May 17th, 2017 Written by a Staff Member of Hair Loss in Women
Only 5% or less of women with hair loss are good candidates for hair transplants. It can be a good option for men because of the nature of their hair loss. With hair transplants, hair follicles are taken from a healthy (donor) site, and transplanted to the are with dead follicles. In men, balding occurs over the entire crown of the head. For them, the sides and back of the head are healthy donor sites. Is there and effective hair transplant for women? Unfortunately in women balding is usually diffuse. There’s thinning all over the scalp, thus, no good donor sites.
Which Women Are Good Candidates For Hair Transplants?
- If you have balding similar to male pattern baldness (balding on the entire scalp except the sides and back).
- Also, if you’ve lost your hair due to traction alopecia (from a hairstyle that has put a lot of stress on your hair follicles that has caused permanent hair loss).
- If you had a trauma, such as a chemical or fire burn, or a car accident.
- You don’t have heart problems or hypertension.
- You don’t have a case of diabetes that is outside of the control of injections and medications (see post from hairlosshelp.com for details).
If You’re A Hair Transplant Candidate
Getting a hair transplant for women is not an easy decision. Incisions are smaller and less invasive compared to hair transplants of the past, but it’s still an invasive surgery that has a recovery time of anywhere from a week to 10 days. It may take a year for the newly transplanted hair to grow normally. With the FUE method (described below), most surgeons will want to shave the donor area of the scalp before the transplant. After surgery, you may be taking antibiotics, painkillers, and steroids for a shirt time. And it will take a few months for the newly transplanted follicles to grow new hair. The initial growth is very thin and gets thicker over time.
What Is The Cost?
Surgery usually costs around $5-$6 per follicle, and prices may drop once you get to 1,000 follicles. The cost ranges usually from $3,000 to $15,000, spending on whether you elect for the FUT or FUE method (see below for details).
How Long Will The Hair Transplant Surgery Take?
A graft of 1,500 to 3,000 hair follicles will generally take a full day (the FUT will take less time than FUT, described below).
Two Types Of Hair Transplant: FUE (The Strip Method) Vs. FUT
The two types of hair transplants are Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE).
With the FUT transplant, a strip of scalp is taken from the back of the head and is dissected into individual grafts. In the FUE method, one to four follicles are taken at a time from the back of the head for transplant. And the hair from the donor area must be shaved before the transplant. There are advantages to each, generally breaking down into side effects, and cost.
FUT is usually half the cost of FUE.
FUE is painless with anesthetic, and recovery is quicker than with the FUT. There’s also no linear scar that’s a little easier to see than the miniscars from FUE, leaving FUE a better option for women that will ever want to wear their hair very short. Although now skilled surgeons leave a scar that can be barely visible.
The FUE transplant is better for people who smaller areas of baldness, while the FUT method will cover a large bald area relatively quickly.
Consulting with a surgeon will give you a much clearer idea of which method is best for you. You could request to have a small FUE transplant to see how it looks.
If You’re Considering Hair Transplant Surgery…
Do your homework.
Don’t take a chance on a doctor that you haven’t received recommendations from on their work. If possible, talk to people who have under undergone the transplant and ask them about their experience. See if what they have is something that you want. Ask the surgeon for before and after photos of previous clients. And remember that the best doctors make sure that the hair they transplant will grow in the same direction and angle of the hair that is surrounding it, so it looks natural.
There are many doctors that are doing hair transplants, and as with every field, a some are excellent, many are average, and some are below average. As with any surgery, there is a chance of infections, scarring, complications, and unnatural looking results.
Beware of great deals on hair transplants. If a surgeon is offering a great deal, they may have their technicians doing the surgery. You want the most experienced surgeon doing the procedure. Even if you’re not getting a great deal, find out if the surgeon is doing the operation, or if it’s someone in training.
Have you undergone hair transplant surgery? We’d love for you to share the experience of your hair transplant for women considering the procedure. Please share in the comment section below.