Hair Restoration Blog

Q:

Hello Dr Mohebi,

I recently read an article on the web that you commented on Harvard research for hair cloning.  I am in my early 40′s, fairly broke, and eagerly awaiting the day that hair cloning is successful and available to the market.  For the past decade, I keep hearing the same promises that it will arrive in 5 years, but still no luck.  Can you comment on why it is not here yet, and perhaps when we will see it.  Thanks in advance.

A:

Hair multiplication also referred to as “Hair Cloning” is a hot topic in hair restoration over the last few years it is garnering more and more attention.  The research for multiplying hair (hair cloning) has been going on for years now in several centers around the world over the past few years.  The study that we performed with collaboration with some scientists in Cedar Sinai is only one of the many steps that need  be taken to successfully multiply hair.

Hair multiplication would offer superior benefits to patients and represent a significant advance for medical science and hair restoration. Still the march towards this being a medical reality moves slowly for a several different reasons:

1.  Although hair loss has detrimental effects on patients’ lives, is yet to be recognized as a burning issue in medical field to warrant more funding for hair loss research.
2.  Hair multiplication studies are usually done in private setting without the support of larger institutions such as universities and NIH (National Institute of Health).
3. The growth rates of the hair stem cells are extremely slow in cell cultures.  That makes the overall period of hair multiplication timelier and adds exponentially to the cost of these studies.

The combination of above three factors and other obstacles in this process has made progress of hair multiplication very slow.  My best estimation of current research is that hair multiplication is probably at least 8 years away from practical medical application.  The reason for this is that any new medical treatment or device needs to go through different phases to obtain FDA approval for its use in the U.S.

The last phase necessary in development of a new treatment is ‘clinical trials’. The phase three is done on volunteer patients to find out more about long term complications that might be associated with the treatment. At this time no study has reached the clinical trials stage this makes it unlikely that we can have hair cloning available to public within the next eight years.

Today, technological advances in medicine have opened up new options in all areas of medicine. We have watched the evolution of glasses to hard contacts to disposable contact lenses to Lasik surgery. The benefits of these new procedures empowered many to change their destiny. People do not have to live with conditions like eye problems, obesity or baldness that strongly effects and influences their self-esteem and quality of life.

In my experience as a hair transplant surgeon many women will reject men only because they are bald; many others associate baldness as being less masculine. Now this is not true for all women, but certainly there is still a palpable negative social stigma associated with baldness.

I had the opportunity to study, research and publish on the psychology of hair loss and hair restoration. Today, we know that hair loss is a real concern affecting many men and women’s well-being  This is a social reality. More importantly it is fact that medically we now have amazing solutions for many types of hair loss conditions.

The advance in hair transplantation technology over the past decades makes available procedures like FUT, FUE for hair restoration procedures that provide natural and proven results. I say: why not use it? A lot of people are doing it, and nobody knows if their hair is native hair or transplanted hair. The key point here is: they are not bald anymore and they feel good about themselves. People with today’s natural and permanent hair transplants face the world happier and more confident people.

Here is what I recommend: Be yourself and do whatever makes your heart happy. No matter what you do with your life, there are going to be people who may not like it. It should not influence your decisions. If you think an elective surgery such as hair transplant can drastically improve your life don’t hesitate. Seek a professional consult from a hair transplant doctor. Let baldness be only a thing that our ancestors had to experience.

The amount of money spent on bogus hair loss products and treatments since the e founding of America may well be enough to pay off our national debt. Or at least put a serious dent in it! Hair loss patients are too often the wishful or unwitting dupe to charlatans proposing the miracle cure to baldness.

So just in case you’re not aware below are 5 of the top Hair Loss Scams or at least the jargon used to give people false hope.

1)  Blocked Hair Follicles!  Our special, magical, combination of exotic herbs and spices will unblock them and presto your hair will pop back out. No it won’t!

2)  You are afflicted with poor scalp circulation!  Hmmm…have you ever noticed that even a bald scalp bleeds when cut. This is affront to ones intelligence.

3)  Malnourished follicles!  Forget all the bald guys in the organic food section; just look at all those buff healthy athletes in all the major sports.  Some seriously healthy men with bald heads!

