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Snippet from the article:

Children with alopecia areata, a condition that causes extensive, sometimes complete hair loss, grew hair after being injected with stem cells drawn from their own scalp in a small study.

Most of the five girls and three boys who had widespread baldness showed regrowth of as much as half of their hair in a preliminary study from Marwa Fawzi, a dermatologist at the University of Cairo Faculty of Medicine. Before the experimental treatment, some of the children had splotches of hair and baldness; others were almost totally bald.

Read the full article — Kids Shunned for Hair Loss Get Help From Their Own Stem Cells

Keep in mind that this is a treatment for alopecia areata, not male pattern baldness. That being said, even though it was an early study with only 8 kids, it’s something to research further and I’m hopeful something will come of it.

i have had significant hair loss at my crown and have heard that the bp med aldactone has helped. i do have high bp and was planning on starting on meds for the bp. what are your thoughts on this. also what about avodart? i am 43 and have had a hysterectomy so have no chance of pregnancy.

This is a situation where you are asking for medical advice, but I’m sorry, this isn’t something I can answer. You can take anything, but taking medications recommended by your doctor will be part of your medical plan for health.

i have evidence that there are methods to reverse hair loss without paying money for chemicals like minoxidil or for surgery. however, because these methods are completely natural and can’t really be bought or sold, there is resistance to publish this information or no incentive to pay for clinical tests to produce results that they work.

examples include:
1) topical application of garlic, onion and olive oil to the scalp to nurish and clean the hair root;
2) using store bought saw palmetto to block dth;
3) stimulating hair by tugging on it gently, etc.

over a duration of 2 months results can be seen because dormant follicles begin sprouting hair again.

How did you unlock these secrets that medical professionals have been hiding for years?! Let’s dissect this…

1. Garlic can create a unique pheromone, so tell us in another email if it helps with the ladies. It sounds like you’re making a pizza.
2. Saw palmetto has been shown to slow hair loss in some men, but it is not consistent. Dosages are not controlled by the FDA (it is an herbal), so you never really know what you purchased.
3. Pulling on the hair in the same place causes hair loss (traction alopecia) in some people depending how often and how hard you pull in it. Any advice on how to pull on your hair? I hope nobody is takes that seriously, because tugging on your hair won’t reverse hair loss.

Congratulations, I have given your message to thousands of readers. Hope it helps someone.

hi Dr Rassman,
there is a new hair loss product in the uk called hairsense there web site is www.hairsense.co.uk it is a natural topical please can you tell me anything about it?

Everything I know about this product comes from their website, and even their website is extremely vague about what is in this spray. It does say it contains an “anti hair loss formula enriched with caffeine,” which leads me to believe it doesn’t actually have a proven ingredient like minoxidil in it. I haven’t a clue what is in this tonic.

My dictum still hold true… BUYER BEWARE. Just keep in mind nothing (even proven medications such as Propecia or Rogaine) completely stops hair loss. You can try this Hairsense stuff, of course, but I wouldn’t expect much more than an empty space in your wallet where your money used to be.

Hi Doc,

Okay, I’ve read the post where you indicate if Propecia works for you then it won’t just stop working over time. Did I read that correctly? I ask because Propecia worked GREAT for me for about 10 years (started at age 40), then it stopped working in a pretty quick way. Quickly thinning starting from the back, now all over top. I now have approx 60% hair loss on top of the head with a now receeding hair line to boot.

So my question is why has it stopped working and should I continue to use it based on what I stated above?

Thanks

I don’t think you read it correctly. I don’t remember ever saying that Propecia will stop hair loss completely… because it won’t. Propecia continues to work as long as you take it, but you will also continue to lose hair (though hopefully at a slower rate). See this page for a clearer explanation.

There is no definitive cure to stopping hair loss. Propecia and Rogaine both slow it down and hair transplants replace some of the lost hairs… but the balding still continues. You may want to talk to your prescribing doctor about increasing the dosage at this point.

I am 41 and have gone through many series of ivf treatments. Now that I have not been on these injectables for a year, I have noticed this past year a small nickel sized bald spots on my scalp. Starting out as a dime now up to a nickel I am getting nervous. I have 3 of them now. Could IVF have had anything to do with this? I have been to my dr last year and this year for blood tests, but everything came back great. I have “invested” in shampoo’s, vitamins, follicle treatments and nothing has worked. Even my hair hasn’t “grown” in a year. I actually stopped highlighting it for 6 months and nothing. My next step is woman’s rogaine, but the box states not for patchy hair loss. Can I use it? What can I do next?

