About     Contact     Archives     Videos     Events     Hair Transplant

I’m a 23 year old female - I had rapid hair loss when I was 18 for a year. It stabilized until I was 21 (no further loss of volume). However ,for the last two years, I’ve been experience hair loss all over my scalp. I can see changes from month to month. When I look at hair fibers that fall out, they are not uniform in diameter.

I’ve searched all over the web for information on miniaturization and consulted several dermatologists who all give me different answers. Each hair fiber is growing thinner month by month. If i look at a 6 inch strand of hair, it is drastically thinner towards the root than it is midway down the shaft or towards the end. Is this the same thing as follicular miniaturiazation? I’m vegetarian and have a low ferritin level (9). My dermatologist believes it’s from iron deficiency but after 8 months on iron supplements, i’m still seeing drastic differences in the width of a hair fiber. I’m desperate for answers!

Thanks

What I can offer you here is pretty limited, because women’s hair loss is a complex issue. I believe that many doctors state a connection with decreased ferritin and hair loss, though how it occurs, I am not sure. A miniaturization study may have value.

You reported that in a single six inch hair strand, you noticed a decreased shaft thickness as you move down to the hair root. This would suggest (if it was true throughout your hair and scalp) that something happened at a point in time which can be calculated, as we know that hair grows at 1/2 inch per month. From there I would need a great deal more of information, something clearly not possible here via this blog and without an examination, medical history, etc.

Snippet from the non-hair-loss-related article:

A new study from American Cancer Society researchers finds it’s not just how much physical activity you get, but how much time you spend sitting that can affect your risk of death. Researchers say time spent sitting was independently associated with total mortality, regardless of physical activity level. They conclude that public health messages should promote both being physically active and reducing time spent sitting.

The study appears early online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Read the full story at ScienceDaily — More Time Spent Sitting Linked to Higher Risk of Death; Risk Found to Be Independent of Physical Activity Level

Initially I assumed it had more to do with obesity and lack of any activity, but the article shows that the “association remained virtually unchanged after adjusting for physical activity level“. The study included survey results from over 123k adults with no history of cancer, heart attack, stroke, or emphysema/other lung disease.

So now not only should you worry about how long you sit during the day… when you sleep, you run the risk of Freddy Krueger killing you in your dreams!

Dear doctor,

Please go through the clinical study URL given below. I want your comments on this:

Revivogen clinical trials

Regards

As the article says, the study was conducted on reconstructed tissue samples. In other words, the study was done in a petri dish (not on live humans), in order to “assess the effects of the test compound on the metabolism of testosterone in reconstructed human epidermis.” Nothing about growing hair, stopping hair loss, etc.

The study doesn’t show anything about actual hair loss treatment results on living humans, so if the Revivogen makers are using it as a sales point, I hope people actually take a moment to look at the study first and judge for themselves. I’d expect most consumers would want the treatment they purchased to actually have proof that it works as advertised on living people… not just in theory based on lab results. Also, the study was not peer-reviewed, which means it wasn’t checked for errors or reliability.

I’ve already made it clear about the hair loss treatments I’ll give a thumbs up to (FDA approved finasteride and minoxidil), but if you want to try unproven treatments then please, by all means, do so. Revivogen ingredients include saw palmetto and numerous vitamins in a topical treatment and they claim no side effects. While that could be true, if this was the magic bullet to hair loss treatment it would be universally recommended. Instead, the product is just another in a long line of “all natural” treatments that I wouldn’t expect to provide much help aside from lightening your wallet and dashing your hopes.

Hi,
I’m currently 35 years old & I know I shouldn’t worry about it but I think about my hair quite often. I am probably currently a NW2 & have a little thinning in my temples but what I just noticed recently after getting a haircut that the hair in my front & my back kind of make a split in the upper sides of my head. When I push my hair back in that area, I can see maybe thinner hair & some of my skin starting to show through. I haven’t really noticed it this much since I recently gotten a haircut. Do you think my haircut could be the cause of this, that maybe the barber cut a little more in that area in others?

Or if I’m on my way to progress to a NW7. I’m 35 & actually my uncle on my mom’s side but progressed to this when he was 26. Is there still a chance that I could be that at 35? Thank you so much & sorry about so many questions, just kind of confused.

If you’re maybe a Norwood Class 2 at 35 years old, you shouldn’t be so quick to make the assumption that you’ll see a progression of hair loss all the way to a Norwood 7 just because you see some thinning when you move your hair around. Is there a chance? Sure, anything is possible. I couldn’t make any determination about your case without an exam, though.

Fine hair will be see-through when it is cut short. You’re going to make yourself crazy by constantly checking for hair loss that might not be there, so see a good doctor who can do a miniaturization mapping of your scalp and hair to let you know if there is a problem. Maybe it is just as simple as a bad hair cut!

Hi Dr. Rassman et al.

I was very pleased to learn about the Alopecia genes discovery. In several of the press releases and analysis there was mention of drugs currently being tested that inhibit those same genes. I am wondering if you know how we can find out who is doing that testing and what stages they are at?

