Hair Loss in Women

Posted Friday, September 7, 2007 to PROCEDURES > Hair

Posted by The Original Anti-Aging & Cosmetic Surgery Magazine

Hair loss is something usually associated with men. However, it is just as traumatic a problem for women, Beverly Hills hair transplant surgeon Dr L Lee Bosley explained to Sally Waddington

Female Pattern Thinning and Balding is a condition that isn't often mentioned. While men with thinning hair are prime marketing targets, until recently females have been virtually ignored. Balding men are a common sight; balding women hide it with a wig or headscarf.

However, effective treatments for women suffering hair loss are just as available as treatments for men. More than 15% of women experience some degree of noticeable hair loss, and Dr. Bosley explained his medical group is now treating at least 3 or 4 women per week. According to Dr. Bosley, "The great majority of women with typical female pattern hair loss can be helped significantly." The treatment procedure for females is very similar to the treatment for males.

However, the female pattern symptoms are usually quite different to those for the male condition. In women, the frontal hairline often tends to stay thick, as do the sides and very back of the hair. However, it is the section behind the frontal hairline, over the top of the head and towards the back that deteriorates. "The hair allover the top of the head and towards the back gets thinner and thinner," said Dr. Bosley. The "bad news" is that once it starts, it doesn't stop; the "good news" is that women seldom become completely 'shiny-bald' as men often do. Also, studies have now shown hair density (hairs per square inch) has to have decreased below 50% before the loss can be visually detected!

Thinning hair is not related only to the loss of the follicles themselves, as many people believe. In fact, thinning also becomes more noticeable as the diameter of the hair shafts decreases. Dr. Bosley said, "A lot of the visual and tactile density (thickness and fullness) of hair is due to the caliber (diameter) and curl of the hair, not only the number of hairs." One of the best ways to detect thinning hair is to evaluate the part - many women notice their part grows wider as their hair thins.

Hair restoration techniques today provide very natural looking results, virtually undetectable from the original natural non-transplanted hair. Using his own Micrografting®, Minigrafting and varigrafting techniques, Dr. Bosley and the patient first decide upon the areas where the new hair is desired. He then locates a 'donor area' with sufficient excess healthy hair. "Women usually have a similar donor area to men. This means they have enough supply to fulfill the demand, so the results are usually very good," stated Dr. Bosley. Both the area to be transplanted and the donor area are then anaesthetized, and the healthy hair is taken from the donor area, and meticulously transplanted into tiny openings in the area of thinned hair.

To create a natural appearance, several different graft sizes must be carefully selected. Each varigraft is formed individually and usually contains from 1 to 3 hairs, which must vary in color and caliber.

Occasionally, some of the new grafts can contain up to 6 hairs to add density (6 hairs is still a relatively small number compared to former techniques that transplanted 15-25 hairs in a single graft or "plug"). Scrupulous attention must also be paid to the angle and direction at which the hairs are transplanted to make sure they fit in with the existing hair surrounding the area.

The grafts must be carefully placed into the thinning area, to avoid damage to tissue underlying the surface, and to allow existing hair follicles to continue growth. In another important step to obtain even greater improvement, additional transplants are often placed a few weeks or months after the initial transplant.

Hair restoration is almost always an outpatient procedure. In most cases patients can return to work the next day, with light to moderate exercise recommended for 1 to 2 weeks afterward. The new hair usually takes about 2 to 3 months to start growing after the procedure. After this, it grows about 1/2 inch a month. Results often take longer to notice in female patients than males, as females generally wear their hair longer. "A woman usually has to grow her new hair about 2 to 4 inches long before she starts to really notice the improvement," said Dr. Bosley.

So although hair loss in women is not as well known, it certainly has a solution as simple as for a man. If you notice your hair becoming thinner and dislike it, for most women there is no reason to hide it under a wig or scarf. A micrograft/minigraft/varigraft hair transplant by a well experienced and artistic surgeon can give you a very effective, natural Hooking result. And the great majority of transplanted hairs continue to grow permanently throughout the lifetime, in most cases.

Your Hair: The Facts

At birth there are approximately 100,000 hair follicles on the head.

• Throughout our lives, each of these individual hair follicles continues to cycle through three stages: anagen (active growth stage); catagen (growth stops and hair prepares to fall out); and telogen (rest stage).
• Hair grows approximately 6 inches a year. Every person has a unique length of her/his cycle of hair growth. FOr example, some may have a 2-year cycle where hair will grow up to 12 inches before falling out; others may have a one-year cycle, where it may only grow up to 16 inches.
• Occasionally there are women who have a 10-year hair cycle where the hair can reach 5 feet long.

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