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Hi, Im a 20 year old black male and my problem is when I was younger around 15 yrs old or so I used to have braids and I would relax my hair every so often. I got a chemical burn one time right on the front of my hairline in the middle and a little on the side. It scabbed up and I scratch the scabs off and the hair never really grew back so it makes my hairline look like its receding. I have long hair now and I was just wondering is there ANYTHING I can use or do to grow or fill in these spots so I can get my confidence back!?

If there was trauma to the hair follicles and it has not grown back in 5 years I highly doubt you can do anything to have it regrow on the area with any medication alone. Hair transplant surgery may be an option, but you would need to consult with a doctor if you would be a candidate.

Hi,
I am a 55 year old female that had hair grafts and was not informed not to use hair conditioner.

Can you tell me if I used Ovation Cell Therapy a month after my hair grafts if this would have caused any damage to my hair from prior grafts? I started losing a lot of my hair in my temple area from previous hair grafts. I have had four (4) hair restoration surgery’s over a period of 7 years and started losing hair after using Ovation Cell Therapy. I really only want to know for my own peace of mind.

Thanks in advance for you help and please advise

I am unfamiliar with the side effects of Ovation Cell Therapy. It looks like it’s a shampoo/moisturizer treatment, and I wouldn’t expect it to cause damage to transplanted hair. Have you talked to your surgeon? Do you have a possible allergy to any of the ingredients?

Hi, I have a family history of androgenetic alopecia; both of my grandfathers experienced severe baldness early in life and my brother has lost nearly all his hair. Until a year ago, I had a receding hairline and suffered moderately severe vertex baldness. Propecia/minoxidil/nizoral (2%) have significantly and remarkably filled in all balding areas! Many people have commented that I now have thicker hair than when I was a teenager.

My question is how often I should wash my hair for optimum hair growth/restoration? Using minoxidil 2-3 times daily does make my scalp oily, but this does not concern me as I often wear a cap. So much contradictory evidence makes this topic confusing. Your help would be much appreciated.

It’s reasonable to wash your hair once a day. Washing your hair isn’t going to cause more to regrow, but as long as your treatments are working, you should keep up what you’re doing.

Dear Balding Blog,
With so much conflicting evidence, how many times do you recommend washing your hair per week for optimum hair regrowth/restoration? The reason I ask is because I ride a motorcycle and my scalp gets quite oily, particularly during summer.

Thank you.

If your hair gets oily, then wash as often as you like to keep it feeling good and clean. Once or twice a day (when you ride your motorcycle) should meet your needs. It will not cause hair loss, nor will shampooing your hair cause it to regrow.

Hi Doc,

I’m a 26 year old male with a fairly aggresive NW4 developing, and need to do something to stabilize this before going for a HT next year.

I’ve grown pretty scared of finasteride side effects through the experience of a good friend who unfortunately suffered some of the psychological sides we’ve all been reading about online.

Question is, would a 1/4 dose (0.25mg) finasteride still be more effective for someone in my position than the full (320mg) recommended dose of saw palmetto? I’ve tried the latter before with no side effects, but didn’t stay on it long enough to evaluate the results.

Thanks doc and keep up the excellent work!

Propecia is finasteride in 1mg strength that you take daily for genetic male pattern (androgenic) hair loss. It’s been indicated that 0.5 mg finasteride daily is about 70 to 80% as effective as the full 1mg dose. I suppose you can infer how a 0.25mg dose may help. But in general if you are going to take a drug, you should take it as directed and speak with your doctor about all these issues. With saw palmetto, you really do not know the dose of the effective ingredients as they vary per manufacturer. Add to that the knowledge that saw palmetto has never been proven to work on hair reliably with a good scientific study.

My final point is that if you are going to read the issues of Propecia on the Internet and scare yourself with unsubstantiated reports without even seeing a doctor, the chances are you will likely have a side effect from the sheer psychological impact.

I am 30 yr old female and have been experiencing frontal hair loss. What is the best way to hide the scalp? - toppik, easibang, anything else? Does toppik have any side effects or does it damage hair/scalp?

Many people use Toppik, as it has no side effects. There are a variety of topical camouflaging agents that work well, but some people will try out a few and stick with their personal preference.

You should get a diagnosis and be examined by a competent doctor who does this type of work. You may be a good candidate for a hair transplant if the hair loss is only frontal. Women are usually not the best hair transplant candidates, but seeing a good hair transplant surgeon for a consultation would be the best way to figure it out.

I have general thinning in the crown area in an otherwise mostly full head of hair. I find that what works best for me is one of those masking agents that you spray on to color your scalp to match your hair color. In fact, it works so well that one of my friends examined my scalp closely and still couldn’t figure out why my hair seemed thicker. The problem is that this stuff rubs off too easily. You have to be extremely careful to not let your head touch anybody’s pillows or furniture for fear of leaving a large brown (or black) spot.

Is there a product out there that stains the scalp so that it will not wash or rub off and remain on the scalp until it wears off?

DermMatch will not rub off. Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) will not rub off either…. but it is permanent. DermMatch is cheaper and will wash off.

Hello Doctor

Is it necessary to wash off concealers ( such as dermatch or toppik ) daily or is it safe to use them daily but keep a 2 - 3 washes per week schedule

Thank you

You don’t need to wash off these camouflaging agents every day. I’ve seen patients who keep these concealers on for 2 to 3 days (since they wash their hair that often), but it’s up to you. Concealers will not damage your hair or cause hair loss, even if you keep them on for a few days.

Hello Dr. Rassman,

I’m a young man experiencing MPB, and I’ve decided I want to embrace it. I’d rather not shave my head since I find razors irritate my skin. My question is this: Do you know of any hair removal creams that are safe for use on the scalp? I’ve read varying reports that indicate Nair can damage the scalp. Furthermore, if I later choose to have a transplant or other hair restoration procedure done, would the earlier use of hair removal cream alter my hair’s regrowth in any way once I cease using the product?

Thanks for your informative site and the time you devote to answering all our questions!

There seems to be many warnings on using depilatories such as Nair. The warnings suggest chemical burns and damage may result from their use on the scalp. It appears that your options are limited to shaving. Try different razors or shaving creams to see if that helps reduce irritation.

Good morning Doctor Rassman,

I would like to know if washing my hair every day with a gentle shampoo could cause a hair loss ?

Many thanks for your great blog.

If you are gentle when massaging the scalp in the shampooing process, especially if your hair is miniaturized and in the balding process, I would doubt that shampooing would cause hair loss.