Robert H. True, MD

I have been noticing that my hair has been falling out faster than ever lately. I’ve been losing it for about 5 or 6 years, but for this time it has been kind of slow. I have been looking into having a hair transplant but now I think it’s critical that I have one as soon as possible. Do you think it makes sense to do this now or should I wait until all of my hair falls out to see what I have to work with? I really do not want to wait. Thanks!
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The most important thing that you need to do now is to come in and have a consultation, because the first order of business is to see if we can determine why your hair loss has been accelerating recently. Read the Story

I am a 43 year old African American male, and I had a hair transplant when I was 33. I consider my hair transplant to be one of the worst decisions I ever made in my life. The doctor left me with visible bumps and scars on my head that look terrible.

My questions are:

Can African Americans transplant hair from one person to the next? And if so, what are the determining factors to gets this done?

Can African Americans have the FUE procedure done from person to person? If so, what are the determining factors? Also, do doctors know of known donors of hair for a fee?

Last question, if I could get some help where would I start? -Craig

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Dear Craig,

I am sorry to learn that your experience with hair restoration surgery has not worked well for you.

Your question about transplanting from one person to another is one that prospective patients frequently ask. Unfortunately this cannot be done successfully regardless of ethnicity. The body always will reject foreign organisms, tissue or organs. Kidneys and hearts can be transplanted from one person to another but there has to be a very precise donor match. Even then the person with an organ transplant has to take powerful drugs to prevent rejection of the organ. Read the Story

I am a 44 yr old African American female. I have researched several doctors and institutions that claim they can help me but after viewing the work they have done on others I am skeptical. I have been balding on the sides of my temples for about ten years now. It has gotten worse. I have worn my hair in braids for several years and have dyed and fried my hair with chemicals and hair coloring. I am sure that has damaged my hair, but I have not used chemicals in over 12 years.  I have used topical solutions, including Rogaine for Men and hair growth products for women. I see some hair regrowth only at the edge of my temples, but not where it should be. I want a hair transplant, I just don’t know who to trust and who can help me. I live in the Maryland/ Washington, DC area but I am certainly willing to travel to get a specialist to help me.
Thanks,
RS

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Dear RS,

From your description you are suffering from traction alopecia. This condition is quite common among African American women and arises because of the fashion of tight braiding. The tight braids produce a repetitive stress on the hair follicle and over a period of time actually destroy the follicles. Unfortunately topical treatment such as Minoxidil (Rogaine) and others rarely produces any recovery. Read the Story

(2 WEEKS POST OPERATIVE AND BEYOND)

1. Hair Cuts - Wait 5 to 7 days after your suture removal to get a hair cut. It is best to keep the hair at the level of the donor incision 1/2 inch or longer with your first 3- 4 haircuts. It takes 8 to 12 months for the donor incision to reach its final stage of healing and for all the hair to grow back around the incision. For some skin types it is common for the incision line to be pink for several weeks to a few months before fading to normal skin color. For some patients there may be temporary shedding of hair adjacent to the donor incision. It takes 6 to 12 month for full recovery of these shed hairs.

2. Numbness and Sensation – It is common to have temporary loss or change of sensation to the scalp. The most common area affected is the top of the head. Occasionally, the area above the donor incision may also be affected. The tiny nerve endings located superficially throughout the skin are traumatized by the surgery resulting in the sensation change. The sensation does return to normal, but commonly this can take from 2 to 6 months. Rarely, it may take longer and very rarely, there may be small areas in which the sensation does not fully normalize. There is nothing that can be done to speed this process. Recovery of sensation is often associated with minor tingling, prickling, or itching sensations (signs of healing). Read the Story

What is the success rate of facial hair restoration and is there visible scarring if I use FUE? How long is the procedure and how long does it take to heal?
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If we define success as survival of grafts, facial hair grafts do as well as hair transplant grafts placed in the balding scalp. The key determinant for survival of hair transplant grafts to the face or elsewhere is the technical delicacy with which the grafts are prepared, stored, and handled during insertion. With proper attention to these details nearly 100% of the grafts will survive and go on to produce living hair over a lifetime.

Grafts for facial hair transplantation can be obtained either by strip harvesting (FUT) or by extraction of individual follicles (FUE). With the strip method there is a fine linear scar left. This almost always has no cosmetic significance if the scar is in an area where hair is worn 1/4 inch or longer. FUE leaves tiny pinpoint scars which do not show if hair is shaved in the area of harvesting.

FUE would be the preferred method of harvesting for a facial hair transplant if the area to be treated is not large or if beard hair is going to be used for donor grafts. For example if a patient simply wants to fill in defects in a moustache or beard FUE can be used to extract grafts from the beard area under the chin where the tiny pinpoint scars will be least evident. Read the Story

I have been progressively losing my hair for about the past five years, but I am concerned about using propecia because of sexual side effects. I’ve been researching hair transplants but have read that if you have a hair transplant then you have to take propecia to maintain the new hair. This does not make sense to me. I was under the impression that the hair from a hair transplant will last a lifetime. Can you shed some light on this for me?

Your questions and are commonly expressed concerns. Unfortunately you have read incorrect information. Transplanted hair is not dependent on Propecia. The donor hair follicles are genetically different from the follicles that are effected by male pattern baldness. Donor follicles are not sensitive to normal levels of dehydroxytestosterone (DHT). Once transplanted to areas of balding scalp these follicles will continue to produce living hair. Propecia or finasteride lowers DHT levels reducing the effect on native (non-transplanted) follicles and by doing so helps to control progression of male pattern baldness.
Read the Story