Is Hair Transplant Successful in Females?
Hair
loss is difficult for both men and women, but it
is especially more difficult for women as hair is their identity. Hair loss is difficult
to bear when this happens to women. When a woman gets excessive hair loss for a
continuous period, they are bound to get panicked. This makes them desperate to
find a way to cover up their hair loss. There are many ways to prevent hair
loss, such as oiling the hair more, trying different shampoos which give hair
growth, and seeking treatment from a doctor. But the most common technique of covering
up hair loss is hair transplant.
Hair
transplantation is a pretty common
cosmetic procedure in male patients. This option, however, has not been heard of
women doing it. But this is common in
women. Hair transplantation among women has become a trend to battle hair loss
in women.
Why do women experience hair loss?
There are several reasons for women experiencing
hair loss. Many forms of hair loss can occur in women, such as:
·
Telogen Effluvium,
·
Alopecia Areata,
·
Hair loss due to
low B12,
·
Chronic hair loss
because of iron deficiency, and many others.
Hair
loss can also occur due to many scalp diseases like psoriasis (depending on the type), pityriasis, scalp eczema, and
allergic contact reactions. In the case of hair loss because of scalp diseases,
women should take hair and scalp treatments that are available.
Are women good candidates for hair transplants?
Hair restoration surgery is a good option for most men. For nearly 90
percent of the balding men in the country, a hair transplant is a good option
for covering up hair loss. Women do think they also make good candidates
for hair transplants, but this is usually not the case. In reality, some fewer
women have the type of hair loss that makes them good candidates for hair
transplants.
In most
cases the hair loss women have is diffuse hair loss which causes
an overall thinning in all areas of the head and including the sides and back.
The sides and back are the areas that act as donor sites in men. Donor sites
are the areas from where the hair is removed for hair
transplantation to other areas of the head.
The donor
sites are stable areas in men where the hair and follicles in those areas are
not affected by the dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Dihydrotestosterone tends
to shrink follicles on the other area of the head. This hair loss is because of
androgenetic alopecia, or as it is commonly known male pattern baldness.
However,
in female pattern baldness, the donor areas similar to men are usually
unstable. All the areas of the head are thinning including the side and back of
the head unlike in men. These donor areas in women are generally affected by
follicle-killing DHT. If you remove hair and follicles from these donor areas
in women and transplant them to other areas it's not going to be successful and
it is just going to fall out.
A major difference
between male and female pattern baldness is the frontal hairline where women with
hair loss tend to keep their frontal hairline, unlike males. Mostly women are
more concerned about the loss of volume from the top and back and hair
transplants don't do much to increase volume. It moves hair from a thick area
to a thinning area.
Which Women Are Good Contenders for Hair Transplant?
According to professionals only a very small
percentage of women are good candidates for hair transplant surgery. Only about
2 percent to 5 percent of women with hair loss will benefit from this type of
procedure. Many women who have diffuse
hair loss are not good candidates for hair transplants. It is because the hair thinning
in this is on every area of the head and the supply is not adequate for hair
transplant. However, in some cases hair transplantation in women can be
successful and can significantly improve a patient’s appearance:
- The female version of male pattern hair loss: This
is a common cause of hair loss in
women. In this hair loss happens from the front, top, and crown of the head.
But the hair on the back and side area usually remains intact. Women who have a distinct pattern of baldness that is similar to
that of male pattern baldness have a hairline recession, vertex
thinning, and a donor site that is generally not affected by androgenetic
alopecia.
·
Genetic elevated
Hairline: In this, there is a distance between the hairline (trichion) and the
glabella (the prominent point on the frontal bone above the nose), and in the
midline. Basically, an apparent increased distance between the hairline and the
glabella. This makes the woman’s
faceless feminine which makes the hair transplant the right choice for this
patient.
·
Transgender Women’s
hairline creation: For many
transgender women who transforms from men to women hair transplantation is an
important method to adjust their face to the characteristics of women.
·
Scarring Alopecia: For women who suffer hair loss due to scarring which occurs due to trauma, like burn victims, accidents,
and chemical burns is scarring alopecia. In this case, a surgical hair transplant can fill in the scar and
remove its visibility.
