|
 Commercials
and advertisements for hair transplants often make it
appear that all people are great candidates for a hair
transplants, but that's not necessarily the case. While
each person should be evaluated on an individual basis,
these are the general rules of thumb for the best candiates
who can most benefit from surgical hair restoration.
AGE
Young
patients (18-25) are usually not good candidates because
they have recent hair loss which most likely will progress
further. Having a hair transplant so early can result
in the incorrect distribution of a finite amount of
donor hair because the doctor has no way of knowing
exactly how severe the future hair loss will be. This
can result in the person being dissatisfied with the
results in the future. Recent hair loss is best addressed
through drug therapies like Rogaine and Propecia.
SEX
Hair
loss in men and women is usually different in appearance.
Men have localized areas of thinning, while women have
a diffuse thinning throughout their entire head. Most
men are good candidates except for those with diffuse
type thinning. Most women are not good candidates if
they have diffuse thinning but some women do have localized
areas of loss which do make them good candidates.
EXTENT
OF HAIR LOSS
The
more stablized the hair loss, the easier it is for the
doctor to put grafts into the right areas. Recent hair
loss is best treated with drugs like Rogaine and Propecia.
Men who are Norwood 1 or 2 on the Norwood hair loss
scale should not be having a hair transplant.
HAIR
TYPE
The
thicker and coarser your hair, the more density it will
have and the betters results you will have from a transplant.
Wavy hair because it has more body, gives a more dense
appearance than straight hair.
DENSITY
Density
is defined as the number of hairs per unit of surface
area and as may be expected, the higher the density,
the more hair available for transplantation.
RACE
Asians
typically have hair that is very straight and has less
follicular density than Caucasians. Asian patients should
consult with doctors who have had experience with Asian
hair.
Blacks
have curly coarse hair which is advantageous to hair
transplantation, they also have darker skin so the transplanted
hairs are not contrasted against much lighter skin so
the appearance is much better. On the negative side
blacks tend to have keloid scarring so they have a greater
chance of having more noticeable donor scars
Caucasians
have a wide range of hair and skin types and the people
who have the best results are those with coarser, denser
hair and whose skin color is similar to their hair color.
The less the contrast between the two, the better the
results will be.
SCALP
LAXITY
The
looser the scalp, the more donor hair that can be removed
and the less chances there is of scarring. Doctors check
scalp laxity before operating which will indicate how
much donor hair can be removed. People with tight scalps
should look into the new types of donor harvesting like
the Woods Technique which does not require that donor
tissue is removed.
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