Post Hair Loss Questions and Get Answers

In my research in hair transplantation, I keep hearing about people talking about how many follicular unit grafts they have received.  But how many hairs are in a hair graft?

This is a great question and one not often asked enough!

In a hair transplant, follicular unit grafts are hair groups that occur naturally in the scalp.  Each follicular unit grafts contains hair in groups of 1s, 2s, 3s, and 4s.  The average number of hairs in a follicular unit graft is different for every hair transplant patient however, overall it is said to be around 2.2 hairs per follicular unit graft. 

Personally I think it is beneficial when a hair restoration physician provides detailed hair counts with hair count breakdowns so that the hair transplant patient truly understands what they are receiving.

As an example, a hair transplant patient that received 4000 follicular unit grafts but only 7000 hairs may have a similar result as a hair transplant patient that received 3000 follicular unit grafts with 6900 hairs.  Though hair transplant patient one has a far greater number of follicular unit grafts, the hair count is pretty similar.

Of course, the number of transplanted hairs is not the only thing that establishes an illusion of density.  There are a number of other variables such as hair characteristics, proper placement of the hair grafts, hair coverage verses hair density, and of course the selection of a quality hair transplant physician. 

Technorati Tags: hair transplantation, follicular unit grafts, hair graft, hair transplant, hair transplant patient, hair restoration physician, transplanted hairs, hair characteristics, hair coverage, hair density

This question was posed by a hair loss sufferer on our hair restoration forum and answered by Dr. Michael Beehner of Saratoga Springs, NY who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians. His professional answer is below.

This is a common problem for young men, who want to have all of their hair restored. I think your hair transplant doctor was very wise in telling you what he did. You have no idea (nor does anyone else, including the hair transplant doctor) how bald you may become some day. And if you start filling in the crown/vertex as part of the initial plan on a man in his 20’s, and male pattern baldness (MPB) progresses and logarithmically enlarges, as it almost always does, and the project in that area can’t be completed, you will have a huge bald halo around a patch of transplanted hair and will look very abnormal, and there won’t be any donor hair left to fill in the halo.

By the time a man gets into his later 30’s the hair transplant surgeon gets a much better sense of where a patient is going to end up with regards to the eventual expansion of the crown and also the amount of “safe” donor hair that is remaining and then he can make a much more accurate determination as to whether he has a good safe margin of donor hair reserves to do everything that you want.

Technorati Tags: hair loss, hair restored, hair transplant doctor, hair transplant, bald, male pattern baldness, MPB, transplanted hair, donor hair left, hair transplant surgeon

I’m a 23 year old girl who is suffering from hair loss and hair miniaturization for about 1 month.  I have been noticing that I’ve been losing about 150 hairs every day in the shower alone.  I’ve been having irregular menstral cycles for about 9 years now and had gone under OCP treatment for several periods and my menstral cycle is more regular but not entirely normal.   What is the cause of my hair loss?  How can I differentiate between Androgenetic Alopecia and Telogen Effluvium?  My dermatologist has suggested I try minoxodil and zinc.  I’ve been on them for a month now and I haven’t been noticing any change.  Please help!

Thank you for your inquiry.

You ask a lot of great questions and I’ll do my best to answer you.

For starters, I think it is very important that you get your hair loss condition diagnosed by a dermatologist or a hair restoration specialist.  Only then can an appropriate hair loss treatment be recommended.

In case you are suffering from genetic hair loss (Androgenetic Alopecia), Rogaine (minoxodil) may help you.  Zinc however, is speculation as there have been no conclusive studies on it for hair loss - but it may be worth a try since Propecia (finasteride) is out of the question if you plan on having children.  It is important however, to give any medication at least 6 months to a year to determine whether or not it is working for you.  One month is not soon enough to determine this.  Learn more about genetic hair loss.

Technorati Tags: hair loss, hair miniaturization, Androgenetic Alopecia, Telogen Effluvium, minoxodil, zinc, hair loss condition, hair loss treatment, genetic hair loss, Propecia, finasteride

I am about to undergo hair transplantation surgery and I’m concerned about shock loss.  Is there a way to minimize or eliminate the risk of shock loss?

The risk for native hair shock loss is certainly a risk going into hair transplant surgery when hairs are being transplanted in between native hairs.  Though the risk for shock loss in hair restoration surgery can be minimized, it is unpredictable.

