Post Hair Loss Questions and Get Answers

This question was posed by a hair loss sufferer seeking hair loss help on our hair restoration forum and answered by Dr. Jeffrey Epstein of Miami, FL who is an elite member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.  His professional answer is below.

We do not require any of our hair transplant patients to shave the hair in the balding recipient area, for a few important reasons: first, it makes it difficult to resume regular activities for the first few weeks after the hair restoration procedure, and second, during the course of the procedure, I find the presence of the existing hairs allows me to more accurately determine the relative thinness of different areas of the scalp. Yes, it may take as much as an additional 90 to 120 minutes longer to perform a procedure of 2500 plus follicular unit grafts when the hair is present, but this extra time put in is a small price for the advantages of leaving the hair alone.

Dr. Epstein

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Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

Technorati Tags: hair loss, hair loss help, hair transplant, balding, hair restoration, follicular unit grafts

This question was posed by a female hair loss sufferer seeking hair loss help on our hair restoration forum and answered by Dr. Michael Beehner of Saratoga Springs, NY who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians. His professional answer is below.

I saw a very reputable hair transplant surgeon yesterday. I have receding hair at my temples so I went in to inquire about a hair transplant to those areas. Upon inspection, he indicated that I have about 30% or so hair miniaturization in the donor area. I’m very scared and am now thinking “am I going to go completely bald“? I have more questions. Has anyone with similiar problem had hair restoration surgery that can offer me some insight?  He says he can do the hair transplant but can offer no guarantee on how long it would last.

Also, how long to miniaturized hairs last and how fast does it progress? Is it normal for a woman at age 46 to have hair miniaturization?

30% is a fairly high percentage of hair miniaturization to be present in the occipital donor area, usually the best hair on most women’s heads who have female pattern alopecia. Most of the time I wouldn’t give a woman a hair transplant with that high of a percentage, simply because it also portends that a lot of the other hairs will probably be following in the same footsteps of miniaturization a hair growth life-cycle or two away from now. The good news is that hereditary female pattern hair loss is a very SLOW process for most women, and almost never occurs as rapidly as its counterpart in males.

Technorati Tags: hair loss, hair loss help, hair transplant surgeon, hair transplant, hair miniaturization, bald, hair restoration, female pattern alopecia, hair growth, female pattern hair loss

It’s gonna be 2 months on the 27th of May since my hair transplant.  When could I possibly start to see some real results?  When I slide my hand over my head I can feel prickly hairs but when I look, I can only see small thin hair growth here and there.  I also see some of my pores don’t have anything coming out of them. Any advice?. Or should I realistically be looking at the 4/5 month mark before any hair regrowth?

If you are experiencing any new hair growth at only 2 months after hair restoration surgery, you are way ahead of the game.

Transplanted hair typically start growing in thin and fine, invisible to the naked eye.  But as you are experiencing, they can be felt with your finger tips before they are seen. Transplanted hair will also “pop” through the scalp at different rates and times. Your hair transplant appears to be progressing normally. But the real fun doesn’t start for a few more months.

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

Technorati Tags: hair transplant, hair growth, hair regrowth, hair restoration, Transplanted hair

This insightful information was posted on our hair restoration forum by Dr. Alan Feller of Great Neck, NY who is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

Make NO mistake about it. A hair loss sufferer can lose some of his transplanted hair over the years. It’s not common, but it DOES happen.

What can happen in a few hair transplant patients is that the caliber of the transplanted hairs can actually thin noticeably within 3 years of hair restoration surgery. I have no idea why this happens, but it is a definite phenomenon in few patients. The way to counter this graft thinning is simply to implant more hair in the area.

This happened to a patient of mine who used to post quite frequently. I performed two hair replacement surgeries on him that gave him a thick tuft of hair in the front and top of the head. Then, about 2.5 years later he visited the office because of noticeable hair thinning in the recipient area. We did one more transplant and that did the trick. He has no problem since. He posted a professional portrait of himself and signed off the internet to go on with his life.

Making sure your hair transplant surgery is done right is just ONE aspect contributing to the final result. YOUR personal physiology plays just as important a role. The body does many seemingly qwirky and weird things and we are FAR from having all the answers.

Technorati Tags: hair loss, transplanted hair, hair transplant patient, hair restoration, hair replacement, hair thinning

This question was posed by a female hair loss sufferer seeking hair loss help on our hair restoration forum and answered by Dr. Michael Beehner of Saratoga Springs, NY who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians. His professional answer is below.

The total number of hair grafts planted in a hair transplant procedure simply refers to the number of “building blocks” used in that case, whatever their size or composition. In modern hair transplantation, that usually can range from a 1-hair follicular unit graft up to usually a double follicular unit graft of 4-5 hairs, both dissected under microscopes. Ordinarily the number of grafts equals the number of recipient site incisions with two exceptions.

One, if extremely tiny incisions are made over the entire planting area and the physician feels that 3 or 4-hair follicular units are too large to use and instructs the assistants to split them into two smaller hair grafts each. Actually, two 2-hair grafts made by splitting a 4-hair follicular units will still count as two grafts, because the work was taken to cut them into separate units and two separate incision sites are made to place them in.

Two, if a patient has a larger percentage of naturally occurring 1-hair follicular unit grafts in the donor tissue, often two 1-hair follicular units will be “paired up” and placed into a single incision, which then becomes a 2-hair site, as opposed to making two separate sites and placing 1 hair into each one.

Technorati Tags: hair loss, hair loss help, hair grafts, hair transplant, hair transplantation, follicular unit graft, follicular units

When you hear the word “makeover”, what do you think of? From fashion shows to makeup design, women work hard to change their appearance and become more attractive. But here at the Hair Transplant Network, the word “makeover” takes on a whole new meaning. Balding men and women suffering from hair loss desperately long for fabulous locks of hair that properly dress and frame the face. Now, with the recent developments in hair transplant surgery, this dream has become a reality for many.

