Even before the contradictory information found on the internet, old wives’ tales made it difficult to determine fact from fiction. Below you will find several statements about hair loss and hair transplant surgery. Can you determine which ones are true and which ones are false? Help us expose the false statements by becoming a hair loss myth buster.

Wearing a Hat Causes Hair Loss! This is an old wives’ tale originating from the false belief that wearing a hat will prevent your hair follicles from “breathing” and thus cause you to go bald. So wear a hat as much as you’d like free from fear that your precious follicles will be suffocated.

MSN Promotes Early Transplanted Hair Growth! Nobody likes to wait for their newly transplanted hair to grow in. But unfortunately, though MSM (Methyl Sulfonyl Methane) may help your natural hair grow faster, it won’t speed up the couple month resting period transplanted hair goes through before it starts to grow.

Masturbation Causes you to go Bald! This lie is often presented to young teenage men in an attempt to keep their hormones under control. But there is no scientific evidence to suggest that a sexual release or any brief increase in testosterone that this may cause can contribute to hair loss in any way.

An Unhealthy Lifestyle Can Contribute to Hair Loss! This particular statement is general enough that we have to declare it true. A good rule of thumb for healthy living is, “if you take care of the inside of your body, the outside will take care of itself”. In extreme cases of malnutrition, drug use, and anything that causes your body to take a severe beating, non-genetic balding may result. But eating junk food, smoking, and drinking in moderation as the average American does have not been linked to causing hair loss.

Hair Transplants Only Work in Bald Areas of the Scalp!  This statement is false. In fact, qualified hair restoration physicians transplant hair in between existing natural hair all the time with great success. This plan of action is often complemented by a non-surgical hair loss treatment regime. For example, using Propecia may help you keep the natural hair you have to minimize the need for subsequent procedures. Be sure to speak to your hair transplant surgeon about hair loss drug viability and how they may complement a hair transplant.

Read more about these and many other hair loss myths on the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, and our Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

Bill aka - Falceros
Associate Publisher/Editor

Diet and nutrition counseling for virtually all overweight and obese women of childbearing age can reduce health risks linked to excess weight for mothers and children alike, as per a newly released position paper from the American Dietetic Association and the American Society of Nutrition.

The position, reported in the recent issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, represents the associations' official stance on obesity, reproduction and pregnancy outcomes:

Given the detrimental influence of maternal overweight and obesity on reproductive and pregnancy outcomes for the mother and child, it is the position of the American Dietetic Association and the American Society for Nutrition that all overweight and obese women of reproductive age should receive counseling previous to pregnancy, during pregnancy and in the interconceptional period on the roles of diet and physical activity in reproductive health, in order to ameliorate these adverse outcomes.

The joint ADA/ASN position and accompanying paper were written by Anna Maria Siega-Riz, PhD, RD, LDN, assistant professor of maternal and child health at the University of North Carolina; and Janet C. King, PhD, senior scientist at Children's Hospital and Research Center, Oakland, Calif.

An estimated 33 percent of U.S. women are obese, as per the authors, who write that a long-term goal of health professionals must be to reduce the number of women who become pregnant while obese. They add that the effect of a woman's nutritional status previous to pregnancy is an issue of great public health importance.

"Among obese women, who already have aberrations in glucose and lipid metabolism, the further adjustments induced by hormonal changes in pregnancy create a metabolic milieu that enhances the risk for metabolic disorders such as gestational diabetes mellitus and preeclampsia," as per the position paper.

Infants born to obese mothers have "a higher prevalence of congenital anomalies than do offspring of normal-weight women, suggesting that maternal (obesity) alters development in the sensitive embryonic period." The authors note neural tube defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly are about twice as common among children of obese women. "Other birth defects more frequent in offspring of obese women include oral clefts, heart anomalies, hydrocephaly and abdominal wall abnormalities."

