Psychological Considerations

There are many things that can adversely affect a person’s self image and consequently their self esteem. Medical science recognizes with certainty that these two factors directly impact our quality of life. Hair loss affects millions of people men and women. Amongst this  group of people there is a number of individuals who undergo male pattern baldness at a very early age. The emotional impact on these individuals can be even more devastating.. Today we have more insight to the negative consequences of hair loss and that fact it can be prevented in many cases.

Study on Hair Loss Psychological Affects

“Psychology of hair restoration surgery” is a study that was presented in 15th annual scientific meeting of Internal Society of Hair Restoration Surgery in 2007. In this study we sent questionnaires to 200 men who had only one hair transplant in past and we asked them about the psycho-social aspects of their lives following their procedures.  We have compared the responses from the patients with higher classes of hair loss with early stages.  We also compared the changes that younger patients experienced in comparison to the older ones.  We have found a significant improvement in future outlook in younger patients who received a hair restoration as opposed to the older ones. I am attaching the graph right off the presentation I had back in 2007 that compares the impacts of a hair restoration on younger patients vs. older ones.

Advanced Evaluation

Hair transplant surgeons used to have a strict criteria in past as of strictly not perform a hair transplant on anyone younger than 24.  However, today there are more treatment options, as well as, more documentation on the long term effects of hair restoration medications.  Hair restoration doctors did not want to do a hair transplant until they can clearly see the pattern of baldness.  Modern miniaturization study with microscopic evaluation allows for more accurate predictability along with other evaluating factors.  This gives us a reasonably reliable way to predict the activity of hair loss in different areas with some certainty. We can predict the final pattern of male patterned baldness (MPB) utilizing the patient’s miniaturization study in addition to a thorough evaluation of his family hair loss history.

Ethics of Hair Transplant at a young age

I recognize as many people have mentioned that there has been unethical practices in some instances. As medical doctors we must hold to the highest of ethical standards and best practices. Performing a hair transplant when the miniaturization study and the psychological profile does indicate would be a breach of these standards. I appreciate the feedback in this forum and plan to write an article on the indications and specifications of “Early Intervention for Hair Transplant Surgery” soon.

Hair loss is correlated to stress. Hair loss induced by stress usually occurs after severe stress, such as surgery or illness. Stress and hair loss don’t have to be permanent. Getting your emotional stress under control or alleviating a physical stressor usually results in your hair growing back.

Parsa Mohebi, MD reviews stress related hair loss effects.

Sudden hair loss can signal an underlying medical condition that requires treatment. If needed, your doctor may suggest treatment options for the hair loss as well. And if efforts to manage your stress on your own don’t work, talk to your doctor about stress management techniques. Be sure to consult a physician if you notice sudden or patchy hair loss or more than usual hair loss when combing or washing your hair.

Stress is defined as “a demand upon physical or mental energy.” A physical or emotional demand that is a person is finding difficult to overcome. Stress puts demands on people to perform well above their capacity. Stress has a negative perception and connotation, however, stress is an everyday occurrence that affects most people at some time in their life. This longer the duration of the demand the more difficult it is to maintain without relief.

Stress can also be:

• Stress is can be a recent phenomenon and is everywhere we turn to
• Stress does not feel good; it is not experienced in pleasant situations
• Stress exists when problems go out of control

Dr. Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D. of the Mayo Clinic points out that three specific hair loss conditions are related to stress.

• Alopecia areata. A variety of factors are thought to cause alopecia areata, possibly including severe stress. With alopecia areata, white blood cells attack the hair follicle, stopping hair growth and making hair fall out.
• Telogen effluvium. In this condition, emotional or physical stress pushes large numbers of growing hairs into a resting phase. Within a few months, the affected hairs may fall out suddenly when simply combing or washing your hair.
• Trichotillomania. Trichotillomania (trik-oh-til-oh-MAY-nee-uh) is an irresistible urge to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows or other areas of your body. Hair pulling can be a way of dealing with negative or uncomfortable feelings, such as stress, anxiety, tension, loneliness, fatigue or frustration.

When experiencing hair loss an evaluation by a Los Angeles hair restoration doctor can be very helpful.

Female-pattern baldness is different than that of male pattern baldness. The hair thins all over the head, in a diffused manner but the frontal hairline does not regress. There may be a moderate loss of hair on the crown, but this rarely progresses to total or near baldness as it may in men.

Female-pattern baldness hair loss is permanent. The hair loss is usually mild to moderate. No treatment is required if the person is comfortable with her appearance. It can be treated with medication or hair restoration. Some women however lose hair in a pattern similar to men.

