Women & Hair Transplantation

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More Women are Having Hair Transplantation

Ken Washenik, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Director of Bosley

A woman’s hair is her crown of beauty. Witness the endless hours spent at the salon, the art and science of hair color, the changing trends in hair fashions. Hair is important as a marker for identity - a key factor in social communication and sexual attraction. When thinning hair occurs in women, it can be emotionally distressing and psychologically debilitating. Fifteen percent of women experience some degree of noticeable hair loss beginning at age thirty, constituting 40 million afflicted in the United States alone.  Most women do not feel it is normal or acceptable.

Men have dealt with hair loss as a fact of life.  For women it is cosmetic death. Men have always had a variety of medical remedies, but only recently have women begun to take advantage of similar options with remarkable results -- and they are far less intimidated by surgical procedures than men.  More women with molting manes are turning to hair transplantation as they become educated on the facts about female pattern baldness.

Female Pattern Hair Loss

Men lose hair along the hairline, which progresses to the back of the scalp, and finally the “cue-ball” effect emerges.  Women have an over-all thinning resulting in see-through hair as they age.  They can lose hair behind the frontal hair zone resulting in an almost bald spot, but they do not generally see an alteration of their hairline.

Hair Transplantation for Women

Previously turning to wigs or volumizing hair care products, women now also seek a permanent, natural, and undetectable transplantation of their own hair. Companies such as Bosley treat more and more women each year with techniques relevant to their unique needs.

Hair Transplantation - Who Can Benefit

Approximately 2 - 5% will benefit from surgical hair restoration. The women who are potential candidates for this method are:

• Women who have suffered hair loss due to mechanical or traction Alopecia (non-hormonal).
• Women who have had previous cosmetic or plastic surgery and are concerned about hair loss around the incision sites.
• Women who have a distinct pattern of baldness, similar to that of male pattern baldness. This includes hairline recession, vertex thinning, and a donor area which is not affected by androgenetic Alopecia.
• Women who suffer hair loss due to trauma, including burn victims, scarring from accidents and chemical burns.
• Women with Alopecia marginalis, a condition which looks very similar to traction alopecia.

Hair Transplantation Treatment - What To Expect

Although female hair loss pattern may differ from a man’s, the treatment procedure is similar.  First, your Bosley doctor and you decide upon the areas where the new hair is desired.  Then the doctor locates a “donor area” with sufficient supply of good donor hair to achieve significantly noticeable improvement.  Both the area to be transplanted and the donor area are then anesthetized, and the healthy hair is taken from the donor area and meticulously transplanted into tiny openings in the area of thinned hair.  The in-office procedure is performed while you remain awake and read or watch TV.

Bosley has developed state-of-the-art hair transplantation techniques which provide natural-looking results, virtually undetectable from your original non-transplanted hair.  To create a natural appearance, tiny follicular units of one, two, and three hairs each are created and placed very close together in the scalp.  Scrupulous attention is paid to the angle and direction in which the hairs are transplanted to make sure they fit in with the existing hair in the area, ensuring natural, stylable hair as it grows in.

After they have completely healed, the transplants should not be visible to a casual viewer.  And within two to three months, new hairs will begin to grow and will continue growing at the normal human rate of approximately 6 inches per year.

 

Ken Washenik, M.D., Ph.D.

Ken Washenik, M.D., Ph.D., is the Medical Director of the Bosley and the Executive Vice President of Scientific and Medical Development of the Aderans Research Institute, a biotechnology firm involved in researching tissue engineered hair follicle neogenesis and cellular based hair restoration.

Dr. Washenik is the former Director of the Dermatopharmacology Unit at NYU School of Medicine, where he is a faculty member in the Department of Dermatology. He has conducted extensive clinical research and phase II-IV studies in the area of dermatopharmacology.

As part of his achievements, Dr. Washenik is a well known national and international lecturer and has presented many seminars on dermatopharmacology and dermatology-related issues. His Ph.D. is in Cell Biology and focused on progesterone metabolism and ovarian development. He frequently lectures on the effects of hormones on the skin including their effects in acne, hirsutism, and alopecia.

 

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