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.

—-

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.

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.

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

Follow our community on Twitter

Watch hair transplant videos on YouTube

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

This article was submitted to us for publishing and was partially written by Dr. Carlos Wesley, who is recommended on the Hair Transplant Network. For a complete list of contributors to this article, scroll down to the bottom of this article.

Hair Transplantation Procedures

Overview

Background

Hair transplantation procedures are used to treat various forms and degrees of permanent alopecia in both men and women. Intact hair follicles may be harvested from within the safe donor area of a patient’s scalp by either strip method or follicular unit extraction (FUE); each harvesting method has unique advantages and disadvantages. The refinement of follicular unit transplanting over the last decade has led to markedly improved hair survival and natural-appearing results.

This article provides a broad overview of the techniques used by various hair transplant surgeons throughout the world. Founded on the principal of donor dominance (ie, hair follicles continue to grow in the new recipient area to which they are introduced as long as they would have in the donor area from which they are extracted), the field of hair restoration surgery (HRS) has evolved considerably since its inception in the 1950s. Natural-appearing results are consistently achievable and reflect a surgeon’s technical skill and artistic creativity.

Indications

Hair transplantation is a surgical procedure used for the correction of androgenic alopecia (AGA), cicatricial (scarring) alopecia, or any form of permanent hair loss in both men and women.^[1,2]

Recently, Coalition member and highly acclaimed hair restoration surgeon Dr. Bessam Farjo of Manchester, United Kingdom was interviewed by the Times of India for a lifestyle article about hair loss.  Topics discussed include advancements made in hair loss research, state of the art hair transplant surgery and hair multiplication (cloning). In the article, Dr. Farjo discusses why he chose to specialize in hair restoration and his role in shaping its future through the ongoing research and development of new techniques.

Dr. Bessam Farjo has a long history of performing state of the art, ultra-refined follicular unit hair transplantation with outstanding results. Along with his wife and colleague, Dr. Nilofer Farjo, he founded the Farjo Medical Centre in 1992. Since that time, the Farjo Clinic has become the UK’s premier center for surgical hair restoration, medical hair loss treatment and research.

Dr. Bessam and Nilofer Farjo are both highly esteemed members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians and recommended by the Hair Transplant Network. To learn about our criteria for recommending physicians, click here.

Click the image below to see the full article.

—-

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

Get Proven Treatments at the Best Prices by visiting our new Online Hair Loss Treatment Shop.

This question comes from a member of our Hair Loss Social Community and Discussion Forums: 

I recently underwent hair transplant surgery (follicular unit transplantation) and I’m wondering if I’ll experience any sort of additional hair loss from the procedure? Additionally, how soon, after the hair transplant procedure, can I shave my head?

Technorati Tags: Hair Loss, hair transplant surgery, follicular unit transplantation, hair transplant, hair restoration

This question comes from a member of our Hair Loss Social Community and Discussion Forums: 

I recently began researching hair restoration medications and it seems like many hair loss sufferers recommend Nizoral shampoo. How does it work? Is it an effective treatment? Is it proven to fight progressive hair loss?

Ketoconazole (the active ingredient in Nizoral) is first, and foremost, an anti-fungal agent. In this regard, it may have some hair loss impact by reducing scalp inflammation and, therefore, increasing the flow of blood and nutrients to the scalp (though this is my personal opinion).

However, a 1996 study comparing ketoconazole to minoxidil (the active ingredient in Rogaine) helped demonstrate that the anti-fungal also possesses some anti-androgen (hormone) properties. Because of this, it’s believed that ketoconazole may have some “anti-DHT” (dihydrotestosterone) capabilities and can, therefore, help combat hair loss on the hormonal front as well.

Utilizing ketoconazole on the scalp, versus a systemic ingestion (oral administration), allows the drug to absorb and work at the site of administration (the scalp). This means that, much like using topical minoxidil, you won’t see a system wide blockage of DHT, but you can see some action at the scalp itself.

However, keep in mind that, at this point in time, minoxidil (Rogaine) and finasteride (Propecia) are the only two drugs fully approved for treating genetic hair loss, and I highly recommend adding these components to your Nizoral regimen (if you haven’t already).
_________________

Blake – aka Future_HT_Doc

Recommended hair transplant surgeon Dr. Shelly A. Friedman recently released a new book titled To Bald or Not to Bald? That is the Question. Although the book is humorously titled, the content tackles important hair loss issues, such as the difference between male and female genetic balding, effective hair restoration treatments, and obtaining state-of-the-art surgical techniques. As Dr. Friedman explains:

Although it is usually an unwanted sign of aging, hair loss may no longer be inevitable. Hopefully, by the time you finish this book you will understand the proven, effective treatment options that have become so popular. In subsequent chapters you will realize that hair loss is a problem that can be solved with new and exciting methods that will be explained in detail as we move along. We live in a new era of medical innovation and possibilities. Advances in medical research, technology and surgical techniques have restored patient’s faith in the field of medical and surgical hair restoration. This books explains the entire process of hair restoration today.

If you would like to get in contact with Dr. Friedman, feel free to visit his recommendation profile at the Hair Transplant Network. Additionally, please visit our online hair loss product shop for information on purchasing your very own copy of To Bald or Not to Bald? That is the Question.

To purchase this book immediately, click here.

_______________
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

The experience and skill of hair transplant surgeons vary widely as do their results. Thus, selecting a quality hair transplant surgeon is critical in order to achieve a natural, full looking head of hair. But what do hair loss sufferers need to know before undergoing surgery at their local hair restoration clinic? Below we provide tips on how to select a qualified physician that can help not only to restore lost lustrous locks, but lost confidence as well.

At the Hair Transplant Network, we make selecting a quality hair transplant surgeon easy. Each physician recommended by our online community is carefully prescreened and selected based on their proven ability to produce fabulous, natural looking results. To see a list of surgeons we recommend, click here. To see our high standards for recommendation, click here.

While the best physicians using state of the art techniques can often successfully mimic nature, they are still limited to a finite donor hair supply and can only work within the boundaries of a patient’s physiology. Thus, researching our community and interaction with other forum and social community members can help patients find the best hair doctors and develop realistic expectations as to what hair restoration surgery can accomplish for them.

Hair loss suffering men and women are encouraged to learn all they can about hair transplantation and the doctors that perform it well before undergoing surgery. To learn from patients about which physicians are producing truly natural results, visit our hair restoration forum and social community.  You can also access our directory of prescreened hair transplant surgeons.