Posts

Posted on

Are there immoral doctors who do terrible hair transplant work out there? What to do about it!

Dr. Rassman, I implore you to avoid making slanderous comments about another physician’s character online. Go ahead and criticize the result – but calling a physician ‘immoral’ is unprofessional, at best.

I have been outspoken for many years, at meetings and in written comments, even in published materials. Many years ago, I was heavily criticized when I told hundreds of doctor at a meeting about a surgery that was commonly done that I though was inappropriate and deforming. The result of those comments resulted in almost all of the doctors in litigious countries, to stop doing this particular surgery. Donald Trump was a victim of that surgery and from what I heard through medical channels, he was very, very angry with his results and lives with those results today (as everyone can see).

Some doctors must be held accountable and when a person comes to see me and they tell me their ‘horror story’ I do my best to make sure others are aware of their story so that the few rotten applies in our profession will learn that they can be held accountable. I called this doctor immoral because he lied to the patient, promised something he didn’t deliver (a partly failed transplant) and significantly overcharged him. Like any other trade or profession, not everyone behaves morally. When they cause harm, there is always the court system to protect the innocent. I have occasionally volunteered as an expert witness in such cases. As you should note, I did not name the doctor involved.

Posted on

Are There Foods to Delay Hair Loss?

Hello Doctors, great blog here! The myths/ facts regarding hair fall and its treatments keep increasing. Are there any foods or protein out there that help growth, or nourish roots, or delay hair fall? Or is it simple genetics and hair will recede/ fall whatever one may do?!!

Thanks for the information.

Regards

There may be foods that add to the genetic elements that produce hair loss, but these foods have never been identified scientifically. Many people make claims both good and bad (just as you pointed out), but you should not blindly trust what you hear.


2013-04-19 11:16:21Are There Foods to Delay Hair Loss?

Posted on

Are There Excellent Scalp Micropigmentation Companies That Do Believable, Subtle Work?

I think most micropigmentation looks silly and fake. I don’t understand why anyone would make that shit as dark as they do. Even the stuff that looks reasonable i hate. WHat happens if someone feels your head, expecting peach fuzz, but OH WAIT that’s your goshdang scalp. It’s a joke. I think the absolute best micropigmentation work I have seen is the incomplete phase, where the hairline is light, the color is light. It looks like hair COULD grow there, but you’ve shaved your head completely. Kratos from the new God Of War has a head that looks bald, but if you look very very closely, you can see that he shaves.

I also would NOT want a perfect hairline, that makes it look even more cartoonish and atrocious . Anyways, any pigment people that do this kind of stuff?

I teach Scalp Micropigmentation at international conferences for doctors every year, and have written many journal articles on it. Here is a video from one of my patients: https://baldingblog.com/newhiar-medical-patients-speaks-about-scalp-micropigmentation/ Additionally, here is one of the articles I wrote, which you should read because it will educate you about this process: https://newhair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Journal-of-clinical-and-aesthetic-surgery-Article.pdf


2019-11-22 15:47:09Are There Excellent Scalp Micropigmentation Companies That Do Believable, Subtle Work?

Posted on

Are the TRX2 Clinical Study Results for Real?

Hey Doc,

What do you make of the clinical study from TRX2? Is this real? Can a company fake a clinical trial?

Link: TRX2 trial

Thanks

Anything can be faked, but I can’t say whether this is accurate or a proof of concept. Does anyone know if it was published in a peer reviewed medical journal?

Their reports of sales are impressive, but like the Helsinki Formula of the 1980s (which was among the first of the hair growth promoters), a successful marketing effort only proves that the company can sell the product… not that it works as advertised.

Posted on

Are Sideburn Transplants Done?

I have lived my whole life without sideburns as I have never been able to grow them. Are sideburn transplants an option? Are they at all common where a doctor would be comfortable doing one? I would also be interested to know if you’ve done any and if there were any problems.

Thanks.

Also, any photos you have of clients before and after a sideburn transplant would be appreciated.

Yes, sideburn transplants are commonly done by experienced hair transplant surgeons. We actually do this procedure on more women than men, because many women who have facelifts lose their sideburns and often have scars that need to be hidden with the transplants.

You can see some excellent photos in our hair restoration gallery.

(It should go without saying, but the photo at right of Elvis Presley is meant to show sideburns, not to suggest that he had transplants.)

Posted on

Are Propecia Side Effects Just In My Head?

Is it possible that the side effects from Propecia are just in my head? I was prescribed Propecia in December of 07′ and within two weeks of taking it, I began to feel a loss of libido. I decided to push on and take the medication for another month and see if the side effects. Within a month, I no longer had an erection in the morning (which was something I would experience every day prior to taking the medication) and intercourse became somewhat boring. All the while, the only information I could find was negative information about men complaining about their sexual side effects.

