Q: After my procedure I had some shock loss, and then after about 4 1/2 to 7 months I had tremendous growth — really thick. I was amazed actually. Now, at 8 months it has thinned again, quite a lot compared to the growth I had before. I just wondered if this was a normal growth pattern and whether further growth could be expected?

A: This is not the most common situation, but should not be a cause for concern. The newly transplanted hairs are initially synchronous when they first grow in — i.e. they tend to all grow in around the same time (with some variability). This is in contrast to normal hair, where every hair is on its own independent cycle. Sometimes the newly transplanted hair will shed at one time before the cycles of each hair become more varied asynchronous.

Q: I heard that there have been some new advances in hair cloning and that it may be available sooner than we thought. I was planning on doing a hair transplant soon. Considering that hair cloning may be available at some point in the future, should I do FUE or FUT, or wait for cloning?

A: Although there has been a major development in cloning with the use of ACell, an extracellular matrix to simulate hair growth, the model, at this point, is still in its earliest stages of development. It is hard to know when the technology will reach a state where it can be useful in hair restoration.

With respect to which you should do FUE or FUT if, theoretically, cloning is around the corner, the answer would be FUT since FUT will give you the fuller look.

If the goal is to eliminate any trace of the traditional hair transplant, again FUT will most likely be the best choice, since the single linear scar would be easy to camouflage with cloned hair. With FUE, this would be much more difficult, since there are literally thousands of tiny scars. However, neither FUE OR FUT will preclude a patient from fully benefiting from cloning if, and when, it becomes available.

Q: I am currently 28. I have been taking Propecia for 6 years and recently began to grow sparse chest hair for the first time in my life. Is the Propecia causing these effects?

A: DHT causes male pattern baldness and stimulates the growth of body hair. The use of Finasteride, a DHT blocker, will permit scalp hair to grown and inhibit the growth of body hair, not stimulate it.

However, the effects on body hair are quite small, so your natural tendency to grow chest hair over time is probably not being blocked by the treatment.