The second reason why this is a good thing is because Jason’s celebrity status brings into the light the proper exposure for modern day surgical hair restoration. This will serve to dispel the stereotype that hair restoration still consists of the “plugs” that everyone always thinks about when anyone mentions the phrase “hair transplant”.

However, the thousand dollar question is; is Jason Gardiner’s hair transplant really as full and dense in reality like seen on television? The other morning he appeared on a popular UK morning show called “This Morning”. He appeared with his surgeon to discuss the procedure and his final results. Now, first off, the results look quite good of which I am very happy for Jason. He discussed the psychological trauma he went through from dealing with his hair loss and he talked about how the hat he’s worn over the past eight months has been a crutch to lean on. I can relate to this. However the result itself is grossly misrepresented . How you may ask? Jason Gardiner’s hair transplant procedure consisted of 3501 grafts. After careful examination of the available photos around the web Jason falls somewhere between a NW5A and a NW6 on the Norwood Hamilton hair loss chart. 3501 grafts will NOT give the coverage and the density that he showed off on television. It is simply impossible as the end result I saw looked every bit as if he had native and original pre-hair loss density. How is this possible? Is the result just that good or is there something more nefarious at work here? I claim the latter.

What I saw when Jason was showing off his great result was a lot of makeup. More specifically Jason Gardiner was using what is known as “concealer”. This includes, but is not limited to, products such as Toppik, Dermatch, and Couvre. These products are used by untold numbers of men and women in the entertainment industry on stage, in film and in television and they work very well. They area also available online for anyone that just wants to give their hair a temporary boost. I say “temporary” because these products need to be washed out at the end of the day. They are easily applied and make a for a very convincing result. Knowing what I know about hair restoration there is simply no way that 3501 grafts on an area of hair loss as large as that found on Jason Gardiner before his hair transplant could give a result with that much coverage and that much density. I am by no means accusing Jason Gardiner of intentionally misleading the public. Far from it, actually, as his life revolves around the fashion industry and he is used to wearing make up on television and for public appearances (as all celebrities are). I think he thought it was a natural requirement and in fact was most likely insisted upon by his agents, the show’s producer or any of the other “powers that be” that have a say in his public image. Regardless, the public presentation of Jason Gardiner’s hair transplant result as being anything other than an enhanced version of what is possible with hair restoration is simply wrong and I wish there were a way for his true result to be revealed. I think the only way that that will happen is if/when a paparazzo photographer catches Jason in a candid moment when the last thing he expects is a camera catching him as his true self. However, if Jason Gardiner actually ever reads this I’d be more than happy for him to respond and talk about the real nature of the result he shared on television. In fact, if he were to reveal his true result and it is actually as dense as it was on that show I’ll donate 1000.00 US to any charity of his choosing. If it is not as dense as it was during his unveiling then he can donate 1000.00 US to a charity of my choosing. The challenge is on.

Over the years I’ve seen a few cases where a patient comes in for an evaluation after having a procedure at a different clinic. While this is not unusual in and of itself what is unusual is that I’ve seen a couple of these guys come in that use heavy amounts of concealer like Dermatch. Almost everyone knows that you should wash this stuff out of your scalp at the end of the day, and most people do. I’ve seen a couple of guys though that leave it in for days. Not good.

I am becoming more and more convinced that concealers are the devil. There are two reasons for this. First, is the mental additction that most men develop toward this stuff regardless of what type of coneale they use. After guys get used to using concealers and get their routine down to a fine science they no longer feel comfortable leaving the house without it. Even guys that have a lot of hair and just use it for a slight “boost” for their hair can feel naked without it in their hair, even to run down to the store and back. This does not even begin to touch on the mental addiction for those with aggressive diffused loss. For those with aggressive loss going out of the house without concealer is the same thing as hair system wearers leaving the house without their hair system.

I’ve been down this road myself. When I was in my mid-20′s I was turned on to a product called GLH or “Good Looking Hair”.  It was sold during late night informercials by the master himself, Ron Popeil. It was a can, and hair concealer would spray out of it, like a spray paint can and for all it was worth it might has well been spray paint but spray paint that never truly dried because God help the man that gets sweaty or caught in a rain drizzle with this in his hair. It will run faster than CBS trying to distance themselves from Charlie Sheen. The problem was that I could not get the color correct as I always looked like a skunk was on my head.

Here is an example. Note how much lighter the top of my scalp is compared to the sides.

I’m sure I’ve got a better picture that is more detailed somewhere but at the moment I’m not sure where it would be.

Here is a video of an old 90′s infomercial with Ron Popeil himself. This is similar to the ad that sold me on the product back around 1994/95.

I struggled with this stuff for months and eventually I bit the bullet and dropped it 100%. It was tough but eventually I moved on, obviously.

So, what is the second problem with this stuff? Referring back to the make-up style concealers, I’ve seen more evidence over the past several years that make-up style concealers can actually inhibit hair growth. The theory is that when these products are applied they clog the pores and follicular canals and eventually kickstart a low grade infection. The following video is of a patient we saw in Rome that experienced this very issue. He said tha he washed the concealer out of his hair daily but it still found a way to build up and cause problems.

