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Dear DR. Rassman

i started eating high amounts of soy per day (6 soy bars per day) for about 3 months ago. - i have been shedding my eyebrows for two months. they still look full. i just read this article about soy and the new research saying that soy is not as healthy as we all think. HealingCrow.com

Do you think that the side effects of Soy could lead to hair loss?

There is not enough data and clearly not a focused study to connect hair loss and soy intake. I suspect if you had an allergy to soy, hair loss wouldn’t be a total surprise. But for those without a soy allergy, I can’t make the leap to connect it to your thinning eyebrows.

Dr Rassman,

What do you make of this article: Jon Gosselin Is Totally Losing His Hair… AGAIN

and I’m sorry, but the second photo is a bit alarming, it really puts me off ever getting a hair transplant!

Jon was only transplanted in the frontal hairline area extending back about 2-3 inches, not elsewhere. He was told that a second procedure would likely be necessary and that he should follow the Master Plan we setup for him. His heavy smoking, the stress in his life, and his genetics are not really helping the rest of this head behind the transplants. So it is completely unfair for that blog site to write, “Good thing he didn’t have to pay for it since at this point, he’d probably demand a refund.” On the contrary, his hair transplants look great. It’s the non-transplanted hair and the progressive nature of hair loss that doesn’t look so hot. Plus, harsh lighting from paparazzi cameras can be unflattering to any hair.

If he is not taking Propecia at this time, then I think that only the hair transplants will remain over the long term. One needs a Master Plan in managing their hair loss or disaster could be the course. The good part is that the man Jon sees in the mirror every morning has hair. Only the camera shows what else is happening to his head. If he cares, then he should review the Master Plan I put together for him and assay his status.

Dr Rassman if someone rub a little vigorously your head at the 9th day post operation the grafts are damaged or they are secure?

Thanks

If there were no scabs (eschars) present, then there should be no problem. See our published article on graft anchoring here (PDF file).

I found a listing on ebay that claims to be selling information on the “best” way to buy Propecia. This is a scam, right?

This is the description of the “information” for sale:

“PROPECIA too Expensive?” is an original narrative which WILL HELP AND INSPIRE YOU IN REAL LIFE! It follows how one person goes through life using rogaine minoxidil toppik and Propecia. The subject wants to find a way TO SAVE MONEY ON PROPECIA. He soon discovers a little known piece of information that allows him to buy a ONE YEAR SUPPLY from a particular well-respected national pharmacy chain FOR $30 A YEAR!!! This price gives him a SAVINGS OF $770 EACH YEAR!!! The person is relieved that the medication comes from a particular WELL-KNOWN AND REGULATED NATIONAL CHAIN and is ABSOLUTELY SAFE. The fictional story ends with ALL the EXACT AND SPECIFIC DETAILS revealed that should definitely help and inspire you. Shipping is .90 to anywhere in the US. There are other fictional narratives out there that are much more expensive so you SAVE MONEY when you buy this narrative! Due to the originality of the story, there will be no refunds on this auction; however, the benefits that you will receive from reading this story will more than make up for the cost of the story! Bidding is anonymous for your convenience.

How clever… this guy appears to be trying to sell a “narrative” on eBay, because otherwise it is a violation of that site’s policy to sell info on how to get cheaper drugs. Here’s the information that this joker is likely trying to sell… and I won’t charge you anything for it. In fact, I’ve written about it over and over again before. Propecia is 1mg finasteride, Proscar is 5mg finasteride. There is a generic Proscar, but no generic Propecia sold in the US due to patent laws. With that in mind:

1. Ask your doctor for a Proscar prescription and buy the generic from the pharmacy (Costco pharmacy has the lowest prices I’ve seen).
2. Cut the generic Proscar pill into 4 pieces (easier than cutting into 5 pieces) and you’ve got the same medication as Propecia, but for pennies on the dollar.

The only issue is that you will need to find a doctor that will prescribe you Proscar (a prostate medication), but as long as you explain that you will be cutting the pill and using it to treat hair loss, it might not be too much of a problem. Each doctor is different. Also, don’t cut more than one pill at a time and always store in a dry area.

Hi what the problem is that just about a year ago i started to get seborrheic dermatitis mildly starting on my eyebrows. It has now progressed all around my scalp and has produced reasonably large flake’s all over my scalp. what i worry about is that when these flake’s fall out a hair would sometimes come out with it and what looks like the root of the hair aswell. I am just wondering will these hairs grow back if it is not part of the normal growth cycle? or may i be facing permanent hairloss if there is no true way to permanently get rid of these flakes. Thank you for your time Doc.

