Hair Restoration Blog

Q:

Hi,

I’m a woman and I’m single. I feel like I need any edge I can get in the dating world, as I’m in my thirties and would like to begin dating for the possibility of marriage. I found Latisse on the Web but was wondering how I could buy it for myself.

A:

Hey there,

Latisse (bimatoprost 0.03%) is only available by prescription by a practicing doctor. Do not, I repeat, do not purchase Latisse at another place other than from a prescribing physician or your local pharmacy. There might be quack Latisse products on the market which may have severe side effects.

Latisse side effects include: eyelid skin darkening which may be reversible, and potential for increased brown iris pigmentation which is likely to be permanent.

Latisse does seem to enhance the appearance of eyes. A lot of people want big and beautiful eyes. Latisse can help make eyelashes look longer and thicker.  The effect is through increasing the period of time that hair follicles grow.

For those who want longer eyelashes and already have eyelashes that do not grow long and thick, Latisse is the right product. Another option you might want to consider is an eyelash hair transplant, if you qualify. People with scarring alopecia on the eyelash areas are good candidates for an eyelash transplant, and also people who don’t have very much eyelashes or none at all.

Biatoprost has been available and prescribed as a glaucoma medication, used to control the progression of glaucoma and to manage the ocular hypertension. Biatoprost reduces intraocular pressure.  One of the side effects of this glaucoma medication is lengthening of the eyelashes.  In December 2008, the use of this product for eyelash lengthening was approved by the FDA.  The cosmetic formulation of bimatoprost is now sold as Latisse by Allergan.

This is not the first time that we take advantage of a side effect of a medication for other applications.  Another example is minoxidil which was originally used only as a blood pressure medication. As a result, growing hair was reported as one of its side effects.  Now minoxidil, or Rogaine, is one of the FDA approved medications for hair loss prevention and treatment.

Latisse is in the market for those who are interested in having longer eyelashes.  Eyelash hair transplant surgery is another method that uses scalp hair to be implanted into the eyelash area.  The best candidates for eyelash hair transplantation are the people who do not have any eyelashes on all or part of their eyelashes.  If you have eyelashes and are looking forward to having them longer and fuller, Latisse might be a better option.

Trichotillomania (TTM) [Greek: tricho (hair), till (to pull), and mania], also called trich, is hair loss due to an impulse control disorder distinguished by the repeated urge to pull out hair of scalp, body, eyelashes, eyebrows, facial hair, nose hair or pubic hair.  Trichotillomania may result in noticeable bald spots or hairless patches.

Trichotillomania is more common during the first two decades of life with female predominance; however it could be seen in both sexes and all ages. Trichotillomania may resemble a habit, an addiction, a tic disorder or an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Trichotillomania often begins during the individual’s teenage years, but may happen at any age. Depression or stress can trigger the trich. Due to social implications, the disorder is often unreported and it is difficult to predict accurately prevalence of Trichotillomania.  It is stated that 2.5 million people in the U.S. may have TTM, with a 1% prevalence rate.

Patients with trichotillomania may live relatively normal lives.  TTM may not be known by the patients and in fact most patients deny any manipulation of the hair.  An additional psychological effect can be low self-esteem, often associated with being rejected by peers and the fear of socializing due to appearance and negative attention they may receive.  Trichotillomania can be effectively treated by habit reversal training along with a variety of psychiatric medications based on the underlying disorder.

I have recently seen a male patient with male patterned baldness in our Los Angeles hair transplant clinic who has previously undergone a hair transplant surgery in another hair transplant clinic about a year before with over 500 grafts on his crown area.  The result of the surgery that should have been completed at the time of our consult was very disappointing both to the patient and to us.  I performed a microscopic evaluation of the scalp in both the frontal and crown area.  I noticed broken hair at both frontal native hair area and crown area, which was evidence of manipulation of the hair.

Patient denied any hair pulling, but had disclosed having experienced a nervous breakdown recently.  However, he did not deny that he had been too conscious about newly implanted hair follicles after his hair transplant that might have forced him pulling most of his transplanted hair grafts.

I recommended a psychological evaluation and treatment of any underlying disorder and we decided to re-evaluate him in a few months after his psychological treatment.  I won’t recommend a hair transplant until he shows no evidence of trichotillomania for a considerable period of time.  I have previously treated a patient who has had hair loss due to trichotillomania at childhood with hair transplant, but was treated completely with no evidence of pulling hair for a long period of time.