Hello Dr. Sara,

What can you tell me about the XoFlo, regenerative medicine or Exosomes treatment. My local dermatologist is performing these procedures and I am very interested in doing it. Still researching but interested in your opinion. I do have high iron levels right now, not sure why. I also have early stages of lichen planopilaris. I am 65 years old and no weary of the hair loss “depression!”

Thanks so much,
Becky

I just see this post and realize some time has past but wonder if you found a solution. My hair very thick in back and it is primarily front center hairline and temple areas that are affected, that have worsened in last couple years. I also in my late 60s haha some would say why bother but it really does disturb me. I have seen two doctors who feel i will benefit but i am worried about shock loss. At any rate with the restrictions now i cannot travel so wont do anything for at least 6 months.

When I read your comment, I knew how you some of how you feel, although I was a good bit older when I lost all the hair on top and on the sides of my head, leaving a big scar that people stared at. You see, I had a brain tumor and had my scalp cut open, my skull sawed open, so the surgeons could get to my brain to remove the tumor. When they closed it back up, they used staples inside and out. It left a scar from my right temple up through the middle of the top of my head arcing back down behind my ear. It looked like the seam on a baseball. My hair grew back to about a half inch before I had radiation. Oh I forgot to mention, my hair was long, way past my waist, and so thick and coarse I had it thinned at least once a year, before they shaved it for surgery.
Anyway, the radiation – 6 weeks , 5 days a week, was very intense. It killed the follicles on the right side and the top. All my hair fell out, not from chemo, but radiation. It came back on the left and in the back as thick as before. But the top and right side never did. That was 22 years ago. I’ve tried wigs, custom made hair pieces, hats, you name it. I’ve tried Rogaine, Biotin supplements, Saw Palmetto supplements, and non of that worked. Well I got some peach fuzz with Rogaine. But gave all that up and for about 20 years have been rocking a combover! My side part seems to get lower and lower, and I’ll probably have to go back to wigs and hats someday. But I survived. I got to see my little boy grow up and have kids. I know you’re just a little girl, but if people stare at you, try hard not to let it hurt your confidence. Don’t let them get you down. Like my surgeon tells me. God has a special purpose for you.

Here’s my story with reguard to hair transplants in women. Since my teen years (I’m 47 now), I began loosing my hair– thinning on the top of my crown. Lucky for me I had very thick course hair which minimized the actual thinning process for many years. About 6 years ago, I decided to get a hair transplant from a fab surgeon in Saratoga Springs, NY eventhough I had access to surgeons in NYC. I was very happy until about a year ago when I began experiencing a lot of loss all over my head (diffuse loss), including my crown. My head of hair now is very very thin on top and the sides and back are much thinner than one year ago. I know I’m no longer a candidate for another transplant (if I were, I’d be back in a flash) and I have no idea what to do. I do NOT want to take pharmaceuticals like finasteride and I’ve ‘been there, done that’ with rogaine. Low light laser therapy looked really good until I read these posts. Am I destined to grab attention now because people can notice more easily that my scalp is showing through? I hate that feeling and become very self-conscious. On one hand, I want to go ‘au natural’ and on the other I want hair whether it be from extension, wigs or toppers. So right now I’m at a crossroads trying to figure out what to do about my androgenic alopecia. I’ve had all my biology checked, and there’s no deficiencies that would indicate my dilemna. Mine is truely hereditary, so now what?

I am a hair transplant surgeon, one of the few female doctors out there who does this exclusively, and I have to say I respectfully disagree with “Y.” About half of my patients are females with a range of surgically treatable hair loss conditions including “burned out” alopecia areata, female pattern loss confined to the top with good donor areas, traction alopecia (from excessive braiding/weaves/tight hairstyles), scars from burns or radiation treatments, and others.

The advice in the 9 comments after the initial post is pretty accurate and strikes a more “hopeful but cautious” tone that I agree with. Sure, not everyone is a candidate for surgery, but meeting with a reputable hair transplant surgeon who has a lot of experience with females should be the first step instead of dismissing it out of hand. I’ll repeat these comments on my blog and keep this entry short. Just realize that this initial entry is an opinion based on some of the older techniques and that these attitudes are changing.

Warm Regards,
Dr. Sara
http://www.californiahairsurgeon.com

I am new to this world and I am enjoying reading all of this wondereful information that you are putting out. I was told on Friday that the hair follicles that were located in th center back of my scalp are gone possibaly from chemical scaring. The doctor also told me that I might be a candidate for hair transplant. Is anyone else familiar with this condition