercomb, despite recent FDA approval. But something about this really bothers me. If we can’t even trust the FDA when they tell us that something grows hair, who can we trust? How can we pick and choose which of their approvals to accept? The lack of any real clinical data might make the comb especially fishy, but I have a hard time just rejecting the FDA stamp. They wouldn’t lie to us, would they?

Please see my previous posts on the subject —Why Are You Suspicious of the FDA and the LaserComb Now? and HairMax LaserComb Receives FDA Approval?.

Even though the stationary laser has some scientific documentation in the European literature, thie stationary lasers are far more intensive a treatment than a few strokes of a comb, which I can not believe will produce any long term effect such as is reported. It’s not that I don’t want it to work, I really would like to be wrong on my stance, but I don’t believe in ‘fairy tale’ miracles. The cost to the individual consumer is not great (between $500-700), but the doctors and the company that is promoting it stand to make a fortune. There are many such fortunes made in various hair solutions on the market that just don’t work, so this now joins the group of what may be another successful marketing product. Only time will tell if it works. I really can not endorse the hair comb at this time, but alas, it is a Buyer Beware issue. The good news is that the buyer will not risk much more than his dollars to find out the answer for him. I can see no down side, other than potential disappointment and loss of money if it doesn’t work as you’d hoped — but really, that goes with along with most things in life. Balding men seem to chase rainbows when there is a potential cure available. Many disappointed people may eventually come to see me because of such comments and with honesty as the best policy, maybe it will benefit the practice of honorable doctors in the hair restoration field who can really put their hair back. I hope that people who can benefit from drugs like finasteride (Propecia), don’t put off treating their hair loss while they wait for the comb to do its thing, the thing that may not happen.


2007-02-21 19:36:03I Have a Hard Time Rejecting the FDA Approval of the LaserComb

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I Have a Good Amount of Hair and Want SMP To Fill In Thin Areas

Regarding your new SMP procedure I am very interested. I have been thinking about it for years and actually still have a good amount of hair and have had a hair transplant, which was not a great experience. I feel like the SMP can fill in the areas that are thinner than other, also covering up the linear scars? what is your opinion on that? Also, since I live in NY, what is the likelihood that your friend Dr. Bernstein will be offering this service? Thanks for all your help and keep up the good work!

Scalp micro-pigmentation (SMP) has had great success in camouflaging scars on the scalp (see here).

At this time, we are the only physicians offering SMP in the United States. We have a travel reimbursement program for those who wish to fly out to Los Angeles for a day to have the treatment.

Dr. Bernstein is not presently offering this service.

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I Have a Full Head of Hair and I’m Constantly in Fear of Losing It

I have started worrying about losing my hair. Until recently I hadn’t worried about losing my hair since my temples receded slightly as a young man. I had no reason to believe I was losing my hair. Since I have started worrying (triggered off by the fact that I am about to turn 33 and feel that as a hairy bodied man, I must start losing my hair soon) I have started to spot signs of losing hair.

I have looked at the hairs from the top of my head and they seem to be finer than the hairs at the back of my head. However, I have no way of knowing whether this was always the case. The hair seems a little thinner in the temples and doesn’t seem as thick overall as it used to but I am aware that hair naturally thins over your life and this isn’t necessarily MPB.

Basically this has become a problem for me because I can’t stop worrying about it and constantly check my hair, look for information on the internet, and stress out. If you saw me you would think that I was worrying about nothing – I have a full head of hair at 33 and as such am unlikely to go completely bald, if at all. Also, balding in older men is often part of the aging process so I am effectively worrying about getting old. Am I just being neurotic?

If you’re not actually seeing any hair loss, but THINK your hair MIGHT be getting thinner up top, the only thing I’d recommend doing is getting your hair bulk analyzed with the HairCheck instrument. Beyond that, stressing out and worrying about maybe losing your hair might actually cause hair loss due to the stress. I hope I didn’t stress you out more by saying that!

