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Doctors. Thank you for your time.

I am a male aged 37. Perhaps 15 years ago my girlfriend shaved my head. She lost interest. To finish the job, and do it “correctly” I lathered my head in Nair (a product used mostly by women to remove unwanted hair ). The “balding” pattern I experience is not shared by the men in my family……father, grandfather etc.

I have the same weak point on the spot for roughly ten years now. The quality and quantity degenerate, but not at the same pace as those who seem to bald genetically. I have new growth, baby hairs, but nothing aggressive like on the rest of my head. Would the hair remover have damaged the growth indefinitely or am I able to find a silver bullet?

I too consider HGH as a lifestyle / quality supplement. Would this assist in refocusing the follicles energies if the reason for the hair loss is the result of the hair removal cream.

Kind Regards

I doubt your hair loss is related to what you did with Nair 15 years ago. Nair doesn’t cause permanent loss, especially after one application. There might’ve been some kind of chemical burn in the area, but I can’t imagine it would last for this long (and you didn’t mention experiencing any prolonged skin irritation either).

My bet is on genetic male pattern balding, as it in 99% of men who are losing hair. I doubt HGH will help this, but it sounds like you’re already using it anyway.

Snippet from the article (unrelated to hair loss):

In a dramatic breakthrough that could affect millions of lives, scientists have been able to show for the first time that the body’s immune defences can destroy the common cold virus after it has actually invaded the inner sanctum of a human cell, a feat that was believed until now to be impossible.

The discovery opens the door to the development of a new class of antiviral drugs that work by enhancing this natural virus-killing machinery of the cell. Scientists believe the first clinical trials of new drugs based on the findings could begin within two to five years.

Read the full story — A cure for the common cold may finally be achieved as a result of a remarkable discovery in a Cambridge laboratory

We’ve all gotten sick from time to time, but could the common cold be a thing of the past within the next decade? We’ll have to wait and see. Lots of speculation considering the clinical trials won’t start for years from now.

I have been on propecia for about 18 months and I it seems to have done good things for my hair. However, I noticed that I have more body hair than before. My arms are more hairy, and so is my nose and ears. Is this a known side effect?

I think I’ve gotten only a few emails over the years about seeing increased body hair after taking Propecia, but that is not a known side effect. I do hear anecdotal stories of decreased body hair from Propecia probably a little more often.

I want to respond to some questions and comments I’ve received about our previous post about the ACell study we’re starting. The presentation at the ISHRS meeting was clear that the use of the ACell matrix with plucked hairs can stimulate growth. The process of doing this may not be as simple as it appears to be for many physicians.

First of all, the plucked hairs are usually a single hair with minimal tissue to protect it from harm when they are handled and/or exposed to the air during the transfer process. The surgeons who offer this have to be skilled to manage one-hair grafts without killing them. The application of the ACell Matrix has may nuances associated with it, so the doctors who “experiment” with this technique must build a process that works over and over again. It is also important to understand that the newly formed follicles will contain tissue from the donor area (the plucked hair) and tissue from the recipient area (the part of the follicle induced by the hair/ACell/tissue interaction). Since some of the follicle is derived the recipient area, we can’t be sure that it will cycle as a normal hair or even be totally permanent.

Over the years we have developed many processes that have led to many of today’s standards in hair transplantation, such as FUE, FUT, megasessions, and dense packing. We have consistently published our work in peer reviewed medical journals and have brought science to the world of clinical hair transplantation, advancing the standard of care over and over again. Our team (Dr. Jae Pak and myself in LA, Dr. Robert Bernstein and Dr. Eric Schweiger in NY) have put our heads together to build a process that, we believe, will afford our patients the best opportunity to benefit from the hair multiplication process and help the industry command the process better and with more certainty.

We are not of the belief that what we are doing with regard to hair multiplication is for everyone, or that everyone should rush into the process before the results of our work (and that of others) are completed. For select patients who are interested in participating in clinical trials or being treated outside the studies at this time, we would be happy to evaluate you to discuss this during a consultation. Remember, this process may not be for everyone at this time.

Snippet from the article:

Unihair of Japan, the world’s biggest wigmaker, is hoping for a big increase in sales through what might be regarded as the ultimate cutting-edge technology – a method to “grow” luxuriant displays of new hair on a person’s scalp.

The method uses cell-generation processes derived from pharmaceuticals research. “We see a tremendous number of possibilities [from the new process],” said Tadao Otsuki, Unihair’s chief executive. “It adds up to a fundamental shift in how the world can combat problems of baldness.”

With the help of the new techniques, based on ideas developed in the US and which are now undergoing clinical trials, Unihair is hoping to increase its annual sales roughly three-fold, from Y57.3bn ($706m) in the year to February 2010, to about Y150bn in 2017.

