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hi doc,

just a question not relating to hairloss if you dont mind. I suffer from sensitive skin, spots and ingrown hairs when shaving. i have used oils, creams, lotions and different style razors to no use. I’m just wondering is there any type of facial depilatory cream for mens facial hair out there?

Your sensitive skin may react the same to these depilatory creams, but you can keep experimenting.

I don’t know much about hair removal creams, but a quick Google search shows that Nair makes a cream for use on the face that you could try, or I just found a new facial hair remover for sensitive skin that might be better for you. I hope that helps.

If you start thinning in an area, does that mean that eventually that area will go completely bald or do some people thin to a certain percentage of orginial density and then it stops thinning and becomes stable? Is there any way of finding out how bald a particular area will go, even with a miniturisation test?

Yes, some people will thin to a percentage of their original density and then their hair loss stabilizes. There is no way to predict absolutely how much thinning will occur, but miniaturization mapping over time will give you some kind of idea… and taking medications like Propecia will slow the process down (for men).

Hello Doctor

Any relation between cell phone usage and hairloss ?

Best Regards

Nope, unless you go way over your allotted minutes and rip your hair out when you see your monthly bill.

This patient has 1235 grafts placed into the corners of her hairline. The After photo was taken when she was 2 weeks post surgery. She showed many people and most people did not believe she had a transplant. None of the hairs have fallen out yet, although I would expect that the shedding of the transplanted hair would occur at between 2-3 weeks.

One of the most frequent requests we get are about how you can expect to look after a hair transplant, and many people imagine a deformed, scabby area. But our post surgical patients usually have no scabbing if they wash their hair diligently as we’ve defined it.

I’m sorry about the slightly different angles on the before and after photos. I messed up when taking the after photo so this is the best I’ve got until I see this patient again… but this still gives a good idea of what one can expect just a couple weeks after surgery. Click the photos below to enlarge.

Before on the left; After 1235 grafts on the right:

Dear Dr, Rassman,

First of all i’d just like to say what a source of support your blog has given me over the past year, when i first noticed my hair loss. Being resident in the UK, we really are in terms of awareness, knowledge and treatment of hair loss years behind america! To give an example, my GP had never even heard of propecia! So thank you for creating such an informative forum that really helps people such as myself, educate themselves about the multitude of issues and treatments regarding MPB.

I staerted noticing about a year ago that my hairline was begining to receed above the temples, i was 23 at the time. I went to see a trichologist within a month of this and basically, was given so called “snake oils” and high frequency treatment which i payed a lot of money for. When i look back on this, i cannot believe how naive i was to trust that this approach would work. Basically i was scammed! and i believe wasted precious time, which could have been spent pursuing one of the 2 medically proven treatments.

I’d say in the last year the hairline has gone back about half an inch on the left side, but hardly moved on the right side, but the hair there seems less thick. To be sure i’m doing everything i can to provent further loss- i started propecia 2 months ago, and apply revivogen (natural DHT blocker, medically unproven, but i’m a medical student and have read the trials revivogen performed on its efficacy cf. propecia and they looked promising) once a day to the hairline along with minoxidil 5 per cent 3 hours later daily.

I know that the sooner you catch the hairline recession the more chance you have at getting results- as theres a smaller window of time to restore the hair follicles in the frontal region, as i understand it. What i would really appreciate is your advice on the steps i’ve taken (after noticing minor recession in the past year) have i done the right thing? and in your experience, would you say that if you catch frontal recession right at the beginning, can it be controlled?

I would really appreciate your expert opinion on this, as we don’t really have many specialists in this field in the UK and in general GPs are clueless about hairloss! Having your assessment would really mean a lot to me and take away some of the anguish i have at the moment as all the doctors i’ve consulted up until now have been completely clueless.

thank you in advance

You’re still in your early 20s with early hair loss — so yes, it does sound like you’re doing the right thing by starting Propecia. Having only taken Propecia for two months, you aren’t likely to see any benefits just yet, but stick with it. The Revivogen/minoxidil combo isn’t something I’ve heard tried before, but best of luck with that. It sounds like you’re taking proper steps and even being a little creative with your approach. As long as you’ve got the finances to handle so many treatments at once, then go for it.