There’s no point in being anxious about possibly losing your hair, especially since you’re in your 30s and aren’t seeing loss by now. Most men that are destined to lose hair due to their genetics will start to see the process starting in their 20s.

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I Have a Failed Hair Transplant, How Do I Find Someone Who Will Do It Right?

The most common cause of hair transplant failures in men are technical failures caused by the surgeon and his team unless there is an underlying skin disease present. As you know, the hair transplant process is a team effort requiring skills on many levels. Make sure that the next time try to find an experienced surgeon with an experienced team


2019-12-10 10:58:30I Have a Failed Hair Transplant, How Do I Find Someone Who Will Do It Right?

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I Have a Consult With NHI Next Month…

Hi there,

I have an appointment to come and see you guys in about a month or so (combining it with a California adventure) but I had a question that I wanted to send you in advance.

I started proscar 1mg/daily last September, but cut down the dose (and also took it irregularly) this summer. Over that time, I started to notice a lot of shedding – which I never observed before, even before the starting propecia.

I had cut down the dose at the beginning of the summer because I felt that I’d put some fat on my midsection and in my breasts – I’m in pretty good shape, so the change was noticeable – that I thought was due to the propecia. Since I didn’t know if it was even doing anything, I cut it out. And then brought it back! Since September, I’ve started again at 0.5 mg/day. But I’m still shedding.

What I’m wondering is if I should just stop taking the medication again so that I can establish a non-propicia’d baseline with you when I come for my consultation, which I neglected to do before starting the drug in the first place and which I regret. Or, should I stay on the 0.5 mg/day and then increase it to 1.0 after seeing you to see if there’s improvement?

Hope that’s not too confusing. I’m just trying to have something clear established so I can figure out what hair I’m losing and at what rate. I like the idea of having an empirical baseline. I guess I don’t mind the minor chubbification if I know that the propecia’s doing something. But I want to know that it’s doing something!

Just wondering if you had any thoughts. Anything you could offer would be appreciated. Thank you so much for this resource.

First and foremost, lets discuss the facts. Propecia is a brand name for finasteride in 1mg. Proscar is a brand name for finasteride in 5mg. For the treatment of androgenic alopecia (AGA) the recommended dose is finasteride 1mg (Propecia) taken orally once a day. Some take 1/4 pill of Proscar (finasteride 1.25mg) once a day. Ideally, you should cut it in 5 pieces, but that is difficult to do with a small pill. Taking more than 1mg of finasteride will not be of benefit with respect to your hair loss issues. More may just cause increased incidence of negative side effects. Taking less (finasteride 0.5mg for example) is about 70 to 80% as effective as the full 1mg dose.

In general, Propecia does not cause shedding. I realize other websites and forums state this (and we’ve published emails about this), but it is not something I usually see in my practice. If you are seeing shedding and you think it is from Propecia, then I will take your word. But you should also note these important facts:

  1. Propecia does NOT stop hair loss forever.
  2. It takes 6 to 12 months of taking Propecia before you see any effect with consistent use.
  3. Your genetic predisposition will always win over Propecia in the long term (which could be years).
  4. When people start taking a medication to do something, such as taking Propecia to stop losing hair, you will generally be more astute to any changes in your hair (that you would have never noticed).

That all being said, I can’t tell you what you should or shouldn’t do with your prescription medication dosage, as I didn’t prescribe it to you and I’m not your doctor. Talk to your prescribing physician to help figure out what you should do next and then when you come in for your visit to my office, we can go from there.

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I have a Class 6 pattern of balding and I’m 26.

Should I get FUE or FUT?

That depends upon your donor densities and your donor hair mass. The higher these two are, the easier is the FUE choice. If your donor hair mass is low and the donor density is under average, the FUT may be a superior procedure. The problem is that today’s doctors are not trained in FUT, so they always recommend FUE. Find the right doctor to help you with that decision. I am always there to help, and I do both types of procedures.