This is the end result after hair transplants on Heather, our only female patient from the Extreme Makeover television show. She is thrilled with the results and tells us that it has changed her life. It took two procedures (totaling 2832 grafts) to get her where she is today because her donor hair was so poor, but with her persistence, she made it all work out. Click the photos below to enlarge.
After:
Before:
My daughter is 12 years old now, and when she was little and her hair finally grew in, she had a bald spot right in the center of her head. Her doctors told me not to worry about it, but I awalys have. I thought as she got older her hair would get thicker, but it never has. Yesterday, my daughter show me another spot on her head which is almost bald, I called her doctor, to find out what to do. She is doing research as I write this to you. I was hoping for anything you could share with me. My daughter is so upset and I can not comfort her with any kind of reasoning. Please get back to me. Thank you.
This is a situation where face to face discussion and examination is critical. This is not an internet problem. You need a skilled doctor (dermatologist in your area) to examine her and then render an opinion. If she is upset, not taking her to a good doctor does more damage than need be.
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I am an 18 year old girl with a naturally high forehead (about 8 cm). I’ve heard of hairstyles you can have that don’t make your forehead look as high (such as getting bangs), however, it’s a bit hard for me since my hair is also thin and I don’t have a lot on the top of my head. I’ve read your responses to other people on lowering hairline options, such as the “balloon” technique. I’d simply like to know what the procedure is called, as I am in Australia. Also, is it safe and does it leave scars?
Generally there are two surgical options for hairline lowering for men and women with high foreheads. The first option is a traditional hair transplantation surgery. For a good example of this, please see: Female Hairline Restoration After Brow Lift.
The second option is a hairline lowering technique, a more extensive surgery like a brow lift (just in reverse). Balloons are usually not necessary to accomplish lowering the hairline, but when it is done, it requires putting a balloon in your head and expanding your skin over the course of few weeks or months to stretch your skin. The excess skin is pulled down to the desired forehead level. We will be doing one of these balloon expanders in the next few weeks on a patient.
I wanted to ask you a question re Yasmin, which I have been taking for almost a year now.
I experienced heavy hair shedding postpartum which could be contributed to the delivery itself and to my then overactive thyroid. My thyroid has been stable and normal during the last 5 months. After stopping for 2 months, I started experiencing heavier hair shedding recently. Since my thyroid is fine, plus no other deficiencies were detected (iron, zinc, B12), could Yasmin be the culprit? Or are other hormonal issues I should be aware of? I didn’t take the first pill of this new cycle and the shedding seemed to slow immediately. Should I consider an alternative contraceptive and will I have regrowth?
Thank you for your time.
We’ve answered a similar question on the contraceptive medication, Yasmin. As we’ve explained before, Yasmin is a combination of drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol. Loss of scalp hair is a reported side effect of this medication. The hair loss from most birth control pills is benign and self limited. Losing hair in this situation is thought to be through inducing hair follicles to go into the telogen phase. You should stop taking Yasmin and speak to your doctor regarding alternative birth control medications or methods.
I had a baby 15 months ago and had TE. Hair loss has been fluctuating for the last 15 months and my hair did grow back after TE, but now lose probably 120 a day (dermatologist told me to take a count)I still feel like my hair is thinning. Two dermatologists told me I did not have AGA but I feel like something is going on. Would I be losing more hair if I had AGA? Where do I go for answers?
If you are seeing a good dermatologist, that is the place to be. They understand hair loss from a disease point of view and know how to go about diagnosing it well. Hair loss in women can sometimes be caused by underlying medical conditions, so it is important for you to be evaluated by your own physician before we proceed. If clinically appropriate, the following disease processes should be considered: anemia, thyroid disease, connective tissue disease, gynecological conditions and emotional stress. It is also important to review the use of medications that can cause hair loss, such as oral contraceptives, beta-blockers, Vitamin A, thyroid drugs, coumadin and prednisone. The following laboratory tests are often useful if underlying problems are suspected: Estradiol, FSH, LH, SHBG, Prolactin, T4, TSH, ANA, Iron, TIBC, Ferritin, Free and Total Testosterone. If your doctor has any questions, please encourage him/her to call me. We would appreciate a note from your physician that you are medically cleared for surgery.
Post partum hair loss sometimes may take up to two years to reverse, providing that there is not other defined cause.
Hi doctors,
Can a perm cause hair loss? My mother had her hair styled professionally a month ago and it now looks like she’s losing her hair. I don’t know if the style just made existing thin patches more visible or if the perm could actually cause the hair loss.Thank you
I saw a lady just the other day who was wearing a ‘full helmet’ wig. When she took it off, she had almost no hair anywhere on her head. She looked like she had just had extensive chemotherapy, but in reality she had a perm some 5 years ago. The perm brought on an immediate reaction with about 95% of her hair gone within a month. The hair never returned. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could offer her to help her. What impressed me was the totality of her hairlessness from something simple as a day visit to her hair dresser. She was so concerned about exposing her hairless scalp to me, that I did not ask her to allow the use of her photographs, even from behind.
