Post Hair Loss Questions and Get Answers

This hair loss question was answered by Dr. Robert True of New York, NY who is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.  His professional answer is below.

When should I expect my transplanted hair to grow?

Below I’ve outlined what hair transplant patients should typically expect from their procedure and a hair growth timeline.

A) Dormant Period – the first 3 -4 months. Once the hairs have shed the newly transplanted follicles go into a resting period before they start to produce hair. This period is usually three to four months but in a small percentage of patients may extend even up to 6 months. It is uncommon to see any hair regrowth of new hair during this period. At the end of this dormant time the first of the new hairs begin to appear.

B) Emergent Period – months 4 – 5 through 8.  The new hairs gradually appear during this period. For most patients by 8 months, 90% of the hairs have emerged. For a small percentage of hair loss patients, there may be a delay of 3 to 6 additional months before full emergence of hair has occurred. Newly emerged hairs are very fine. Hairs along the hairline often appear before those further back, and commonly the crown hairs are the slowest to appear. It is common to see irregular or patchy hair growth in the beginning that evens out toward the end of this period.

To date, Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil) are the only FDA approved non-surgical hair loss solutions proven to stop hair loss and regrow hair. While Propecia’s website advises balding men to take 1mg daily for optimal benefit, some hair restoration physicians suggest taking half the dosage and sometimes even every other day.

Coalition member Dr. Cooley has discussed this topic in the past and doesn’t necessarily recommend a particular dosage to his patients – rather he teaches hair loss sufferers on the facts of the medication so they can make educated decisions on the dosage to take. See “Taking Propecia Every Other Day” for Dr. Cooley’s views on taking Propecia.

On this discussion thread, members share their experiences and discuss whether Propecia provides maximum benefit taken daily or at other dosages and frequencies. You are encouraged to join in the discussion and offer your experience.

Bill Seemiller – aka Falceros
Associate Publisher/Editor

Technorati Tags: Propecia, finasteride, Rogaine, minoxidil, FDA approved, hair loss solutions, stop hair loss, regrow hair, balding, hair restoration, Dr. Cooley, hair loss

Differentiating what really works to treat hair loss from the hype isn’t easy. Thankfully, leading hair restoration physicians and veteran hair transplant patients regularly offer their experiences on what works to treat baldness.

Below you will find answers to 5 of t his week’s top topic hair loss related questions provided by balding men and women and physician experts. You can also ask your own questions and get answers on our hair restoration forum or privately by using our contact form. 

Should I Stay on Propecia If I Experience Side Effects? (Dr. Steven Gabel)

Can a Hair Transplant be Spotted? (Dr. Timothy Carman)

Tips on Discovering the Cause of Your Hair Loss

Can Men have a Female Hair Loss Pattern?

Buying Legitimate Generic Hair Loss Medication Online?

Bill Seemiller – aka Falceros
Associate Publisher/Editor

Technorati Tags: hair loss, hair restoration, hair transplant, treat baldness, balding

The excitement of new hair continuously draws hair loss sufferers to consider hair transplant surgery. Those who embark on this journey often restore their hair and confidence in their appearance. During the first few weeks after surgery however, a patient’s scalp contains scabs, new transplanted hair, and postoperative redness. How then during this healing phase, do hair restoration patients go back to work and conceal their hair transplant? Is there a way to hide and make it so it’s not noticeable to co-workers? What if you can’t wear a hat or head covering?

View this hair restoration topic to discuss tips and tricks you and other hair restoration patients used to hide the evidence they’ve had surgery. You are encouraged to offer your input.

Bill Seemiller – aka Falceros
Associate Publisher/Editor

Technorati Tags: hair loss, hair transplant, restore their hair, transplanted hair, hair restoration

This blog was written by Dr. Steven Gabel of Hillsboro, OR who is an elite member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.  

This takes the cake, or should be up there, in a list of top 10 bogus hair loss solutions. There is now an IPhone hair loss application called: “HAIR CLINIC:  for man and woman.” I just found this on the internet and had to check it out and it is true. Go to Apple’s website in the application store and you will find it.

They call it “The World’s first Mobile Hair Clinic System.” From briefly reading this, people are supposed to put the IPhone to their head and the application makes the phone generate inaudible high and low frequencies to promote circulation around the hair follicles.

The best part is the disclaimer: may cause headaches if the built in speaker is used close to the ears. The company states that it is not responsible for the headaches.

And all this for $3.99.

Steven Gabel, M.D.

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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 solutions, IPhone hair loss, HAIR CLINIC:  for man and woman, Hair Clinic, IPhone

Though some simply accept baldness as a part of life, hair loss can often be the cause of depression and high levels of anxiety for thousands of men and women worldwide. In fact, some are so ashamed of their baldness; they’ll withdraw from formal social situations where hats and other head coverings are considered inappropriate attire.

Vulnerable men and women should heed caution watching slick late night infomercials that would have you believe their product is the miracle hair regrowth cure. And though no cure exists to stop the progression of female or male pattern baldness or regrow hair, several viable treatment options are available today worth considering.