In the last few years, a select group of surgeons such as those of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians have revolutionized the hair restoration industry because patients have demanded only the best results. Thanks to the patient revolution driven by our online hair loss forum community, many bald men and women can successfully restore a full looking natural head of hair.

Below we introduce to you a few of the great multitude of men and women who have successfully gone from bald to bushy with a hair transplant makeover.

Meet hair replacement patient and hair loss blogger Coopcoopcooperman. We can only surmise that the multiple “coops” in his name signify his exhilaration in drinking from the hair fountain of youth. After receiving 4108 grafts in one hair transplant session with Dr. Victor Hasson, his baldness is now a thing of the past after only 7 months. Mr. Coop states emphatically, “It’s so great to have my hair back”.

Technorati Tags: Balding, hair loss, hair transplant, hair restoration, bald, hair replacement, baldness

I have been using Revivogen for the last 4 years and it has good results; my hair loss has stopped and improved to some extent. If I go head with hair transplant surgery, will I be able to use Revivogen or will have to go for Propecia?

My personal opinion based on research and personal experience is that Propecia is superior to Revivogen. Propecia is FDA approved, proven to inhibit DHT and stop hair loss. There is a multitude of evidence including real balding patient written and picture testimonies. Revivogen (applied topically) contains a number of ingredients that contains anecdotal or no supporting evidence that they treat baldness. I have not heard many success stories with this product, but in theory, it could prove to have marginal benefit.

All that said , I like to stick to the principle, “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”. If Revivogen is truly helping you maintain your existing hair, then stick with it. There is no rule that says that you have to go on Propecia after hair restoration surgery.

Be sure to speak with your hair replacement surgeon regarding how long before surgery you should temporarily stop using Revivogen and when you can resume afterwards.

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

Technorati Tags: Revivogen, hair loss, hair transplant, Propecia, DHT, stop hair loss, balding, treat baldness, hair restoration, hair replacement

How long does Propecia work for hair loss? I have seen that it works for 90% of males after 5 years. How long after does it work after that?  I am sure your body will become immune to it and ignore eventually.

This question was posed by a hair loss sufferer on our hair loss forum and answered by Dr. Michael Beehner of Saratoga Springs, NY who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians. His professional answer is below.

You are still much better off staying on Propecia (finasteride). The great majority of men taking finasteride realize an increase in “hair mass” during the first 4-5 years; then there is a very gradual loss of hair, but not nearly at the steep curve and rate as if you weren’t taking this hair loss treatment.

At one conference I attended a couple of years ago, the speaker said that after 5 years, 30% of men look better than when they started, 50% look about the same and hold their own, and 20% look thinner. My gut feeling is that the last group would still look far worse had they not been taking Propecia. My own personal experience is that 80% of the men I give it to have a positive result and look better when seen back in 2-3 years. When pinned down on exactly how long a given man will have to take finasteride, my reply is “until the next wonderful thing comes along!.”

Mike Beehner, M.D.

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Technorati Tags: Propecia, hair loss, finasteride, hair mass, loss of hair, hair loss treatment

I am 10 days after my hair transplant and went to get my sutures taken out, and the ends behind each ear seem to be difficult to remove. I’m not sure if the doctor I visited to have them removed (not my hair restoration physician) was new to this, but he said that I had scabs surrounding the knots on each end.

I soaked my head for 15 minutes before I went in, but this didn’t help much. Any ideas guys? He removed the middle section of the sutures along the back of my donor scar, but I still have to remove both ends behind my ears.

This hair loss question was answered by Dr. William Lindsey of Reston, VA who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians.

In our hair replacement clinic, we usually remove all of the sutures by day ten.

However, we occasionally use coetaneous (skin) sutures which will dissolve in two weeks or so. More commonly, patients think that there are sutures still in place and its actually just dry skin/scabs along the suture line that needs more vigorous cleaning.

Finally, with our 2 layer donor closure technique, about one person in thirty has a deep suture extrude, usually around 3 months out. Thus, we often ask patients to come in for a checkup around that time and particularly to call if they are having any issues like this. You were smart to call your doctor and ask her thoughts.

William Lindsey, M.D.

Technorati Tags: hair transplant, hair restoration, hair loss, hair replacement

I am 69 years old.  18 months ago I had my first Atrial Fibrillation (A.Fib) attack.  The third time they added a beta blocker (Cardizem) to my list of medications (a calcium channel blocker) and it does seem to have slowed down my racing heart.  The problem is that I recently noticed thinning hair when it was once abundant.  Do I have to grim and bear it?  It’s quite painful to me as a woman.  Thanks in advance for your reply.

Finding the reason for unexpected hair loss can be quite challenging.  In most cases, physicians can determine the type of alopecia by the balding pattern. 

Certain medications have been known to cause a type of baldness known as diffuse alopecia.  This condition is characterized by thinning hair all over the scalp. 

Cardizem (also known as diltiazem) and the beta blockers used to treat high blood pressure and atrail fibrillation such as metoprolol, nadolol, propranolol among others have all been reported to cause hair loss.  In most cases, normal hair growth continues once the medication is stopped.  However, keeping your heart running at a normal pace is far more important, so please do not stop taking any medication unless directed by your physician.

Therefore I suggest speaking to your doctor about your hair loss concerns and explore alternative drug options for your condition that will be friendly both to your heart and your hair.  Keep in mind that even if you do switch to a different drug, it could take several months before hair regrowth occurs.

Technorati Tags: Atrial Fibrillation, A.Fib, Cardizem, thinning hair, alopecia, balding pattern, baldness, diffuse alopecia, hair growth, hair regrowth