Are Women Good Candidates for Hair Transplant Surgery?

Balding is not just a men's problem; women often lose hair as they get older as well.  You might wonder, if that is the case, why more women do not have hair transplant surgery.  You may be surprised to know that many women are not good candidates.

Women usually have a different type of hair loss than men.  Male pattern baldness uncovers parts of the top of the head.  However, the sides and back of the head are usually covered with healthy balding-resistant hair follicles.

Men with this pattern of balding will have donor hair that survives the hair transplant process and flourishes long afterward.  That is because a naturally-occurring enzyme in the body combines with testosterone to create a chemical called DHT.  This chemical is responsible for the hair loss on the tops of men's heads when they have male pattern baldness.

However, it does not affect the back and sides of their hair in most cases.  These areas have healthy hair follicles and make excellent donor sites for hair transplant surgery.  These are called stable sites because they remain unchanged over time rather than shrinking like the hair follicles affected by DHT do.

Female pattern baldness is different.  In most cases, they do not have large areas of stable balding-resistant hair follicles.  The sides and back of their hair tends to thin just as the front and top of the head do.  The DHT affects all the areas of their hair.

Any hair follicles that are affected by DHT will simply fall out if they are moved by hair transplant procedures.  Moving them from one place to another does not affect the basic nature of the hair follicle.

Also, women do not have the problem of receding hairlines in most cases.  Their hair is lost in a more diffuse manner, thinning uniformly all over the head.  It is not so much where their hair is that is the problem, but how much they have.  Hair transplant surgery will not correct this problem.  It is best used to move hair from one place to another.

There is a very small percentage - about 5% of all women with baldness problems - who are good candidates for hair transplant surgery.  The thing that all these women have in common is that they all have healthy areas of hair follicles that can be used as donor sites.

For example, women with mechanical or traction Alopecia have lost their hair because they have scratched their head for a long period of time, they have used tight rollers or their hair has been pulled or stretched in any manner.  These women almost always have an area of their hair that is unaffected.  If they do, they can have hair transplant procedures.

Some women have cosmetic surgery and suffer hair loss around the incision sites.  In these cases, hair transplant surgery can help.  Other women actually have a pattern of hair loss that is similar to male pattern baldness.  These women are able to have the surgery, too.

Finally, women who have suffered trauma from accidents or burns are good candidates for hair transplant procedures.  If you are a woman with balding problems, is worth the time to consult with a doctor to find out if you are one of the women who can benefit from hair transplant surgery.

Hair Cloning Research for Hair Transplant Procedures

The future of hair transplant procedures is in the laboratories at this very time.  Scientists are working together to find a way to make the surgery work for more people.  They also want to see it work better for the types of people who have hair transplants today.  One area of research is hair cloning.

Hair cloning promises to be a revolutionary procedure that would give people with little hair a chance to have hair transplant surgeries.  It would do this by multiplying the hair a patient already has rather than using up the good hair that still exists on the patient's head.

Hair cloning is done by taking stem cells, or dermal papilla cell, and cloning them in a laboratory setting.  They are then multiplied and combined.  The end result is an increase in the number of hairs available for hair transplant.

Not only is hair cloning possible, it has been proven in many scientific studies.  Recently one group of researchers did a culture whereby they multiplied the number of dermal papilla cells.  With this being possible, hair cloning is a single step away.

Hair transplant procedures that use cloned hair are farther off, though.  The research cannot be done as to whether these hairs can safely and effectively be transplanted onto a person's scalp yet.  First, they cloning process will have to be completely perfected.  Only then can the hair transplant trials begin.

More research needs to be done to find out which hair cells can be used for hair cloning and then hair transplant procedures.  Some of the available cells go through several stages before ending in cell death in a very short time.  These cells would not be adequate for use with hair transplant surgery.  There seem to be other cells which last longer and would work for this application.

A scientist named Dr. Gho has done some work and acquired a Dutch patent on his work with hair multiplication.  It is unclear whether this is much like hair cloning or not.  That is because Dr. Gho neglects to submit his findings to be published in medical journals.  Without review by other doctors, Gho's theories cannot be tried and evaluated.

Certain types of auto-immune diseases, such as alopecia areata can now be treated by means of hair transplant techniques by using the donor strip method.  Yet, in the future, hair cloning will make hair transplant easier for these people who often have very little hair to use for grafts.

Some people believe that hair transplant grafts using cloned hair would be about the same cost as the usual hair transplants that are available today.  Other experts believe that the price will be much higher - perhaps three or four times per graft higher - because of the specialized methods required to do the work.

Hair cloning is probably not as far away as one might think.  It might be ready for use with hair transplant procedures as soon as five years from now, or even sooner.  If you are considering getting a hair transplant but you want to wait awhile, hair cloning is something to think about.