4)  It’s imported from afar! As long as its not made in the USA it must be good, that darn government is holding back the cure…not true in the rest of the world. It has to work, right? No, there are bald men everywhere!

5)  It’s An Ancient Secret Formula!  That’s it those cavemen had it right all that hair from head to toe keeping them warm, they couldn’t have been bald. Ludicrous, if there were an ancient secret formula known every hair restoration doctor and pharmaceutical company would be trying to market it.

We know that people with hair loss suffer from reduced self image and esteem. We don’t like to see them ripped off.  Los Angeles best hair restoration doctors care about their patients and only recommend medically approved treatments.

 Magnetic Therapy Effects on Hair Loss

Our patients and readers barrage our offices with questions regarding  exotic methods that are claim to help hair loss.  When these claims are published in sources that appear sophisticated and reputable to the average consumer more confusion sets in.  I receive many questions regarding the validity of these devices including laser combs, LED light hats, magnetic devices, heating caps etc.

The reality is that we only have a few techniques that can actually help hair loss and those are:

1. Hair transplantation that can permanently move hair from permanent hair zone to balding area
2. Hair loss medications such as finasteride and minoxidil that primarily can slow down the process of hair loss.
3. Ketoconazole and Bimatoprost solutions; two other solutions that appear to stimulate hair growing as a side effect.
4. A few herbals such as Saw Palmetto with DHT blocking properties.

Hair restoration is a huge market considering that over 60% of white males over the age of 50 have some degrees of hair loss that requires some sort of treatment.  Most of those devices that claim that they can help hair loss are shooting to only sell one time to a small fraction of balding population who are desperate.  The consumers of these products don’t mind spending a few dollars on a new device with a huge claim that seem harmless to them.

If you do the math you can figure out that each of those claims can profit its seller sweetly and as long as there is no regulation to put stop on those commercials we are going to witness more and more of those ads. The best advice is to see a good hair transplant surgeon and remember the tried and true adage; “If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely isn’t.”

Do female athletes experience male pattern hairline recession?

Q:

Dear Dr. Mohebi,

Recently, when watching the Olympics I noticed that the female swimmers seemed to have very recessive hairlines even at very youthful ages. This was highlighted by the US Olympic Women’s Swim Teams Medal Platform Pictures. In this image all but one of the medalists has exceptionally receding hairlines for women. Is this just coincidence or could it be from the use of male hormone performance enhancing drugs.

Or is it that, women with this high athletic capacity have a higher level of male hormones adversely affecting their hair. This struck me very hard and considering commercial endorsements that Olympians often receive it seems that something could be done to help them if they should choose.  I am looking forward to your response.

A:

You present a very curious observation and pose some interesting questions. Thanks for asking.  Many women naturally  have a  receded hairline or higher than normal foreheads.  That is not necessarily related  any medical conditions. Likewise it is not necessarily related to the use of steroids or other performance enhancing drugs.  Over time women who have elevated androgen or male hormones for any reason can develop a recessive hairline similar to adult men. This is called a male patterned maturation of  hairline.  Some patients that we have seen progress to a full blown hair loss if the gene of male patterned hair loss has been passed on to them from their previous generation. This can be either from their mother or father.

It is important to note that there is no evidence to show an increase in male hormones in female athletes due to strenuous physical activities. I developed a 5 Step Management system for women’s hair loss. Usually I order a complete set of lab tests that includes levels of total and free testosterone and DHEA in women who have a male patterned hairline. This is also true for female hair loss patients  who lose their hair in a male pattern. Any woman who is suffering from a recessive hairline that effects their well being and quality of life can greatly benefit from a hair transplant procedure.

One of the most effective ways of doing this is  lowering the hairline with a follicular unit hair transplantation.  In this procedure we alter a perceived masculine hairline in a woman to a natural feminine hairline.  In such cases these women often do not have any sign of hair loss in other scalp areas. This means that they have  plenty of donor hair  that could be transplanted.  These women can generally achieve the reasonable level of density in one or two procedures. Our staffs in our Los Angeles  hair transplant clinics are inspired by the positive effects we have on our female patients live in providing a natural, proven, permanent solution to hair loss or recessive hairlines.

