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Hair Loss In Women: Treatments That Work
By Colette Bouchez
Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson, MD
Treatments reviewed
include:
(click on link to go to that section below)
•
Rogaine (minoxidil): A recent article in
the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology described a
study comparing 5% minoxidil in treating women to 2% that found 5%
superior. Although there were more side effects, Dr. Ted Daly said
they recommend 5% because they found it more effective. Side effects
are either tolerable or end when use is discontinued.
•
Propecia (finasteride): Although Propecia
is approved for men, many doctors prescribe it for women who can’t or
won’t become pregnant. It works by blocking the conversion of
testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It can stop/slow hair loss
and regrow some hair. In addition to potential birth defects in male
babies, side effects include potential heavy hair growth along the hair
line and reduced libido, both go away with discontinued use.
•
Special preparations: These
include prescription or over-the-counter drugs that are suspended in
milder preparations to reduce side effects.
•
Customized formulations:
These typically involve combination of two or more significant ingredients
and, may include natural “hair helpers” such as biotin and zinc.
•
Birth control pills: High
estrogen-dominant birth control pills that help some women work by overriding
high levels of testosterone. Favored brands include Yasmin, Demulen,
Desogen, and Orthocyclen.
•
Follicular neurogenesis:
This is a kind of cloning that produces “hair seeds” which are planted
in the scalp in hopes they grow into hair follicles. This technology is
many years away from being available.
•
Avodart (dutasteride): Like Propecia,
this drug was developed to treat prostate disease. It reduces DHT much
more than Propecia but its sexual dysfunction side effects are also
greater. As an enzyme blocker, it reduces the presence of 5- alpha
reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT, thus blocking
the formation of DHT.
•
Hair transplants: New hair
transplant techniques make hair transplant surgery more amenable to
women. In microfollicular unit transplants, a strip of hair is removed
from the lower back of the head and divided into one, two or three to
five hair units that are inserted into small incisions made in the thin
areas.
Treating Hair Loss Naturally
By Colette Bouchez
Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson, MD
This article reviews
diets,
herbs and
hair care
products.
What you eat will not
put hair on your head but can help the hair you have remain health
longer.
Diet discussion: This covers
sufficient essential fatty acids, iron, B-12, biotin, zinc, and
methylsulfonylmethane (MSM).
-
Sources of essential fatty acids,
particularly, omega-3, include walnuts, canola oil, fish and soy.
-
Iron deficiency can lead to anemia that
causes hair loss. Iron rich foods include broccoli and brewer’s yeast
but supplements may be required.
-
Vitamin B-12 is a common deficiency.
Good sources are eggs, meat and poultry but supplements are often
needed to restore levels.
-
Biotin, another B vitamin, is often
deficient. Sources include liver and egg yolks but you must eat
thousands of calories a day to get enough. The doctors recommend 2 to
3 mgs per day via a supplement.
-
Two doctors recommend zinc supplements
of about 80 mg daily but two other were cautious about anything in
excess of that in a multi-vitamin. They also stressed that zinc and
copper must be maintained in the proper ratio because too much zinc
can cause a copper deficiency that can result in hair loss.
-
MSM provides sulfur intrinsic to the
structural development of hair - 700 mg daily was recommended.
Herbs discussion: This covers saw
palmetto, green tea, licorice extract, horsetail, apple cider vinegar,
psoralea seeds, and ginger.
-
Saw palmetto may work like Propecia.
-
Green tea can increase levels of sex
hormones binding globulin (SHBC) that biochemically binds to
testosterone, thus blocking a chain of hormonal activities that cause
hair loss.
Hair care products: These do
not cause hair loss but can cause breakage that makes hair loss look
worse. However, it is not a good idea to punish your hair.
Hair Transplants Not Just for Men
By Carla Cantor
Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
There is no more
“pluggy” look. In the new follicular unit technique, a small strip of
hair (1x1.5x12 centimeter) is removed from the back of the head and
divided into two to four hair grafts that are inserted in the thin hair
areas. After a short period of shedding, the transplanted hairs grow as
they had before.
At one transplant
center in NYC, procedures for women have grown from 5% in the 1990’s to
30% today. One patient, who has had three surgeries of 400-500 grafts
each, says the procedure is no worse than a dentist visit. She feels
that the procedure is simpler for women because they can hide it better
with scarves and longer hair until the grafts grow out. People notice a
difference but do not know why.
The best candidates
are those with inherited thinning hair. The inheritance can come from
anyone on either side of the family.