Here is the specific quote I am referring to: Christiano says, “There seems to be a shared mechanism among organs that express NKG2D danger signals as part of the initiating process. And since drugs are already in development that target these pathways — because they are being tested to treat rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and other diseases where the NKG2D receptor is involved — we may soon be able to test these drugs in clinical trials for alopecia areata.” (source)

+ + +

moreover: “drugs already in development could be used for hair loss.” (source)

Perhaps if you don’t know then you could post this for your readership — I would imagine that many, many people would be look into this for us!

Thanks again

I briefly commented on the alopecia areata gene discovery when it was announced early last month, and although it is an exciting find that will hopefully lead to some new treatments, I’m not involved with pharmaceutical companies and have no inside track on drug development.

There is no drug that I know of that targets a gene for hair loss. That doesn’t mean there isn’t some active research and development going on — I just don’t know of any. I invite anyone with info or links to new findings to post in the comments below!

As a rule, does miniaturization need to be present behind the frontal hair line to indicate genetic hair loss? What would you say to someone who presented you with an intact, albeit mature, hair line - with no thinning present behind but had noticeable vellus hairs along frontal edge particularly in the corners where the hair line had raised a little bit with age? These “straggler” vellus hairs look to be the remnants of a retreating hair line - from juvenile to mature - but its hard to tell and self-diagnosis is uncertain at best.

(33year old caucasian male, no significant family history of early hair loss)

On occasion, I have seen some men lose hair without going through miniaturization. This is more common in the process of developing a mature hairline, but anything is possible. At times, some vellus hairs remain in the frontal area where the juvenile hairline formerly was.

Hello doctors,

I’m a black male with very early stage thinning in a 3v pattern. I’ve been on finasteride for about two years, and am basically satisfied with the results.

I’ve talked to friends and family who might have similar patterns of thinning, and in discussing the options, several of them are skeptical about the effect transplants would have.

My question is this: what is the authoritative opinion on how well transplanting can cover up balding (specifically, can It be made to look like I have virtually no thinning?)

Your question isn’t really fair. You are asking a hair transplant surgeon who thinks about hair transplant surgery as a matter of livelihood. It’s like asking a chef if you should eat their food.

My point is you should be asking these questions to the patients who had hair transplants. You should meet them face-to-face to judge what the value has been based upon the change you see. Looking at some before and after photos has some minimum value, but face-to-face meetings like we have at our monthly Open House events in San Jose and Los Angeles give you the opportunity to see for yourself!

Hair transplants all depend on the supply of donor hair and the size of the balding area. Setting patient expectations is critical to what we do. You will never look like when you were 16 years old with regard to hair fullness. Maybe you can come close, but that depends on the number of grafts, hair color, hair texture, hair style, and skin color. For example, curly black hair on dark skin gives great coverage and fullness over thin straight black hair on while skin.

Hi there! I was wondering if there is a possibility for hair grafts to fall out a month and a half after the procedure. I was gently rubbing my head when I noticed one of the tiny hairs fall off. That tiny hair had a piece of the root that came off with it (not just the bulb but a piece of the root that has dried up and is normally seen with a harvested hair graft prior to the transplant). Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I would hope you were given post-operative instructions, and that somebody at the surgical clinic explained to you what was involved and what to expect following a hair transplant.

About a month following the procedure most of the transplanted hairs fall out, at times appearing to be the full graft. This should not be the graft at 6 weeks though, as the “root” of the graft remains even if the hair and the surrounding tissue comes out with scabs. For more on this, see Graft Anchoring in Hair Transplantation (PDF file).

It takes anywhere from 3 to 8 months to start noticing significant growth, provided that your surgery was successful.

Hi.. I’ve seen a lot of people talking about propecia contributing to loss of body hair, yet it’s not really listed as a side effect. I’ve been taking fin for about 5 months now, and the hair on my legs is now patchy and thin, and very short. The hair on my back also seems much thinner, and I think there is less of it in general. I don’t care about either (I guess it’s kind of nice? that may sound weird). I have noticed my hair loss stopped pretty much at the 2 month mark.

Now my question is: Do you think this could be any indication of future regrowth or thickening?

Also is hair thickening considered regrowth (I’ve always wondered this)?

I love your blog by the way!

I have heard from a small number of patients who describe what you are going though with the less body hair growth, but after a few years of Propecia use. At least your scalp hair loss has subsided… and who could be upset about less back hair, right? Regardless, it doesn’t indicate any future regrowth or thickening, but may be one of those rare side effects.

Finally, hair thickening is not considered regrowth. Hair thickening is… hair thickening.

Dear Doctor,

I recently have been trying to apply minoxidil into my receding temples and frontal area. There has been no shedding, and some minor itch and redness. after about two weeks i have felt some small swelling in my temporal area. This swelling is similar to, 2 little goose eggs/ or small lumps. They don’t hurt, just itch slightly.and they are also not noticable unless you touch the front of my head?

whats that all about anyways? I know minoxidil is not 100% intended for the frontal/temporal areas but im just trying to stop or possibly slow the hair loss process down.

thanks

Perhaps you are sensitive to minoxidil. I really can’t say for sure in your case, but some patients cannot use minoxidil due to skin sensitivity and/or allergic issues. You may wish to speak with a doctor about that… and consider asking your doctor about finasteride, an oral hair loss medication that tends to work better than minoxidil.