Hair is our crowning glory. A lustrous thick head of hair is a sign of beauty and is an enviable asset. However as the body ages, thinning of hair and hair loss become common. While women rarely bald in the way men do, the appearance of bald patches and clumps of hair falling is a cause for worry.

Some amount of hair fall can be corrected through nutritious diet and salon treatments like hair oil massages and deep conditioning treatments. Hair loss which is prominent around the scalp line is worrisome and can be treated with hair transplants.  However the main concern is whether the woman who seeks a hair transplant has a good donor area in her scalp from which hair follicles are to be taken for transplanting.

In women excessive hair fall may occur due to the following reasons:

1. Thyroid imbalances
2. Menopause and hormonal imbalances
   
3. Crash diets
   
4. Pregnancy & childbirth
   
5. Stress
   

Hair is made of keratin which bonds the hair shaft to the scalp. With age, the body produces less keratin and the hair root becomes weaker. With the passage of time, the hair becomes thinner and breaks off. The logic behind hair transplants is that if the hair root is replaced with a healthy hair root, it will continue producing keratin, and thus hair growth would follow. But it is not possible to regain normal hair density.  Reconstructing the hair line requires a highly experienced expert to perform hair transplanting. It is much easier to transplant hair in behind the hairline to make hair look dense.

Women have thicker hair growth at the back of the head and thinner hair growth in front. Hence it is easy to transplant hair follicles from the donor area at the back of the head. The trichologist carries out a detailed analysis of the hair structure and balding pattern prior to starting the treatment. The back of the head has a thick network of hair follicles, some of which are removed and transplanted to the problem bald spots Grafts with a single follicle are placed in front and those with multi follicles are placed behind to give the impression of thickness. Medical stimulation is given to the transplanted hair and the hair follicles take root and grow in 4-6 weeks. The procedure is a micro surgery that should be done by qualified trichologists. The procedure rarely requires hospitalization. .

Requirements for women’s hair transplants:

• Availability of thick growth of healthy hair in donor area
  
• Willingness to bear high cost of procedure
  
• Willingness to continue treatment over 8-12 months; Treatment may involve minor pain, swelling and redness
  
• Numbness around the donor or recipient site up to 3 months of procedure,
  

Caution:

There is a high degree of unpredictability about success of procedure and thickness of transplanted hair. In some cases, the transplanted hair does not grow.