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I am a 72 year old male in excellent physical condition. Because I was starting to feel a lack of energy, after a blood test for testosterone level, he said I was on the low end of the acceptable scale for testosterone. He prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. I started weekly shots. After about a month I started noticing a very definite loss of hair on my head. I stopped the testosterone injections. My question is “Will my hair grow back over time now that i have stopped the testosterone injections?”

I have started taking Shen/Min DHT Blocker and using Ovation Cell Therapy to help. Thanks

I am sorry to hear you noticed androgenic hair loss after testosterone therapy. At 72 years old, I would have guessed that would have been a very minimal risk. I do not know if the hairs may grow back, but you will know in a year or two if the loss was permanent. Although a bit late, I would try to go on the drug finasteride if approved by your doctor.

I would ask your physician the same question you posed to me, as well as his thoughts on possible finasteride (Propecia) therapy.

I’ve read that red heads have thick strands of hair, but the least amount of hairs on their head. People with brown hair have fairly thick hair strands, and a fairly good density, and blondes have finer hair but a the greatest of hair densities. Wouldn’t that mean that red heads are more likely to go bald, then people with brown hair, and then blondes?

Is there any correlation between hair colour and hair loss? Or doesn’t it matter? So, say for example there’s someone with fine blonde hair, but it’s very dense, they could end up have a full head of hair way into their 70’s?

To my knowledge there is no connection to having red hair and an increased risk of hair loss as you suggested. The genes for hair color and the genes for hair loss are completely independent of each other.

Hello Dr. Rassman,

I wrote you before about 4 yrs. ago I think. I am a 59 year old female.

I’ll try to be brief. After being treated for breast cancer in 1999 (no chemo involved) I began experiencing episodes, usually once a year, of increased shedding that lasts from 2 to 3 months then tampers off and stop. Losing between 80 to 100 hairs a day. I was diagnosed with chronic telogen effuvium but I’m wonder if it is female balding, though none of the women in my family show any signs of balding. I’ve had all the blood work for thyroid, iron levels, hormones etc…they all come back normal.

I had pretty thick hair at one time and I can’t tell you how much I miss it. It depresses me at times. However, I still have pretty good coverage and I think if you just saw me walking into a room you wouldn’t think I had hair loss problems. Of course upon a closer look you would.

My question is…I know you mostly work with men, but if I were your wife, sister, daughter ,etc…what advice would you give me to try and save my hair that seems to get thinner every year. Doctors I’ve seen just say “try rogaine” but I’ve read so many conficting things about rogaine…if doesn’t work well for women, it does work well for woman. And I can’t help wondering if it worked so well, why wouldn’t Rogaine use real success stories in their commercials instead of actors?

Is there anything I can do to save my hair? Please, please help. Thanks so much.

I never like giving advice to women for treating hair loss, as there are so many possible causes of female loss and every woman responds differently to the various therapies available. With men, the great majority of the time it is just genetics.

Rogaine (minoxidil) is the most popular hair loss medication used by women around the world (and the only FDA approved treatment for women)… but you need one doctor who is willing to work with you. Seek out a caring dermatologist and work with him/her on your hair loss problem.

I didn’t know that Rogaine’s commercials use actors. The only commercial I’ve seen lately has been for Rogaine Foam, and features a man with good results who is apparently an actual user of the topical.

Hi, I am a 23yr old black woman, ive been processing my hair all my life and recently opted to keep it ‘natural’ (Afro) i have very thick hair and about a month ago i was washing my hair and noticed a bald spot… My Hair is still thick all around the rest of the head but the area around the bald spot is starting to thin and fall out…
What could be the cause? I am Petrified!!!!

There’s so many possible causes for bald spots producing female hair loss that I dare not list them. It would be impossible for me to pinpoint the cause via email. Here a list of potential blood tests women might have to find a cause for the hair loss if it is more diffuse, but a single balding spot may be simply a fungus effect or a more complex autoimmune disease. Or it could also simply be due to some error or allergy in the chemical process that could have damaged a spot.

I wish I could tell you more, but without an examination it would be too difficult.