I stopped taking the medication, and within a week, I began to regain my libido. I did not notice any increased hair loss from stopping the medication either.

Do you think its possible that these sexual side effects were caused by my self-conscious or does that sound like the typical event of the sexual side effect one receives from Propecia.

Thanks!

The power of suggestion and the placebo effect are well documented phenomenon. If you think it is going to happen or are worried it may happen, it just might. Propecia does have a side effect of decreasing libido by 1 to 2% and increasing libido by as high as 10%. If you need to focus on something, worry about a high libido and see what happens. I can’t say for sure whether you experienced side effects form Propecia, but if you only stopped the medical for a week you will likely not see any increased hair loss just yet. With some significant time being off the medication every day, you’ll surely see the benefits disappear.

Posted on

Are Plucked Hairs Treated with ACell Expected to Grow After 3 Months?

Hi Dr Rassman, I wondered how your trials using ACell and autocloning are? How many patients have you enrolled? How large are the session sizes? Are you transplanting 100-200 hairs or more? Also do these plucked hairs treated with ACell behave as normal transplanted hairs i.e. they shed and begin growing after 3 months? Thanks.

ANSWER:
The ACell study that we conducted at NHI some years ago consisted of about 30 volunteers. These patients received approximately 100 plucked hairs. Since the study started we never saw any growth so we stopped doing this experimental treatment.

Posted on

Are Pimples on Scalp After Transplant a Good Sign?

3.5 Weeks after a Hair Transplant, Is it normal to see pimples in the head so early on? I have maybe 3 or 4, one at the hairline and the rest in between my grafted area… I hear pimples on the head is a good sign that hair is trying to break through the surface, at almost 1 month post-op, is it possible to start hair regrowth? I do have fairly thick hair and my hair does grow fast elsewhere, just thinned in the front. I would be a 3 on the scale… Thanks!

Pimples are never a good sign. They do happen for a number of reasons after a hair transplant:

  1. Small cysts form from sebum build-up in the sebaceous gland that remains after the hair has shed.
  2. Small bits of remaining hair shaft are below the skin and are shed. Hair is a foreign body and as such is rejected through small cysts that come to the surface. These remnants of hair follicles or sebaceous glands may get infected and require antibiotics. Generally, they can be successfully treated with warm soaks. Be sure that these do not turn into folliculitis by visiting your doctor and establishing a good dialogue with him/her.
  3. In less than a good surgeon’s hands, cysts may reflect ‘piggybacking’ of one graft placed on top of another.


2006-10-27 07:19:39Are Pimples on Scalp After Transplant a Good Sign?

Posted on

Are People Abusing Finasteride?

I am a pharmacist and I think someone is “playing” me to get some finasteride. He got #60 5mg tabs yesterday (a Saturday) and told me this morning that a hotel maid threw them away when she cleaned his room. I do not know the patient; he has traveled here for work. He is young and told me that he cuts the 5mg in quarters for hair loss. I told him I would contact his MD Monday morning. This bugged me all day and I can’t find much about finasteride abuse but none of it is sitting right with me.

I saw this page on your site (The Impact of Higher Doses of Propecia). Are people abusing finasteride? I don’t really want to provide this guy with more finasteride, even if I get a new prescription from his physician. I’d appreciate your help.

You may be right, and the lost prescription may be a ‘tool’ for supplying his friends with the drug. Or it could just be that a hotel maid threw out his pills. This is a judgment call for you as a pharmacist and for his doctor who would know him better.

Finasteride is not an addictive painkiller or something like that which tends to be abused.

Posted on

Are Neck Pain, Hearing Loss, and Itchy Scalp Related to Hair Loss?

(female) I was in a car accident a year ago and have been suffering neck pain since. I also have noticed in about the last 5 months severe itchy scalp and some hair thining. I noticed the loss by my forehead at first but within the last month noticed that I can put my hair in a small clamp. I never have been able to do that before. Also I have noticed some hearing loss, could this all be related? Thank you

Neck pain is not related to hair loss. Itchy scalp is not related to hair loss. Hearing loss is not related to hair loss. Itchy scalp with neck pain and hearing loss in any combination are not related to hair loss.

You may just have a lot of separate medical issues going on that needs to be followed by a doctor. Hair loss can be a result of stress (physical or mental), which you may have.


2006-10-24 13:16:53Are Neck Pain, Hearing Loss, and Itchy Scalp Related to Hair Loss?