Female Hair Loss.
There are several causes of hair loss in women such as hormones, stress, diet, medications, traction alopecia (scarring of scalp due to ponytails or braids) the sudden decrease in hormones after pregnancy, menopause, genetics or disease.
Hair loss in women can manifest itself in two very different ways: female pattern hair loss, or diffuse unpatterned hair loss.
Female Pattern Hair Loss.
Much like male pattern baldness, female pattern hair loss is caused by genetics and can be easily diagnosed and successfully treated with a hair transplant. This is because thinning hair does NOT occur in the donor area.
The donor area, which is located on the sides and back of the head and not affected by DHT, is where transplanted hair is harvested. If hair in that area of the scalp is dense and healthy it can easily be transplanted to thinning areas with a high level of success and permanent survival.
The first sign of female hair loss is often excess shedding while combing and brushing. As hair loss progresses over time, women tend to notice thin or patchy areas where bald scalp is visible. Hormonal shifts associated with hypothyroidism, pregnancy and menopause can cause and accelerate the thinning process.. While women rarely become frankly bald like men, hair loss can be cosmetically unappealing and can give an older and unhealthy appearance. Women often face a much stronger social stigma about thinning hair than men do, which in turn affects their self-image.
Diffuse Unpatterned Hair Loss.
On the other hand, diffuse unpatterned hair loss is the thinning of hair that begins, oftentimes, just behind the frontal hairline and continues throughout the entire scalp leaving hair in the donor area thin and unpredictable. Transplanted hair taken from a donor area that is thinning may or may not survive. That’s why it’s important to know the difference.
To determine which type of hair loss you might have, you should make an appointment to see our physician for diagnosis. Once the doctor has determined what might be causing your hair loss, he will prescribe which treatment is right for you. Often times, hair loss in women can be corrected with a change in medication, a change in diet, hormone therapy, supplements or lifestyle changes.
The Hair Restoration Institute at Sante Medical offers several non-surgical treatments for women with hair loss. There are times when diffuse hair loss can be stabilized through non-surgical methods such as laser therapy. When hair returns to the donor area, female pattern baldness can be identified and corrected with a hair transplant.
The ARTAS: Optimum Hair Restoration for Women
The ARTAS® system is a great choice for women with female pattern hair loss. Traditional hair transplants can cause hair shock, which is when existing healthy hair near the newly transplanted hair experiences trauma causing it to prematurely go into a resting phase. The healthy hair typically grows back but hair loss experienced during shock can be traumatic for women.
Our ARTAS® Robotic Hair Transplant System offers a gentler alternative to older transplant methods that has made many women hesitant about the procedure. The ARTAS® procedure is minimally invasive and can be performed quickly with very little downtime – allowing you to resume your busy daily schedule. In some cases female patients may need more than one session to achieve desired results.
Healthy Hair Means a Healthy Outlook.
Naturally, a woman experiencing hair loss will begin researching available treatment options. Women are bombarded with magazine and Internet advertisements for hair loss treatments including secret formulas, creams, ointments, and herbal remedies. Most products make promises that seem too good to be true and are not, in fact, based upon any credible evidence. Nor are they particularly effective. Having healthy natural looking hair is an investment in your future, and contributes not only to self-assurance and overall self-confidence, but to overall wellness and vitality.
Signs of Hair Loss
The first sign of female hair loss is often excess shedding while combing and brushing.
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As hair loss progresses over time, women tend to notice thin or patchy areas where bald scalp is visible.
While women rarely become bald like men, hair loss can be cosmetically unappealing and can give an older and unhealthy appearance. Women often face a much stronger social stigma about thinning hair than men do, which in turn affects their self-image.
Complexities of Female Hair Loss
Women’s hairlines are far more complex than men’s, as the hair often features subtle swirls and directional changes.
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These must be mimicked in the surgical design for the hair transplant to look natural. Furthermore, in female patients the physician is often required to implant in and around existing hair, as most women who seek hair transplantation are experiencing thinning rather than outright baldness. This slows down the graft insertion process and makes the procedure take slightly longer compared to male patients and may necessitate more than one transplant session. However, the key to a successful procedure is the implantation technique- artistically restoring natural hair density, hairlines, angles and patterns to re-create a desired hairstyle that look natural from every angle and range.
Again, women with diffuse hair loss (thinning all over) rather than the patterned hair loss (where the hair loss is localized to the front and top of the scalp) are generally not good candidates for hair transplants.
Cost
Although the cost of a female hair transplant may be higher than other non-surgical types of hair loss treatments, it is a permanent one-time cost and solution that provides dramatic and successful results.
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Costs vary greatly from patient to patient, depending on the type of treatment required.
Whatever treatment you decide, surgical or non-surgical, having healthy natural looking hair contributes not only to self-assurance and overall self-confidence, but also to your overall wellness and vitality. As specialists in cosmetic medicine, we can advise you on complementing facial rejuvenation treatments that can often be combined with your hair restoration procedure to achieve even more outstanding results.