First we have to differentiate between temporary and permanent shock loss.  Temporary shock loss can occur because of trauma to the scalp during surgery.   These hairs will grow back.  Permanent shock loss can occur in one of two ways: 1) transection of the existing hair follicle or 2) trauma to the scalp to miniaturized hairs impacted by hereditary hair loss during surgery can be sent to early retirement.  These hairs will not grow back.  Transection of the hair follicle is a minimial risk in the hands of the right hair restoration physician.

Ways to minimize shock loss include:

• Use of FDA approved hair loss medication such as Propecia (finasteride) and/or Rogaine (minoxodil) to strengthen the miniaturized hairs 6 months to 1 year prior to hair restoration surgery.

• The hair transplant doctor’s use of smaller ultra refined blades using ultra refined follicular unit transplantation will mimimize scalp trauma.

• Spacing out the follicular unit grafts around the native hairs rather than dense packing them too close together will minimize trauma to the scalp.

Technorati Tags: hair transplantation, shock loss, native hair, hair transplant, hair restoration, hair follicle, hair loss, hair restoration physician, FDA approved, hair loss medication, Propecia, finasteride, Rogaine, minoxodil, miniaturized hairs, hair restoration surgery, hair transplant doctor, follicular unit grafts, dense packing

Hi, I’m considering a hair transplant, though I heard that Propecia and/or Rogaine can work better.  Is this true?

Very rarely are there cut and dry answers when it comes to hair restoration.  Therefore, the answer to this question is that it depends.

Propecia (Finasteride) and/or Rogaine (minoxodil) have a much higher chance of reversing the hair miniaturization process thus regrowing hair when a person hasn’t experienced a great amount of hair loss. For the majority of hair loss sufferers considering hair transplantation, hair loss medication should be tried first at the very least to maintain existing natural hair.  Hair transplantation is typically not a viable option for younger patients who have only just started to experience hair loss.  In fact, any hair transplant doctor that performs hair transplant surgery on a younger patient with minimal hair loss may be exposing the hair transplant patient to expedited hair loss if hair is being transplanted between a lot of natural hair.  See shock loss for more details.

But for those hair loss sufferers who have greater balding patterns, Propecia and Rogaine combined cannot do what hair transplantation can do.

For more information, see: What should I consider when researching hair transplantation?

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

Technorati Tags: hair transplant, Propecia, Rogaine, hair restoration, Finasteride, minoxodil, hair miniaturization, regrowing hair, hair loss, hair transplantation, hair loss medication, natural hair, hair transplant doctor, hair transplant surgery, hair transplant patient, balding, Propecia, Rogaine

This insightful article was written by forum discussion member “Spex” who is also a showcase for Dr. Feller of Great Neck, NY and edited by Bill (Falceros), the Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center and the Hair Restoration Discussion Forum.

Hair characteristics

Hair characteristics play a vital role in the overall illusion and success of a hair transplant.  Some hair transplant patients have more favourable hair characteristics and therefore need fewer follicular unit grafts to achieve their personal hair restoration goals.

Someone with fine, straight, thin hair is going to require more hair grafts to achieve a similar result than for example someone with coarse, wavy, thick hair.

Remember that hair transplantation is about creating an illusion of hair density. With the appropriate placement and use of your hairs characteristic the illusion can be achieved very well.  Those with more favourable hair characteristic (wavy, thick hair) will require fewer hair grafts to meet their hair restoration goals.

Hairs characteristics vary in each hair loss sufferer, therefore be sure to consult with a qualified hair restoration physician about how your hair characteristics will contribute to the success of your hair transplant surgery.

In conclusion, hair transplant patients with very similar hair loss patterns may not have the same hair characteristic, therefore they will require a different number of follicular unit grafts to achieve a similar result in terms of illusion, coverage, density.

See also:

Technorati Tags: hair transplant, hair transplant patient, hair characteristics, follicular unit grafts, hair restoration, hair grafts, hair transplantation, hair graft, hair loss, hair restoration physician, hair transplant surgery, hair loss pattern

I’ve read a publication by Dr. Rassman on www.baldingblog.com that a Hair Transplant can accelerate the balding process.  Is this true?

What Dr. Rassman is most likely talking about is permanent shock loss. Miniaturized hairs which is part of hereditary hair loss have a greater chance of being “shocked” and sent to early retirement. These native hairs will have inevitably retired anyway but hair restorationsurgery CAN expedite the process.

There are a few ways to minimize the risk of permanent shock loss in hair transplantation.

• Hair loss medication such as Propecia (finasteride) and/or Rogaine (minoxodil) used for at least 6 months to a year prior to hair transplant surgery, if working can strengthen the hairs enough so that they are more resilient to shock - and even if they are temporarily shocked, will grow back.