I hope this answers your question. Let me close by saying on behalf of myself and the entire US Hair Restoration staff; that we are extremely proud of the individual and collective effort of our US Olympic Women’s Swim Team. We extend our warm and heartfelt congratulations with sincerity to these strong, dynamic and beautiful ladies.

Shock Loss after Hair Transplant Surgery

Q:

Dr. Mohebi, I am considering an additional hair transplant surgery. With my previous surgery elsewhere, I experienced a good deal of shock loss. This makes me a bit skeptical but I know I need an additional surgery to maintain the image I have now.

Why is shock loss such a problem?

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A:

Shock loss, is the accelerated hair loss following any stressful event. That stress may be due to emotional or physical trauma. Hair Transplant procedure is not an exception.

Shock loss after a hair transplant surgery was not uncommon in the past. However, today with proper medical treatment, shock loss can be significantly reduced or even eliminated. Using finasteride or Propecia around the time of hair transplant can inhibit or minimize the risk of shock loss. That is why this treatment is being used by most hair transplant surgeons.

At US Hair Restoration centers, most of our patients start a regimen of finasteride several days before their hair transplant surgery and continue the intake six to eight months after their procedure. The combination of medication and surgical hair restoration provides our patients with natural, permanent and proven results.

Comment on Andrew Sullivan’s website:

… Another has a “warning to those men who are reading the posts exclaiming the positive impact of hair transplants”:

Like your reader who had a follicular transplant, one of my good friends also had this procedure when he was in his mid-20s; receiving rows and rows of transplanted hairs placed in neatly symmetrical patterns over the entire top of his head.  In the short run, this procedure, I’m sure, did much to help the self-esteem of a young man prematurely balding and panicked about his looks and the impact on his attractiveness to prospective mates.  The problem is that someone experiencing balding that severely in his early/mid-20s, is likely going to continue to bald.  Now, in his early 40s, my friend has the top of his obviously implanted head cut extremely short – making the unnatural pattern even more noticeable – because the balding has extended down creating a bare ring of head before the fringe of hair at his ear level.  The worst part of all of this: because of the horrible scarring created by the removal of the strip of hair from the back of his head to create the transplants, fully shaving  his head is no longer a reasonable option.  It’s an unfortunate example of having to live with a constant reminder of the vanity of youth.  He would have been better to just have left his hairline to nature.

-

Dr. Mohebi’s Response:

I read the negative comment about hair transplants of one of the readers of Andrew Sullivan’s “THE DISH” blog.  As medical director of US Hair Restoration I could not stay silent because of the erroneous information disclosed in this reader’s response on your site.

The comparison of follicular unit transplantation which is the current gold standard of hair restoration surgery with old techniques that involved transplanting plugs of hair in rows is inaccurate.  Hair transplant surgery has come a long way in only the last 20 years, from plug surgery and mini-micro grafting to natural looking hair transplant surgery through follicular unit transplants. Modern hair transplant surgical procedures are technology advanced; a skilled surgeons procedure results are natural.  Most hair stylist cannot detect that their client has had a hair transplant. This has been proven true and our practice and colleagues.

In today’s Follicular Unit Transplantation, hair follicles are divided into the natural groupings harvested from the patient’s donor area of scalp.  These grafts are transplanted in natural direction and distribution in the balding areas of the scalp.

Undergoing hair transplant at an early age as cited by your reader is no longer a problem.  Microscopic diagnostic methods assist a hair transplant surgeon in predicting the pattern of future hair loss in a young man.  Current state of the art diagnostic technique allows the surgeon to be able to design placement of hair grafts in a way that it looks normal at any age.  For example when I design someone’s hair line I pay less attention to where it was before and more to where it is going to be as a mature hairline in the future.  The result of a hair transplant that is done correctly should look good now and it should look good twenty years from now.

The newest methods of donor wound closure resolves the issues concerning scarring at the back of head.  One such method trichophytic closure allows hair to grow inside the scar and makes the hair transplant scar less visible.  Today, we also perform Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) for the ones who cannot have any linear scar on the back of their head.  The FUE method is more labor intense and time consuming but it allows surgeon to remove follicular unit grafts one at a time.  After a FUE transplant the patient can keep his hair very short without being concerned about the visibility of scar of the donor area.