As for your mother’s hair loss, I wouldn’t be able to know what the cause is just based on the email you sent. It is possible that she had existing hair loss, or the styling could’ve caused it. There are a number of factors that could be the reason for her thinning hair.
My 27 year old daughter just called me frantic about some bald spots that were found in her hair. Her story sounds nutty, but please listen and let me know what I might can tell her that will help to calm her down. She had cut her hair pretty short and truthfully loved it, but her husband thought it looked a little butch. Unfortunately, this made her feel self conscious, so she had longer hair added to hers. From what I understand the hair pieces were glued in. Those were taken out today and she is hysterical because she now has bald spots. So, can you possibly tell me anything we can do to help point her in a direction to try and seek some help.
It sounds like the glue pulled out hair. If this is just a short, one time episode, the hair should grow back. Constant traction over longer periods of time can cause permanent hair loss. I would recommend waiting 6-8 months and after the hair goes through a cycle (worst case) the hair should grow back. Otherwise, she should see someone within my specialty for consideration of a small hair transplant procedure, but waiting for up to a year is better just in case it does grow back. The usual wait time is under 6 months, but I say a year to be safe.
I am peri-menopausal (50 years old) and was wondering if getting a perm would hold, as with all the hormonal changes I am and will be facing may affect this?
Having a ‘perm’ should add body to your hair and make it easier to style. The hormonal changes you are experiencing and will experience in the future should not be a factor in your stying decisions (to have or not have a perm).
I’m a 38 yr old black female. My hair started thinning in the crown about 10 yrs ago. I started braiding it to keep out the chemicals. About 3 1/2 years ago I was diagnosed with traction alopecia. Had never heard of it before. I started wearing weaves and wigs to cover up the ugliness. I never realized that this would make my situation worse. Now the balding has spread to the top and front of my head. Is it too late for a hair transplant that would work. The hair on the sides and back is relatively thick, but it seems so unhealthy. At the rate I’m going I feel like I should just shave my head bald and call it a day. I feel so ugly. I did see a dermatogolist for the diagnosis, but I never got any advise on what I should do to help the situation. Can you recommend anyone to see on this side of the country??
If you are diagnosed with traction alopecia, you need to keep your hair short with no weaves and wigs. After stopping the insult, you should wait for at least six months and see if your hair regrows. In many cases, traction alopecia may cause permanent damage to the hair follicle and may not reversible. Repeating the evaluation of your hair after this period of time will show the areas of permanent hair loss. At that point, a hair transplant specialist can evaluate you for further treatment options if the hair failed to grow back. Then, if you are using a wig, be sure that it is converted to clips to prevent the transplants from developing traction alopecia.
I am a 24 year old female. After a 7 minute consultation with a dermatologist I was diagnosed as “probably” having female pattern baldness, and I could try rogaine. Yeah, I’m looking for another doctor who might be interested in looking into exactly what’s happening and treatment options beyond minoxidil.
My question though is, some of the hairs that I shed have a weird kink in them about 1.5 inches down. I have my hair dyed and have done for about 6 years but the kink doesn’t seem to fit into any dying or styling pattern so I was curious as to whether this might be an indication of what is causing my balding?
Female pattern baldness is discussed in many posts in this blog (see Female Hair Loss). In this condition, hair is miniaturized in a pattern that may or may not be similar to the man’s pattern. The more common type of balding/thinning is female unpatterned hair loss where the hair loss is spread throughout the scalp without a clear pattern. The donor area (the fringe area around the back and sides of the hair) is often included in the balding process when the process is unpatterned and the quality of the donor hair is poor because of the high degree of miniaturization present, so women do not make good candidates for a hair transplant in the this unpatterned form. In some women, the donor area is not uniformly thin, but over time it may become thin. So if a hair transplant doctor uses this hair for a hair transplant, when the process of thinning spreads, the transplanted hair may become thin or fall out.
Diagnosis of this unpatterned condition is not always easy and the other causes of hair loss, such as iron deficiency, thyroid disorders, and autoimmune diseases should be ruled out before making the diagnosis of female pattern baldness. Above all, the patient’s hair needs to be mapped for miniaturization to confirm the diagnosis.
Kinks in your hair may be related to the miniaturization that may at times change the hair’s character and color. Again, if in doubt see a hair specialist to confirm your diagnosis and to get started on proper treatment.
