Female Looking for Surgeon Recommendations

[BethMarie]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm a young, healthy, female who has been experiencing hair loss in my temples/down my hairline. All of my blood work has come back normal. I'm not on any medication, and I was told I have classic androgenetic alopecia.

 

I started noticing thinning in my temples a year ago, but it wasn't bad enough for me to change the way I wore my hair and it didn’t really worry me all that much as I am positive I was the only one who noticed it. My dermatologist recommended that I try Rogaine. I used the 5% foam for about about three months, but noticed the thinning began to rapidly increase so I stopped using it. I'm not sure if the Rogaine was actually what caused the sudden increase in thinning or not, but it was traumatic enough for me to not want to risk it.

 

I have since been told that Finasteride (5mg) is an option, however I haven't been able to find many studies on the long-term effects it can have on premenopausal women, and therefore I'm extremely hesitant to take it. I am aware of the pregnancy risks - my husband had a vasectomy over three years ago. Our family is complete.

 

I began LLLT about three weeks ago, wearing the helmet every other day for 25 minutes (per the instructions), and just had a one-time PRP with ACell treatment done last week. I have a feeling I'm wasting my time and thousands of dollars, however another part of me feels like I need to try these things before having a transplant. I plan to give these treatments and the Viviscal Professional supplements I recently picked up a shot for 4-6 months. If I see no improvement or if things get worse, I’m moving on. I feel as though I’m at a point where I really can’t sit around and let this get worse as it is becoming harder for me to hide.

 

With that said, I am beginning my search for a surgeon. I'm really looking for someone who has a special interest and a lot of experience working with female pattern baldness, specifically women who are experiencing loss in the temple/front hairline region. I'm willing and able to travel anywhere in the United States, however I’m located in the Midwest. I'm not interested in a place that has you meet with a sales consultant first. Does anyone have any recommendations?

 

Thank you in advance for your help! I really appreciate it.

Edited April 16, 2018 by BethMarie

[Melvin- Admin]

Finasteride is not recommended for women, the recommended treatment is minoxidil and spironolactone for women, of course laser therapy and PRP are options, however there are mixed reviews on the efficacy of the treatment. If you’re in the Midwest consult with Dr. Konior in Chicago, Dr. Cooley, he’s in North Carolina, Dr. Shapiro in Minnesota, and my own doctor Dr. Diep in California. Just to name a few, use the site as a guide, restoring a feminine hairline is completely different than a mans, it has to be much softer and shape is different, make sure whatever doctor you choose they have plenty of experience with female/transgender hairlines.

[Spanker]

With your location, Dr Ron Shapiro in Minneapolis or Dr Konior in Chicago would be where I would go for a consult. Both are reputable and will give you honest feedback on whether or not transplantation will be effective for you. I've seen Konior do great work on females and I've seen him turn them away because they were not good candidates and he would just be taking their money but not providing value. Make sure you go to a very trusted physicians. There are really no bargains if you are going to do a HT. Your face is not something you want to skimp on.

 

That said, I see your concerns but it doesn't look bad to the casual observer. I would probably advise against any tight pony tails to prevent any traction loss. Good luck to you.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Beth Marie, I appreciate you sharing your hair loss story and treatment you’ve tried on this discussion forum community. It sounds like you are already aware of the risks of finasteride on pregnancy and since that doesn’t apply to you, I can see why your doctor suggested it as an option. That said, I too am not familiar with any long-term studies on pre-menopausal women. That said, I’m hoping that one of our recommended hair restoration surgeons will read and respond to this topic with their thoughts and expertise on that.

 

Rogaine and low level laser therapy are probably your best non-surgical treatment options and even then, they are typically best at slowing down or stopping The progression of androgenetic alopecia rather than regrowing a significant amount of hair. You might see some nominal hair regrowth but depending on how much hair you’ve lost, I wouldn’t expect to see a plethora of hair regrowth.

 

I think posting a few pictures of your hair loss would help. But if you are losing hair in a typical Norwood or ludwig hair loss pattern, hair transplant surgery may be a possibility for you if that is something you’re willing to consider.

 

I strongly recommend consulting with one of our prescreened, recommended hair transplant surgeons about your hair loss just see what they would suggest in to see if hair transplant surgery is a possible option for you. Even if it’s not, they may in their expertise be able to suggest alternatives that could help you.

 

Do note however that there are other causes of hair loss that are not genetic and even though you had a blood test, it may not rule out all other possibilities. I’m not sure if blood test is sufficient enough to rule out low iron levels or if that can determine a thyroid condition but those are other possibilities. Some medications and medical conditions can cause hair loss and so can menopause. I know you said you are doing research on pre-menopause for finasteride, but I don’t know how old you are and how close you are or might be to menopause.

 

So these are definitely some things to consider. If you want to consult one of our pre-screen, recommended doctors, go to the right-hand side bar of our forum and click the drop-down boxes either by location or by name.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Spanker]

Dr. Konoir's associate, Dr. Nadimi can see you fairly soon and might be a good option to get you a consult. Konior is booking cases a year out and is 3 months out for consults. Dr. Nadimi doesn't charge for consults.

 

I think SMG would be a great choice too.

[Legend007]

If u losing hair , then ur hair is probably weaker than normal n falling out easier .. tieing ur hair back in a ponytail will not be a good for ur hair , even if it’s not pulled back to tight .. u still yanking on it when u move or sleep in a ponytail ..

JuSt my two cents .. good luck with everything.

[AB2000]

Thanks for the responses!

 

Sometimes I think my hair loss looks more like the pictures of traction alopecia that I've seen. I do have long hair, and I wear it in a pony tail almost daily, however I've never felt like it was too tight. Fortunately my sides are the only locations in which I'm thinning (as of now). I loose about 50-60 hairs per day, which I know is normal.

 

 

Way back when I used to have a full head of hair I grew it out long and would tie it back tight. Prior to it dawning on me that my hair was thinning out, I was questioning why in the temple area it didn't seem to be growing out any more. Wish I had knew back then that could cause hair loss, although I was destined to have plenty more of it anyway.

 

Something I used to go through for a couple of years was hair loss concealers. There are both hair fibers and Dermatch, the latter not being unlike makeup, but applied to the region of thinning hair. Since I had some left over product that I had tried for years, I wanted to see how it look now after my transplants, and I posted the before and after results. In researching current hair fiber application techniques, I came across a number of videos on Youtube that I never saw when I used the concealers regularly. One thing I noticed was that a lot of the people posting were women, and had similar problems such as yours. You might want to try one of these for the time being before you turn to a surgical solution.

 

Edited April 14, 2018 by AB2000

[Legend007]

That should help her a lot with what with u posted AB..

When u start noticing ur hairloss , losing 50 hairs a day is normal , but it’s still a lot when u not able to grow those hairs back .. so u have to do whatever to maintain ur hair , while using products to still feel comfortable in ur own skin or having a different hairstyle ..

[splitting hairs]

Hi,

 

From what I've seen, Dr Lorenzo's partner at his clinic in Spain, Dr Ximena Vila (female) has done quite a few good female cases.

 

You should check out their YouTube channel injertocapilar for videos.