• With minimally invasive incisions using ultra refined follicular unit transplantation, there is less trauma to the scalp, therefore the risk of shock loss lessens.

• Transplanting hair grafts further apart between weaker native hairs instead of dense packing will also lessen the trauma to the scalp and therefore reduce the risk of sending miniaturized hairs into early retirement.

— 

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

Technorati Tags: Hair Transplant, balding, Miniaturized hairs, hair restoration, shock loss, hair transplantation, Hair loss medication, finasteride, minoxodil, hair transplant surgery, Transplanting hair, dense packing, miniaturized hairs

Procerin as a Hair Loss Treatment 

There are many hair restoration products on the market that claim to combat hair loss and even regrow hair.  Whereas there is no question that marketing is over-reaching at best in order to sell a product, the question for any hair loss sufferers is this:  Is there a chance that this product will work for me?  I think when evaluating this question one must simply remember that there is no miracle hair loss cure to date (at least when this hair loss blog was written) and that one must do dilligent research on a hair loss product before concluding as to whether it works.  For more information on the criteria I use to evaluate a hair loss product, click here.

Procerin is one of the top selling hair loss products on top of the market so I thought it would be beneficial to write something on it.

Procerin comes in two forms, a pill and a topical.  A combined order can be placed or you can purchase each type separately. 

Generally speaking, when determining whether a hair loss product works, it’s important to ask the question, “what are the ingredients in this product?”  So what is Procerin?  Let’s sum up the ingredients of this product and then we can elaborate on its efficacy.  In other words a product as a whole can be summed up by its parts. 

This information was taken right from the supplemental facts label from their website:

Technorati Tags: Hair Loss Treatment, hair restoration, hair loss, regrow hair, hair loss cure, hair loss blog, hair loss product, Procerin

I recently had the opportunity to visit Dr. Williams and his staff as they performed a truly ultra refined hair transplant procedure in their Henderson office in the Las Vegas area. I found the high quality and refinement of their work very reassuring. After speaking extensively with the clinical staff it was obvious that they had extensive experience and took great pride in the quality of their work and patient results.

All grafts are trimmed under microscopes. Graft quality that I observed was excellent. The staff does not sub divide the naturally occurring 1, 2, 3 and 4 hair follicular units when creating grafts. Dr. William and his staff focus on one patient a day and have the capability to do 3,000 graft sessions.

Dr. Williams has a strong surgical background and has been performing follicular unit hair transplantation exclusively for the past seven years. He has a very good bedside manner and is very candid with his patients.

Patients are also provided with free post op low light laser therapy (LLLT). Dr. Williams and his staff have no doubt that this post op treatment has accelerated both the healing and growth for their patients.

Like many other leading hair transplant physicians, Dr. Williams often uses both perpendicular (lateral) and parallel (sagital) graft incisions depending on the area he is transplanting and whether the area has pre-existing hair. He never requires his patients to shave their hair.

Technorati Tags: Dr. Williams, ultra refined hair transplant, follicular units, follicular unit hair transplantation, light laser therapy, hair transplant

I have been doing a lot of research on hair transplantation and though I’m a good candidate, I am torn as to whether or not to undergo hair restoration surgery.  I’ve been finding a lot of valuable information on your website and receiving a number of great answers on your discussion forum.  But how do I know if hair transplantation is right for me?  How do I know if I will really be satisfied?

I think it’s excellent that you are dilligently researching our websites and asking questions on our hair restoration discussion forum prior to going through with hair transplant surgery. Certainly if you choose to proceed, you will know what to expect.

Since you have already determined through research and hair restoration physician consultation that you are a good hair transplant candidate, only you can determine as to whether hair restoration surgery is right for you. There are certainly benefits, risks and limitations that need to be considered.

Hair restoration physician selection and patient knowledge are the two most vital pieces to ensure a successful hair transplant experience.

Hair Transplant Doctor Selection:

It is best to choose a hair transplant doctor that has a public record of consistent positive results, not only posted by the clinic itself, but by real hair restoration patients of the hair transplant clinic.  Being able to read real hair transplant patient experiences and view high resolution before/after photos should be available online for research and viewing purposes.  Feel free to use our hair restoration discussion forum as a resource tool.

Technorati Tags: hair transplantation, hair restoration, hair transplant, hair restoration physician, hair restoration surgery, hair transplant, Hair Transplant Doctor, hair restoration patients, hair transplant clinic