Female Hair Loss

Hair loss can be particularly devastating to women. While male hair loss is seen as inevitable for a large proportion of men in the community, female hair loss is far less common and therefore, less culturally, acceptable, which only adds to the stigma for those experiencing it. In many cases, the damage to a woman's self-confidence can affect her whole quality of life.

As a general rule female hair loss is quite different from male hair loss. Females experience a thinning out of mid-scalp and crown hair and usually retain their frontal hairline. Due to the different hair loss pattern and reproductive concerns, hair loss treatments suitable for men are not always safe or effective for women.

With this in mind, improvements in hair transplantation techniques have meant that we can now reassess female patients who, in the past, would have been rejected as unsuitable for the procedure. The new techniques have allowed us to:

• thicken thinning areas while avoiding damage to or removal of existing hair follicles
• utilise the dense packing procedure to achieve a relatively high density in treated areas
• minimise scarring in both donor and recipient sites

Causes of Baldness

The loss of hair is either genetically ( male pattern baldness) and hormonal dependent( or is a result of some mishap like trauma, burns, scars, chronic infection. The hair loss can be over scalp, moustaches, eyebrows or beard area. In some people , due to knotting and curling of beard hair ( sikh religion), there can be uprooting of hair resulting in patches of baldness. Hair can be restored in all these areas .Restoration of hair in these all people depend upon the cause of hair loss, condition of skin and area concerned.

Hair Treatment Methods

Although most consider hair transplantation to be the best solution to overcome baldness, there are certainly some complimentary treatments. Additionally, we've all heard of the ineffective or disastrous treatments in some form or another. We felt it necessary to address the more prominent of the good and the bad

Methods of Treatment

• Micro Follicular Extraction, also called Follicular Unit Extraction
• Strip Excision
• Lotions and Chemicals
• Instant Hair - Thickening Fibers
• Minoxidil
• Finasteride

Alternative Hair Treatments : Surgeries

• Scalp Reduction
• Flaps
• Scalp Lifts and Tissue Expansion
• Other Options

Micro Follicular Extraction also called follicular Unit extraction

A donor area, which could be the back of the head, the chest or other area, is chosen from which the hair will be taken. Local anesthetics are used to numb this area then Individual follicles are removed. The doctor removes the follicles one-by-one and can even show the patient an individual hair follicle which is encased in a small cylindrical shape. The doctor uses small .7 to 1 mm slits as recipient sites, all aligned side-to-side, up to 60 grafts or 120 hair per square cm, to allow for almost full density with one pass.

The effect is natural and virtually undetectable.

Strip Excision

Strip excision is an older method of hair restoration than Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). However, when done properly, it produces the same results in the recipient site, Small strips of hair are removed from a donor site such as the back of the head, and then are dissected under the microscope into follicular units before being transplanted to the recipient site (where new hairs are desired). The recipient site is identical with both strip and FUE, producing very natural results. The only difference with the strip method is that the donor site can have some scarring

Lotions and Chemicals

Using lotions or chemicals dates back centuries. Early folk-medicines included having your head licked by a cow. Today, there are many hair growth lotions available- some actually showing limited promise. The following two treatments have shown some success in treating bald areas of the crown of the head. Important Strategy: It would be wise to consider concentrating most of your transplant sessions towards the front of the crown and the forehead. This would serve to frame the face correctly. A person could then embark upon a regular Minoxidil or Finasteride (or ideally, both) treatment plan for the crown. This strategy would maximize the use of a limited donor supply

Instant Hair-Thickening Fibers

Instant Hair-Thickening Fibers is a non-surgical hair-loss solution. It gives the appearance of thick hair by filling out your thinning area. Instant hair is used by shaking the container of keratin protein fibers, that are charged with static electricity, over your thinning area. The small hair fibers stick to your existing hair to make your hair look thicker. It is Instant hair can also be used after a Hair transplant, because it covers the crusts after a hair transplant. It is available in 8 color options, and is easily removed with a simple hair washing.

Minoxidil

To date, only lotions containing Minoxidil or Finasteride actually grow any new hair; and even then, only in some cases. The "new hair" Minoxidil grows is usually only light fuzz on the crown of the head. And when the treatment is discontinued, the fuzz disappears, in addition to any hairs that were supposed to die during treatment. Finasteride, however, in some cases does grow thick, strong, long-growing hair on the crown. Many hair transplant doctors believe that Minoxidil, when used as a supplementary treatment for someone who has had hair transplantation, has a good added effect of increasing the rate of hair growth.