Costs vary from
approximately $5,000 for a 40-500 graft procedure that requires two to
three hours to $10,000 or more for a 3,000-5,000 graft procedure that
will take ten hours or longer. In addition, Propecia and minoxidil are
generally recommended after the procedure to slow further loss of normal
hair.
Full Articles
(originals available at
WebMD)
Hair Loss In Women: Treatments That Work
What works for men may work just as well for women.
By Colette Bouchez
WebMD Feature Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson, MD
You can style, spray,
tease, mousse, and gel to your heart's content. But when your brush
begins to hold nearly as much hair as you have on your head, all the
styling products in the world won't do you much good.
The problem -- if
haven't already figured it out -- is hair loss, and today, women are
nearly at the same risk as men.
The good news: New
treatment options can make a major difference. While the first step is
always to have the cause of your hair loss diagnosed by an expert (a
dermatologist is a great place to start), once that cause is determined,
there are a variety of medications and treatments that can help -- some
developed especially for women.
Among the most popular
is the FDA-approved over-the-counter topical preparation minoxidil
(Rogaine). Originally developed as a treatment for male pattern balding,
it works for women as well, helping to enlarge and lengthen the hair
follicle. Though it may do little to grow more hair, it can extend the
growth phase and thus can help you to keep the hair you do have, longer.
Over-the-counter
minoxidil comes in two strengths -- a 2% solution for women and 5%
solution for men. But experts say women may see better results with the
stronger preparation. "The 2% solution is way too weak for female
pattern hair loss -- you really need to use the 5% solution to get
results," says Michael Reed, MD, professor of dermatology at the NYU
School of Medicine in New York City.
A study in the April
2004 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
compared 48 weeks of treatment with 2% and 5% minoxidil in women with
female pattern hair loss. Compared with placebo, 5% minoxidil was
superior in regards to hair count and patient and researcher evaluations
of hair growth. While the 2% solution improved hair count and
researchers’ assessments of hair growth, the patients did not appear to
notice a significant improvement in hair growth.
Overall, both doses
were well tolerated by the 381 women in the study without serious side
effects. However, there were more side effects with the 5% solution --
more itching and irritation as well as hair growth in areas other than
the scalp, such as on the forehead.
"If you do have female
pattern balding, the recommended treatment is minoxidil, and generally
we recommend 5%, the one approved for men, because it is much more
effective than 2%," says Ted Daly, MD, of Garden City Dermatology and
the Nassau Community Medical Center in East Meadow, N.Y. "The reason it
is not approved for women is because a very small number may grow hair
on the edges of their forehead, but if that happens, we cut it down to
the lesser strength, and when we do that, it goes away.
Be aware, however,
that in higher concentrations minoxidil is likely to cause scalp
irritation, itching, and dryness -- problems that are often remedied by
customized minoxidil preparations available in doctors' offices.
For Men Only?
Reed says what is far
more likely to help women are "off-label" medications -- drugs approved
for other problems, or strictly to treat hair loss in men.
Among the most popular
is the decidedly "male" medicine finasteride -- a drug originally
developed to treat prostate disease and later, hair loss, in men.
Prescribed under the names Propecia (1 mg strength) or Proscar (5 mg
strength), they are known as enzyme blockers and they work by
interfering with the process that converts testosterone to DHT in the
hair follicle. Both drugs are pills that are taken orally.
Although both drugs
have been shown to be dangerous to a fetus -- hence, approved by the FDA
for use only in men -- experts say that in selected women they can be a
real hair saver.
"Both can be safely
used in women who can't or won't become pregnant -- and it does help
retard hair loss and will even help regrow hair in some women, if it's
used long enough and in high enough doses," says Reed.
Side effects include
heavier growth around the hairline, but that is reversed when the drug
is either discontinued or the dosage lowered. It also has been known to
have a slight effect on libido, causing some women to experience a
reduced desire for sex.
Still another
available treatment is the pill Aldactone (spironolactone), a diuretic
and testosterone inhibitor, which works by impacting the enzyme
receptors in the hair follicle, thus stopping the cycle of
androgen-related hair loss. While it works well for some women, it can
cause breast tenderness and other annoying side effects.
Other Options
In addition, Reed says
women should be aware that most specialists treating hair loss have
special preparations that can reduce many of the side effects of the
over-the-counter or prescription drugs by suspending them in milder
preparations. In addition, most also have customized formulations that
combine two or more significant ingredients, and often add natural "hair
helpers" such as zinc and biotin, to increase effectiveness.
