Hair loss treatments can address specific concerns about the appearance of the hair on your scalp due to a condition called androgenic alopecia. There are three general categories of hair loss treatments for androgenic alopecia, each of which may or may not benefit you. It is important to first undergo an evaluation by a dermatologist to determine whether there are alternative causes to your hair loss, such as thyroid problems, vitamin deficiencies, infections, auto-immune conditions, or psychiatric illnesses. Seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon to help determine whether – and which – hair loss treatment is appropriate for your concerns once alternative causes have been ruled out.

Hair restoration surgery, which includes follicular strip (FUS) and follicular unit extraction (FUE) procedures, is an excellent option to treat the most common cause of hair loss in men and women, called androgenic alopecia. The pattern of hair loss in men and women with androgenic alopecia differs, though the cause is similar. Here at Harmon Facial Plastic Surgery in Cincinnati, Ohio both FUS and FUE hair restoration surgery is performed for both men and women with concerns about hair loss.

However, there are multiple causes of hair loss for which hair restoration surgery would not be a good treatment option. The examples below are not all-inclusive but present a wide range of potential diagnoses. It is essential that any individual for whom you have a concern about any of these diagnoses should be evaluated by a dermatologist prior to considering hair restoration surgery. Seek a fellowship-trained, double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have concerns about your hair and feel hair restoration treatments may be a good option.

The cells that impart color to the hair, called melanocytes, are the same cells that impart pigmentation to the skin. The melanocytes located in hair follicles are more sensitive to the aging process than those in the skin. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

Follicular units, which are composed of one or more hair follicles (usually up to four) and important support structures for the hair generating follicles, are removed from a donor site in the back of the scalp and transferred to areas of hair loss during hair restoration surgery. One important factor, among many, to a successful hair restoration surgery procedure is the survival of these grafts between their removal from the donor site and implantation in the recipient site. As a result, extensive research has been conducted to determine the ideal solution to maintain these follicular unit grafts. However, there is no perfect graft solution. We at Harmon Facial Plastic Surgery feel our graft solution provides the best support to the follicular units prior to their transplantation based on the best-available scientific evidence. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.

Our understanding of the complex process of hair growth has advanced rapidly. As a result, new possibilities for treating hair loss have been discovered. One such discovery is the exosome. Exosomes have become an exciting area of research for the treatment of androgenic alopecia – also known as male-patterned or female-patterned hair loss – which is the most common form of hair loss in humans. The following blog post is a summary of the current literature on the use of exosomes to encourage hair growth. It is important to seek not only a fellowship-trained but also a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you have aesthetic concerns about your face and/or neck.