Dr. Jindal recognizes and applauds the use of such companion products. But if you were to use Minoxidil by itself, a person should bear in mind that statistically, 90% of Minoxidil users discontinue self-treatment after less than one year- still remaining bald. It again comes down to the issue of personal resolve.

Alternative Treatments : Surgeries

Scalp Reduction

Scalp reduction is a form of cosmetic surgery. It is a procedure in which an area of bald skin is excised (removed) usually from the top and back of the scalp. The resulting gap is then stitched closed. Rarely used as an individual treatment to reduce baldness, it is, however, used as an aid to hair transplanting, since scalp reduction also reduces the size of the area requiring transplantation. Scalp reduction requires that the client have certain physical qualities, such as enough hair and elastic skin, as well as the psychological motivation because of the increased number of surgical sessions usually involved. This procedure is recommended only after consultation determines its merit.

Flaps

Moving a flap of hair bearing skin from the side of the head to across the top of the forehead is occasionally done . It is considered major surgery, and more pain and complications are associated with it. Some of the complications can be permanently disfiguring. In the opinion of Dr. Jindal the results of flap surgery do not look as natural as a good hair transplant and represent inefficient use of a limited donor area. Flaps do, however, have the advantage of giving immediate hair coverage.

Scalp Lifts and Tissue Expansion

Considered extensive major surgery, they are primarily performed by a handful of highly-trained surgeons around the world. These operations are, again, more major, and are associated with more complications and pain than other forms of scalp surgery.

At this time of the construction of the web site, Dr. Jindal does not recommend them.

These two procedures are considered state-of-the-art by the majority of hair replacement surgeons worldwide

1. Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)

This procedure involves removing a strip of hair from the back of the head (the permanent donor hair) and dividing it under a microscope into "follicular units". This hair is then planted into small needle holes. About 60 or 70 grafts can be planted per square centimeter, allowing for a density that approaches that of naturally grown hair.

When the procedure is done properly, it will produce a completely natural appearance. By "properly", I mean that the graft density is full, and that the hairline has been designed accurately, and with aesthetic consideration, Many patients voice concern about the scar left across the donor site with this procedure. A new closure technique used by some physicians, called "Trichophitic closure", allows the hair to grow through the scar, making the scar almost invisible.

2. Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)

The concept is simple. Grafts are removed using a tiny punch, which varies its depth and angle according to the follicle. Once the punch releases the graft, it can easily be removed with forceps. The downside of this technique is that it requires a lot of work and practice on the part of the doctor, as removing the grafts can be quite difficult in some patients, and it requires the patient to buzz their head. (For women or men with long hair, you can get away with buzzing just a strip on the back of the head to use as a donor area). I have now performed enough FUE procedures that I can easily extract 1,500 to 2,000 grafts in one day, but it is an incredibly tedious and time-consuming procedure, and it is for this reason that it is so expensive — two to three times as expensive as an FUT.

Another advantage of FUE is the possibility of extracting body hair. When performing an FUT on a patient with a limited donor site, I often remove several hundred hairs from the body (chest, abdomen, back, etc.), allowing for more hair to be transplanted. It is a last resort for patients with minimal hair in donor sites on the head. FUE heals very quickly.

Eyebrow Transplants and Eyelash Transplants

Eyebrow transplants and eyelash transplants were originally introduced to patients who had suffered from burns or congenital malformations of the eye. However, since this procedure has been perfected, people suffering from either complete or partial eyelash or eyebrow loss now have an available medical alternative. In the past, some people opted for eyebrow tattoos to recreate lost eyebrow hair, but tattoos can be obvious and look unnatural. This procedure will restore natural looking eyebrows and eyelashes that will last a lifetime. This procedure can also be used simply to thicken existing eyebrows or to lengthen existing eyelashes for cosmetic reasons.

Causes
Many reasons can cause both men and women to lose eyebrow or eyelash hair. These include:

• Burns
• Scars
• Diseases
• Congenital inability
• Self-inflicted obsessive plucking
• Medical or surgical treatments such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy

Results

The eyelashes and eyebrows are your own naturally growing hair. Unfortunately, hair grows in cycles so you will have to be patient. It usually takes a few months before the new hair starts to grow. Both eyelash and eyebrow transplant surgeries yield very positive results.

