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im a 28 year old black male, my temple area is getting real thin, what do you recommend a couple of sites said, “that provillus and empress re-gro hair is good for black males.” What do you think? or any these products any good and/or effective? Do you know a better treatment? Thanks.

Empress Re-Gro contains 2% minoxidil, and just like so many of these hair loss products you see advertised constantly, if there is a benefit to your hair, it usually comes from the minoxidil (which is FDA approved).

I can not recommend what to do for you, as I do not know what problems you are facing. Many people are driven by what they see on the TV informercials, which are heavily exploited by Provillus and other potions and lotions. Black people have the same characteristics that produce alopecia as white people, so when one product pushes its value for black people, I would generally run away from it.

Hello,

I am a 26 year old black male and I recently put an s-curl in my hair. I have since cut it out, but now they are patches that aren’t growing as fast as others and some are even bald. Will these go away with time? Or should I see a doctor?

No more LYE for me!

I’d never heard of this “S-curl” style, so I had to look it up. Assuming I’m not the only one that didn’t know what it is, here’s a description from Wikipedia –
Depending upon the strength of the application, an “S-curl” hairstyle has hair texture either only slightly less kinky than natural tightly coiled African hair. Similar to a woman’s permanent, an S-curl is applied using relaxers containing lye, and, like a jheri curl, requires continued use of specialized shampoos and conditioners to keep the chemically altered hair from becoming dry, hard, and brittle.

The relaxer contains lye, which is known to kill hair if it gets below the skin edge into the hair follicle. However, even if you use a “no lye” relaxer, you still need to use it with caution (see FDA warning). The products that soften the stiff and kinky nature of African hair often have significant limitations on their applications, so be sure to read the insert and the warnings on the packaging. Patches of balding areas may signify damage caused below the skin edge into the hair follicle itself. This type of damage may not disappear. See a good doctor!

I’m writing on behalf of my mother in law, a 59 year old african american woman. Her hair never seems to grow and she hasn’t gotten a haircut in a long, long while. Can I get your thoughts on “Short Hair Syndrome”? This sounds like what my she is dealing with, but I can’t find any further info on it. Is it even real? The site is http://www.lisaakbari.com/SHS.html

From a medical point of view, or as a physician involved in hair loss for over 15 years, I do not recall ever hearing or reading about “Short Hair Syndrome”… but I can logically give you an explanation for it, assuming the the examination of the hair and scalp is normal and there are no medical problems lingering behind the scene.

First, I will assume that she has no miniaturization going on throughout the scalp. If she does, then short hairs will come about when the hair miniaturizes so that a diagnosis needs to be established. With respect to your mother-in-law whose hair is not growing much, she may have a very short anagen phase (growth phase) of the hair cycle. A short growth phase could produce healthy, but short hairs. Of course, she should see a dermatologist or her primary care physician to see if there are medical issues that are causing such problems.

I’m a 27 year old black female that use to model, I’m thinking about starting it back, but I have a little problem. Around the middle of the month the back crown of my head gets really sore, and I have noticed that my hair is actually thin up there. The rest of my hair is a great length and very thin also, thou I feel that it may not be the chemical of a relaxer because the rest of my hair is great. But the middle and the back seems to not want to grow and is coming out. what should i do.

You need a doctor to examine you to give you an opinion. Unfortunately, this is not something that I can do over the internet. Hair loss in women is a complex issue. It is possible that there was a chemical burn on one or two areas and not on the entire scalp.

I am an African American female who has been diagnosed with Sarcoid of the skin. I have since lost 85% of my hair and it is NOT growing back. When I was first diagnosed, I would see these scaly flaky spots which would peel away (along with my hair). By the way, I am also taking Prednisone to treat my Rhumatoid Arthritis. I would however like very much to have my natural hair as the wigs are hot, unnatural and unattractive.

There is no cure for sarcoidosis. Treatments sometimes exploit the use of systemic and topical steroids. Local steroid injections into specific lesions sometimes help; the use of methotrexate (an immunosupressive agent) also helps in some people. I have little experience in this awful disease. You need an expert in this arena for treatment, but don’t blame your doctor if the treatments do not work.

