Sun Exposure after Hair Transplant

[35YrsAfter]

There is really no clinical substantiation (proof) that smoking causes hairloss unrelated to MPB. More of a theory than actual proof. I no longer smoke but I use to for 40 years and did so after all four of my HT procedures. I do not advocate this because of the constriction of the vascular system among other things like lung cancer, yet it never negatively impacted my results.

Of course there is the classic example of the homeless man with a full, luxurious head of hair in the alleyway, gassed to the eyeballs, chain-smoking cigarette butts.

According to Sharon A. Keene, MD, recent studies indicate that cigarette smoking raises testosterone levels in men by around 10% - 15%... The increased base hormone, testosterone undergoes 5α-reduction to form the more potent androgen, dihydrotestosterone. This particular study I read may have inadvertently solved the smoking fetish mystery. Perhaps men who get turned on watching women smoke cigarettes were around women smokers at puberty having their testosterone levels raised via second-hand smoke and are the victim of classical conditioning:

Classical conditioning "Pavlov's dog"
"Conditioning is usually done by pairing the two stimuli, as in Pavlov’s classic experiments. Pavlov presented dogs with a ringing bell followed by food. The food elicited salivation (UR), and after repeated bell-food pairings the bell also caused the dogs to salivate. In this experiment,the unconditioned stimulus is the dog food as it produces an unconditioned response, saliva. The conditioned stimulus is the ringing bell and it produces a conditioned response of the dogs producing saliva."

BTW testosterone is responsible for sexual desire in both men and women. In women, testosterone is produced by the ovaries and adrenal glands.

Back to the smoking issue. It constricts blood vessels. Lowered blood supply can definitely impair growth of healthy hair. It just doesn't manifest in the majority of men and women to where it becomes a problem. I just got off the phone with a new patient who had a strip surgery a year ago. Although we haven't seen him yet, he told me that his last hair restoration doctor believes a restricted blood supply caused his necrosis and hair loss in a 2 inch area.

-35YrsAfter works at Dr. Cole's office
www.forhair.com

[topcat]

Sure preventing damage can be achieved by consuming a higher level of saturated fats and cholesterol through a nutrient dense diet. There is a direct connection between cancer and unstable processed vegetable oil in which the increased consumption is relatively recent. We could probably run a graph chart and the increase in consumption would follow the rise in skin cancer. The sun has been relatively constant for thousands of years so look for what has changed to cause the rapid rise. Maybe just follow the money like everything else we see.

[gillenator]

An increase in testosterone levels does not equate to a directly related increase in DHT necessarily. There's no proof of this regarding the conversion levels, and please provide the link because I have researched this issue myself being a former smoker and HT patient.

The constriction factor is well known and refraining from smoking is usually advised from just about any point of view. It also thins the blood so good idea to refrain from it prior to surgery. I imagine we could go on and on with the many reasons why to not smoke.

Still, I do not believe that it is a major detriment to the success of a procedure. And I agree it is an exception, not the norm.

topcat, I agree that optimal nutrition is a given for good health and it's no myth why we see the alarming increase in all forms of cancer related to our environment.

Damaging sunburn can occur irrespective of one's diet "if" the scalp goes uncovered which is the other issue here.

[35YrsAfter]

The sun is vital towards achieving optimal health for all human beings,to believe otherwise makes no logical sense. It’s very easy for those who market crap to say oh yeah it’s the sun. Most cancer is a direct result of environmental exposure to chemicals in some form and shoveling loads of crap down one’s pie hole.

I had a severe sunburn on my face and scalp many years ago. I am fair skinned and have needed to treat solar keratosis from time to time with 5 fluorouracil. Actinic Keratosis is considered a pre-cancerous skin condition. A little-known study of nutrition revealed that a low fat diet can eliminate Actinic Keratosis. I have found this to be true to a degree. I have seen some of the red areas clear up since I changed my diet. So, yes, I believe that garbage food can be a catalyst for medical problems.

There is the issue of too much of a good thing. Take Vitamin A for instance:
"Vitamin A is a group of nutritionally unsaturated hydrocarbons, which include retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids, among which beta-carotene is the most important. Vitamin A has multiple functions, it is important for growth and development, for the maintenance of the immune system and good vision. Vitamin A is needed by the retina of the eye in the form of retinal, which combines with protein opsin to form rhodopsin the light-absorbing molecule , that is necessary for both low-light (scotopic vision) and color vision. Vitamin A also functions in a very different role as an irreversibly oxidized form of retinol known as retinoic acid, which is an important hormone-like growth factor for epithelial and other cells."

