Can You Have A Hair Transplant With Retrograde Alopecia?

Retrograde alopecia is a subtype of genetic hair loss. It affects the hairs above the ears and around the nape of the neck. Many individuals who suffer from this condition believe that they are not suitable candidates for hair restoration because they suffer from retrograde alopecia. However, that is not always the case and many have achieved successful long-term results even though they suffer from retrograde alopecia.

Unfortunately, there is no clear cut answer, it depends on the individual’s goals and hair loss pattern. However, allow me to elaborate a bit more. First, let’s talk about retrograde alopecia and how it affects individuals with genetic hair loss and their donor supply.

Retrograde alopecia is a form of hair loss that affects the lower portion of the neck called the nape and the sides of the scalp just above the ears. This condition is fairly common among an individual’s suffering from hereditary hair loss.

The main concern with hair transplant surgery is how far the hair loss will extend. In some cases, patients may have extensive hair loss above their nape reaching into what is called the permanent zone. In addition, many patients confuse retrograde alopecia with another condition called Diffused Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA). While both conditions may appear similar at first, they are totally different.

DUPA is a type of androgenic alopecia (genetic hair loss). DUPA can affect both men and women. DUPA is a sub-type of androgenic alopecia. The difference between a male pattern and female pattern hair loss is that DUPA does not follow any pattern. Therefore, the back and sides of the scalp may be susceptible to thinning.

DUPA is categorized as diffuse thinning over the entire scalp. Unlike Diffused Patterned Alopecia (DPA), DUPA lacks the stable permanent zone associated with other forms of alopecia. DUPA is defined as a general decrease in the density of hair without any definite pattern.

Hair transplant surgery is not an option for individual’s with DUPA, as there is no permanent donor supply. However, retrograde alopecia is contained to a specific portion of the scalp, specifically the sides above the ears and nape.

Individuals with retrograde alopecia may be suitable candidates for surgical hair restoration treatments. However, retrograde alopecia would decrease their overall lifetime donor supply. Therefore, prospective patients with retrograde alopecia may need to adjust their expectations and goals accordingly.

Will You Suffer From Shock Loss If You Have A Hair Transplant?

So many hair loss sufferers find themselves in a difficult spot between electing to undergo surgery with the risk of having shock loss. The mere words “shock loss” strike fear into the hearts of hair loss sufferers worldwide. The thought of looking even balder after surgery is enough to send many running for the hills, but how likely is shock loss to occur? Keep reading.

Unfortunately, telogen effluvium (shock loss) can occur after surgical hair restoration because of the trauma caused to the scalp from surgery. Shock loss is a short-term hair loss that can occur for various reasons such as stress, trauma or a surgical procedure. Shock loss is a constant shedding of the hair for an extended period of time usually lasting three to six months.

When hairs are implanted by weak miniaturized native hairs, the hair transplantation can cause shock loss. There are three phases to a hair follicles life cycle, the anagen (growth) phase, catagen (transitional) phase and the telogen (resting) phase. When a massive amount of hair follicles enter the telogen (resting) phase all at once, the process is referred to as shock loss.

There isn’t anything a person can do or take to prevent shock loss completely, but there are some treatments that can strengthen the hair and speed up the recovery of shock loss. The first treatment a person can take to strengthen their hair is Propecia (finasteride). Propecia (finasteride) strengthens the hair by reducing the amount of DHT that can attach to the hair follicle. Rogaine (minoxidil) stimulates hair growth and prolongs the growth phase.

Shock loss generally resolves on its own after three to six months but can be permanent if the hair follicles are weak. This is why stabilizing genetic hair loss is important. Hair transplant surgery does not stop or treat genetic hair loss, it simply moves hair from one location to another.

If the cause of the hair loss isn’t treated, the hair loss will continue to progress and spread. The progression of hair loss can leave individuals feeling unsatisfied with their hair transplant procedures because hair loss can progress rapidly and without warning.

What to Expect After a Hair Transplant? : Growth Timeline

Hair transplant surgery has become increasingly popular over the last few years namely because today’s modern hair restoration surgeons are performing larger, more densely packed sessions of ultra refined follicular unit grafting with outstanding results. But what can you expect after the surgical procedure? Are the results immediate? What is the healing process like? How long does it take for the new hair to grow? Why do the initial transplanted hairs shed after only a few weeks? When does the hair grow back? These are all viable questions that we will be answering in this article by providing a timeline.