"This is why it's
important that a woman visit a specialist in female pattern hair loss,
because she is likely going to need some of these specialized
preparations in order to obtain optimum results," says Reed.
Lastly, Ricardo Azizz,
MD, reports many women have found help through the use of
estrogen-dominant birth control pills -- oral contraceptives that work
by overriding the high levels of testosterone and flooding hair
follicles with enough female hormones to keep testosterone-related hair
loss from taking place.
"Most birth control
pills function similarly, but we do try to avoid the super low-dose
pills because we want more estrogen," says Azizz, director of the Center
for Androgen-Related Disorders at the Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los
Angeles. Among the brands favored by hair loss specialists include
Yasmin, Demulen, Desogen, and Orthocyclen.
While a rumor has long
persisted that birth control pills can actually cause hair loss in some
women, Azizz says it's just not so.
"Birth control pills
can cause a temporary change in the hair growth and shedding pattern, so
if you are suffering from a non-hormonal cause of hair loss, and you
take oral contraceptives, they might aggravate the loss, but they won't
cause the loss," says Azizz.
Hope For
The Future
Among the latest buzz
in the alopecia (hair loss) community is a unique new process for
regenerating hair growth via the formation of new hair follicles. Known
as "follicular neurogenesis," it is a kind of cloning that attempts to
generate "hair seeds" that may ultimately help new follicles to grow.
"Essentially the
method takes a sample of your hair, sends it to the lab where the
follicles are microdissected, and the cells the body uses to make hair
are extracted and isolated," says Reed.
Those cells, he says,
are then purified and cloned to make many cells, which are then
microinjected back into the balding area where they will hopefully cause
the cells to make more hair follicles.
While the system is
still under development, Reed says that realistically it's many years
from having a clinical application. In one study, published in Nature in
1999, a similar cloning system was shown to work on rodents. But to
date, Reed says those specific results have not been duplicated.
A lot closer to
reality is treatment with the drug Avodart (dutasteride), a cousin to
the already popular finasteride (Propecia and Proscar) and also
originally developed to treat prostate disease. The big difference,
however, is that while finasteride helps block one enzyme involved in
the conversion of testosterone to DHT, Avodart appears to block two --
and that may be a real boon to women.
"Propecia reduces body
levels of DHT 50%-55%; Proscar reduces it 65%-70%, but Avodar reduces it
up to 94% -- so the gain here is significant," says Reed.
Although still
considered highly experimental for female pattern hair loss, it is
currently being used in small in-office trials, and only in selected
women who cannot get pregnant. Reed, who is one of the doctors testing
the drug on women, says it is being tried on those patients for whom
Proscar didn't work after one or more years of treatment. He is
optimistic about the results thus far.
"It may turn out to be
the best enzyme blocker for women we have," says Reed.
Finally, while hair
transplants for men have long been considered a staple treatment, they
were rarely considered appropriate for women -- mostly for cosmetic
reasons. However, reporting in the November 2003 issue of the Journal of
the American Academy of Dermatology, doctors from the Mount Sinai
Medical School in New York City say that advances in transplant
technology -- including less scarring -- combined with more realistic
expectations, are now making this a viable option for women as well.
Rather than removing
plugs of hair one by one and transplanting them to a different area of
the scalp, the current techniques remove an entire strip of hair, then
dividing it into smaller sections that are surgically placed precisely
where the hair is needed -- even in between hairs that are still growing
naturally.
Still, the experts
advise that women should consider hair transplants only after a trip to
a dermatologist, a diagnosis, and at least one round of treatment with
medication.
Reviewed by Charlotte
E. Grayson, MD.
Published December 2003.
Treating Hair Loss Naturally
Experts say vitamins, herbs, even diet can help women cope with hair
loss.
By Colette Bouchez
WebMD Feature Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson, MD
on Tuesday, December 16, 2003
It's been called the
"ultimate bad hair day" -- the moment a woman realizes that her sink
contains a lot more than just the few strands she's used to seeing
following a shampoo or even a vigorous brushing. The problem is hair
loss, and whether the result of the aging process or a true medical or
genetic condition, the number of women affected appears to be on the
rise.
While there are
certainly a number of specific medical treatments that offer great
results, depending on the cause of the hair loss, and the extent,
experts say there are a variety of natural treatments that can yield
important benefits for anyone concerned about the health of their hair.