Failure to grow a new hair is closely linked with genetic predisposition, aging, and levels of endocrine hormones. Changes in the levels of the androgens can affect hair production. For example, after the hormonal changes of menopause, many women find that the hair on the head is thinned, while facial hair is coarser. Although new hair is not produced, the follicle remains alive, suggesting the possibility of new hair growth.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved some drugs to treat female-pattern baldness. It is minoxidil, used topically on the scalp. It may help hair to grow in 40% of the population, and in 90% it may slow the loss of hair. Hair loss recurs when its use is stopped.

Genetic hair loss and molt or increased hair shedding (chronic telogen effluvium), accounts for the majority of all hair loss in women. Women are more likely to thin diffusely from behind the front hairline to the crown. Unlike men who tend to lose a lot of hair in particular areas, like the temples and crown – Male pattern baldness.

Medical Treatment for Increase Hair Loss from Androgenic Alopecia

Online sources assert that topical Spironolactone (Aldactone) can be used to reduce hair loss; as well as, Nizoral shampoo. There is not strong medical evidence supporting Spironolactone effect on reducing hair loss.  Orignally developed for hypertension some level of anti-androgenic effects have been noted. Systematic use has shown effective in female hair loss depending on the type. Use in men manifested side effects of sexual dysfunction and is not recommended for treatment of androgenic alopecia in men.

Nizoral (ketoconazole 5%) is an anti dandruff medication with antifungal properties. There are some indicators that it can affect hair loss in male patterned baldness. Presently it does not have FDA approval nor does Sprionolactone.

The only FDA approved medications for hair loss treatment are Minoxidil and finasteride. Nizoral is not one of the FDA approved medications for hair loss treatment. A daily regimen of finasteride with Minoxidil is effective for many men. Minoxidil is recommended to be used twice a day, some find positive results with just a once a day application. Minoxidil does not double up the effect of finasteride but can add to it as an adjunct treatment.

Women’s Hair Restoration and Women Hair Loss Treatments

Parsa Mohebi, MD is among Los Angeles best hair restoration doctors. He notes that hair transplants are increasing among women. This includes scalp hair transplant for balding areas, improving the hairline to better frame the face and eyebrow hair transplants.  As women continue to advance in the competitive workplace self image and confidence are playing an ever more critical role in their life. More and more women are seeking hair restoration options that will improve their self image and confidence that diminished with hair loss.

Going bald adversely affects most people. Women often find it more traumatic then men.  Hair defines significant quality of life issues for women including:

• her sense of personal beauty
• health and wellness
• sense of success and social status
• her sense of sexuality
• and other aspects of a woman’s self image and esteem.

Women are very devastated by the loss of hair. The best Los Angeles hair transplant centers are increasingly focusing on alleviating this problem for women.  Men embarrassed about hair loss don’t like people to know that they have had a successful hair transplant. Unfair as it might be the social stigma for women with baldness is even greater. Hair loss is also associated with poor health to the general public. The confusion, fear, and anxiety and helplessness that women feel is completely understandable.

Advances in hair restoration technology and diagnosing female hair loss makes it easier to determine who can be successfully treated by a medical hair transplant.

Female Hair Transplant

A hair transplant offers an affordable natural, proven, and permanent solution for some woman. Los Angeles hair restoration doctors specializing in women’s hair loss have developed specific protocols in the management of female hair loss. Summer specials at leading hair restoration center US Hair Restorations makes this a great time to consider hair restoration. The latest and advanced technologies and developments in these medical procedures provide quality low cost hair transplants for women.

Follicular Unit Transplants (FUT) has come of age. This advanced type of modern hair restoration provides patients with a natural, proven and permanent hair loss solution.  Many people do not understand that FUT hair restoration is available in two distinct forms of hair transplant surgeries. They are

1. the ‘Strip Method’ and
2. ‘Follicular Unit Extraction’ method

Both these procedures consist of transplanting hair from the permanent zone. This is the area of the scalp where hair loss does not occur.  The harvesting method in each procedure is different. This blog is particularly devoted to the ‘Strip Method.”

Strip Method Hair Transplants

In this form of FUT hair restoration surgery a donor strip is taken from the back of the patients scalp. The size of the donor strip is determined in the patient’s pre-op consult and microscopic evaluation.  The donor strip is removed by your hair transplant surgeon and separated into naturally occurring follicular grafts of 1, 2, 3 and 4 hairs. These grafts are meticulously and artistically placed in recipient incisions made by your doctor in the balding areas.  Below are some of the advantages that patients who elect the FUT strip method enjoy.