Procedure

Transplanting eyebrows or eyelashes involves extracting "donor" hair one follicle at a time. Dr Jindal matches up hair form other parts of your body for the desired thickness and curl. Eyelash hair, for example, is coarser than eyebrow hair. The eyebrow or eyelash hair is placed in the same direction as native eyebrow hair or eyelashes to create a natural look. The direction of the curl is also chosen when inserting the follicles to imitate the regular curl of your lashes and the hole to receive the new follicle can be made with a slight arc to promote a curl. Density varies with gender: women often have more eyelashes than men. Patients feel no pain or discomfort during the procedure, as local anesthetic is used. The entire procedure takes a few hours to perform and usually requires only one session.

With careful attention to the direction and angle of the growth of the new hairs, we can successfully transform patchy or absent eyebrows and/or eyelashes into natural-looking ones.

Post-operation

Few patients experience complications following the procedure. The most common are a small area of purplish discoloration under the eyelids for a few days, minor itching, pain and possibly swelling in some patients. The results yield no visible scarring or tufting and appear quite natural. Patients should avoid scratching the area. For 4 to 5 days following the procedure, tiny scabs appear like dots of sand on the skin, but these fall off. Once the new eyebrow or eyelash hair grows in, it is indistinguishable from natural looking eyelashes and eyebrows. They will require regular trimming, as they will continue growing like hair on the scalp.

Eligibility and Cost

Not everyone is a candidate for this procedure. For example, victims of trauma or burns may require reconstructive surgery before eyebrow or eyelash restoration. The degree of hair loss must also be taken into consideration before effectively evaluating the feasibility and complexity of individual cases. In addition, it is difficult to estimate the cost of the procedure since cases vary from one patient to another. Please call for a consultation.

Hair Restoration Surgery

For both Male Pattern Baldness/ female pattern baldness, Dr. Jindal is an expert Hair restoration surgeon. He is a member of Indian society for Hair Restoration and actively involved in treatment of baldness.Although he uses both the basic ways to extract hair , yet he prefers FUT over FUE due to very less donor site problems and best results. Hair growth is something which is very much dependent on one's body also and hence results vary from person to person.Even then,for persons with lower hair growth , Sno has a special way to makeup no one's fault and give its client., the maximum benefit and value for money

FUT( STRIP SURGERY)

The most advocated procedure done by Plastic Surgeons. A strip of hair bearing skin is removed from back of head and individual follicles are harvested from it. The donor site is closed primarily with no after effects. The follicles are then transplanted to the desired areas with a density of at least 50 follicles per sq.cm. There is least loss of follicles(FTR-Follicular transaction rate)and results are excellent. A word of caution is that the result is dependent on the size and quality of root bulb of hair follicles

FUE (Punch method)

The scalp is shaved and with the help of mini punches, the follicles are extracted out. Good for mega sessions and in whom body hair has to be extracted . May give a cobblestone appearance to the donor site

Robotic Hair Transplant

The follicles are harvested and implanted by using automated machines . FTR rate is more and procedure is costlier and results are equivocal.

Procedure cost varies on individual basis after discussion with doctor for

• Cases who have suffered hair loss due to Burns or Accidents.
• Special Areas like eye brow, beard, moustache, pubic etc
• Redo Cases (those who need improvement from previous procedures done Else where)

We request you to confirm the current price structure applicable during the dates of the procedure so that you can plan out your budget accordingly. Total cost will strictly depend on the current applicable rate. generally we go as per area rather than per graft.

Additional Guidelines

If the total number of roots required for covering the area of hair loss is more than permitted per session for your selected category, total coverage can be achieved by undergoing procedure on daily basis, up to a maximum of three consecutive days. You need not wait for months between stages to achieve the end result. Due to the unique characteristics of each individual, it is possible that the number of roots harvested is more than the pre-determined number for a given session. We value your precious hair roots and ensure that all harvested roots are planted. You will be charged for the additional planted roots at the same rate as your selected category.

If you have limited budget that prevents you from getting total coverage on the hair loss area, we can limit the coverage of plantation to your priority area (e.g. front) without the "Under Construction" look, with our unique technique that delivers absolutely natural looks

1200 grafts at 3.5 months

2830 grafts follow up 11 months

               3506 grafts in 64 yrs male –immediate postop

                             2350 grafts at 13 months postop