Hair Restoration Blog

Q:

hey doctor:

is it true i can lose hair by wearing a baseball cap a lot of the time? if that’s the case, then i guess baseball players are good candidates for hair transplants! =P. but really, is there any truth to that? I read that it doesn’t have an effect on a person’s hair, but i wanted to verify with an actually hair loss doctor.

A:

We can lose hair due to environmental trauma to the hair shaft and, consequently, to the hair follicles. The name of this condition is traction alopecia; it can be seen when people braid their hair very tightly. One type of traction alopecia is called turban alopecia, for people who wear turbans on their head for long periods of time and when they wear it tightly. Baseball caps are regularly used by people, and I have not seen it in those people who wear them. However, you can guess that a tight cap of any kind may mimic the turban effect and may cause traction alopecia in which hair follicles are being pulled over time, which destroy them eventually.

Picture taken During a Hair Transplant -- when transplantation of single hair grafts for hairline are almost completed

Hello Doctor how are you?

Thanks for giving me my pics.  I cant wait to start my blog. I attached some post op pics. Dr.Mohebi just a quick question, what is that white stuff during my post op?just curious since my brother brought it up when i showed him the pics.i was looking around the net to see other post op pictures,i wanted to find out what it was,but i didnt seem to see it on other patients.

thanks Dr.Mohebi.

A:

Hi there,

The white part of the grafts that you can see is the top part of the graft that is above the skin level.  As you know, a hair transplant does not implant hair but an entire organ.  This includes the collagen band around a follicular unit, microscopic muscle, small supporting vessels and a small portion of epithelium (superficial layer of skin) within each graft.  The white portion on the picture is the skin part or epithelium.  During hair transplant surgery, the goal is NOT to bury the grafts.  Buried grafts may folliculitis, sebaceous cysts and/or dimpling of the skin.  Here at US Hair Restoration, in order to prevent those complications, we make sure to keep the grafts slightly elevated from the skin surface.  Obviously the white part that you can see will dry up and fall off after a few days after a hair transplant surgery but this little mechanism alone can certainly prevent many problems that are seen by buried grafts.

Have a great weekend,

Best,
Parsa Mohebi, MD

Good morning, Dr. Mohebi.  I wanted to update you on my doctor’s visit.  All lab results, including the ones you suggested, are normal.  I have noticed a decrease in hair loss over the past few days, but it is still occurring.  Is there a possibility that stress would cause hair loss for 2.5 months?  I was wondering what my next step should be.  Is there other medicinal treatments besides Rogaine?  Also, I read that pregnant women should not use Rogaine.  Is this true?  I was planning to have a child within the next couple of years.  Your expertise is greatly appreciated.

Thank you
A:

Thanks for the update,

Stress can definitely increase the speed of hair loss. In women who are not genetically prone to balding, stress can only force hair follicles to enter the resting phase (telogen). In this case, the hair follicle is in its resting phase, but is capable of growing another hair in a few weeks. However if you are prone to typical women hair loss or female patterned alopecia the loss of hair due to stress can be irreversible.

At this time there is no other FDA approved medication that can be used for treatment of female hair loss and, unfortunately, pregnant women cannot take Rogaine because of its effects on the fetus. On a more positive note, there are some hormonal changes during pregnancy that can potentially protect vulnerable hair and might be able to compensate for Rogaine withdrawal to some degrees in women who stop using Rogaine during pregnancy as well.