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I am an 18 year old male. I have experienced diffused thinning on the top and sides of my head for the past 10 months. I’ve probably lost 50% of my density. My sides are slightly thinner than the top. I was wondering if this would be diagnosed as DUPA?

The reason I’m asking is that my back is as thick as ever (of course there might be miniaturization that cannot be observed by the naked eye). Also, is it possible for a person to get DUPA this young?

In case it helps, no one in my family has MPB or DUPA. All 4 of my grandparents have quite thick hair on their sides, back and top

DUPA (diffuse unpatterned alopecia) is a condition found in men where the hair on the fringe area (back and sides) have significant miniaturization (greater than 20% of hairs). And yes, teens can have it.

No one knows what causes DUPA, but it looks like the pattern we see in women with significant female genetic hair loss, although their miniaturization may extend to other areas of the scalp.

I have lost alot of the hair on the sides of my head due to a form of scarring alopecia. Would it be possible to have micropigmentation done just on the sides as haircuts that are buzzed on the sides and a bit lengthy on top are very common and in style?

Generally, scarring alopecia with balding from it does well with Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP). We have done a few severe cases which I could show you if you visited my office. One particular patient who had very extensive scarring and balding would rather not have his photos online.

I’m a 29 year old male who’s been dealing with hair loss since I was 19. I’m very interested in the SMP procedure because I use a ton of hair loss concealers that are costly and messy. I wear my hair pretty long (4 to 5 inches) and was wondering if SMP is a good option. If so, will I still be able to have hair transplants in the future?

Thanks for everything you guys do!

Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) may be a good option, but only for certain hair colors and people with specific goals that can be met with this solution. Everyone is different and the goals for some people who will accept the SMP solution may not satisfy others.

You must always consider the progressive nature of hair loss if you elect to have SMP. As you bald, you will probably have to follow the SMP process back to keep up with your balding. Hair transplantation may also be an option… and YES, you can still have a hair transplant after SMP, but you must make sure that the person doing the pigmentation process understands the balding process and develops a Master Plan for you over the years to come.

My 8 yr old daughter got a bad case of ringworm a year and a half ago. The lesions became a superinfection and eventually cleared. She was left with a quarter size bald area on the top of her head and now has some small amount of hair growth. Is there anything out there could be doing for her to promote hair growth? Are there any specific doctors i should see? She is 9 and I believe it is bothering her a bit socially. Thanks

Hair loss from infection and scarring may be permanent if it has not regrown in over a year. One possible treatment worth using may be Rogaine (with approval from her doctor) topically applied, but you need to apply the medication twice a day everyday for about one year before may see any improvement.

Another option may be a limited hair transplant to the area which we have done on occasion. This may be a better solution, as it is a one-time event for most people. I realize she’s only 8 or 9 years old, but depending on how bothersome the bald spot is, it might be a consideration.

Snippet from the article:

Surgeons have performed the first transplant operation using an organ wholly grown in a laboratory to give a man a new windpipe. The 36-year-old is recovering after surgeons implanted the world’s first wholly lab-grown organ into his body.

The synthetic trachea was created by growing the patient’s own stem cells on an artificial “scaffold”, which British scientists helped design. Windpipes have been grown from stem cells before, but only using the collagen “skeletons” of donated tracheas.

The landmark operation at Karolinska University hospital in Sweden could mean patients may not have to wait for a suitable donor organ. This could be particularly significant for children, for whom donor tracheas are much more difficult to find.

Read the rest — Cancer patient receives first synthetic organ transplant

It’s not hair-related, but it’s science at work. Fascinating stuff, and a big leap forward for regenerative medicine.

For those curious, CNN also published an opinion article by Dr. Anthony Atala (a leader in regenerative medicine), where he discusses a printer that is being developed to “print” organs.

I have herd a lot of negative things about Propecia lately. Here is something positive for the readers. I have been on propecia for 5 years and have not had 1 side effect. Most importantly I have kept all my hair thanks to this wonderful drug.

Thanks for sharing! It sounds like you got the best case scenario all around. I wish you continued success in your hair loss battle.