Hair Replacement Surgery For Women
The best results from hair replacement surgery come when hair from a part of your head that still has good hair growth is transplanted surgically to the areas that are bald. The surgeon will use a technique called follicular unit transplant (FUT) to transplant grafts of single follicular units (containing one to four strands of hair) into tiny slits in the bald area – one follicle per slit. The grafts are taken either by excising a strip of skin from the hair-growing area and then separating it microscopically into follicular units (strip excision) or by shaving part of the good area and harvesting the follicles one by one with special punch instruments (follicular unit extraction – FUE).
The best surgeons control the grafts for angle of insertion and are careful not to place the follicles in regularly spaced intervals. Unevenly spaced grafts, with the ones containing finer hair in the front and the thicker hair behind and in the parting, create a natural-looking ‘feathered’ hairline for women. You should make sure your surgeon is registered and experienced with working with women before you entrust your head to his hands (Go to Hair Restoration – Surgical: How to choose a good surgeon).
There are surgeons who transplant ‘punch’ grafts containing up to 25 strands of hair, and those who transfer part of your hair-growing scalp to the bald area, and those who claim they will find an unlimited supply of donor hair by harvesting from body hair. None of these techniques work. Punch grafts and mini grafts will leave you looking like you have dolls’ hair, and scalp excision can be painful for months after the procedure. Hair from the body does not grow much, and often smells like its place of origin.
When are women good candidates for surgery?
Unfortunately, only about 5% of women with hair loss are good candidates for surgery. This is because most women thin out all over the head, so there is no area of good hair growth with healthy follicles. This means donor hairs of good quality are difficult to find. If poorly growing hairs are transplanted to the bald areas, they will continue to miniaturize and fall out, just as they did in their natural habitat.
Transplanting hair from another person is not an option (unless you have an identical twin) because the risk of having to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of your life outweighs the cosmetic and emotional benefits of hair transplantation. Some people insert artificial hair surgically into their scalp. However, the risk of infection is higher with this and the procedure is banned in the United States
But if you are losing hair in the male pattern, with a patch of baldness on the top and crown and good hair growth around it, surgery can give you results, so long as you go to a competent surgeon. Women who have lost hair due to burns or other accidents, and women who have lost hair because of traction alopecia (pulling at hair roots caused by tight hairstyles) make good candidates for surgery too.
So far – surgery for hair loss is more for men than for women.