A Day After Hair Transplant Surgery

Immediately after surgery, the transplanted area will be pink in color with the formation of scabs around the follicular unit grafts. Patients will likely experience some mild discomfort or nominal pain in both the donor and recipient areas along with tightness of the scalp and numbness. The hair restoration physician selected will have provided postoperative instructions on how to shower and take care of the grafted area.

A Week After Hair Restoration Surgery

Within the first week, most of the tiny scabs and redness will dissipate, as will any remaining discomfort or pain. Most hair transplant patients begin to resume normal activities such as going to work, light exercise, etc. Any numbness from the procedure will have worn off however, there may be some ongoing scalp tightness especially if the patient has undergone FUSS (Follicular unit strip surgery).

Removing The Sutures after 10 to 14 days:

If FUSS was elected, the sutures or staples are removed 10 days after hair transplant surgery. Surgeons stitch or use staples to keep the donor region closed and are removed typically after 10 to 14 days.

Hair shedding 4 to 6 weeks after surgery

Typically between 4 to 6 weeks, the transplanted hair will begin to shed, leaving the recipient area looking as it did prior to surgery. In fact, the recipient area may look even thinner due to a phenomenon which is known as shock loss or telogen effluvium, which is a temporary loss of natural hair due to surgical trauma. But don’t worry, all shocked hair and transplanted hair will begin to grow back after only a few months.

2 Months After Hair Surgery

Welcome to the doldrums, where the recipient area typically looks worse than it did prior to surgery. Many patients experience panic, mild depression and anxiety during the stage due to doubt and disbelief that they might not experience the results they want and deserve. Many patients alleviate their concerns by posting their questions and getting answers from veterans hair transplant patients on the hair restoration forum.

4 Months After Hair Transplantation

At this stage, most patients experience new hair growth and the transplanted area begins to look fuller and better than it did prior to surgery. Patients are typically filled with hope and enjoy posting pictures and videos of their new sprouts on the discussion forum. This generates excited replies and more enthusiasm for the patient.

6 Months After Surgical Hair Restoration

The hair restoration patient will likely be experiencing a lot of hair growth at this time and begin to see the beginning of what the final result will look like. At 6 months, the patient will likely see about 60% of their results and while most of the new hairs have started to grow, the hairs still need to thicken, darken and mature. Moreover, most of the shocked hair has at least started to grow back.

9 Months After Hair Replacement Surgery

Even slow growers begin to see a foreshadowing of their final result and those who grow quickly will see approximately 80% of their result. Most of the transplanted hair at this stage will have obtained the same quality and caliber as natural hair.

After 12 months: The Final Result?

This is typically when most individuals experience their final hair transplant result. All the hair has grown in, matured, thickened and darkened. Moreover, any shocked hair will have completely returned and everything will have completely healed. However, slow growers may still experience growth and maturation up until their 18th month.

After 18 Months: Evaluating The Result

A hair transplant patient can safely evaluate their results at this stage. Those who expressed some concern at 12 months should wait a full 18 months before deciding whether or not their result was optimal. However, selecting a top hair transplant surgeon should minimize any risk and ensure they get the best results. That said, even if the result is optimal, some patients require more than one procedure to meet their hair restoration goals. Those who want or need a second procedure typically proceed at this stage in obtaining one.

Conclusion

A hair transplant is a process and does not provide immediate results. Therefore, a patient should know what to expect prior to undergoing the procedure in order to minimize depression, anxiety, and panic. Those with concerns should immediately contact their surgeon or look for answers and support at the Hair Transplant Network. The key to a successful hair transplant results is research and education.

Revivogen Scalp Therapy for Hair Loss

Nothing preys on balding men and women like the promise of regrowing a full head of hair.   However, most hair loss treatments on the market today are questionable at best and rarely deliver on their promises.  In this article, we discuss a popular treatment for thinning hair called Revivogen and whether or not it’s effective in treating hair loss.  

What is Revivogen

Revivogen contains all-natural ingredients that are scientifically backed to inhibit the production of DHT (Dihydrotestosterone), the hormone responsible for genetic hair loss.  These include Azelaic Acid, Vitamin B6, Zinc, Saw Palmetto, GLA and ALA – fatty acids proven to inhibit the production of DHT. Revivogen is applied topically and is most effective when used in the early phases of hair loss. Because Revivogen contains all natural ingredients, no side effects have been reported.

