Balding Blog

As a writer focusing on men’s health issues I would be interested in your comments on two areas of my research.

1. I have read a number of reports that suggest that hirsute men (those with a lot of body hair on chest, shoulders etc) are more prone to lose hair from their heads.
2. I have also seen reports that the American Red Indian does not suffer from hair loss.

I do not believe these issues have been dealt with by you before.

I too have seen claims that men with heavy populations of body hair have more balding than their hairless or less hairy counterparts. I can say that in my medical practice, the balding men routinely say: “I wish you can take it from my chest or back”. But then again, I do not have the type of interchange with non-balding men to probe the same issue. There is generally a belief that DHT (the evil hormone that ‘causes’ hair loss), also brings on the body hair, the nose hair and the ear hair along with the balding on those genetically inclined balding men. I believe that in the discovery of Finasteride, the people who ingested large amounts of this drug through their dietary intake of a food stock from the rain forest, did not bald, nor do the men born with a genetic defect where they can not make the enzyme that produces DHT. I recently probed a large number of doctors asking if anyone has found evidence of a reduction of body hair, nose or ear hair with Propecia. Everyone liked the question and told me that although they believed it might just do that, there is no evidence that Propecia or Proscar actually blocks or reverses these less than ideal hair locations.

With regard to the American Red Indian, I am fully aware of this observation. His ancestors came from the Alaskan bridge and they had the balding trait, so it is strange that this particular ‘race’ (the great grandchildren of the migrating Alaskan ancestors) is unique amongst all humans as they do not have balding. Of interest, I am not aware that these people are missing any enzymes for making DHT. Could it be that a primitive people actually wiped out balding genes in their brothers in a relatively short time frame of less than a couple of thousand years?

I have seen licks which point the hair to the left or the right, but I have never seen this ‘swirl’ pattern in the middle of a hairline so I am sharing it with my readers

Hi, I began fin 2 months ago and my hair is significantly worse. It’s really thinner and my hairline is more receded than before. Also, I’ve a lot more sex drive like never before. I dont know if it’s a shed or if fin is having the opposite effect on my body.

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I’m 22 and I’ve begun the early stages of balding, no doubt about it. Nobody in my known family has begun balding as young as I have.

In the past 5 years, I have been through severe emotional trauma; watching my dad wither away and die from a rare form of cancer, dealing with my mom’s substance abuse problems and a suicide attempt from her, and struggling to live on my own. I have had severe depression and suicidal thoughts recurring.

My question to you is: is there any way this stress could have brought about the expression of my balding pattern younger than I would have if I had a healthier mental health record, or would bad luck in genetics be more likely to blame? Thank you in advance.

Stress related balding is different than genetic balding. Stress related balding is likely reversible. For genetic balding, there is no cure… but there are adjuncts such as medicine and surgery.

There is one catch: stress can precipitate genetic balding earlier on. BUT you have to have the genetic trait to bring this about.

Finally, while genetic balding is considered hereditary, it does not have to mean your immediate or distant family must have balding. In simpler words, the gene may have been ‘silent’ until it came to you.

So I’ve been taking Finasteride for about 2.5 years with no problems at all and with very good results. However, I recently did a hormone check and my Prolactin was very high (almost double the normal range). Now while I feel fine and don’t have any of the symptoms of high prolactin would you recommend I stopped the fin? Is there a chance this could be causing my very high prolactin levels? Any help would be really appreciated as I am a bit worried about what the future may hold.

There is information that is difficult to integrate with a high prolactin level in men. We don’t know, for example, that this was caused by finasteride. You should see your doctor for clarification of the issues which gets confusing as you can see below.

This is what I found in the internet: Men — When a high blood prolactin concentration interferes with the function of the testicles, the production of testosterone (the main male sex hormone), and sperm production. … High levels of prolactin in the blood also cause difficulty in getting an erection, as well as breast tenderness and enlargement.

One common cause of hyperprolactinemia is a growth or tumor on the pituitary gland called a prolactinoma. The tumor produces high levels of prolactin. … Large tumors can also cause headaches, vision problems, or both. Prolactinomas are more common in women than in men and rarely occur in children

In Men — When a high blood prolactin concentration interferes with the function of the testicles, the production of testosterone (the main male sex hormone), and sperm production. Low testosterone causes decreased energy, sex drive, muscle mass and strength, and blood count (anemia).

That is why you need to see your doctor.