·
Hair loss after cosmetic
or plastic procedures: It is
common for women to lose hair in their temporal points if they had done any facelifting
or plastic procedure. Women who have had work done on their faces are more concerned about
hair loss, especially around the incision sites. Also, scars in any cosmetic surgery can make hair loss more visible.
·
Traction alopecia: In this hair loss is due to traction or pulls
in hair which is caused by different hairstyles such as ponytails and tight
buns and also due to tools like heat dryers. Women who have suffered hair loss
due to traction alopecia are non-hormonal. A hair transplant can only restore
lost hair in the area as long as the woman stops the root cause of the
condition.
·
Trichotillomania: This is a condition in which the patient gets urges
to pull hair from the scalp, eyebrows, or other areas of the body. This is a psychological
condition that must be treated accordingly and through the help of a
psychologist, but hair loss that has already happened can be treated with hair
transplants.
Why hair transplant is needed in women?
A woman needs hair transplants for one of two purposes:
·
For reducing
the high hairline.
·
For treating
the female pattern baldness.
Lowering the hairline by a hair transplant is a method where healthy
hair is removed from the donor site and gets implanted with the follicular
unit extraction (FUE) or follicular
unit transplantation (FUT). These
methods create a more feminine hairline. Women can get female pattern baldness similar
to males. But sometimes women’s pattern baldness is different from male pattern
baldness.
Hair
transplantation in women can improve their lives by:
·
Achieving
natural and healthy hair.
·
Women can grow
their hair longer and style their hair accordingly.
·
Women with
good volume in their hair can regain their confidence back.
Hair
Transplantation methods for women:
You need to go to transplant doctors who will rule out treatable
diseases that are the causes of hair loss. The doctor will also perform a microscopic
examination of the hair to determine the location and the amount of hair minimization.
But female patients who have high diffuse hair problems are not good candidates
for hair transplantation.
Options for hair transplantation for women and men are the same. The
surgeon will decide whether follicular
unit extraction(FUE) or follicular
unit transplantation (FUT) is
the best way to achieve the desired results. Doctors can also use some of the medical
procedures during or before surgical hair restoration.
There are two types of
treatments:
·
FUE
(follicular unit extraction)
·
FUT
(follicular unit transplant)
FUE (Follicular
Unit Extraction):
FUE is the most sophisticated method for grafting women’s hair. In this
technical method, a unique tool is used which is less than 1 mm to remove hair
from the donor area. Then the hair is transplanted to the area where there is
less hair. After hair transfer, hair grows back to normal. In this method, hair
can be implanted in groups of 1 to 4. But it depends on the thickness and
number of donor locations. This method has a comparatively fast recovery time,
and it is not required to stay overnight after the surgery. In FUE the patient
receives local anesthesia and is fully awake throughout the procedure.
FUT
(Follicular Unit Transplant)
In the FUT method, the pieces of skin are taken from the back of the
head and surgeons can implant them in the thinning hair area. The wound from
where the skin is taken is then sutured, but it leaves a visible linear scar.
But this scar won’t be seen because usually the gap is closed and full hair
covers it.
This method is preferred by most women as it does not require you to
shave your head in the donor area. However, the result is the same for both
methods. Recovery time for FUT is more than FUE which is about five weeks.
The difference between hair transplants in men and women?
·
Women generally don’t
oppose donor scars: Almost all
the male patients keep short hair in the donor area, so procedures like FUT may
not be their preferred method. Women rarely have short haircuts so they can choose
FUT which will maximize the number of grafts and will have less hair transplant
costs.
·
Women have more
availability than men of donor scalp: Women who do not have male pattern hair loss have a larger donor
area. It is because the hair at the top and the crown are not susceptible to
hair loss.
·
Women cannot use
hair from other parts of the body: Many men get hair from other body parts, such as beards and body hair,
which most women lack, and thus they have only one option for getting hair for
hair transplant.
Conclusion:
A hair transplant is not an easy procedure so before going through this procedure get advice from one of the trichologists. Many of the women are suitable candidates for women’s hair transplantation surgery. If you are a suitable candidate for hair transplantation, your doctor will discuss your every need regarding the transplantation that will give you perfect hair.