Thanks for your help

While I highly doubt in vitro fertilization (IVF) causes hair loss, if what you described was generalized, I would expect that the massive hormone manipulations that occur with IVF could cause diffuse hair loss. The descriptive nature of “nickle sized bald spots” is suggestive of conditions like alopecia areata. I would recommend seeing your dermatologist for a definitive diagnosis. If it is alopecia areata there is no definitive medical treatment, but the diagnosis methods are well established. Based upon the cause of the bald spot, the regrowth may be anticipated.

Hi there: I was researching Scap Med for my husband and myself and came across your site. I found a few answers where someone had good results and you offered to put before and after pictures on your site. I was wondering did that ever happen and if so, where I can find these pictures? I would also be interested in others who had good results or if you have any other information about Scalp Med and if it works or not thanks!

ScalpMed’s active ingredient is minoxidil (which is available as generic formula or more commonly as Rogaine). It includes extra vitamins and such, but the hair growing component is the same as you can find in any pharmacy but for much less. I don’t recall being sent any before/after photos to post on the site, though.

Hi doctor:
I was searching online and I just saw that and I think might be interesting for you to see the future plan of action from Merck.

Merck Applies for Topical “Propecia” Patent

Interesting reading and thanks for sending! Keep in mind that a patent application doesn’t necessarily mean this is something that Merck will take to market, nor does it mean that a topical works as well as the oral pill. It’s not a clinical trial, but it mentions a study without providing much more information.

This week I met with two patients who reported having large transplant sessions, both with extremely disappointing tales I want to share.

Patient 1: The first patient reported two surgical sessions totaling 4800 grafts both done in Los Angeles. He had a very low hair density and a moderately tight scalp based upon what I measured, so I doubted that he had that many grafts transplanted. He also felt that the doctor did not give him the number of grafts that he paid for. Is it a case of a doctor ripping off a patient? Could be, but unfortunately I can’t say with 100% certainty. I’m fairly sure, based upon my counting of the grafts…

Patient 2: The second patient was just 1 week out of surgery and so the grafts were all clearly evident. I counted them and estimated that there were less than 1000 present, yet the doctor said there were 3000 grafts (about 2000 that were purchased and another 1000 that were above the number sold on the morning of the surgery). In this case, I’m much more certain about the patient being ripped off, because I could count the results relatively soon after the surgery.

–

My complaint:
I am seeing more and more cases where the hair transplant doctors are not delivering upon the contracted graft numbers. These doctors are an embarrassment to the medical profession. What they are doing is not only immoral, but illegal (fraud is a criminal problem), and if the patients take the appropriate action, the state medical board should be notified and the doctors prosecuted. Hopefully these doctors will lose their medical licenses if they are swindling patients. It seems that many patients are shopping for the best price (which is reasonable), but that assumes that what they are buying is really what the doctor can deliver. When fraud comes into play, the patient becomes a victim. With these scams, prices may be quoted as low as $1-2/graft, but when the accounting is in, the actual prices may be many times based upon what the patient actually received. Keep that in mind when you’re looking at the doctor with the bargain bin pricing. I still don’t understand why anyone would have cosmetic surgery based solely upon the cheapest price. Would you travel to Tijuana for dental work because it’s cheaper?

Avoid the scam:
How do you tell if your doctor is giving you what you purchased? First, get to understand the scam. Second, learn about graft auditing and how it is done. Third, ask the doctor to allow you to have a friend or family member at the surgery to audit his graft counting process. This is an accounting issue and your observer needs to be educated on what to look for. For all of you wanting to understand the process better, come visit us on an Open House day when we allow visitors in the surgery theater. The auditing process we employ should be similar to the one that the doctor you may be considering. It is not unusual for some of our patients to bring in family members to observe the surgery. Although none have asked for auditing rights, we generally show off our auditing process while we educate the visitors.

Further reading:

• The Truth About Cheap Hair Transplants
• Are Doctors Promising More Grafts Than Can Possibly Be Delivered?
• How Do I Know I’m Getting the Amount of Grafts I Paid For?
• Ways to be Ripped-Off by Your Hair Transplant Surgeon

You have a terrific website. But how do you have the time to maintain the site and actually focus on performing procedures? Given your efforts to market your business, does that take away from your practice? How many procedures do you personally perform a week? And how many blog posts do you write?

While I have not been successful in cloning hair, I have successfully cloned myself. One of me does surgery everyday, the other writes blogs. I myself travel the world with my beautiful girlfriend(s) to really keep me busy and happy. And when my city needs me, I’m fighting crime as a superhero in Los Angeles.

In all seriousness, I spend hours each day writing the blog (at home, between surgeries, weekends). I write the vast majority of the blog answers, but I also have Drs. Pak and Farjo helping me…. and all of the posts have my editorial oversight before publishing. Any given week could see me doing a surgery or two per day.