Read the full story from the Financial Times — Unihair gets a grip on baldness

There is a big difference between what we hope to achieve with using ACell in hair transplantation to multiply hairs in an ‘auto-cloning’ manner and what Unihair (formerly Aderans prior to September of this year) is trying to do with cloning hair outside of the head in a lab.

It’s in the best interest of patients that these technologies work, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

You get a lot of mails from worried young men, distressed about their hairloss. I feel very sorry for them because I remember how I felt when I was 19 and first realized that I was losing my hair (I’m now 43). However, I’d like to encourage the young guys with my message:

Starting to go bald was one of the best things that ever happened to me. It sounds strange and counter-intuitive, I know, but hear me out. I was a vain, selfish, self-centered young man. I used to spend hours preening in front of the mirror and I thought I was God’s gift to women. When I started to go bald I realized what a shallow and selfish person I actually was. And I also realized that the best route for me was that, if I was going to lose my hair, I would have to make up for it in some other way.

So I decided to change my character, to become a good guy, a nice guy, less selfish, who could make a joke about himself. A guy who always put other people first and who always made an effort to get along with everyone… especially the ladies. And you know what, it worked. In fact I over-compensated. I became really popular and started dating more women than I had ever dreamed of, finally marrying the girl of my dreams. This story is absolutely true, and it’s thanks to the fact that I started to lose my hair at an age when I was still young enough to change my character.

Every cloud has a silver lining… Good luck to you all.

Thanks for sending this. It’s good to send out encouraging messages for those struggling with hair loss.

But I must note — as a hair transplant surgeon, I have no problem with vanity.

Is there anything that can be done for lichen planus? Had it on my legs and arms for over 2 years and its now on my scalp. I’m losing hair in patches and i’m afraid it will never return. How can i combat this to make sure i keep my hair? Thanks

Unfortunately, lichen planus is a chronic medical condition in which there is no definitive cure. When it affects the hair, it may grow back in time. There’s really not much help I can offer. There are treatments for the disease, but nothing that works 100% of the time for everyone. Please follow up with your primary care doctor or a dermatologist.

I believe Wellbutrin (an antidepressant) has caused my thinning hair. I’ve read that wellbutrin increases testosterone (DHT) in women. What could I use to block the DHT or stop it so I can continue using this medication which works well for me.

Thank you

Hair loss in women is a bit more complex than in men, as women tend to have other medical issues such as low-thyroid hormone levels, hormonal changes, and even anemia that can impact hair. We created a partial list of female hair loss causes here.

That being said, Wellbutrin (and many other antidepressants) is known to cause hair loss, though I’m not clear if the reason for this is due to increased DHT production. I did find one site that says, “It is believed that the increased dopamine function due to Wellbutrin may lead to an increase in the testosterone levels. This in turn causes over production of DHT, a metabolite of testosterone, which can be the reason for hair loss.” The problem I’m having is that I can’t seem to find any study backing that up, nor can I find any other sites discussing it. I am not discounting the information completely, but if I can’t find science to corroborate these claims I’m not going to entertain them as true.

You should talk to your doctor about it, who may know more since he/she prescribed the medication. Similarly, if someone out there knows of a study showing a link between Wellbutrin (bupropion) and DHT, please pass it on my way.

Hey Dr Rassman

I just wanted to confirm what I read on a previous post regarding generic Propecia’s legitimacy in Canada. I recently went to the local pharmacy to get a refill on Proscar and I decided to ask the pharmacist about the 1 mg generic finasteride. It turns out it is available which I find quite strange. Wasn’t the drug approved simultaneously by the 2 countries?

I dont expect you to know all the ins and outs of the Canadian drug approval process but your speculation would be interesting food for thought…..thanks!

While I am not too knowledgeable about specific Canadian patent rules, thanks to an article a reader sent in I learned that the Federal Court of Canada ruled the Propecia patent invalid back in May of this year due to double patenting. This cleared the way for generic 1mg finasteride to become readily available in Canadian pharmacies. The full story can be found at CanadianTechnologyIPLaw.com.

I know that Merck’s U.S. patent on Propecia will expire sometime in 2013.

Hello!

we all know the earlier you take Propecia the better but can define the work “early” would it be starting Propecia 1 year into the MPB process or more?

Thanks

There’s no true timeframe for what is “early”, but the earlier you decide to take charge of your hair loss and take Propecia, the better your chances for success. If you’ve let your hair loss progress for a decade, obviously that isn’t considered early hair loss. A year or so is still pretty early.

See your doctor, get a good diagnosis, establish what you have, and find a treatment goal and plan.