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Tomorrow is Independence Day here in the US, so we're taking today off for a long weekend. We'll be back Monday with new content, but please use this opportunity to check out our new featured articles:

1. Selecting a Hair Transplant Doctor
2. How to Avoid Dishonest Doctors
3. Why Should You Visit Us?

Each and every day, I receive emails from readers asking about individual doctors’ and their reputations or even wondering if the doctor they just met with is a good doctor. Most doctors care about you and are competent and ethical, but there are a few who really don’t give a damn about you and look at you as a way to simply make more money. The unethical doctors often push men who are too early to have a transplant (like most 20 year olds) into getting one when they don’t need it, or they expand the number of grafts in a transplant procedure into areas that do not have hair loss under the guise of performing preventive hair transplants which happen to push their fees higher. Unfortunately, there are too many unethical doctors doing hair transplants and while I’m always willing to help when I can, I’m disappointed when I hear how some doctors take advantage of people in an attempt to line their pockets with your money.

In the years I’ve been posting on BaldingBlog, I’ve accumulated a lot of content about avoiding doctors that don’t put patient welfare as priority #1. I’m outspoken when it comes to patient advocacy, so I’ve also written much about how to select your hair transplant doctor. Most of my comments have been put on the daily responses I write to questions posed to me, but I’ve never put all the information in one easy-to-find place and organized it in a way that makes the job easier for the reader. So with that being said, I now present you a new “How To” type of series. These are MUST READ articles for those interested in having hair restoration surgery.

	Selecting a Hair Transplant Doctor
	How to Avoid Dishonest Doctors

I also write about why it’s important to shop around for the best doctor before committing to a hair transplant. Don’t be afraid to have to travel to get a surgery that is PERMANENT and on your head! Don’t settle for someone you’re not comfortable with just because it is convenient. At NHI, we offer travel discounts, so factoring travel and hotel costs into your surgery should not be a concern.

Why Should You Visit Us?

I am not sure what type of doctor to see, my hair has always been very thin, and getting thinner and thinner. I don’t think I have had any hair regrowth, ever. I have never had a haircut, except before my mothers death at age 7. My life has been ALWAYS very stressful, so I don’t know if that has something to do with it. My hair has Never grown past my shoulders. I am 44 and down to my last bit of hair, and getting worried. What type of doctor do I need to see? thank you

Our hair grows to a fixed maximum length and if your is shoulder length, that is your maximum length. I am sure you have seen hair loss over the months and years since your last haircut when you were 7 years old. Men usually have a shorter maximal length than women, but everyone is different. Maximum length may be as high as 7 feet in some women (see Rapunzel! Let Down Your Long, Golden Hair).

If your hair is suddenly getting thinner and thinner, I’d see your general doctor about a variety of possible causes (those are listed here).

Two questions. I was at CVS and looking at the back of an olive oil hair conditioner product. It said that product, unlike petroleum jelly, does not clog hair follicles. So does petroleum jelly actually clog hair follicles and would this cause hair loss?

Also, this is not a new occurrence, but I often feel little bumps on my head that seem to be caused by dry scalp, but these feel like tiny pimples that cannot be popped. Does this have anything to do with MPB? Perhaps they’re inflamed hair follicles?

Although the popular theory seems to be that clogged follicles have their growth inhibited (hair being unable to grow because it is blocked), it is blatantly untrue. I do not believe petroleum jelly causes hair loss. The product you saw probably just had clever marketing and semantics so consumers will buy one hair conditioner product over another.

With respect to the bumps on your scalp, maybe it is pimples, and maybe you should have it checked out by your primary care doctor or dermatologist. I doubt it has much to do with balding, but I can’t tell something like that without an exam.

I’m looking for an explanation on why all of a sudden I have a bold spot in the right side of my mustache. I read about other persons having the same problem in your site and asking the same questions, but at that time, no specific answer was provided besides going to an specialist and sending you a photo. Any changes lately?

