When Is The Right Time For A Hair Transplant?
The main cause of hair loss is male/female pattern baldness, otherwise known as androgenic alopecia. This type of hair loss is hereditary and is caused by our androgens: testosterone for men and progesterone for women.
Dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, is created by enzymes that affect testosterone and is 5 times more powerful than testosterone. The hair follicles are miniaturized and eventually destroyed by DHT, leading to thinning and eventual balding. This affects both men and women of every ethnic background. The only way to replace the hair that has been lost is through a hair transplant procedure.
There are medications that will block the DHT and therefore stop or at least slow down hair loss. Finasteride, also called Propecia or Proscar, is the most common and effective DHT-blocker medication. The myths about Propecia are far worse than they really are. Roughly 10% of men will feel some side effects from taking finasteride (loss of libido and decreased ejaculation), but this also means that 90% of men will stop losing hair without any side effects. If you happen to be one of the 10% that is affected by the side effects, the solution is simple: stop taking it!
The other most common solution is minoxidil, otherwise known by the brand name Rogaine. If applied twice a day, usually in the morning after a shower and at night before bed, studies have shown that Rogaine will stop the miniaturization of the hair follicle and therefore slow down hair loss. In some people, it promotes the growth of hairs that were near death. Minoxidil will only promote the stimulation of hair follicles and thicken up the hair. It does not block the DHT. This means that it is in the interest of every hair loss sufferer to use a combination of both minoxidil and finasteride to get the most effective results.
The only way to restore the hair follicles that are already gone, however, is a hair transplant. This can be done at any time for anyone who is at a stage where they miss the hair that they used to have and are wanting to regain that look they once had without the bald or thin hair distracting them. It is very important to seek out a hair transplant specialist whom you trust and who shares the same vision as you. There are a lot of important pieces to consider before having a hair transplant. The hair loss that you have right now will continue as you get older, and if you don’t have a solid plan for your initial transplant as well as a plan to at least slow down future hair loss, you will be left with an unnatural-looking hairline after the procedure and when the surrounding hair eventually falls out. Restoring a very natural-looking and dense frontal hairline is usually the most important option for the first stage in a series of future transplants. Making sure that you always have a permanent frontal hairline will always give you at least the peace of mind that no matter what else happens in the future, you will always have a “line in the sand”. Donor hairs are limited as well and if not monitored correctly, they can lead to overharvesting and the back of the head looking thin. Ultimately, it is necessary to get a hair transplant at a certain point, but it is even more important to do everything possible to stop the hair loss.
