Dr. William Rassman of BaldingBlog.com is not an unbiased observer. As the owner of the New Hair Institute and a hair transplant surgeon, he has a financial interest in attacking any successful product. He is obviously afraid that patient will forgo multiple $10,000 transplant procedures, when they can regrow their hair for $600-2800.

It is unethical to criticize a medical treatment without knowing how it works and Dr. Rassman ignores all the independent research as well as that published by Dr. Lewenberg on how Dr. Lewenberg's Formula works.  Dr. Rassman claims that "Retin-A produces irritation of the skin, a sort of light burn which is thought to increases the circulation as the body tries to repair the burn. As a result, it is theorized that blood supply to the scalp increases and any medications such as minoxidil (which is in Lewenberg’s formula) gets better absorbed."

This is the exact opposite of how Dr. Lewenberg's Formula works. Irritation is unwanted and we work with patients to prevent it and remedy it if patients do experience irritation. We caution our patients to apply correctly to prevent this feeling of a burn. The formulation and application of Dr. Lewenberg’s Formulas are designed to minimize the risk of irritation, and we follow up with patients to make sure that they are not experiencing irritation. A person just needs to read our website or look at our instructions to see this. The last thing Dr. Lewenberg wants is for there to be increased blood flow and irritation as this could cause minoxidil to enter the blood stream. Moreover, Dr. Rassman should be fully aware that increased blood flow is not how Minoxidil works, assuming that he has read the last two decades of research.

Dr. Rassman claims that Dr. Lewenberg uses Tretinoin to create a burn are ridiculous. Had he wanted to cause this, Dr. Lewenberg would have used a non-prescription ingredient, one that he could more easily and cheaply sell. It is easier and cheaper than using a prescription medication like Tretinoin, but it is also far less effective.

Tretinoin is used to increase absorption of Minoxidil only into the living layers of the skin, where the hair follicles are. Increasing the absorption of minoxidil is only one reason why Dr. Lewenberg included Tretinoin. Although the underlying mechanism was not known 25 years ago when Dr. Lewenberg began treating hair loss, Tretinoin in the form of Retin-A was prescribed by doctors, including Dr. Lewenberg, to repair damage to the skin. Far from being used to cause burns, Tretinoin is used to minimize the appearance of burns and repair the surrounding skin. 

In the 1980s, Dr. Lewenberg theorized that rejuvenating the scalp would improve the results of Minoxidil. Since then scientists have come to understand how Tretinoin repairs the skin and micro-organelles, such as the hair follicle, within the skin.  In the 1980’s Tretinoin’s effect of increasing cell turnover was well known. In the 1990’s the direct effect of Tretinoin on stem cells and the ability of these stem cells to repair tissue was established at the University of Pennsylvania. The final benefits of Tretinoin, reducing the production of and effects of DHT were likewise established in the 1990s.

It is unfortunate that Dr. Rassman saw fit to publish a blog post on Dr. Lewenberg's Formulas without doing any basic research on the formulas and making unfounded assumptions on their use.  It is also unfortunate that Rassman chooses to attack us when Dr. Lewenberg works with so many patients and specialists to improve the results of hair transplants.