Balding Blog

First, thank you Doctor for your years of good advice offered through your site and elsewhere. I am light skinned, 65 and have been on Finesteride for 10 years, had a FUE procedure with an outstanding surgeon in Thailand 9 years ago, and found that I was among the 5% who never shed (perhaps due to blood pressure on the high side?). The untransplanted region in the rear of the crown seems to have thinned over time, but not profoundly and I have considered the procedure a success, until now. Recently I believe that the right side of my frontal hairline may be undergoing some sort of change, where a patch of maybe 15mm by 10mm seems to have hair that is both thinning and maybe only 80mm long. The symmetrical area on the opposite side of the hairline is unchanged the hair long and as full as transplants typically are (i.e., not especially, but cosmetically impressive). Apart from any comments you might care to make concerning the possible cause, could there be reason to believe that this situation could recur even after an second FUE? Thanks so much.

You should send me some photos. I saw a man recently (https://baldingblog.com/2017/08/14/im-60-and-lost-my-forelock/) who developed an autoimmune disease of the scalp/hair. Photos will help me better understand your situation.

I am a 22-year-old male. I started Finasteride 4 months ago and recently noticed that most of my hair became wavy whereas they have always been straight. Is this normal with Finasteride?

I have seen a return to normal hair characteristics when Finasteride works on miniaturized hairs that are involved in the hair loss process. Did you have early hair loss there where Finasteride may have reversed it?

Benefits from Finasteride will max out at 2 years and then hold steady for the future.

It takes about a year to get any reasonable results from either minoxidil or finasteride. Stick to it if you go that way

This is the first time I ever heard of this complication from SMP. It was clearly done by someone that just didn’t understand the process. It is also clear from the size of the dots, that the operator went too deep which probably accounted for the necrosis complication

This is a patient with Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) which is the most common scarring alopecia among African American women

It is not unusual for the hairline to mature and lose the frontal 3/4 inch upward. I call this a maturing hairline but it is not always uniform and it can start in the center anytime between the ages of 18-29 years. This can also be a sign of genetic balding but your hairline looks flat and low. You should see a doctor to determine just where this is coming from. The doctor will perform both a HAIRCHECK test of your entire scalp and miniaturization studies of your frontal hairline.

My daughter is 38. Her hair began thinning when she was on Celexa. The doctor changed her to Lexapro, and now her hair is falling out by chunks. She is now almost bald in the frontal area of her head. She’s going off of the Lexapro in hopes of her hair growing back. I wanted to report the Forest Laboratories Lexapro to the FDA, but my daughter wants me to wait until she sees a difference in her hair loss or if it will grow back. She has spent a lot of money on hair regrowth products, doctor appointments, and even went to an endocrinologist. Nothing has helped. Please, everyone, get the word out. Report your hair loss issues to the FDA. This massive hair loss my daughter has sure not helped with depression/anxiety. I wish I could upload a photo.

Celexa and Lexapro can cause hair loss. Your daughter needs to have a sit-down with her doctor about the side effects she experienced.