So Who Can Benefit From Revivogen?

Men and women in the early stages of hair loss and thinning hair may benefit from the use of Revivogen.  Also, men who experience side effects when using Propecia or those who would prefer to use an all-natural alternative to finasteride may opt to use Revivogen as a replacement anti-androgen treatment.

How Revivogen Helps

The scalp therapy solution is filled with ingredients that stop the 5-alpha reductase enzyme from combining with testosterone to create DHT. While men and women who experience hereditary baldness possess a gene (possibly more than one) that causes thinning hair, DHT carries out the demolition work to the hair follicles dictated by genetics.  Therefore, by inhibiting the production of DHT, there will be less of the hormone to attack and destroy the follicles, resulting in reduced hair loss and regrowing hair.

How To Apply Revivogen

Revivogen solution should be used once a day and needs to be applied in the affected region of the scalp.  It is advised to apply Revivogen after showering or if you must apply beforehand, wait at least three hours after the application before showering.  Revivogen can be used and applied any time of day.

Conclusion

Revivogen may be a semi-effective alternative to Propecia (finasteride) in blocking a nominal amount of DHT and stopping hair loss.  It is much more effective in men and women with marginal hair loss and those with advanced baldness will likely not benefit from this treatment.  In fact, only hair transplant surgery is proven to grow hair and completely bald areas.

NeoGraft vs. Strip Method of Hair Restoration Surgery

Men and women experiencing thinning hair are often on the lookout for hair loss treatments that really work.  Amongst them, hair transplantation is the only method of restoring hair to completely bald areas. Today’s modern hair restoration surgery is performed by one of two popular donor harvesting techniques.  These include follicular unit strip surgery (FUSS) and follicular unit extraction (FUE). Each technique requires the use of various tools to perform the procedure. The Neograft Hair Transplant Machine is one such device.   In this article, we will be comparing the strip procedure to FUE via the Neograft.

Comparing Neograft Hair Transplants to the Strip Method:

Strip Method:

Follicular unit strip surgery (FUSS) is performed under local anesthetic and involves the removal of a strip of tissue containing hair follicles from the sides and back of the scalp (called the donor area). The hair transplant surgeon then sutures or staples the wound using the trichophytic closure technique while experienced technicians sliver the strip and dissect follicular units (hair groupings as they appear naturally in the scalp containing 1 to 4 hairs) under microscopes.  While the surgeon makes tiny incisions in the recipient/balding area, the follicular units are stored in a solution, typically containing saline and possibly PRP (platelet rich plasma). Lastly, follicular units are carefully placed into tiny recipient sites in the balding area.

FUE Via the Neograft Machine

The manufacturer of the Neograft hair transplant machine would have you believe that the Neograft is its own procedure, distinct from both FUSS and FUE. However, the Neograft is simply a sophisticated device used to extract follicles during the FUE procedure. It also utilizes a “no touch“ technique that’s designed to minimize human error and damage to the grafts during the implantation process. However, is the Neograft all that it’s hyped up to be?

Every device comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. The Neograft can assist in making the excision process both easier and faster, however, the vacuum/suction device attached to the Neograft can potentially dehydrate and damage the follicles.  So while the “no touch“ application may be advantageous to neophyte doctors and inexperienced technicians, many skilled FUE surgeons prefer manual extraction devices in order to “feel“ the excision process and typically produce superior results.

The main advantage of FUE in general over FUSS is the lack of linear scarring the procedure produces. FUE however, leaves tiny, circular scars that are typically covered by the surrounding hairs.  FUSS is typically the procedure of choice for men with advanced balding because more hair can typically be moved in a single session. However, many top FUE surgeons are now able to move more hair in a single session that’s comparable to strip than ever before – making FUE the procedure of choice for those concerned about the linear scar associated with FUSS.  FUSS, however, is still significantly less expensive, making the strip method the dominant procedure overall.

Which Method to Choose?

Choosing the right hair transplant surgeon is vital to ensure you get the very best results.  Thus, men and women considering surgical hair restoration are encouraged to research all surgeons they are considering regardless of which donor harvesting method or device is used during the procedure.  Our hair restoration forum enables prospective patients to research doctors, read genuine hair transplant reviews, view before and after photos and more. You can start your own topics or reply to any topic you find interesting.  Knowing the pros and cons of each donor harvesting method and device will enable you to make an educated decision about which technique is best for you.