Hair Transplantation in Women

Hair loss in women causes more distress as compared to men. While male hairloss is something that, while distressing is also viewed as physiological. In women, hairloss is seen as something abnormal and for this reason, it can be very emotionally traumatic

What are the causes for hairloss in women?

While in men, heredity plays a very important role, in women it is due to multiple reasons;

• Anemia,
• Heredity,
• Vitamin deficiencies,
• Thyroid problem,
• PCOD( polycystic Ovary Disease)
• Other changes in underlying hormone levels as in case of pregnancy, menopause, stress, weight gain and weight loss all play their part.

Hence, a complete evaluation of the reason behind the hair loss is necessary before proceeding with a female hair transplant. Medical treatment using tablets, lotions, and PRP are always advised before moving to Hair transplantation for women. In most cases, these other medical modalities need to be continued even after HT

How is hairfall in women classified?

In some women, it is limited to just widening of parting line( Sinclair scale).

How is hairloss in women treated?

As mentioned before, the most important thing is to identify the causes for hair loss. These causes must be treated along with treating the hairloss itself in order to get good results. Hence treatment includes

• Treating the underlying cause
• Good nutrition and lifestyle
• Medical treatment of hair loss
• Platelet rich plasme (PRP)
• Hair transplant

What lifestyle changes may be needed to treat hairloss?

Role of Stress: Hairloss is also a disease of modern civilization. In today’s fast lifestyle, stress has become an integral part of our lives. Stress can come in any form like physical stress, mental stress, post-traumatic stress, lack of proper sleep, any major surgeries, etc. All these stress factors force our hair to shift from the growing phase to the resting phase and then into falling phase, which is ultimately shed later. This takes an approximate time of 3-4months from times of stress to hair shedding. Hence, stress management in form of yoga, meditation, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle plays a major part in the management of hair loss.

What nutrition treatment may be needed to treat female hairloss?

Hair is one of the most metabolically active structure of our body, which means that hair needs much more energy and nutrients for growth as compared to other structures in our body. Nutrients required for good hair growth includes protein, iron, zinc, Vitamin A, B-complex, vitamin D, biotin and many such minerals.

Hair is composed of protein called keratin. Hence protein in take of 1G per KG wt is necessary. In vegetarian diet, good quality protein may not be present. Hence it is important to take pulses,sprouts, milk, soya, eggs etc.

Iron deficiency is very common; In a survey done across India in 2015-2016 by World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that more than 52% of women in India are suffering from iron deficiency. And deficiency is 2 times more common in vegetarians as compared to non-vegetarian women. Amount of storage of iron in our body can be measured by a simple blood test called serum ferritin level. Lack of iron means lack of hemoglobin which means lack of oxygen supply.Natural sources of iron includes pulses (beans and dal), baked potatoes, tofu, chicken and dark leafy vegetables.

Other essential nutrients like zinc, vitamin A, vitamin C act as antioxidants. Antioxidants are basically molecules that help in extinguishing the toxic molecules (radical oxygen species) produced in our body. These toxic molecules are produced on a regular basis in response to stress, pollution, aging, and cause damage to hair. S0, the role of antioxidants is to prevent the damage caused by reactive oxygen species, resulting in better hair growth. Antioxidants can also be obtained from natural sources such as colored fruits like blueberries oranges, apples, and tomatoes, green leafy vegetables like beetroot, spinach, and dark chocolates.

While all these nutrients can be obtained from natural sources in our diet, but the amount might not be sufficient for good hair growth. Hence, treatment of hair loss in women also includes estimation of levels of these nutrients and correction of the deficiencies.

What is the medical treatment for female hairloss?

These can include non hormonal treatment like Minoxidil or hormonal treatment like Finasteride, and other agents. For more information, see our section on medical treatment for hairfall

Does platelet rich plasma (PRP) help?

PRP forms an important adjuvant treatment of hairloss in women. This acts as a fertilizer for your hair and helps to offset many of the imbalances causing hair loss. For more information, click here

When does a woman need hair transplant?

HT in women is considered when the conventional measures such as nutrition, lifestyle change, correction of the underlying cause, and medicines such as minoxidil and PRP do not yield good results and when hair loss is significant enough to be visible cosmetically.

How is hair transplant in women different from men?

Hair transplant in women differs from men in the following ways:

• Female Hair transplantation is more challenging, as hair loss is more widespread, arrangement of transplanted hair differs in every women depending on pattern of hair thinning. Hence, a detailed discussion with patient with regards to expectations from the transplant, personal styling preferences is done to ensure the desired look.
• Hair transplant in women is diffuse – hence hair transplantation cannot provide a complete coverage of the entire area, but rather provides a cosmetically more acceptable look by providing more coverage in sparse front areas. This makes the procedure more difficult as the hairs have to be placed in between existing hair
• Hair transplantation for the female scalpe needs skill of a craftsman. Unskilled and amateur transplant may lead to ‘artificial hair’ look. We have the experience of treating hundreds of women, which makes it less tricky and more reliable.
• Women have long hairs and usually do not accept trimming of hairs. Hence, transplantation should be done amidst these hairs. This is more time-consuming.
• Since women usually prefer longer hair, to achieve the desired result it takes approximately one and a half year.
• Medical line of treatment has to continued post-transplant to maintain the transplanted hair as well as to future avoid hair loss in other normal areas.