Hair transplantation might be the solution for 90% of men who experience hair loss. However, compared to men, there is substantially less probability of women benefiting from a hair transplantation. Women tend to suffer from thinning all over the head and this includes the sides and back. These sites work as donor areas in men, meaning that surgeons remove hair from these areas to the recipient area. As a result, this makes it difficult for women to be good candidates for hair transplantation.
The sides and back of the head are stable areas. The dihydrotestosterone (DHT) does not affect the hair and follicles in stable areas. However, it does shrink follicles on the other areas of the head. Thus, men who have male pattern baldness (known as androgenetic alopecia both in men and women) fall into that group. Nonetheless, thinning also affects these areas in women, making them unstable. Thinning begins with a hair follicle’s being inactive. After becoming inactive, the follicle will produce thinner and shorter hair and eventually, it will stop producing any hair. In women, when the surgeon transplants the follicles from the donor areas in the recipient area, they will fall out.
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The frontal hairline is another difference between the hair loss seen in men and women. Contrary to men, despite losing hair in other areas, women do not tend to lose their frontal hairline. Therefore, they do not need to get a hairline transplant to define their face. On the other hand, hair transplants in women concern more about the volume of their hair. The main of hair transplants, however, is not to increase the volume of the hair. Instead, it aims to move hair from one area to another.
Women Who Are Good Candidates For A Hair Transplant
According to professionals, between 2% and 5% of women who suffered from hair loss are good candidates for a hair transplantation. Here are the possible reasons and the relevant population: 1- Women who had suffered from mechanical damage to their hair follicles because of traction alopecia. 2- Women who had a previous cosmetic/plastic surgery. 3- Women who have had a similar pattern of baldness similar to those of men. Women in this group experience their hairline’s receding backwards or hair loss on the crown (vertex thinning). Women who have a donor site which has remained unaffected by androgenetic alopecia also fall into this group. 4- Women who have gone through a trauma, a burn or an accident. 5- Women who have suffered from alopecia marginalis, a type of hair loss at the hairline.
Surgical Hair Loss Treatment Options Available for Women
Based on the reasons of hair loss, we can divide the treatment methods in three basic types. The first type aims at treating hair loss caused by: Diffuse thinning, hairline receding, localised loss of sideburns, eyebrows becoming thinner or facial scarring from a previous plastic surgery. The best way to resolve any hair loss issues due to these reasons is hair grafting. The second type addresses a genetically high hairline. Options for treatments for this are hair grafting or a hairline lowering (forehead reduction) surgery. The third type involves first examining the progressive female hair loss and starting with a treatment after the diagnosis. This type addresses hair loss due to stress, vitamin deficiencies, hormonal abnormalities, genetics or certain types of scarring.
Hair Grafting via FUT OR FUE
Hair grafting involves transplanting permanent and thicker hairs from the donor area to the recipient area where thinning took place. The surgeon picks the hairs in 1 to 3 grafts and distributes them in a relevant fashion. There are two techniques used for moving the donor hairs that we will mention. The first one is FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation), also known as the strip method. This technique is also amongst the ones used for women hair loss treatment. The reason is that it allows to pick at least 1800 grafts in a single incision. By working on the back at the head, this technique leaves a fine scar line to heal.
The other technique used for hair grafting is FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction). In this technique, using a tiny punch, the surgeon removes one hair graft at a time from the scalp. Therefore, it does not leave any single linear incision scarring. FUE is more frequently used compared to FUT. If you experience any type of hair loss, you can choose to get a consultation at Hair of Istanbul. It is a hair transplantation centre in Istanbul, Turkey. The medical team at the centre specializes in the FUE technique for eight years now.
Hairline Lowering (Forehead Reduction) Surgery
The hairline lowering surgery is also known as the surgical hairline advancement (SHA). It functions by lowering the high hairline in women just in a single operation. Because this operation involves 6,000 to 10,000 hairs, it sometimes exceeds the performance of two hair transplants. This is a lifetime operation, meaning that its target population is women with minimum hair loss on a flexible scalp. In an average operation, the surgeon will achieve 20 to 24 mm lowering. It will take the surgeon about two hours to carry out this procedure. S/he will perform this under general or twilight anaesthesia. You will be able to return home on the same day. The surgeon will remove the surgical sutures after one week, meaning that recovery will be quite quick.
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Photo Sources
- minox-rostov.ru
- dep365.com
- nordichair.com
