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Hi guys, I’m 21 years old and have been taking Propecia for hair loss for about 4+ months. The results are simply amazing as my hair looks like it did years ago before it started thinning rapidly. What I have noticed, being a heavy weight lifter, is that my muscles have softened, not necessarily lost size though. Have there been any studies or does this seem to be a heard of side effect of taking Propecia?

Also, after taking Propecia for a certain time period, does there come a time where when you stop taking the Propecia, the hair you have regrown will stay (or at least fall out at a normal slow pace)?

Softening of the muscles is not a documented side effect of Propecia (finasteride) but some men do claim to have experienced a noticeable softening of the muscles while taking it.

Unfortunately, Propecia must be taken for life in order to maintain hair growth. Stopping finasteride will eventually result in catch-up hair loss. In other words, your hair will rapidly take on the balding pattern you would have developed had you never started using the drug in the first place.

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In this article, recommended hair transplant surgeon Dr. Parsa Mohebi shares his expert advice regarding stress and hair loss.

Many of my hair loss patients who come for their first consultation associate their hair loss to the beginning of a stressful event or season in their lives. Several of these individuals explain they began to notice thinning hair when they moved to a different city or country, went through a divorce, or had difficulties at work or in their personal lives. The situation always revolved around some type of emotional trauma or sudden change of life’s routine pattern. Usually, they have been right in their assessment that these types of events have the potential to accelerate hair loss.

Looking at the situation more critically, hair loss would not have occurred to these same individuals if they were not genetically predisposed to balding. For example, someone at the age of 20 or older, may have the hair loss gene which will cause male or female baldness. From the age 20 and older, if they are involved in a major surgical procedure, a traumatic event, or stressful situation, it can accelerate the hair loss process. So the loss expected to be seen in 10 years could come around much earlier.

Trauma, stress, other medical conditions, or major surgeries may cause hair loss in individuals not prone to lose hair, in the form of hair shedding.  This is due to a signal their scalp hair received to push them to the resting phase, or telogen phase.  However, the condition is merely temporary, and the missing hair will grow back after the passing of the stressful circumstance, or treatment of the medical condition.

Recently, recommended hair transplant surgeon and follicular unit extraction (FUE) specialist Dr. Sanusi Umar shared a presentation about leg hair transplants (body hair transplant) at the 2011 American Society for Dermatological Surgery (ASDS) annual meeting.

As a hair restoration surgeon, Dr. Umar is well known for his ability to successfully extract and implant hair grafts from alternative (non-scalp) sources during extreme hair transplant repairs. Although he’s frequently utilized body hair grafts from the beard, chest, and armpit regions, the ASDS presentation focused on the use of leg hair grafts during hair transplant repairs.

To demonstrate the validity of these grafts, Dr. Umar presented a repair patient who underwent a 1,000 leg hair graft procedure. Utilizing hair solely from the patient’s legs, Dr. Umar repaired a harsh, unnatural hairline created during a previous hair transplant surgery.

Two years after the repair procedure, Dr. Umar showed the leg grafts recreated a soft, natural hairline and permanently transformed the patient’s appearance. According to Dr. Umar’s blog, the leg hair graft’s natural fine caliber and ability to create a “soft,” gradual appearance makes them an ideal choice for transplant repair procedures.

Congratulations Dr. Umar!
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Blake – aka Future_HT_Doc

Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum

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This hair restoration article was written by recommended hair loss physician Dr. Carlos Wesley, who is recommended on the Hair Transplant Network.

Factors Influencing Postoperative Hyperesthesia (Discomfort)
in Hair Restoration Surgery

Summary

Background While esthetic outcomes in hair restoration surgery (HRS) have improved markedly since the advent of follicular unit transplantation (FUT), various undesirable sequelae persist. We investigated the technical and demographic variables that may contribute to the frequency of postoperative hyperesthesia.

Methods A multicenter retrospective chart review involving 552 patients undergoing HRS from 1999 to 2009.

Results A total of 19 patients (3.4%) reported postoperative hyperesthesia in either the donor or recipient area of their scalp. Although many trends emerged, one variable significantly influenced the rate of this neurosensory symptom. While no patient who had all previous and current HRS sessions performed entirely within the same investigated surgical practice (n = 42) experienced postoperative hyperesthesia, 14% of our patients who underwent prior HRS by a physician outside of the investigated surgical group (n = 35) developed this complication (P = 0.0404). The amount of intraoperative electrocautery to maintain hemostasis (P = 0.0897), degree of tension upon donor wound closure (P = 0.3044), and extent of donor wound edge undermining (P = 0.4420) influenced the frequency of this sequela to a lesser degree.

Conclusion These results suggest that physicians planning repair sessions on patients who have undergone prior HRS by a physician at a different surgical center should include the specific caveat of increased incidences of postoperative hyperesthesia in their preoperative consultation.

Although chemotherapy is one of the most effective cancer treatments available today, it is frequently associated with a variety of physical and psychological side effects. Among the potential side effects is one condition notoriously dreaded by cancer patients: hair loss.

Because chemotherapy induced hair loss often makes cancer treatment more difficult and mentally damaging, scientists and physicians continually research ways to preserve native hair and prevent thinning hair during anti-cancer treatments.

Recently, two hospitals in the United Kingdom introduced a new invention that may prevent unfortunate chemotherapy induced hair loss and help cancer patients heal in a more comprehensive manner.

The invention, created by the daughter of a breast cancer victim, is tentatively called a “scalp cooler,” and works by literally lowering a patient’s scalp temperature and decreasing blood flow to the scalp. The reduced scalp blood flow helps minimize the interaction between the hair follicles and harmful chemotherapy drugs, which prevents damage and decreases the frequency of hair loss.

