losing transplanted hair

[htloss]

Hey Mabbers

 

I hate to tell you this but having more hair transplants will not be a permanent fix to your problem. I spent about $18,000 on hair transplants and I figure I have lost at least half of them. Almost all of the "plugs" I had done in the 90's are no longer producing hair. Taking propecia slows the process a bit, but does not prevent it. I have been told that if you have some natural thinning on the sides of your head where the donor sites are, then you are more likely to have this problem of losing hair transplants. The hair transplant industry says this problem is rare, but what would you expect them to say?

I figure that I may need to wear a hairpiece eventually. Thanks to the scarring and pitting of my scalp, just having denuded skin on the top of my head is not an option. The thinning is progressing inexorably and I have no intention of wasting money on more transplants. In any case, I do not have a lot of donor area left. Unfortunately, I think you will also be wasting your money as well if you have more transplants.

[Blake Bloxham]

Mabbers/HTloss,

 

First, and foremost, I wanted to say that I'm sorry you're experiencing this issue. If there is anything else I (or any other admin) can do to help, please let us know.

 

Second, altogether, I do think transplanted hair thinning is a pretty rare phenomenon, and can likely be explained by other things.

 

From an endocrinology standpoint, hair in the universal donor region should be highly resistant (nearly immune) to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) - the hormone responsible for hair loss in androgenic alopecia. We only see a few instances where this isn't true:

 

1. In men with androgenic alopecia who have a Norwood VII hair loss balding pattern; 2. In those with diffuse patterned or unpaterned alopecia (DPA/DUPA). There are are variety of other reasons why hair may shed in this region, but it involves other factors that should be evaluated by a physician (I'm not saying this indicates anything "bad," just stating that there are too many variables to discuss and it should be evaluated by a professional). Frankly, both these issues - NW VII and DPA/DUPA - are quite rare, and may have other underlying processes at play.

 

Knowing that true thinning in the donor region is rare, there are a few other scenarios to consider: 1. hair that was taken from the "fringes" of the safe zone and wasn't as resistant to DHT; and 2., transplanted hair that appears thinner simply because the native (i.e. DHT susceptible) hair around it is thinning. Altogether, I think # 2 is the most common reason for the perception of transplants thinning over time. I think this is especially true for transplants appearing to thin at the 2 year mark.

 

I hope this is helpful! Let me know if you have any additional questions or would like any input on moving forward (which we can either discuss here or via a private message).

[mabbers]

Thanks for the responses gentlemen. Unfortunately, I am 99% sure that the hair falling out is HT hair and not pre-existing hair. I wish that was not the case. Also, I have had blood work done that did not show anything abnormal with my thyroid etc.

I am simply trying to figure a way forward as I am trying to see what can possibly slow the loss (rogaine etc) and find a way to get my scar fixed so i can cut my hair very short if the shedding continues.

Again, I have a burning/irritation sensation that seems to precede my hair loss and would rather not use Rogaine but will if it has helped others.

 

Anyways, any help there would be appreciated.

[hsrp10]

Just to cover all areas, what shampoo are you using?

Overuse of shampoos such as Nizoral can thin out your transplanted hair, this has happened to me and apparently many others according to Spex.

[htloss]

I have tried many shampoos and it does not seem to make any difference. I am currently using Nioxin. BTW, what is Spex?

[mabbers]

I use thicker fuller hair shampoo.

[Baldietwo]

I have tried many shampoos and it does not seem to make any difference. I am currently using Nioxin. BTW, what is Spex?

 

Spex is a user on this forum (and others) and a hair loss consultant. He knows his stuff.