I've been burned by "revolutionary" hair loss products before. So when patients started asking about NovaMane's micro-infusion system, my BS detector went into overdrive. Another Instagram miracle cure? A $180 dermastamp with magic serum? Sure, Jan. But after the fifteenth patient asked about it

"Physician, heal thyself," my wife said, pointing at my crown in our bathroom mirror. She wasn't wrong. At 38, I'd been dispensing hair loss advice for a decade while my own hairline crept backward and my crown thinned to see-through status. The cognitive dissonance

Subject: "I can't do this anymore" I remember staring at my phone, disoriented, wondering why a patient was emailing at 3:17 AM. Then I read Anna's message: "Dr. Hayes, I'm sitting on my bathroom floor crying. My daughter's

"Just use Rogaine!" For years, that was my reflexive response to anyone with hair loss. Male, female, young, old, crown, hairline – didn't matter. Minoxidil was my hammer, and every scalp looked like a nail. Then came the week that changed everything: three emergency calls, two ER

The smell hit me before she even opened the container. Fermented. Sour. Like a frat house carpet mixed with old Chinese takeout. "I've been fermenting this for two weeks," Melissa announced proudly, holding up a mason jar of cloudy liquid with... things... floating in it. "

"Hayes, did you join a cult?" Dr. Peterson stood in my office doorway, staring at the red LED panel on my desk like I'd set up a shrine to the hair gods. "It's for a patient trial," I lied. The truth? I&

"Doc, just give it to me straight. Will finasteride kill my dick?" I get this question at least three times a week. Usually from guys who've spent hours on forums reading horror stories about permanent sexual dysfunction, growing breasts, and brain fog. After prescribing finasteride to

The smell hit me before she even sat down. Eucalyptus. Peppermint. Something else sharp and medicinal. My eyes started watering. "I've been using this all-natural hair growth oil," Maria said, pulling out a brown bottle covered in Sanskrit symbols. "But my scalp feels like it&

I owe about 1,000 patients an apology. For a decade, I recommended biotin like it was hair growth candy. Patient losing hair? "Take 5,000mcg of biotin daily." Thinning? "Have you tried biotin?" I was that doctor. The one who perpetuated the biotin myth because,

I need to tell you about the Martinez brothers. Both came to my clinic on the same day. Identical twins, 28 years old, matching receding hairlines. What happened next turned into an accidental clinical trial that still makes me shake my head.

Last week, a 34-year-old software engineer walked into my office with what looked like a scalp from a horror movie. Red, flaking, angry skin that had been scrubbed raw. His crime? Following advice from a "hair guru" to use clarifying shampoo daily to "remove DHT buildup."