Non-surgical hair loss treatments such as Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil) can be quite good at slowing down or stopping the progression of male pattern baldness. Since both treatments work differently, they are said to have a symbiotic and synergistic effect in treating alopecia. Commitment to these medications however, is the key to success.

Men and women with mild to moderate thinning hair have the greatest chance to keep it. Therefore, catching and treating hair loss early might prevent the need for more extreme treatments. Only surgical hair restoration is proven to grow hair in completely bald areas.

Some men and women also opt to use hair replacement systems also known as pieces or alopecia wigs. Some systems are actually quite natural and can portray the illusion of a full head of hair. But don’t be confused by fancy promotional catchphrases. “Non-surgical” hair replacement is still referring to a wig or a temporary head of hair.

The Hair Transplant Network has a reputation for integrity because we enable patients to share their true experiences online, without us sweeping any genuine and legitimate concerns under the carpet. This holds true whether a hair restoration surgeon is recommended by our community or not. Whereas high visibility can be bought, credibility and trust must be earned and maintained.

Ultimately we want our hair loss forum to be free and open as well as fair and just to all participants – both patients and physicians. Therefore just as we expect physicians to be held responsible for their actions we expect those who post to be responsible for their actions.

HIPAA laws prevent doctors from sharing confidential information about a patient publicly, and most times, a poster’s anonymity prevents the doctor from knowing who the patient is at all. Whereas posters can usually hide behind anonymous names, physicians and clinics can’t. And it’s their reputations that are sometimes on the line.

Therefore when patients share their concerns on our hair loss forum, we may require them to provide information to their doctor on a case by case basis.

These guidelines have been in place forever – but we’ve recently documented how we create a fair and balanced discussion for patients and physicians on our forum. For more information, read “Maintaining a Safe and Fair Environment on our Forum for Patients and Physicians“.

Today’s top hair restoration surgeons will create tiny incisions with small tools to maximize dense packing and reduce trauma to the scalp during a hair transplant procedure. The cutting tools however, vary from surgeon to surgeon.

The discussion on whether custom cut flat blades or pre-fabricated needles is optimal for making incisions has come up from time to time on our hair loss forum. While some clinics believe custom cut blades reduces trauma to the scalp and allows for packing hair more closely together, other clinics believe that by pushing the hair apart, sharp point needles can actually reduce the risk of shock loss.

In this hair loss forum discussion thread, read views by leading hair restoration clinics like Coalition members Hasson and Wong, Dr. Jerry Cooley, and Shapiro Medical Group. Feel free to offer your own input on this important topic.

Bill Seemiller – aka Falceros
Associate Publisher/Editor

Technorati Tags: hair restoration, dense packing, hair transplant, hair loss, shock loss, Hasson and Wong, Dr. Jerry Cooley, Shapiro Medical

This hair loss question was answered by Dr. Robert True of New York, NY who is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.  His professional answer is below.

Can I apply Rogaine (minoxidil) to my transplanted hair?  If so, when can I start?  Is it true that it will help expedite hair regrowth?

f you have been using Rogaine (minoxidil) before your hair transplant procedure, you should continue to use it. If you have not used Rogaine prior to your procedure, you should not start using it unless the doctor has specifically told you to.

Contrary to internet rumors, there is no scientific basis to the belief that applying Rogaine to the transplanted scalp will make the hairs grow in faster or better.

Rogaine can be very irritating to healing skin, so do not put it on the part of your scalp that has been transplanted until at least one week after treatment. If you have been applying it to a part of your scalp that was not transplanted you can continue to apply it without interruption following surgical hair restoration – just take care to not let it get on the healing transplanted scalp in the first week.

If you have been using Rogaine for 4 months or longer, abruptly stopping it for longer than a week can cause a cycle of increased hair shedding.

Dr. Robert True

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Bill – aka Falceros
Associate Publisher/Editor

This might be a strange question.  But how can patients tell if they’ve really gotten the number of grafts they paid for during their hair transplant?  Is there a way to check and know for sure?

Actually, it’s not strange at all.  Frankly, getting this question answered is very important and downright critical prior to scheduling a procedure.  Unfortunately, there have been patient reported concerns of receiving fewer transplants than they’ve paid for.  And in looking at some of their surgical photos, I was inclined to agree.   The good news is, there is something you can do to ensure you get the hair transplant that you paid for.

Coalition member Dr. William Rassman of California just recently addressed this topic on his Balding Blog and I thought he had a plausible suggestion to ensure patients don’t get scammed.  To read his article, visit Unethical Graft Counting – Avoid the Scam.

The first and most important step is to find and schedule a hair replacement procedure with a highly reputable prescreened hair restoration physician with a proven track record of producing excellent results.  To see a list of surgeons we recommend, click here.  To view our high standards for recommendation, click here.  A reputable surgeon dedicated to patient care and ethics also shouldn’t mind Dr. Rassman’s suggestion below.

Learn about graft auditing and how it’s done. Then find a friend or family member who can audit your physician’s graft counting process. The graft auditor should learn and become familiar with what to look for prior to attempting to audit your procedure. However, it’s certainly one sure way of knowing that you’ve gotten what you paid for.