One particular plant, the Poke Weed should not be overeaten. A plant can be so rich in vitamin A that if you eat too much of it, you risk a vitamin A overdose (hypervitaminosis A). Some vitamins, like vitamin C are water soluble--you urinate out the excess nutrients. Others, like vitamin A and vitamin D, are fat soluble--the excess nutrients are stored in your fat, hence you can get too much of them.

Here in the South (Georgia), the Poke weed is legendary. Years ago there was even a popular song about it. It is poisonous unless it is boiled in water 3 times (the water must be discarded 3 times to leech out the excess Vitamin A.

Like vitamin A, a necessary nutrient, one can get too much of it. This is true of sun exposure as well.

-35YrsAfter works at Dr. Cole's office
www.forhair.com

[35YrsAfter]

An increase in testosterone levels does not equate to a directly related increase in DHT necessarily. There's no proof of this regarding the conversion levels, and please provide the link because I have researched this issue myself being a former smoker and HT patient.

The study I cited in Hair Transplant Forum International does not provide proof that the rate of DHT conversion changes significantly with an increase or decrease in testosterone levels. The study implied a connection between increased testosterone levels from smoking and a greater degree of hair loss. Cigarette smoke contains thousands of toxins, so it is possible that the noted increase in hair loss is caused by another agent or combination of chemicals.

35YrsAfter works at Dr. Cole's office
www.forhair.com

[topcat]

35 years hopefully we all have common sense and build up a tolerance to sun slowly early in the season and then seek shade in the blistering heat like much of the rest of the animal kingdom. But unfortunately that is not the case as the average person sits under florescent lighting most of the year and then thinks it’s a good idea to sit in the high noon sun while vacationing near the equator.

We often see some of these people in the news. They smoke, load they body with phthalates from heavy make up, burden their lymph system with tattoos, glue cell phones to the heads, probably eat a nutrient poor diet then they lop off their breasts to prevent disease. Not much logic there but I’m sure many will follow the lead after all it’s a celebrity.

The human knows instinctively what to do but we seem to lost much of that for various reasons. Chances are poke weed is very bitter and if so it’s very bitter for a reason. I don’t know, never had it.

[gillenator]

Several months ago I was referred to an endodontist to have a tooth x-rayed and just before the test I asked about the potential harm from the more advanced scan.

He found my inquisition humorous as he noticed the redness of my cheeks from the sun. He then stated that the amount of radiation from 15 minutes of direct sunlight was far more exposure then the radiation from his equipment.

He then commented on the approaching summer season and how many people never give a second thought to bake in the harmful rays of the sun whether they use sunblock or not.

[topcat]

Doctors only know what they have been taught. Rarely do they question it nor do they realize who controls what they are being taught. They need to color within the lines that is just the way it works. The guy bought and paid for the machine he now needs to get his money back along with a little profit. Don't worry it's safe

What does he know about the Sun and UV radiation? Next time ask him for his extensive list of research material

[topcat]

This weekend which comes around once a year I have the opportunity to watch thousands of pasty looking overweight women many of them obese walking around in pink shirts thinking they are doing something to help prevent cancer. That is the power of marketing and The American Cancer Society is loving it along with those that really control that institution. You see you need to control the information to sell the stuff that really makes the money and the Sun doesn’t make anyone any money.

The HT industry is small fish these guys are sharks working a much bigger pond. If you go up against them with the truth you end up in jail but usually their control over information is so complete that is rarely necessary but it does happen that is how much power they wield.

Usually what goes around come around so all it takes is a few people to say hey maybe we should stop screwing people over for a few bucks and do business honestly, do the right thing and then maybe others will follow and in the end we will all be better off.

[35YrsAfter]

An increase in testosterone levels does not equate to a directly related increase in DHT necessarily. There's no proof of this regarding the conversion levels, and please provide the link because I have researched this issue myself being a former smoker and HT patient.

I just emailed Dr. Keene to ask if she is aware of any studies that support a relationship between testosterone and DHT levels. In other words will an increase in testosterone cause DHT production to increase and vice versa?

-35YrsAfter works at Dr. Cole's office