Hair Transplantation for Men and Women | Overview

Hair loss is primarily caused by a combination of aging, hormonal changes and a family history of baldness – in men and women (an estimated 30% of women experience hair loss).

The good news is that hair transplants can enhance your appearance and self-confidence when baldness or thinning hair is a concern. And the even better news is that Dr. Jochen performs this type of hair replacement surgery.

The best candidates for hair transplants
All hair replacement techniques use existing hair, so male candidates for this type of surgery must have healthy hair growth at the back and sides of the head to serve as donor areas. Donor areas are the places on the head from which grafts are taken.

Women tend to lose their hair in a more diffuse way than the “male-pattern baldness” seen in men. In women, hair thins out so that they have less hair all over. Essentially, any woman who feels self-conscious about her thinning hair but is generally healthy is a candidate for hair transplantation.

Follicular Unit Transplantation: the state-of-the-art hair restoration technique
The most advanced technique for hair transplantation is known as Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT). Scalp hair tends to grow in tiny bundles of one to four hairs, called “follicular units,” rather than individually. By working with these naturally occurring units, instead of larger or smaller grafts, FUT produces extremely natural looking results. These follicular units are obtained by microscopically dissecting tissue taken from the donor’s own scalp.

Another advantage of FUT is that these tiny grafts can be placed into very small recipient sites. This causes minimal damage to the skin and enables Dr. Jochen to safely transplant thousands of grafts in a single session, completing the hair restoration as quickly as possible. The tiny needle-sized recipient sites heal in just a few days without leaving any marks.

Follicular Unit Transplantation is a major advance over the mini/micro-grafting hair transplant procedure that preceded it. In mini/micro-grafting, the graft sizes were “cut to size.” Mini-grafts, which might contain up to 12 hairs, were bulky and could produce a tufted appearance. They also could result in a dimpling of the underlying skin. Micro-grafts, on the other hand, were frequently damaged during the removal process or were too fragile to survive.

In FUT, special microscopes enable meticulous graft dissection, so that the integrity of the follicular units can be preserved. This process also enables the careful removal of the non-hair-bearing scalp around the units, ensuring that each hair follicle remains intact and that the grafts are kept as small as possible.

Individualized treatment
In your initial consultation, Dr. Jochen will evaluate your hair growth and loss, review your family history of hair loss, and discuss your lifestyle, and expectations and goals for surgery. Then he’ll develop a treatment plan tailored to your individual needs, based on his experience and aesthetic training.

The surgery
Hair transplant surgery is performed using local anesthesia along with sedation to relax you. More than one surgical session may be needed to achieve satisfactory fullness, and a healing interval of several months is usually recommended between the first and second session.

After the procedure is completed, the scalp is cleansed and covered with gauze. You may have to wear a pressure bandage for a day or two.

After surgery
Any discomfort or tightness can be controlled with pain medication. You may gently wash your hair within two days of surgery, and sutures are removed in 7 – 10 days. You’ll be instructed to avoid strenuous activity for at least 3 weeks, but will likely feel well enough to go back to work and resume normal, light activity after several days.

Many patients who’ve had transplants are dismayed when their “new” hair falls out about 6 weeks after surgery. This is normal and almost always temporary; hair growth resumes in another 5 to 6 weeks, and you can expect a half-inch of growth per month thereafter.

Options for eyebrows and eyelashes, too
Hair transplantation is also an option when illness or injury causes a loss of eyebrow or eyelash hair.

The procedure for restoring eyebrows involves placing single hairs in the natural growth pattern of the patient’s previous hair. A carefully dissected single-hair micro-graft has the flexibility to be inserted into the tiny opening made with a fine hypodermic needle and placed at an angle almost flush with the skin – producing a natural-looking restoration of the eyebrow.

Restoring eyelashes also involves the individual placement of single hairs. Eyelash transplants grow faster than hair that is transplanted on other parts of the body, so they will need to be trimmed once or twice a month, and using an eyelash curler will help “train” the new hair upwards.

Schedule a complimentary consultation to see if you are a candidate for hair transplantation.