Hair Restoration

Androgenetic alopecia, called male or female pattern hair loss, is the most common hair loss disorder. With each hair cycle the growth phase shortens and follicles shrink until thick terminal hairs become fine vellus hairs. It affects up to 80% of white men and 42% of women, and becomes more common with age.

Hair transplantation rests on donor dominance: follicles from the back of the scalp resist androgens and keep that trait after they are moved. Surgeons move them as follicular units of 1 to 4 hairs, either cut from a strip of scalp (FUT) or punched out one at a time (FUE).

Every surgical technique relies on the patient's existing donor hair, so surgery moves hair and does not add to it. Native hair around the grafts can keep thinning, so dermatologists often add medicine after a transplant.

Medical treatment slows loss and regrows some hair. Finasteride 1 mg (men only) and minoxidil 2% and 5% are FDA-approved for pattern hair loss, and the HairMax LaserComb is FDA-cleared. Oral minoxidil, dutasteride and spironolactone are prescribed off-label.

[1][2][3]