Balding Blog

This treatment is being promoted in Germany and in Europe called AC-Therapy. It is supposed to decrease the muscle tension of the scalp which in turn decreases circulation to the scalp. Supposedly, with less circulation there is less oxygen and nutrition and this is therefore claimed as the cause for patterned hair loss in men.

We do know that the blood flow to the scalp is decreased with patterned balding, but this is because as the hair is lost or miniaturized, it needs less blood and therefore the body reduces the circulation in response to having less hair. We also know that when a person gets a hair transplant, the blood flow increases as the demand for blood and oxygen increases to supply these new hairs with that it needs. There is no evidence that Botox will do anything other than paralyze the scalp and forehead muscles.

Hi Dr. Rassman and Dr. Pak,

I am 29 years old male, taking Propecia for about 4 months now, and have 10% miniaturization, hair loss is not really noticeable. Also I am using a shampoo called Nioxin. But I see that a lot of hairs fall out when I am taking showers, combing my hair and just generally during the day. The hairs that fall out are healthy, thick hairs, but there are a lot of them, 200, maybe more! My questions are:

1. Why is this happening? And is there any way to stop shredding so much hair?
2. Another question I have is that, in recent years, my hair density seems to be thinner at the top of my head compared to the sides and back, even though the hair strands themselves are of same thickness. Is there a method to increase the density besides just taking Propecia?

Thanks very much!

You need to see your hair stylist for compounds that thicken the hair. Many of these compounds add water to thicken the hair as it is hydrophilic (water loving) and substances that cling to the hair follicle will increase the value of what you have. Usually, miniaturization of less than 10% is not really the classic miniaturization that we see in balding conditions. These miniaturized hairs may actually be the normal vellus hairs that are part of the follicular units in everyone. You should not be losing 200 hairs per day. If that keeps up you need to be evaluated by a hair expert as there may be a reason for that degree of hair loss. You say that the hairs that you are losing are healthy, thick hairs — well, healthy, thick hairs that fall out will not fall out in that quantity. There is a hair pull test which can be performed by an expert that will define if you are really losing hair at the rate you think.

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I appreciate your responding to a few of my questions in the past about LLLT. It gave me a bit of an education at the very least.

I do have a question regarding Telogen Effluvium. I have been dealing with TE for approx. 1 1/2 yrs. now (Chronic TE) due to high levels of stress during that time period. I feel comfortable in saying that the shedding seems to be slowing down or may have actually resumed to it’s normal daily shed (approx. 100 hairs/day) due to the decrease in the level of stress in my life over these past few months.

I understand that a healthy diet for someone with TE is important (lots of protein and iron), but are there certain foods that I would want to refrain from? I’ve heard breads, pasta and potatoes quickly convert to sugar which could have a negative effect on a persons hormones while trying to grow hair. Is there any truth to this?

Also, what would you recommend as a daily diet to help with hair growth?

Thank you in advance.

There are no proven connections between different good healthy diets with regard to chronic TE. The one on one connections you discussed are subjective assessments of various people and I would have no way to verify these observations.

I could’t help but think about what we do in our practice vs what Stossel talked about in this article. “the hospital’s customer service stinks. Doctors keep me waiting for hours, and no one bothers to call or email to say, “I’m running late.” Few doctors give out their email address. Patients can’t communicate using modern technology”.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/04/20/stossel-have-lung-cancer-medical-care-ive-received-is-excellent-but-customer-service-stinks.html

At the New Hair Institute, every patient:

1. Has the doctor’s cell phone number.
2. Does not wait more than a few minutes before being seen.
3. Service reviews are fantastic nearly 100% of the time.
4. The service is personalized because we do not run a hair transplant ‘mill’ and care about our patients as human beings with a problem.
5. Sterile condition and safety are top priority (not an infection in over a decade).

 

hi there – i’m only 19 yrs olds and in the last year i have started balding all over the top of the head, espeically at the back in quite a serious way. i have thought that it was because i used to bleach my hair alot as a child but recently my scalp has started to itch alot. i am using pills, expensive “thickening” shampoo and other products on a daily basis to try and stop this balding but none of it is working. i was wondering if you think if its from the bleaching or is it possible that i have a scalpal infection causing the balding and itching. if so what can i do.

thank you for you time

First, you may want to stop much of what you are doing, as you may be causing your own problems. Then, if it continues, seek out a good dermatologist. If you are experiencing genetic hair loss, none of what you are doing will address the cause of the balding or thinning. People who treat themselves are gambling without the education or skills needed to address the problem.