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I had a few procedures to the front and temple areas. I wear my hair about 1″ 1/2 - 2″ long. Do you do S.M.P.in areas between hairs to give an illusion of more density. If the answer is yes with dark brown hair would you use different color inks.

We would have to evaluate you to determine the best approach to your desire to thicken your hair… but yes, we have used Scalp MicroPigmentation in between existing hairs to create a denser look.

Varying shades of brown can be achieved, though your candidacy is an individualized decision between you and us. We have very successfully used SMP in patients who wanted more fullness and in those who had previous hair transplants.

Snippet from the article:

Lists of the side effects for prescription medications on drug labels, packaging and advertisements have mushroomed up to an average of 70 per medication, a new study reports.

Cautions about side effects were designed to inform doctors and consumers of potential hazards, but this expansion may have more to do with worries about litigation rather than actual health concerns, say the study authors, who argue the information could be presented much more efficiently.

“Having a high number of side effects on a drug’s label should not suggest that the drug is unsafe. In fact, much of this labeling has less to do with true toxicity than with protecting manufacturers from potential lawsuits,” the study’s lead author Dr. Jon Duke, Regenstrief Institute investigator and assistant professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, said in a university news release.

Read the full text — Lists of Prescription Meds’ Side Effects Keep Growing

Although the article isn’t about hair loss, in light of the recent hubbub about Merck, finasteride, and side effects, I thought this was an interesting study worth sharing.

Greetings from a loyal reader! I did a quick search, and saw that this topic hasn’t been covered on your blog. I was wondering if you’ve ever heard of Replicel? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

I haven’t heard about it before, but I’ve looked into it since your email. RepliCel recently completed the acquisition of TrichoScience, a company that worked with hair multiplication. This sounds like more of the same. From the FAQ: “With RepliCel’s treatment a very small punch biopsy is taken and new hair cells are replicated eliminating the need for a large hair donor site to be moved to the bald area.”

Their site says that they’re currently conducting a clinical trial with data expected to become available in the first quarter of 2012. So there’s really not much to know yet, as they’re still testing things and have months of work yet to go.

I would want to know if the investigators obtained an approval from an Institutional Review Board for the research on humans. That might make them credible as these boards are very tight giving approvals on anything less than solid evidence.

Hi,
In regards to SMP, can this be re-done or re-coloured in the future? If someone was to get black or brown SMP then as they aged their hair turned grey/white, can the original SMP work be ‘re-coloured’ or is it a one off, permanent solution?

For all realistic purposes, Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) is permanent. You can’t change the color of it, but you can have a touch up to enhance areas which may fade over the years. If your hair turns grey/white, SMP color will remain the same… but if you shave your hair or dye your hair after a SMP procedure is done, this should not make a difference.

Is it possible that supplementation of androgens (steroids) can trigger and miniaturize all your DHT sensitive follicles at once?

I am currently in my 30s. Lets say I were to be destined a Norwood 7 at 80 years of age, but after steroids, all of my follicles “switched” on at the same time (did not follow the Norwood progression).

Is it safe to say within a year or two it would be possible to jump right to a Norwood 7? Have you seen patients with this kind of radical hair loss?

Thanks

Anabolic steroids can accelerate androgenic alopecia (AGA). Most people who are Norwood 7 will start to lose their hair in while in their 20s and 30s (not in their 80s).

I have seen rapid hair loss from anabolic steroid use, but I have also seen rapid hair loss without anabolic steroid use.

Thanks for your blog. From your internet advice I’ve been on finasteride for 1 year and Rogaine for 1 month. I’m 25 years old and have had fairly aggressive hairloss in the last 2 years. The treatment above has drastically slowed the process, and my girlfriend claims after one year on finasteride, my hair looks much healthier.

My question for you is, based on the variety of patients you’ve encountered, has finasteride and / or rogaine shown to be more effective for certain ethnicities than others?

Thanks again!

From my experience I haven’t noticed ethnic variations in the efficacy of Propecia.

Hi Dr. Rassman,

From reading your blog, I understand you are very skeptical about bimatoprost for treating MPB, but I was wondering if you have ever had a patient that has experienced positive results by using it or seen first hand what the drug can do when applied to a thinning area on the scalp?

From what I have read it is not a miracle drug but some men with only a bit of thinning seemed to have seen some benefits from it.

Have you ever prescribed generic bimatoprost to any of your patients? If not, would you consider doing so in the future?

Just to get everyone up to speed, bimatoprost is also known as Latisse, which is FDA approved to grow eyelashes. I have met with a couple patients who have tried it on their own for treating their MPB, but both claim it didn’t work. Maybe they didn’t use an effective dosage or didn’t use it for a sufficient length of time, but that information is still unknown. Actually, there are many unknowns when it comes to using this medication for regrowth on the scalp. I would hope there would be more research and different formulations for scalp delivery.

Price is a big factor for bimatoprost right now. The medication is very expensive for a small quantity (since it’s sold for treating eyelashes), and that has made it relatively impractical to prescribe for treating balding areas on the scalp. It isn’t available in the US as a generic for at least a few more years due to patent law protection, so that will keep the costs higher for those wanting to experiment on the scalp. Keep in mind I’m not suggesting anyone should be a guinea pig.

So while I haven’t prescribed it for treating MPB, I’d consider prescribing it in the future if it was proven to be safe and effective. Really though, that could apply to any medication that meets my standards.

Hello Ive noticed that after looking at dozens of FUE donor scars that Beard FUE scars have significantly less hypopigmentations that scalp FUE scars?

Is there a reason for this? Thanks

That’s a good question. Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer for sure.

On the scalp, I have seen patients with great (practically unnoticeable) FUE scars, as well as some not-so-great FUE scars. Of the few patients I’ve seen that had follicular unit extraction using beard hair, I’d agree that the FUE scars have been less detectable by way of discoloration when the graft is removed from the beard. I think the degree of scarring is based on the individual and their healing potential.

Snippet from the article:

Eddie Sebastia was aiming to improve his appearance, not interfere with his sex life, when he took Propecia or Proscar from 1998 to 2007.

The drugs, which contain finasteride, were prescribed for male pattern hair loss, the Polk County man said in a lawsuit filed in circuit court. Instead, he contends, it led to erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, testicular pain and related emotional issues, including depression and anxiety.

Male pattern hair loss is a common condition in which men have gradual thinning of the hair on the scalp, leading to a receding hairline or balding on the top of the head, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Sebastia and his wife, Lisa, are suing Merck & Co. Inc., a global pharmaceutical company, and Merck, Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary that distributes both drugs.

Read the rest — Man Wanted Hair, but Got the Side Effects, Lawsuit Says

The article points out that some law firms are now advertising their interest in filing class-action lawsuits, so this might partially explain the recent wave of legal action being brought up against Merck over Propecia.

Snippet from the article:

He’s long been accused of being follicularly challenged - and Jude Law’s hair line definitely appeared to be all at sea on a beach break in Cannes yesterday.

The 38-year-old Sherlock Holmes star is having some time off on a well-earned break after being a judge at the city’s legendary film festival - but it appears that his hair has done a bunk too.

It appears his locks have receded all the way back to his crown with just a small tufty island marooned on the front half of his scalp.

Read the rest — Jude Law reveals dramatic bald patch on the beach at Cannes

We’ve written before about Jude Law’s forelock, but I have no way to really know if his hair has continued to recede or someone just happened to take a photo of him when his hair wasn’t styled to hide the existing loss.