Up to a third of all women experience hair loss at some point in their lives. While many men grow up expecting that they may have thinning or balding hair – especially if hair loss runs in their family – it can be more surprising for women to realize their formerly thick, healthy hair is losing its vitality.
If female pattern baldness or significant shedding is affecting your quality of life, hair restoration options are available to help you regain a full, lush head of hair. Depending on the extent of your hair loss, these treatments require a personalized touch.
Causes of Women’s Hair Loss
Women can start losing their hair for various reasons, including medical conditions, specific medications, malnutrition, and stress.
- Hormonal imbalance: This issue may occur due to anemia, ovarian cysts, thyroid problems, or menopause. Many mothers deal with hair loss after pregnancy. Also, estrogen levels may dip below typical levels with age, causing hair loss. As a result, testosterone levels may increase, adding to hair loss.
- Stress: Chronic stress or physical trauma like surgery or illness can cause hair loss in women. Rapid, dramatic weight loss may also cause hair to shed and thin.
- Female pattern baldness: If other women in your family have struggled with hair loss, they may have passed it on to you through your genes.
Some women initially seek help from their trusted hairstylist, only to realize these superficial treatments don’t get to the root of the problem. The only successful way to address women’s hair loss is with medical diagnosis to pinpoint the cause and identify an effective treatment plan.
Whether your hair loss is genetic or hormonal, hair restoration can reverse hair loss and help you regrow hair in a gender-affirming procedure.
Proven Hair Restoration Surgeries for Women
Today, there are two principal hair transplantation methods: follicular unit transplantation and follicular unit extraction.
Follicular Unit Transplantation
This approach involves cutting a strip of skin from the back of the scalp, extracting the follicles, then reinserting them into the bald spots. When performed by a skilled dermatologist, FUT is an excellent way to generate healthy grafts in a short period. However, this hair restoration surgery is an invasive solution and can leave visible scarring.
Follicular Unit Extraction
This hair transplant is minimally invasive, virtually painless, and leaves no scarring. Your hair restoration specialist will extract small bundles of hair follicles from the donor site, then transplant them into the thinning area or bald spot, placing them in a natural direction and pattern. This treatment doesn’t require sutures, bandages, or downtime.
Hair Transplantation in San Francisco
If you are searching for hair restoration in the Bay Area, it’s natural to have questions about your options. At Dermatology Medical Group of San Francisco, we want to give all our patients realistic expectations about the procedures they’re considering. Contact us today to schedule your consultation with our board-certified dermatologists.