Among the first natural lines of defense: Eating a healthy, nutritious
diet.
Eating for Hair Health
"The same foods that
are good for your body and your health overall are good for your hair,
including foods that are high in protein, low in carbohydrates and have
a reduced fat content," says dermatologist Michael Reed, MD, an expert
in female hair loss at New York University Medical Center in New York
City. Reed says that what you put on your plate may not put hair on your
head, but it can help the hair you do have remain healthier longer.
Another important
dietary need are essential fatty acids, found in foods like walnuts,
canola oil, fish, and soy.
"This is just an
observation, but I believe there are many people who may have a
sub-clinical lack of omega 3 fatty acids -- these are 'good' fats, which
have anti-inflammatory properties and may actually play a role in
healthy hair," says Samantha Heller, MS, RD, a nutritionist at NYU
Medical Center.
Heller also warns
women that another potential deficiency -- a lack of iron that often
occurs during the reproductive years -- can lead to anemia, a reduction
of red blood cells that is often an undiagnosed cause of hair loss in
women.
"The deficiency may be
so slight you barely notice it, but it can play a role in female hair
loss," says Heller. Adding more iron-rich foods to your diet -- like
broccoli or brewer's yeast -- may actually help reverse some forms of
hair loss, she says.
Also important to
healthy hair growth are foods containing vitamin B12 -- including eggs,
meat, and poultry. According to dermatologist and hair loss expert Ted
Daly, MD, it's a nutrient hair just can't live without, and women can
easily develop a deficiency.
"In my office it's not
uncommon to find a B12 deficiency in women
who come in seeking treatment for hair loss," says Daly, a clinical
professor of dermatology at Nassau University Medical Center. Often, he
says, supplements are necessary to restore levels, which in turn, can
sometimes improve hair loss.
And while you're
reaching for that bottle of B12, don't shortchange yourself on the other
B vitamins, particularly biotin. According to experts, this nutrient is
also essential for hair growth. It's so important that biotin
supplements are often prescribed right alongside medical hair loss
treatments such as Propecia, Proscar, or minoxidil (Rogaine, Ronoxidil).
"Biotin is a major
component in the natural hair manufacturing process -- it is essential
to not only grow new hair, but it also plays a major role in the overall
health of skin and nails," says Andrew Lessman, clinical researcher and
creator of Your Vitamins, an all-natural supplement line manufactured in
Henderson, Nevada.
While Lessman says we
can get biotin from our diet -- it's present in foods like liver and egg
yolks -- we would have to consume thousands of calories daily to get
what our hair needs. That's one reason why he and so many dermatologists
suggest biotin supplements.
Indeed, Daly says he
routinely recommends up to 3 mgs of biotin daily for his hair loss
patients, while Lessman developed a healthy hair, skin, and nails
product containing 2 mgs of biotin per daily dosage, which he believes is
the minimum for healthy hair.
The recommended daily
intake (RDI) of biotin is a scant 300 mcg -- and even the healthiest
diets usually contain no more than 30 to 50 mcg, says Lessman.
Both Daly and Reed
also recommend zinc supplements -- normally about 80 mg daily -- because
studies show this nutrient may affect the levels of androgens, the
hormones involved in some forms of genetic hair loss.
Lessman and Heller,
however, are more cautious, advising against the use of zinc
supplementation in levels any higher than what might be in a
multivitamin.
"It's imperative that
zinc and copper remain in the proper ratio. And unless you also
supplement copper you don't want to dramatically increase zinc intake,"
says Lessman. What's more, since both metals are pro-oxidants (meaning
they contribute to unhealthy free radical formation) Lessman says
supplementation in any significant amount would require careful health
monitoring by a doctor.
Heller adds that
taking too much zinc can also cause a copper deficiency, which in turn
can actually cause hair loss -- another reason she believes
supplementation of these minerals is unnecessary.
What may be important
for women to take, however, is the nutrient known as
methylsulfonylmethane or MSM -- a substance vital to the life of hair
and skin.
"The same way that
biotin is a component of the manufacturing process of hair, the sulphur
found in MSM can be intrinsic to the structural development of hair --
particularly because it is so well-absorbed," says Lessman. He
recommends 700 mg of MSM daily.
The Buzz on Herbs For Hair Loss
Among the herbs making
medical headlines is saw palmetto, shown in clinical trials to have some
impact on benign prostatic hyperplasia -- or enlarged prostate. Because
this condition has been linked to an increase in the same hormones
related to hair loss -- androgens, including testosterone -- at least
some experts believe that saw palmetto may work much like the hair loss
drug finasteride (Propecia or Proscar), which was originally developed
to treat prostate enlargement.
