Afro hair

[Joy20]

I'm a youthful 58 year old African-Caribbean woman, London based, who's losing hair at the front and hating it!

 

I'm considering a hair transplant but scared! I'm wondering whether some surgeons are better and more experienced than others with Afro hair? And whether FUE or FUT would give better results or not for my type of hair? And whether being female has any particular implications? What can go wrong?

 

I'm at the start of my hair restoration journey, and any observations /comments /stories would be very welcome!

 

Joy20

[TakingThePlunge]

Welcome Joy!

 

These are excellent questions. When it comes to hair transplant surgery in general, men are more often better candidates than women due to their typical balding patterns. Male hair loss patterns are described by the Norwood Scale while typical female patterns are described on the Ludwig Scale.

 

When hair loss is diffuse and affects the "permanent zone" at the rear and sides of the head, surgical hair restoration is typically not a good option. However, some women may lose hair mostly in the front as you have described and may be good candidates for surgery. The best way to find out is to consult with a skilled and experienced hair transplant surgeon.

 

When it comes to African hair in particular, there are other considerations. Follicular unit extraction (FUE) can be tricky with African hair due to the curl of the follicle. When follicles curl below the skin, it is difficult to effectively harvest them with a punch without transecting and killing the graft. Recently, Dr. Mike Vories started an interesting discussion regarding these difficulties that includes some nice images of extracted grafts. You can read this discussion here, FUE with African American Hair.

 

In London we currently recommend two hair restoration clinics. I've provided their contact information here for your convenience. If you'd like to consider options outside of the UK as well, simply access our interactive map.

 

Dr. Bessam Farjo

 

Dr. Raghu Reddy

[Joy20]

Wow - thank you so very much for taking the time to post such a full reply to my rambling questions! Much appreciated. I'll follow through on all the links you so helpfully provided and see what else I can learn. Thanks.

[Cryingoutloud]

Joy

 

I'm an Afro-Caribbean man. I've had two HTs. One with a forum-recommended doctor which gave me very disappointing results. As part of the deal I negotiated for my refund, I agreed not to name him publicly.

 

My second was with another recommended surgeon - Dr. Patrick Mwamba and was FUE. That was just under 8 months ago and the difference in yield and quality compared to my first is like night and day. He is a consummate professional and his practice in Brussels, Belgium is run with military precision. Don't be afraid to get on a plane or even the Eurostar if you're in England.

 

He's not cheap but this isn't something you want to cut corners on. I nearly cried when I handed over the cash but 7.5 months later, I'm happy.

 

As a side note, DO NOT go with Dr. Vories. He's botched two procedures on African type hair both of which are documented on this forum. His theory might be spot on but his practice - which is what REALLY counts - leaves a hell of a lot to be desired. Do a forum search on "TygerD" to see how his procedure went.

[Joy20]

Thank you Cryingououd. It's so helpful to hear about other people's experience. Thanks for taking the time to reply to me. I'll do a bit of research on the Brussels based doctor you've recommended.

[gillenator]

I also respect Dr. Patrick Mwamba and his talents with FUE. We both worked together some years ago when he was a tech in the US. I have watched him grow over the years from when he placed some of my grafts to refining his surgical skills as a HT surgeon.

 

He is also very ethical and has the best interest of his patients in mind...

[TomCruise]

As a side note, DO NOT go with Dr. Vories. He's botched two procedures on African type hair both of which are documented on this forum. His theory might be spot on but his practice - which is what REALLY counts - leaves a hell of a lot to be desired. Do a forum search on "TygerD" to see how his procedure went.

 

this is good to know.

[Joy20]

I followed CryingOutLoud's advice and went to Dr Patrick Mwamba's clinic in Brussels. Had FUE surgery just this week! So far, so good but obviously will have to wait a few months to see the full outcome. What I can say at this early stage is that Dr Mwamba and his staff are a delight to work with, and they took the utmost most professional care of me.

 

Joy.