Hair loss in women is a more complex topic than in men, because it is frequently associated with other medical conditions. The priority in female hair loss patients is to eliminate possible systemic and dermatologic diseases that will prevent a hair transplant from succeeding. Thorough dermatologic and laboratory analysis may be necessary.
Since surgical hair restoration is based on taking hair follicles from a healthy donor area with good density, the priority is to find out if such a donor area actually exists. For this, the cause of hair loss should either be a local problem that doesn’t effect all the hairs or it should be a systemic disease that has been cured and no longer effects the remaining follicles; otherwise a hair transplant will be doomed to failure.
Female hair loss that is not associated with systemic and dermatologic diseases can be presented in two different ways: it can either be male pattern baldness which means it will be seen as a receding of the hairline and/or thinning at the vertex or it can be female pattern which is seen as a diffuse thinning all across the top of the head usually leaving the hairline intact. These types of hair losses in women are rarely as severe as in males, thus hair transplantation in women is usually aimed at increasing density at thinning areas.
Due to hair style and social status, most women can not tolerate totally shaving their hair for a hair transplant, therefore unshaven hair transplant options may be preferred. FUT appears to be the preferred option in most female patients due to its advantage of being able to perform unshaven. Issues related to the linear scar caused by FUT is also a lesser concern in females than males because chances of using the hair shaven or very short are unlikely. FUE can also be performed by choosing the window shave option at the donor area.