While there are no
clinical trials attesting to saw palmetto's usefulness as a treatment
for hair loss, there is at least some reliable research showing that it
can stop or at least reduce androgen activity within the hair follicle.
Whether or not this can stop hair loss in women is completely unknown --
a fact that causes Heller some concern.
"If the herb is strong
enough to effect androgen pathways, then women should not be taking it
without their doctor's approval -- particularly if they are using any
form of female hormones, including HRT [menopausal hormone replacement
therapy], birth control pills, or even phytoestrogens [such as soy],"
says Heller.
What may be a bit
safer for women to take is green tea, which some studies have shown may
influence blood concentrations of hormones linked to at least one form
of genetic hair loss known as androgenic alopecia. In one study
published in the journal Nutrition and Cancer in 1998, Japanese
researchers found that drinking green tea could increase levels of the
sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in women. Since this biochemical
binds testosterone, the more SHBG present in a woman's body, at least
theoretically, the less testosterone will be in her bloodstream. And
that, say some experts, may block the chain of hormonal activity that
initiates some forms of hair loss
"I don't think we have
solid evidence that green tea can help, but it is certainly a good
source of antioxidants and may have some anti-cancer properties, so it
certainly would not hurt a woman to include it in her diet," says
Heller.
Other folklore
treatments involving herbs and plants include licorice extract (thought
to prevent hair loss, but can also increase blood pressure); horsetail
(which is a source of silica, a component in healthy hair); apple cider
vinegar and sage tea applied directly to the scalp (thought to stimulate
hair growth); psoralea seeds (a Chinese herb applied to the scalp) and
ginger (either taken as a tea or applied to the scalp).
Hair Loss and Hair Care: What You Should Know
The idea that hair
care products -- including shampoos, dyes, bleaches, perms, and even
blow dryers -- can damage your tresses should come as no surprise.
However, what you may not realize is that hair damage from products or
procedures is not the same as hair loss caused by genetic or even
medical problems. Surprisingly, this means that hair care products
generally don't figure into the hair loss equation.
"Damage from hair care
products or procedures generally causes breakage -- which is not the
same as hair loss that occurs at the level of the hair follicle -- so
it's rare that anything you can put on your hair is going to increase
the risk of hair loss," Daly tells WebMD. In this respect, he says,
women suffering from hair loss don't have to be afraid of grooming, or
even color treating or perming their hair.
"It's possible that a
perming solution or a dye might inflame the scalp and cause problems
related to hair loss, but that is very, very rare and not likely to
happen," says Daly.
At the same time, Reed
says it's also not a good idea to "punish" the hair you do have by over
processing -- or by overusing a hot blow dryer.
"You should certainly
observe the same common sense rules you would if you didn't suffer from
hair loss, and take care of the hair you do have," says Reed.
Reviewed by Charlotte
E. Grayson, MD.
Hair Transplants Not Just for Men
Vin Diesel, Shaquille O'Neal, Mr. Clean -- the bald male is accepted,
even celebrated, in todays society. But a bald woman? Hardly. Double
standard aside, help is on the horizon.
By Carla Cantor
WebMD Feature Archive Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
Laurie began to feel
self-conscious about her fine "see-through" hair during high school. By
30, she was having hair extensions sewn into her natural hair. That
worked for awhile, but the pressure on existing strands eventually led
to bald spots.
"I knew what was in
store for me," says Laurie (not her real name), a sales executive in her
mid-40s. "My sisters both have thin hair. My mother wears a hairpiece.
Baldness is in our family genes."
She spotted a notice
for a talk by a dermatologist who specialized in hair transplants for
men and women. Laurie skipped the lecture and headed straight for a
consult. "Getting a hair transplant had never occurred to me. I didn't
even know a woman could have one." Not that a hair transplant seemed
like a desirable thing -- all the men she'd ever seen with them looked
"so, well, pluggy."
No More "Pluggy" Look
Gone are the days when
a hair transplant made a middle-aged scalp look like a field of newly
planted corn. New technology and improved surgical techniques are
transforming the hair transplant industry.
"Large grafting
procedures that gave transplants their plug-like appearance are a thing
of the past," says Michael Reed, MD, who has been performing hair
transplants at New York University Medical Center's hair clinic since
the early 1970s.