You may have psoriasis rather than seborrheic dermatitis. The hair that is going to fall out in normal hair cycling will often come out with the big flakes. You need to be evaluated by a dermatologist.

From what I have read, castration stops hair loss however, castration will not regrow hair that has been lost. If this is true, why would Proscar grow any hair? It is my understanding Proscar blocks a percentage of DHT, which leads to the effectiveness of the product. If someone has been castrated there is o% DHT and still no hair regrowth? Also if DHT causes hair loss why is Propecia effective on the vertex of the scalp and not the temples.

There is a wide audience of young men (over a million) who have taken Propecia and we know that in the very young man with active miniaturization, the process may be reversed. This occurs mostly in young men in their 20s. I would guess that if we castrated 1 million men who are balding in their 20s, that the incidence of regrowth would be higher than those on Propecia alone, but I am not recommending castration as this is only an intellectual exercise.

When a hair is dying (miniaturized hairs fall in this category), like a dying person, they have a chance of being fixed or cured because they are not dead yet. When a hair has completely disappeared, it has gone through apoptosis, which means that the hair growth center is dead… and we all know that you can’t raise the dead. This applies to hair when the head is slick bald in any area impacted where there is no miniaturized hairs.

I’m a 24 year old male and have microcytic anemia (most likely) due to iron deficiency. I had been able to halt my MPB hair loss by taking finasteride (1mg) since age 18, however experienced rapid shedding about nine months ago. To stop the hair loss, I added minoxidil 5% to my regimen and started taking ferrous gluconate tablets for my anemia. My hair has all grown back and I’m trying to assess if the iron supplement, the minoxidil or both likely contributed to my marked results. Given that my hair-loss was identified by a dermatologist as MPB, does that indicate that iron deficiency was not the underlying cause? Can iron deficiency exacerbate what would otherwise be purely genetic hair loss?

Please advise and thanks for running this site. I’d be bald without you!

For those that are genetically inclined to lose hair, anything could possibly trigger the genetic loss. Fixing the anemia can reverse hair loss caused by low iron, and although I don’t have the benefit of examining you or having a more thorough case history, it seems to be the likely scenario in your case. I don’t know what steps your dermatologist took to determine your hair loss was purely genetic, though.

If you stop the minoxidil, you run the risk of losing hair growth benefits it could’ve been providing.

I have a new question for you! Is there a very advanced norwood scale where hair thins on the bottom of the back of the head, and the bottom of the sides?

My hair is really thick on the upper sides of my head.. and very very thin under that, just directly above my ears (Not my temples) and behind my ears.. it is very hard to explain. The hair loss I have explained seems patterned (in the sense that it is thinning similarly on both sides). I have thinning on top in a sort of norwood 3 vertex pattern. Could it be MPB related?

Some men have a hairy neck extending from the permanent fringe area of the scalp (as seen in the Norwood 7 diagram at right). This neck hair can be very thick, like good scalp hair (this might be what you are talking about). I really don’t understand what you are describing. There are a variety of autoimmune diseases that can produce a pattern-like loss, but first lets show me what you have either in person or by photos, as I can not write a book about it here.

My offices are closed Thursday and Friday this week to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. Until we’re back on Monday, you have three options:

1. Use the search box in the top right to find hair loss articles of interest
2. Click here for a random blog entry
3. Just stare intently at this picture of a turkey dinner:

I am 58 years old (female) and have been letting my hair grow long - it is now past my shoulders - I have noticed a lot of hair loss when I wash my hair - is this due to the length of my and age? Thank you for your response

We generally lose about 100 hairs per day and if the hair cycle goes about 3 years, then the calculation of a 100 hairs per day is arrived at. The longer the hair is, the more detectable the hair will be as they will stick to your fingers in the shampooing process and in the drain. This goes for any age.

One lost hair on you could clog a drain and look like a handful if it is as coarse as it looks in the picture. As you know hair cycles and grows about a half inch a month. If you are 5ft tall and your hair is 5 ft long (example) then you have a ten year hair cycle and than means that all of your hair should fall out and be replaced in 10 years, one hair at a time. My great grandmother had hair length like yours when she was 110 years old, but she wore it in a bun and washed it a few times a year. It was evident that her length was far shorter than it appeared as the hair tangled and much of it never fell out.