I’m glad you’ve found this site helpful in the time you’ve spent here, and I hope you continue to enjoy it. Thanks for your kind words.

Dear Dr. Rassman, my question concerns minoxidil. I have been using propecia for 3 months to treat the slow progression of a receeding hairline. I realize that it is too early to tell if it has been effective so only time will tell. Obviously, i want to maximize my chances of maintaining my hairline at its present state and want to feel like i am doing everything possible to ensure this. I have mild minaturization of hairs along the frontal and temporal hairline and am wondering if i should additionally use minoxidil to try to restore these hairs to a cosmetically viable state.

As i understand it, propecia is a DHT inhibitor and will act to maintain the hair you have and not regrow it. Minoxidil on the other hand, is a growth stimulant? is this correct? What i really want to know is, in your expert opinion and experience, would combining a topical application of minoxidil to the hairline be worth it? or will propecia restore the minaturized hairs- if indeed i am a responder?

thank you so much

Many doctors recommend the use of both Propecia and minoxidil at the same time. I tend not to do this, because it would addict the miniaturized hairs to minoxidil, possibly unnecessarily. Plus, if you do see hair regrowth while using both medications, you won’t truly know which one is showing the benefits and will essentially be stuck using both forever, for fear of stopping one and losing benefits. It is possible that both will give you benefits, though.

Minoxidil will not impact normal hair and as such will not stimulate it in any way. Combining the two could be worth it, but it’s ultimately up to you.

Snippet from the article:

Middle-aged women who swallow multivitamin supplements are not doing their health any favours – and are just creating expensive urine, according to the world’s largest study into the subject.

Researchers who examined the pill-popping habits of nearly 162,000 American women aged 50 to 79 found that although they swallowed dietary supplements by the bucketload, there was no sign that they reduced common cancers, heart disease or deaths.

Read the full article — Multivitamin supplements a ‘waste of time’

I know it’s yet another non-hair related news clip, but this is an important study, because we are wasting our money in the hope that we will all live longer and healthier. A long and healthier life really reflects more on how we eat, what we do (sedentary vs active lifestyle), and something about our genetics (family lifelines). What you can do is exercise, eat better (less grease, fats, fried foods), and take in a balanced diet with a good assortment of vegetables.

Ester-C has greatly reduced the amount of hair that I naturally shed. I have tried this three times and have experienced the same results. There are several people that have witnessed my results. Shedding has been reduced by approximately 80%. I also take Avodart, but it is the Ester-C that has had this effect. I haven’t noticed any increase in actual hair growth from Ester-C. I just seems to make the hair stay in the follicle better. To sum it up, by taking Ester-C my hair would survive a pull test far better. This is factual information and could easily be proven.

Thanks

I am unfamiliar with the connection of vitamin C to hair loss prevention or increasing the strength of your hair while pulling on it. Maybe the use of Avodart (dutasteride) is somehow potentiated by it, but that is like playing roulette and any guess is as good as another one.

Dear Dr.

i want to know, if i apply minoxidil 5% solution 4 times per day, will it = applying a minoxidil 10% solution twice daily? which will have better result? i ask this question, as i found that the higher concentration, like 10% or 12% or 15% is much more expensive than the 5% one!

I don’t know the answer to your question, as I’ve not experimented with 10% minoxidil on my patients. Remember, minoxidil is a hypotensive drug and more frequent use could lead to more low blood pressure side effects.

My son is worried that after he will have craniotomy, (and it is to remove the lesion) and having a big scar, it will be very noticable and hair will not grow at the scar. Can it be avaided? What can he do before? Any recommendation? Also, can you make hair grow on scar tissue? What is the success rate?

Talk with his surgeon and let him know of your concern. Worst case scenario and there is a linear area that won’t grow hair after all is said and done, I have fixed many craniotomy scars with hair transplantation.