Finally I would like to clarify that with the knowledge we have today about balding and its adverse effects on men’s psycho-social lives, I don’t call hair transplant a vanity but a requisite that is available to us to make our lives better, just like many other advancements that are available to us in today’s world.

Parsa Mohebi, MD

Medical Director
Mohebi Medical and US Hair Restoration.com
Los Angeles, California

The New Year has been favorable to US Hair Restoration as many have already come for hair transplantations and many more come to see if they can receive one. The first step for each individual is to receive their thorough hair loss consultation where they receive a full microscopic evaluation and determine their current state of hair loss, as well as patterns for future baldness.

Medical Director, Parsa Mohebi MD, is making the consultation process even easier by soon opening a Bakersfield Consultation office where patients in the Central California area, will receive an expert opinion with greater convenience and financial ease. This new office is scheduled to be opened in March 2012 and will utilize the newest technology in hair restoration communications.

We are excited to have the opportunity to join the Bakersfield family and more conveniently serve the residents of Bakersfield, Lancaster, Visalia, and Fresno.

US Hair Restoration sees hundreds of Hair loss patients each year. Many people find seeking treatments for hairloss to be embarrasing and prefer to keep them confidential. Every now and again there are individuals who are confident in overcoming any social taboo’s about hair replacement, and let others know about their new found joy and are excited to share how their lives changed because of new hair growth.

Recently, one such patient shared his new more youthful look with the world and was happy to let us know of his actions. We are pleased whenever we get to share our art and science of hair transplantation, but when an individual goes out of their way to do something we never asked or imagined, we take pride in knowing we changed someone’s life. We want to say “Thank You” to this individual for:

Allowing us the opportunity to make a difference in his life
AND
Letting others know there is a solution for balding!

 US Hair Restoration always appreciates when individuals spend time on their own to let others know about their satisfied results, and we are happy to share them with others. We encourage our patients not to feel ashamed about recieving a hair transplant, but rather accept the fact of baldness being a reality for many which today has natural, lifelong alternatives. People always feel better when having a solution to any common problem, and we are happy to be available as one of those solutions!

Q:

I went to a couple different hair transplant doctors for evaluations when I was 24/25 and was told I have a juvenile hairline and that i have a good donor area and scalp laxity. The doctors recommended around 2000 grafts to fill in the diffused area at the time.

One of the doctors I visited told me to give propecia another try which I did for an additional six more months, but stopped because it seemed to have no effect and from my understanding it doesn’t really help with hair in the frontal area which was my main problem. I also did not want to risk getting any more health side effects from taking propecia.

During this time I was also taking biotin supplements which I had read are good for hair but they didn’t have any noticeable effects. I decided against getting a hair transplant because of my age and I wanted to see if the hair might grow back naturally (some people who have lost hair from accutane reported regrowing their hair several years after taking the medication).

I have a history of MPB in my family but it seems to be hit or miss. My grandfathers both had full heads of hair, my dad and 1 of his brothers are completely bald but another brother has a full head of hair. My mom has 1 brother who is bald and another with very thick hair and a low hairline (which my hair most closely resembled before taking accutane). I also have a brother who is 21 and has extremely thick hair like I used to with no signs of hair loss whatsoever.

A:

Male patterned baldness (MPB) is a progressive condition and it generally won’t get better without treatment.  The medications that are being used for the treatment of hair loss are generally for maintaining your existing hair and have preventative effects rather than restoring your hair at its full thickness like what you had in previous years.

A good hair transplant surgeon can help you realize what the best options for hair restoration are; whether it is a surgery or medication.  Using Accutane could cause hair loss as one side effect, but that is reversible within a few months after stopping it.  That is the most common case for medication related hair losses.

It is important for you to develop a good relationship with a qualified hair transplant surgeon whom you can trust.  Then let him walk you through this process.  Using medications for a while is a good idea and some patients respond well to using them.  Unfortunately the results are not permanent and most hair loss sufferers continue losing hair, but at a slower rate.

You can use medications such as Propecia or Rogaine to minimize the speed of hair loss. When it is the time for a hair transplant you can consider that as another option as well.