I am an African American female, and I used a chemical relaxer on my hair. Within a few days I had excessive itching and excessive scaling. The results are all over my head. Can you tell me what this could be? Chemical burn? Dandruff? Not sure. I applied Sulphur 8 to mu scalp to control some of the itching. It has helped a little, but if I tough my scalp the itching starts up again. The itching seems to get bad about 3-4 days after I wash my hair.

So, my questions are: What could this be, and how should I remedy the situation? Also, does this seem sever and should I get a doctor involved?

Thank You.

A chemical relaxer is, well, a chemical. Any chemicals can cause local skin irritation or an allergic reaction. I would suggest that you see a primary doctor or a dermatologist if this problem persists. Burns from chemical relaxers are quite common.

Hey, I came in last summer for a consultation and I had a miniaturization test. The doctor confirmed that I was probably a class 2-3 on the Norwood scale. At the time he prescribed finasteride, which I have taken daily ever since. It’s been about a year now, and although my hair loss may have slowed down, it certainly hasn’t stopped. My hairline is a little suspect at this point, and I’m nervous that if I wait much longer people will really start to notice I’m “losing it.” I am biracial, with relatively coarse hair, and I’ve been able to get away with styling it so that no one can tell, however I think I’d like to solve the problem while I still have a relatively large amount of hair on my head. I’ve heard that there are doctors who specialize in treating African American hair loss patients. I’m wondering if this is true, or is NHI capable of generating the same results? Also, I’ve heard that micro-grafting is the least noticeable transplant procedure, do you perform this procedure at NHI?

Thanks for your help.

We are as experienced with African hair types as any medical group anywhere. We also stand by all of our results. You should be seen yearly, so I would hope to see you again.

The most natural way to transplant hair is with individual follicular units, as these are the natural groupings of hair in your scalp. A micrograft is not the same as a follicular unit and you need to be aware that the gold standard for hair transplantation in any race is follicular unit transplantation (FUT). Propecia (finasteride) is probably working for you, as it is slowing down what would probably be more dramatic hair loss. You are welcome to come back and have one of us take a look and further answer any questions you have.

I wore pigtails as a young girl and braids on my hear in my late teens and early twenties. Now I am stuck with no hair in the front or one the sides.

This question came from a woman that I just met with. It is a complicated case, mostly because the missing hair covers a large area. Her donor density is slightly higher than normal for an African hairline, but there is some miniaturization in the donor area which may impact the total graft yield. Nevertheless, she is committed to having transplantation surgery, even as I explained to her that the result might be less than a full, thick hairline area. Her response to that was, “Any hairline there will be fine”.

I am a 25 year old African American male and I have been relaxing my hair since I was 15 now my hair is very thin and I know its because of the relaxers because baldness does not run in my family, I have been wearing my hair natural for the last 4 months and i’ve bought Rogaine and have been using it for the last three days do you think it will work for me in any way or have I permantly damaged my hair? If there is anything I can do and what products do you suggest? Because i’m so afraid of being bald or keeping my hair this thin.

Thank you for reading
God Bless

Although chemical relaxers can cause damage to hair, you need to be examined by a properly trained physician to make sure you do not have another reason for your hair loss. With your long term use of chemicals and heat, there is a high probability that you have damaged your hair. A miniaturization study would definitely help to understand the role of MPB in your hair. Without knowing the true cause of your hair loss it is hard for me to recommend a treatment.

Hello Dr.(40 year old African American female) I was told on the 8th of Jan 08 by a Dermatologist in a county hospital that I have scaring in the crown of my head and very few follicles left because of the way African-American women process their hair, and then as he exits the room he says, there’s nothing we can do. A more sympathetic intern stayed behind and offered to prescribe Fluocinonide Topical Solution USP,0.05% 60ml,will this have any benefit at all? and am I a candidate for anything else transplant or otherwise. P.S., know any good specialist in Houston, TX.?

Fluocinonide is a potent steroid medication and I do not like to second guess another doctor’s recommendation. You should probe your doctor’s opinion on just what benefit he expects to see and over what period of time. My personal feeling is that it is sometimes more difficult for a doctor to do nothing — and sometimes when a doctor feels compelled to do something, medications prescribed may have little or no value. I do not have recommendations in TX at this time.