I think it is more likely that this patient had a problem because the incisions made for his hair grafts were relatively large compared to the more refined work being performed by better clinics however I think anyone using this type of product should do so with caution and SCRUB it out of your hair at the end of the day.

Ultimately, not using anything in your hair would be the best option to avoid both issues I’ve outlined however I know that this isn’t an option for many of you but at the very least you should consider the potential issues with continued and especially heavy usage of make-up based concealers.  Sprinkle concealers do not, in my opinion, present nearly as many issues or potential for complications as they are not applied directly to the scalp but those with aggressive hair loss and miniaturization all over the scalp can increase their chances of complications with sprinkle style concealers with aggressively heavy use and not washing it out daily.

Good luck!

I’m now in Madrid and this is my first visit to Spain. I’ve always heard great things about Spain in general and so far it is living up to it’s reputation. Madrid is a very modern city that has so much history. Thing is, the city is so well kept up and updated that you’d have a hard time believing that so many of the buildings in the city are several hundred years old. The patients have been very accommodating to us as have the people of Madrid in general. Everyone here is very polite.

The requisite pizza pic.

Vatican City

The rest of the story from Nowpublic.com

Dr. Jörg Gerlach’s Skin Gun: Healing Burn Victims Within Days

Dr. Jörg Gerlach at teh McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (University of Pittsburgh) has developed a “skin gun”, which sprays stem cells harvested from a burn victim which are redeployed to speed up the healing process. The effect is dramatic: serious burns are healed in days instead of months.

The skin gun looks sort of like an airbrush, or maybe something that the medical droid in Empire Strikes Back would use. The patient’s skin stem cells are held in a water solution. The turnaround time from biopsy to cell prep to spray-on: an hour and a half.

Many victims of severe burns die not from the burns themselves, but from infections that take hold during the healing process. Reducing the healing time in turn reduces the risk and rate of infection.

The video is long, and boring, so I tried to spice it up a bit with my quirky sense of humor, hence the “unofficial” moniker:)

Summary of Points:

1.) Think about what you are doing. You are submitting photos for a SURGICAL evaluation. Don’t leave this task to a cell phone camera, regardless of megapixels. Higher megapixels does not equate higher focus and higher clarity. Go to Walmart and buy a 100.00 camera!

2.) Don’t hold the camera at sixteen different angles above your head. This will increase the likelihood of camera shake which means a blurry image. Place the camera on a shelf or counter top and “pose” for the camera. If you have a tri-pod then use that.

3.) Don’t take photos with the light source behind you. This “blinds” the camera. Have your main source of light behind the camera.

4.) Be sure to include the left profile, the right profile, the top, the back, donor area density and the full frontal face image. These are confidential so they won’t be used publicly. Doctors need to see the height of your hairline relative to your eyebrows for perspective.

5.) If you had had HT surgery in the past then by all means SHOW the donor scarring, be it strip or FUE. This one image can make or break an evaluation so be sure to include it.

6.) Don’t style your hair the way you normally do to hide the weakness. You can’t expect the doctor to make a reasonably accurate evaluation if you are hiding what concerns you. Expose the weakness as much as you can.

7.) DON’T USE FLASH. This makes your hair look completely different than in reality.