The new methods allow
for more hairs in each skin graft to be placed between existing hairs,
promoting greater hair density, says Reed. At the same time, more
precise instrumentation permits surgeons to work faster with less worry
about tissue injury. This has turned hair transplants -- one of the most
tedious and labor-intensive of cosmetic surgery procedures -- into minor
day surgery. A typical session, or "megasession" (as dermatological
surgeons call it), lasts two to three hours. Other techniques to reverse
hair loss include laser surgery, scalp reduction, and scalp expansion
and extension.
Quicker, more
effective procedures have made hair transplants a more attractive option
for women. In the 1990s, women made up less than 5% of Reed's hair
transplant practice. Today, says Reed, an assistant professor of
clinical dermatology at New York University School of Medicine, women
represent up to 30% of his clients.
Laurie was nervous
when she had her first transplant in 1997 but was pleasantly surprised
to find the procedure quite painless. "I was given a local anesthetic.
It was no worse than the dentist's office. I hardly felt a thing," she
says.
Next, her surgeon
removed a tiny strip of skin (1 x 1.5 x 12 centimeters) from the back of
her scalp, an area of relatively dense hair for even the baldest people
called the "donor site." In one session, she was able to have about 400
grafts of skin -- containing two to four hairs each -- redistributed
from the back of her head to the front and top. "It took awhile for
regrowth, " Laurie says. (Typically, transplanted hair sheds within the
first weeks or months and has to grow back). "But within four to six
months, I saw a huge difference."
Losing Hair Differently
The best candidates
for hair transplants are those who have common male-pattern or
female-pattern baldness, a genetic condition. Hair loss also can be
caused by variety of factors, including thyroid abnormalities, iron
deficiencies, and autoimmune diseases. Childbirth can cause hair loss as
well. But the most common reason people lose their hair is heredity.
And, contrary to common myth, the trait is not passed from your maternal
grandfather. Nor does it skip a generation. The propensity is passed
down from all your relatives.
"The more bald people
in your family, the greater your chances of going bald. If you look at a
family of ten siblings -- there will be variations in amount of hair and
its distribution," says James Arnold, MD, a dermatologist and hair
transplant specialist in San Jose, California.
Women lose hair
differently than men. Where men have bald spots in the front or back of
their heads, women tend more toward diffuse thinning. They lose hair
gradually, and after awhile, they get that "see-through" scalp of which
Laurie complained.
Arnold, who limits his
practice exclusively to hair transplants, also treats women. But he has
not seen such dramatic increases. Partly, he says, because he hasn't
advertised to women. "Women are more challenging to treat than men.
Their expectations are higher. You treat a man, he sees he has a little
more on top -- maybe he looks a few years younger -- and he's satisfied.
Women want thick hair."
Laurie agrees that
women may be tougher clients. After all, she's had three transplants.
But she says hair transplants may be actually simpler for women because
they're better able to hide them. "A woman can easily wear a scarf, and
because women's hair is generally longer, it's harder to see the
incision." Plus, when new hair comes in, the effect on a woman's scalp
is more subtle. "People notice your hair looks better but they're not
quite sure why."
A Hair-Raising Price Tag
Nature's cure for
baldness isn't cheap. Despite improvements, transplants are still
labor-intensive and require the skill of a trained hair transplant
surgeon -- whether a dermatologist or plastic surgeon.
"Mega-megasessions"
that are capable of delivering 3,000-4,000 grafts (these can take 10
hours and involve the work of several technicians) can cost $10,000 or
more. The more typical two-to-three-hour session, where 400-500 grafts
are removed, runs about $5,000.
Add in the cost of
drugs that augment hair growth. Propecia is routinely prescribed after
transplants to prevent further hair loss in cases of male pattern
baldness. The drug, which costs about $50 a month, is often combined
with extra strength minoxidil, an over-the-counter baldness remedy.
(Minoxidil should not be used by women of childbearing age as it can
cause abnormalities in the growth and development of a fetus.) Other
drugs to treat hair loss include Retin-A for male pattern baldness used
in combination with minoxidil or Xandrox, which combine various doses of
minoxidil, Retin-A, and azeliaic acid.
Are hair transplants
for everyone? "Absolutely not," says Laurie. "But for me, it's been
wonderful. It's changed my life. Some people might say, $15,000 -- are
you crazy? But you can't imagine what it's like to be able to go into a
swimming pool, play water sports, shake your head, and not be
embarrassed. I feel so much more comfortable with myself." |
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