The most common cause of female hair loss is named androgenic alopecia. Nevertheless the role of hormons is not completely clear as often females with hair loss do not show any unballance in the concentration of androgens. This condition has also a strong familiar component. The time of onset goes from the 20s onward and in the 70s approximately the 40% of ladies have some degree of alopecia.
The pattern of distribution is different from the man one as classified by Ludwig.
The most of the females with hair loss can receive a medical or surgical solution. But an accurate and complete assessment is essential to define the underlying cause of alopecia.
Cicatricial alopecia can be the consequence of different conditions, such as traumas (including burns) or surgery (lifting, skin grafting or flaps) causing fibrosis of the the hair bearing skin. Some autoimmune disease can also cause alopecia producing a diffuse fibrosis of the scalp (LES). Following appropriate management and stabilization of the metabolic condition and assessment of the area to treat, these conditions can be successfully treated by hair transplant. Nevertheless, the scar tissue has a reduced vascular supply which reduces the rate of graft take. For this reason dense packing is often not appropriate in a single session and more than one session might be required for optimal results.
Triangular alopecia is congenital condition which becomes more evident anytime from birth up to 5 years of age. Is characterised by a patch of bald skin or bearing only vellus hair in the temopral region and might assume a triangular shape.
This is a form of non-cicatricial alopecia and the affected skin is otherwise completely healthy. This condition is not progressive and patients affected are generally very good candidate for surgical solutions in form of hair transplant or scalp reduction.
The incidence of this form of alopecia is very low, affecting about 0.1% of the general population.
The cause of this condition is not known, but a report of a father and his son affected by triangular alopecia is suggesting a genetic link.
As shown in the pictures, cosmeticresults after follicular unit transplant are excellent.
Traction alopecia represents a consequence of high-tension hair styles typical of some Afro-American cultures. The chronic tension produces initially a damage to the hair shaft followed by irreversible damage to the dermal papilla. The condition can be reversable if recognized promptly and with appropriate treatment. Hair transplant can offer excellent results to restore a good hair density generally in a single session of FUT or FUE.
Alopecia of the eyebrows can be the consequence of different conditions: traumas or previous surgery, alopecia areata or simply congenital. The hairs in the eyebrow can be restored with a single FUE or FUT. It is possible to recreate the natural orientation and density of hairs, symmetric with the opposite side or as agreed with the patient. The new hairs will grow faster than the surrounding old ones and will need to be trimmed every so often.