Tips Of All Sorts

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

Most people think only of positive benefits of green tea. However, while this type of tea does offer some excellent benefits, many directly related to health, it is also important to understand there are some negative effects of green tea leaves. Just as with many foods and drinks we consume, green tea may not be good for everyone. Therefore, we wanted to address some of the negative effects of green tea leaves so you can determine if this is right for you.

Green tea comes from a bush in the Camellia family, which is why the official name for green tea is Camellia sinensis, which is Latin. This evergreen bush has shiny, pointed leaves that have a wonderful aroma. This particular bush also produces beautiful white flowers. Today, green tea is grown in more than 50 countries to include Argentina, Brazil, and Russia, among others.

The exciting thing about this tea is that study after study shows positive effects on the body, meaning the negative effects of green tea leaves is minimal. For instance, green tea contains powerful antioxidants that have been proven to help fight various forms of cancer, as well as tooth decay, obesity, high cholesterol, and heart disease. Because of the amazing benefits, the level of consumption for green tea has skyrocketed throughout the globe.

Now, when it comes to the negative effects of green tea leaves, we want to start with pregnant women. Although most doctors agree that a small consumption of green tea is fine but when large amounts are consumed, caffeine can increase the risk of spontaneous abortion, low birth rate, and even growth retardation. Keep in mind that these risks are associated with the beverage of green tea, as well as supplements.

EGCG molecules, which are similar to a methotrexate compound, work by fighting off cancer cells by bonding with the dihydrofolate reductase enzyme, which is good in non-pregnant women. However, in pregnant women, the negative effects of green tea leaves involves involve the epigallocatechins, otherwise known as EGCG. In this situation, EGCG can affect the way in which the body uses folate, which is vital in the prevention of neural tube birth defects.

Nursing women should also consider the negative effects of green lea leaves. Remember, green tea is high in caffeine. Therefore, a woman who is breastfeeding and consuming green tea would be passing the caffeine on to the baby. Even small amounts or green tea powder used for baking, smoothies, and other foods should be avoided while nursing a baby.

In addition, negative effects of green tea leaves would link to individuals who have allergies. In this case, someone who is caffeine sensitive could develop problems such as hives and rash from consuming green tea. With caffeine being a stimulant that affects the central nervous system, other problems could result such as insomnia, excessive urination, reduction of potassium levels, and even incontinence. Just keep in mind that if you have any concerns about negative effects of green tea leaves for you, we recommend that you talk to your doctor or a health food specialist.

Julie Health writes about the benefits of drinking green tea and the harmful problems of green tea. Visit her website to discover more about how a miracle in a cup can improve your health.

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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.

The most curious part of your history is the fact that you described being thin in the temple areas only. Usually a woman with 30% miniaturization in the donor area will have an even higher percentage of hair miniaturization in the top recipient area behind the hairline, and yet you didn’t seem to complain about that at all. What degree of hair miniaturization did your hair restoration physician find in the top recipient area? Even if the hair on top was the same and no worse than the back, that degree of miniaturization would still be easy to see through and I would expect that would have been your main complaint ir at least mentioned along with the other temple problem.

Regarding the decision as to whether you should undergo hair replacement surgery, you certainly could, but your expectations would have to be lowered and realistic, especially concerning the number of years of your life you may get to enjoy this additional hair you gain by hair transplantation. For some women entering a critical period of their lives from a social or career standpoint, even 10-15 years of having increased hair density could be valuable to them and worth it. I have been fooled in a few cases in which I initially didn’t want to transplant a particular woman, she insisted on going ahead despite my low expectations for her, and she went on to do well over at least a 5-10 year period up to the present (and still doing well). In some others I can think of, it seemed like a high percentage of the donor hair, even the seemingly strong appearing ones, when they emerged in the recipient area one hair growthy cycle later (after going through the normal “shock” reaction all transplanted follicles undergo), an even higher percentage of them grew out “wispy” and the overall experience was not a forward step for the patient. Theoretically, one additional step that could be taken would be to “cherry pick” only the follicular units that contain at least one strong terminal hair and only use them, putting aside the severely miniaturized ones, as the injury to the scalp of the recipient incision is almost not worth the tradeoff for placing a hair that is unlikely to add to the cosmetic appearance and theoretically could hurt the chances for the good follicles to grow. I have transplanted hair in hundreds of women and must confess not having used this method yet. As per the other suggestions you received, Rogaine (minoxidil) will certainly slow down the hair loss process if taken faithfully. The comments about other medical diagnoses is important for completeness and can be ruled out with a couple of simple blood tests and a good history, but I must emphasize that they are very rare in most of our clinical hair practices.

The bottom line is this: if your expectations are not too high and are realistic and your hair surgeon feels that a positive result is possible, then you have a chance of being reasonably happy with your result for quite a few years.

Mike Beehner, 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

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

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.

Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of hair restoration  patients have “average” physiologies that allow for significant cosmetic improvement after surgery.

Dr. Feller

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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