I was considering writing my final post of 2016 on things to look forward to in 2017. However, I felt it would be somewhat repetitive in nature. New announcements from any of the companies mentioned in the 5 bullet points in this post are the most important things to look out for in 2017 and I did not want to repeat that information here.

Allergan and Samumed are also of significant interest to the hair loss world. Various other lesser known usually newer companies involved in clinical trials and/or new hair loss related drug development are also worth keeping an eye out for, although some are receiving a level of publicity way beyond what they currently warrant. e.g., this record 314 (and counting) page thread about a somewhat unproven product is insane.

And finally, the 5-10 major regional and global hair and/or stem cell related conferences are always of interest every year including in 2017. We should all also be watching out for CRISPR and gene modification related conferences hereon.

But to end this year, I wanted to find something else to write about that was unique, not repetitive, and not too technical/scientific in nature. Something you can read on your phone screen on New Year’s Eve while drunk and out in the cold waiting for things to happen. After some consternation and difficulties in deciding on what to write about, lo and behold, Joe Tillman (formerly known as Jotronic) and Spencer Stevenson (more widely known as Spex) unknowingly came to the rescue. To learn more about both these hair legends, please read my original post on them.

Joe’s 25,000 Transplanted Hair Follicles

First, earlier today Joe Tillman released an excellent and very instructive video for those who are thinking of getting a hair transplant. I did not realize that he has had 25,000 (!) hair follicles moved from the back of his scalp to the front and crown of his scalp over the years (in 9 separate surgeries including one scar revision).

Note that “follicles” is different from “follicular units” or “grafts”. Joe’s transformation has been very impressive and he is very honest about all the pros and cons of his “new” transplanted hair. I still cannot believe his before and after hair transplant transformation considering that his first two bad hair transplants occurred almost 24 years ago. FYI — click on the title of the below video to open in a separate page.

Spex Joins the Dutasteride Bandwagon

I have mentioned Spencer (Spex) a few times on this blog before. He has had around 10 (!) large and small hair transplants over the years and is featured in numerous newspaper stories about hair loss. I was very pleased to learn that he very recently started using Dutasteride to treat his hair loss. He is documenting his results with photos here.

I have discussed Dutasteride (original brand name = Avodart) numerous times on this blog. It is basically Finasteride (original brand name = Propecia) on steroids. More benefits as well as more side effects than Finasteride. There are quite a few internet testimonials that you can find of old men who got on Dutasteride (to treat enlarged prostates) and saw hair growing on parts of their scalp that were bald for decades. Something that is extremely hard to do. You can also read about some great positive results (as well as failures) of using Dutasteride to treat hair loss in the comments to this post.

When Avodart first came out onto the market in 2002 (after FDA approval at the end of 2001), hair loss forum members all over the world were going berserk with excitement. I miss those days when it seem liked Dutasteride was the ultimate cure for hair loss. Everyone was counting the days till the pending product release with extreme levels of hope and hysteria. Unfortunately, the drug was not a miracle for most people who already had significant hair loss.

So instead of hairlosscure2002.com, here I am talking about hairlosscure2020.com :-(

Happy Holidays Everyone!