Just because I am a doctor, it does not mean I have all the answers. The sudden appearance of a bald spot could reflect a series of medical conditions such as ringworm, alopecia areata, and/or other autoimmune diseases. You need to see a good dermatologist if you want to know more.

Well I’m 17 years old and i have a few questions. My hair is completely different both in color and in type from my mum and Dad. My dad suffers from baldness yet my grandpa from my dads family tree didn’t suffer from baldness. My Mother’s family doesn’t suffer from baldness at all. Lately I’ve noticed some thinning in the crown of my head, but i don’t know if i suffer from premature baldness, I blow dry my hair every day, and i wash it everyday I hardly ever comb it, I also touch my hair alot which might make it oily, could all of this be the reason for the thinning or is it really premature baldness?

Genetic balding can start in the teenage years. I can’t say for sure whether you’re losing hair due to genetics as I haven’t seen you, but if your dad has balding you could’ve gotten the gene passed from him. It can come from either side of the family. Also, oily hair isn’t a cause of loss, nor is the lack of combing.

My suggestion is to do a miniaturization mapping of your scalp hair and find out if you are balding. You can learn how to do it yourself if your doctor can’t / won’t do it — click here.

Is it true that female donor hair that is transplanted does not become permanent and may eventually fall out of the transplanted area whereas male transplanted hair will never fall out?

Whatever happens to the donor area will happen to the transplanted hairs in their new location. Female genetic alopecia is often diffuse and when it progresses, it impacts the donor area with miniaturization that is progressive, so you will see that impact in the recipient area for donor hair as the miniaturization progresses. In most men, the donor area is spared from miniaturization, so when this hair is transplanted into the recipient area it reflects that stability seen in the donor area and is not lost. In other words, men have that ring of hair around their heads (often called the permanent zone), whereas women aren’t going to necessarily have that same permanent area.

I am a current smoker (10/day), who has for months been in a constant battle of giving it up and starting it back again. Aside from the obvious health risks, I’m feeling a kind of burning pain in my scalp where my hair is thinning, and I am wondering if this burning might be precipitated by the nicotine. I’ve read studies that purport nicotine can increase the levels of DHT.

My questions: 1) Is the burning in my scalp a sign of hair loss. 2) Could this burning be related to the nicotine’s effect on DHT levels?

Sidenote: During periods of intense smoke, the burning in my scalp increases, primarily where I’m losing my hair. Conversely, the burning subsides whenever I lay off the accursed habit for more than a week. Any thoughts?

You just answered your own question, as you show clearly a relationship between your smoking and your symptoms. What can I add in the face of such a clear association? Scalp burning isn’t necessarily a sign of hair loss, but if you’re seeing your hair fall out while you feel this sensation, it might be connected.

For further reading, check out this NY Times article — The Claim: Smoking Can Cause the Loss of Hair

I have a question concerning thin hair. I am a 31 year old male. I have always had really fine hair. I dont appear to be going bald but there is a really thin spot on the back middle section of my head. When my hair is cut short it looks pretty thin back there. Someone told me this might be because this is where the occipital bone is. Is it common to have thinner hair around the occipital bone? Do you see this alot? Thank you very much.

No, I do not see this in isolation. You may be noticing thinning around the rim of the crown area on the back of the head (see image at right).

If you are indeed pointing to where the occipital bone is (see highlighted label on image below), that is the area where hair should be the thickest and fullest in most men who have genetic balding. That is why we call it the permanent zone. Right below this area is the neck and this can have a different genetic code, but there is no bone under that part of the scalp in the midline.

Image source: AARP

DR. I have noticed a bald spot on left side of my head, it is size of bottle cap. What can I do. rest of my hair is fine. I’m 28 yrs old and also have noticed gray and white hair by side burn area. The bald spot is just above my left ear. Please help. I talked to my doctor he didn’t tell me anything.

I would see a dermatologist, as there are many types of diseases that can do this. The possible causes are all listed in one of the chapters of my new book, Hair Loss and Replacement for Dummies. ***shameless plug***