Q: I am a 34 year old male and my dermatologist prescribed Propecia for me today. Most of my hair loss is at the hairline, but there is some loss on top as well. It’s not bad, I just want to stay ahead of it. If I get a transplant I want to get it at your clinic, but I will give the Propecia a try first. I am going to be overseas for a couple of months starting this Sunday and I was wondering about the necessity or desirability of having someone measure my hair density prior to starting the Propecia. Would you advise waiting to start the Propecia until I come back in two months and having my density examined at your clinic?

A: I would start Propecia as soon as possible. What is important for a hair transplant is the density in the donor area and this is not affected by Propecia (or minoxidil). Your donor density can be measured anytime at an evaluation prior to surgery. If you want to wait to see the effects of Propecia prior to the hair transplant, you really should wait a year; since growth, if any, can take this long. If you just want to have Propecia on board for the hair restoration procedure, or to make sure you don’t have side effects, then generally a month will do. If you would like to do a photo consult through our website to get some preliminary information about how many grafts you might need, you can do that at your leisure, but start Propecia now since the longer you wait the less effective it will be at regrowing hair.

Q: You mentioned that the hair at my crown and other areas where I now have baldness hasn’t really fallen off but has thinned to a great extent and that taking Rogaine and Propecia might help increase their thickness. If the medications do restore the hair thickness, I’m curious why you said that I could look like how I was 1 to 2 years ago. Technically, shouldn’t I be able to regain much more of my hair (and look like how I was longer than before that) since the follicles are all still there?

A: Although Propecia is much more effective than Rogaine, even when used together, the medications are just not that effective in reversing the miniaturization process. They may bring you back to the way you were a few years ago, but will not restore your adolescent density.

Q: What color hair is the thickest? I thought it was brown, followed by red then blonde? But I am also reading that red is the thickest but redheads have the fewest hairs.

A: In very general terms, the darker the hair, the thicker it is and the lower the density (hairs per area). For example, Asians have the darkest hair, the highest hair diameter and the lowest density. Scandinavian blonds have very high hair density and the fine (diameter) hair. But there are many exceptions, African Americans have black hair, but it is usually very fine and of low density. I have seen red heads in all categories.