Objectives of the new ADA/ASN position are to provide guidance to nutrition professionals in becoming aware of risks and possible complications of excess weight and obesity for fertility, course of pregnancy, birth outcomes and short and long-term maternal and child health; and to commit ADA and ASN to identifying gaps in scientific research needed to improve knowledge of risks and complications and develop effective strategies "that can be implemented before and during pregnancy as well as during the interconceptional period," the authors write.

The American Dietetic Association is the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ADA is committed to improving the nation's health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy. Visit the American Dietetic Association at www.eatright.org/.


Posted by: Evelyn    Source

Our community was created by and for hair loss patients to share experiences, evaluate hair restoration physicians, and offer input on hair loss treatments that really work. For over 10 years, our discussion forum has enabled balding men and women to share the good, the bad and the ugly.

Today, over 350 patients have authored weblogs to share their hair restoration experiences and hair transplant photos with you. Below we introduce you to just a few of the patients whose hair restoration dreams became reality and the doctors who made it happen.

Join the ranks of these hair restoration super stars and create your own free hair loss weblog to share your experience and photos.

• Blogger “Wantego” came to us with a receding hairline looking for real ways to restore his hair. His research on our discussion forum led him to surgical hair restoration with Coalition member Dr. Rahal. Receiving 4374 follicular unit grafts, he’s been able to restore his “true” hair density and no longer shows any signs of balding. View his blog for a detailed account of his experience with photos.

• After receiving two previous hair transplants, “Phoneguy” found Coalition member Dr. Cooley by researching our community. Bothered by hair loss in the frontal half of his scalp, Dr. Cooley placed 1947 follicular unit grafts into the areas of thinning hair, eliminating signs of baldness. “Phoneguy” has quickly learned why other Dr. Cooley patients refer to themselves as “Cooleyfied”. You can read his experience and view his photos on his blog.

• Blogger “PC” started to lose his hair in the front when he was 19 years old. After extensive research a few years later, he became highly impressed with Coalition member Dr. Alexander and opted to undergo hair transplant surgery. 2500 grafts and 8 months later, he is thrilled to be getting compliments on his hair again. Take a look at his photos and offer your input on his hair loss weblog.

• “TomA” had extensive baldness from front to back. And though it never bothered him very much, he desperately tried to avoid being photographed from upper angles unless he was wearing a hat. After doing some research, he learned that a handful of surgeons were performing ultra refined densely packed hair transplants and he wanted in. His research led him to Dr. Pathomvanich of Thailand, Asia. 3300 grafts later, he is thrilled with his new head of hair and as his photos suggests, is living a very glamorous life. View his blog and photos to congratulate him on his new head of hair.

• “Pompadore” had his hair transplant of 2700 grafts with Dr. Bill Parsley and is very happy with his results. He has done an excellent job sharing his impressive transformation and detailed photos and has garnered a great deal of support from other bloggers.  View his blog to see his life changing transformation.

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher/Editor

Asking the cost of a hair transplant is a highly popular question on our hair loss forum. But what most people new to the topic of hair transplantation don’t realize, is that it’s not as cut and dry as throwing out a number that they have to pay and be done with.

There is a lot to consider when evaluating the cost of a hair transplant including the number of grafts desired/possible for a single hair replacement procedure, the cost of a single procedure verses the potential need for subsequent ones, the hair restoration surgical technique, and finally, the hair transplant clinic’s fee structure.

View this thread to learn what hair restoration clinics usually charge per graft and learn how your own personal characteristics can impact the cost.

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher/Editor

I have noticed my hair looks thinner.  I  can notice this when I’m under a light and and when my regular hairstyle does not look the same.  Am I going bald?

This could very well be the start of a genetic hair loss known as androgenic alopecia or male pattern baldness.   Hereditary alopecia is initiated when the hormone DHT (dihydrotestosterone) binds to the receptor sites of hair follicles causing them to shrink and eventually, the follicles will no longer produce new hair.

 You may want to look into medical treatments like Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil) which can help slow down, stop, or even reverse hair loss.  These non-surgical solutions are typically pretty effective in early stages of loss, and are virtually non-effective in completely bald areas.

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher/Editor