According to Julie Reed, a nurse at one of the trial hospitals:

They are a massive benefit to patients who will be able to use them during their cancer treatment because obviously it’s more evident to people that they are under going treatment when they have no hair.

Furthermore, Oncologist Larry Hayward agrees and states:

Obviously the most important thing is to control the cancer, get rid of it if we can, but allowing patients to get on with life is normal whilst they have what’s otherwise quite complicated treatment is going to be a huge advantage.

Although it’s been proven safe and effective for treating male pattern baldness in several research trials, many hair loss sufferers still insist that the hair restoration drug Propecia (finasteride) causes irreversible sexual dysfunction. Furthermore, these same individuals claim Merck Pharmaceuticals, the makers of Propecia, failed to adequately warn patients about the potential long-term sexual side effects associated with the drug.

As a result, over 51 different class action lawsuits have been filed against Merck Pharmaceuticals within the past several years. Although all cases focus on the allegedly permanent sexual side effects, each differs slightly and was scheduled for a unique day in court. However, Merck Pharmaceuticals recently altered the legal situation by deciding these individual complaints should be consolidated into one lawsuit and evaluated during a single proceeding.

Because 41 of the 53 complaints have been filed in New Jersey, Merck recommends the single trial take place in a New Jersey courtroom. A hearing, to determine whether the consolidation will occur, is scheduled to take place on March 29th, 2012 in San Diego, California.

Legal experts claim the consolidated proceeding would help prevent contradictory decisions and unnecessary pretrial rulings.

In an interesting turn, the official Propecia website is “down” and contains the following message: Thank you for visiting propecia.com, this website is currently not available; You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA.

While it’s uncertain whether the website content is related to the current lawsuits, many hair loss patients cannot ignore the coincidental timing.

Acclaimed hair restoration physician Dr. Alan Feller is a pioneer in the field of modern follicular unit hair transplantation and an esteemed member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. Dr. Feller is widely known as one of the world’s foremost experts in follicular unit extraction (FUE) and is the inventor of the “Feller Punch“, a tool that has been adopted by many leading hair transplant surgeons around the globe.

Recently, Feller Medical announced the launch of their new, state of the art multimedia website. The new site features a unique, interactive patient results gallery, a patient video gallery, testimonials and more. Balding men and women seeking a solution to hair loss are encouraged to visit their new and improved website at Feller Medical to learn more about their experience, technique and high standard of patient care.

To discuss Dr. Feller’s new website, visit the discussion forum topic, Feller Medical Debuts New and Improved Website.

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David (TakingThePlunge)
Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.

To share ideas with other hair loss sufferers visit the Hair Restoration Social Network and Enhanced Discussion Forum

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Technorati Tags: hair restoration, Dr. Alan Feller, hair transplantation, Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians, follicular unit extraction, FUE, Feller Punch, hair transplant, Balding, hair loss

I’ve read a lot on the Internet about the dangers of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in shampoos and other products. Could this be what’s causing my hair loss or at least accelerating it?

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is a chemical foaming agent present in many hygiene products like shampoos, soaps and, toothpaste as well as in cleaning products such as detergents and degreasers. It has been rumored to cause everything from scalp irritation to hair loss and even cancer. However, according to Coalition hair restoration physician Dr. Bill Rassman, these warnings are overblown and it is nothing to be concerned about due to the very low levels of the chemical in these hygiene products.

Shampoos contain very small amounts of SLS (typically less than 15%). Combined with the fact that these products are normally diluted with water and remain in contact with the skin only briefly, there is very little opportunity for it to absorb into the skin and cause systemic damage. Thus, it is very unlikely that SLS has caused or has in any way exacerbated your hair loss. In the vast majority of cases, balding is the result of androgenic alopecia (genetic hair loss).

If you are a man with thinning hair, I recommend you discuss Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (finasteride) with your doctor. These drugs are the only two clinically proven and FDA approved medical hair loss treatments currently available. Only Rogaine is approved for treating female hair loss. Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should not take or handle broken finasteride tablets due to the risk of birth defects.

With her angelic face, unattainable physique and signature, flowing blonde locks, Mattel’s Barbie has epitomized the American standard of beauty and glamour since her “birth” in 1959. But, if one group has its way, at least one aspect of Barbie’s iconic look will receive a makeover this year. A grassroots movement born in the age of social media has created a Facebook page petitioning the toy maker to create a bald Barbie to “help young girls who suffer from hair loss due to cancer treatments, Alopecia and Trichotillomania” as well as for those who are having trouble coping with their mother’s hair loss from chemotherapy.

Balding men and women of all ages understand the psychological effects of hair loss. Those suffering from androgenic alopecia or one of the many non-genetic causes know the feelings of helplessness and loss of self-esteem that can accompany thinning hair. But, this pales when compared to a child who is not only balding but also suffering from an incurable and potentially life-threatening illness.

As a community by and for hair loss sufferers, the Hair Restoration Forum and Social Network is committed to educating balding men and women about effective and proven hair loss treatments and we support the creation of a Bald Barbie. Perhaps we can’t cure cancer but we have a unique opportunity to help alter society’s perception of hair loss and, most importantly, put smiles on the faces of little girls who have forgotten what it’s like to feel like a princess.

This below question was asked by a member of our Hair Loss Social Community and Discussion Forums and answered by Janna, the lead medical technician for Coalition hair restoration surgeons Dr. Ron Shapiro and Dr. Paul Shapiro.

I’m undergoing a hair transplant procedure in the near future, and I’m wondering if I should get a haircut before surgery? Is it best to “shave” my head? How short should it be cut?

Blake – aka Future_HT_Doc

Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum

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Technorati Tags: Hair Loss, hair restoration, Dr. Ron Shapiro, Dr. Paul Shapiro, hair transplant, haircut, follicular unit transplantation, FUT