Advil

Alka-Seltzer

Alka-Seltzer Plus

Anacin

Anaprox

Anadynos

Ansaid

A.P.C

Argesic

Arthropan liquid

Arthritis Pain Formula

Arthritis Strength

Bufferin

A.S.A

A.S.A Enseals

Ascriptin

Ascriptin A/D

Ascriptin with codeine

Ascriptin Extra Strength

Asperbuf

Aspergum

Aspirin

Atromid

Axotal

Azolid

Bayer Aspirin

Bayer Aspirin Maximum

Bayer Chrildren’s Aspirin

Bayer Children’s Cold

Bayer Time Release Aspirin

B.C. Tablets and Powder

Buff-a-Comp

Buff-a-Comp No.3

Bufferin Arthritis Strength

Bufferin Extra Strength

Bufferin with Codeine No. 3

Norgesic

Norgesic Forte

Buffets 2

Buffinol

Buf-Tabs

Butazolidin

Cams Arthritis Pain Reliever

Carisoprodol

Cheracol Capsules

Chlortrimeton

Clinoril

Conjesprin Chewable

Cope Tablets

Cosprin Tablets

CP-2 Tablets

Damason P

Darvon Compound

Darvon compound-65

Darvon N with A.S.A

Darvon with A.S.A Pulvules

Di-gesic

Disalcid

Dolobid

Dolprin

Dristan

Durasal Tablets

Easprin

Ecotin

Efficin

Elavil

Emagrin

Emprazil

Empirin with Codeine

Encaprin

Endep

Equagesic Tablets

Etrafon

Excedrin

SK-65 Compound

Stanback

Feldene

Fiorinal

Fish Oil

Flagyl

Flexeril

Four Way Cold Tablets

Gaysal–S

Gelprin

Gemnisin

Goody’s

Ibuprofen

Indocin

Indomethacin

Lanorinal

Lioresal

Lortab

Magan

Magsal

Marnal

Maximun Bayer Aspirin

Measurin

Medomen

Methcarbamol with Aspirin

Micrainin

Mobidin

Midol

Mobigesic

Momentum Muscular

Backache Formula

Motrin

Mysteclin F

Nalfon

Naprosyn

Naproxen

Neocylate

Nicobid

Revised: 11/6/02

Nuprin

Oraflex

Orudis

Pabalate-SF

Pamelor

Parnate

Pepto Bismol Tablets

Pepto Bismol Suspension

Percodan

Percodan Demi Tablets

Persantine

Persistin

Phentermine

Phenylbutazone

Ponstel

Propoxyphene compound 65

Robaxisal

Rufen

Ru-Tuss

S.A.C

Saleto

Salocal

Sine Aid

Sine- off Sinus Med.

Sinutab

Stendin

St. Joseph’s Aspirin for

children

St. Joseph’s Cold Tablets

Sulindac

Surmontil

Synalgos

Tagamet

Talwin Compound

Tenuate Dospan

Tetracycline

Tolectin

Tolmetin

Triaminicin

Triavil

Trigesic

Trilisate tablets and liquids

Uracel

Vanquish

Verin

Vibramycin

Vitamin E

Voltaren

Zomax

Zorprin

The same thing is happening in your scalp. After having thousands of tiny incisions made in your scalp the body starts to produce edema to protect itself. Some of this edema seeps out of the scalp, either through incisions or pores, and once it dries it creates a crusty by product. Sometimes this can completely cover the scalp and then when it cracks it can look like earthquake cracks in your scalp. What is even worse is that these cracks or rivulets as I call them are devoid of hair. Don’t worry, the grafts are still intact but the hair follicle was taken out when the crusties fell off. All is well and the area will fill in once the new hair begins to finally grow in four to six months.

About a year and a half ago I developed a scary case of dandruff. I say “scary” because it was the source of some quite large dandruff flakes and with many of the flakes a hair or two would be included. After several weeks of this my hair started to look a bit too thin for comfort. Considering how much has been invested in restoring my hair and of course my profession I became quite worried.

I tried about ten different shampoos including the requisite Nizoral and nothing worked for me. I then found this little beige bottle with the name Polytar AF on it and I gave it a shot. In two weeks flat my dandruff was gone and since then my hair has returned to it’s pre-dandruff state in that it is now thicker like it used to be.

I do not normally endorse products especially not shampoos but Polytar AF really did make a huge difference for me. After using it for quite a while now I think that dandruff could be

the cause for why some guys think they are thinning. Polytar AF may or may not work for you but I cannot recommend it enough since Polytar AF was the ONLY shampoo that knocked out my dandruff.

I have had a lot of guys ask  me where to get Polytar AF and I don’t think it is available outside of Canada. So, I looked around online and found a website that appears to be pretty legit and they have a fair price. You can see their logo around my website. The website is Well.ca. They do not sell prescription hair loss medications so don’t bother searching for them.

If you are having dandruff issues then I hope Polytar AF works as well for you as it did for me. The Polytar AF bottle lists other scalp conditions it treats but I am not familiar which ones they are.

The hopes and dreams of thousands of hair transplant patients were about to be realized. The Holy Grail of hair restoration was within sight; the never ending donor supply. Well, I had more down to earth hopes for this technology in that donor wound closures could heal with little to no evidence of surgery. I am sad to report that at this time neither my ambitions nor those more bold ambitions of others have come to pass. It may still yet be something that is beneficial but it is not magic solution.

Now we have PRP therapy. PRP stands for Platelet Rich Plasma and the “therapy” in this new development is the process in which the patient’s blood is drawn, placed into a centrifuge and then the plasma that is separated from the blood is re-injected into the patient’s scalp. The idea here is that a “stem cell” type of reaction occurs in that the patient’s hair follicle will thicken up. Supposedly the PRP will help to stimulate thicker hair growth. So far, to me, the evidence that this is a benefit is not only circumstantial but is outright MIA.

Lately I’ve been seeing both of these “therapies” thrown around as if they are valid treatments by various clinics. A few clinics even offered PRP within mere DAYS of the buzzwords being introduced to the hair loss online communities. No research was done, no results to validate any efficacy, nothing. But the clinics offering these therapies have no problems charging the patient for the added benefit of these unproven offerings. Sorry, but I think that if one is going to charge hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a treatment they should have consistent results to warrant such fees.

I have seen announcements made as if they are a big deal but in my opinion these announcements of bogus scientific offerings do little more than help to perpetuate the black sheep image that the hair restoration industry has garnered in the medical community. Save your money, people. There are so few things out there that actually do something positive for you hair. The more you listen to these bogus claims the more you will believe them and then of course the more you will buy them. Use your better judgment and of course remember that if it is too good to be true then it most certainly is. Only with CONSISTENT evidence of clearly documented results can you even begin to believe and even then you should still be skeptical.