Advantages of FUT Strip Hair Transplant

1. Maximization of the number of grafts that can be harvested in a single hair transplant session.   This advance technique allows for the transplanting of over 3500 grafts. Many patients who have never had a hair transplant can complete their hair restoration in a single surgery.
2. Damaged to hair grafts is minimized. The strip procedure allows the surgical team to harvest and process the grafts under microscope effectively reducing transection (damaging hair follicles).
3. The surgery is less labor intensive then its FUE counterpart and can be elected at a more affordable cost.

Modern technology has allowed our society with proven, natural permanent hair loss options.

Modern technology has allowed our society with options not possible a half century ago. Medical and scientific advancement presents promising changes with each advancing generation. An example is the loss of vision typical with age like hair loss. People with vision problems, had the disadvantage of wearing glasses; although there are contact lenses as well.  There is still a dependence upon outside tools to reduce the loss of vision; which inconvenient and sometimes greatly reducing the quality of life. Now the near miraculous advancements in LASIK vision correction has made vision correction possible. No longer are middle agers at tables in restaurants pulling out their glasses or squinting helplessly to read the menu; the stubborn problem of fading eyesight for millions of people is solved.

If someone chooses to undergo a LASIK procedure, does it make him an insecure person? Not in the least! Rather, they are using their resources to correct a medical problem and look their best.

Hair Restoration Is Nothing to Be Embarrassed About

Our Los Angeles based US Hair Restoration clinics consistently receive calls and emails from people who need hair restoration for their baldness, but they are shy to provide their names as they inquire to be able to get more information about hair restoration options.; It is amazing how many want to hide the fact they contacted us for advice. We are proud of our fine medical staff and patient advocates who are exceptionally sensitive to the needs of those seeking our help. It is one of the deeply rewarding aspects of our profession that we can provide encouragement to our patients, as well as, give them new hope, confidence, and a fresh perception of how their suffering from hair loss can be alleviated.

Hair loss is a disease, a common one and like many other diseases there are treatments for it.

So, we are proud to say: “Today, most people no longer have to endure being bald”

Modern Medical and Technological Advancements for Hair Loss

Modern medical and technological advancements provide similar relief for hair loss sufferers as Lasik for people with vision loss. One day we hope the stigma of addressing hair loss through medical treatment lessens its impact on people who suffer from baldness as it has for those with vision impairment.

At our Southern California centers our team uses the latest technologies and procedures to perform FUT and FUE hair restoration surgeries. These procedures provide our patients with a permanent natural treatment for their hair loss. The progress in hair transplant surgery now provides our patients with results that are proven, natural and permanent.

Hair Transplant Gigosessions: A Patient Benefit

Gigosessions and all hair transplant surgeries are optimally aided by the use of the Laxometer, invented by Parsa Mohebi, MD medical director at US Hair Restoration centers. Laxometer is an intra-operative tool that is becoming an industry standard globally. Utilizing the metric system for most accurately determining scalp laxity, Laxometer helps the surgeon to reduce the risk of closure tension on donor wound edges. The result leads to minimize the tension of the donor wound edges and increases the safety of the strip follicular unit hair transplantation.  The Laxometer’s preciseness in measurements allows hair restoration surgeons to best formulate the safe size of donor strips. Donor strip size ultimately determines the number of possible grafts available for hair transplantation.

These exciting developments for hair loss sufferers have made hair restoration a natural, permanent and proven solution.

One of the goals of US Hair Restoration is to connect our patients with Medical Director, Dr. Parsa Mohebi. One of the difficulties of the high paced environment of cosmetic surgery is there is little time for non-patients to connect with the doctor himself. Every few months we connect Dr. Mohebi with patients and those with question through an ongoing webinar series. We are proud to announce the webinars are available to be watched by topic at our website. Here are a couple of popular topics discussed by Dr. Mohebi:

Hair Loss Psychology

Male Patterned Hair Loss

Many come to us at US Hair Restoration with questions about the phenomenon of graying hair. It is obvious to most that graying hair grows thicker and better than the hairs with the natural hair color. Studies have shown there is a correlation between different the elements of hair growth as to why hair turns gray or eventually white.

When the proteins and genes in hairs are evaluated, it is seen why naturaly colored and white hairs grow differently. When the morph patterns in scalp hair and eyebrow hair on humans are observed, keratin and keratin-associated protein genes in gray hair were up-regulated at least 2-fold in comparison with black or pigmented hair in their analysis.

All this being said, the white or non-pigmented hairs, were twice as thick as the normal pigmented hairs. These observations suggest that graying hair and active hair growth are associated with one another. A breakthrough revelation that helps to shed light on why certain hair growth patterns seem odd, yet serve a purpose.