Who Is a Candidate for a Hair Transplant?
Dr. Mark Korman discusses the ideal candidate for FUE and FUT hair transplants in Toronto.
Men and women with thinning or receding hair are candidates for hair transplantation. When performed by an experienced team, like the one at Follicle HT hair transplant clinic in Toronto, the procedure is well tolerated and produces predictable and completely natural results.
While the medical and surgical options that are now available allow us to offer some form of treatment to most with hair loss, there are a number of factors that we consider when determining the most appropriate alternatives for each individual.
Medical Health: Provided that there are no serious underlying medical conditions such as unstable heart disease, bleeding disorders, or active infections, most patients that we see are candidates from a physical health point of view.
Mental and Emotional Health: Another important factor that we look at in potential Toronto patients is emotional stability and an ability to appreciate not only the expected outcomes of treatment, but the limitations as well. Patients need to have realistic expectations.
Other Factors: Other factors that are important in determining an individual’s candidacy for hair transplantation are age, extent and rate of hair loss, and availability of hair in the donor area.
While I do not have an absolute cutoff for age, I am cautious about recommending hair transplants to very young patients. It is sometimes difficult to predict what the eventual extent of hair loss will be in patients presenting in their teens and early 20s, so I often recommend at least a year of medical management to stabilize the situation before considering a transplant. If a transplant is undertaken on a relatively young patient, I favour a very conservative hairline that will continue to look natural even if the patient continues to lose the surrounding non-transplanted hair over time. Sometimes I must spend a long time managing the expectations of younger patients.
Toronto Hair Transplantation for Women: It is a misconception that only men are candidates for hair restoration. This is unfortunate because as disconcerting as baldness can be for men, the emotional and social impact of hair loss on women can be devastating. Social expectations are different for women than they are for men. Most of my male patients recognize thinning hair as a natural, albeit unwelcome, condition. Conversely, my female patients often have significant anxiety about how hair loss is affecting their self-confidence, sexuality, career, dating prospects, or attractiveness to their spouse. Many of my female patients have spent thousands of dollars on hair care products, styling, and a seemingly endless assortment of lotions and potions. As in men, the most common cause of hair loss among women is inherited pattern baldness. However, other underlying conditions may need to be ruled out. While some causes of hair loss may require specialized treatment by an endocrinologist or medical dermatologist, the most common causes of female hair loss can often be effectively treated with medication or with hair restoration surgery. More and more women are now recognizing the reality of hair loss and there is a worldwide trend toward women taking control and seeking treatment, including hair transplantation.
Other Indications for Hair Transplantation: In addition to scalp hair loss, modern hair transplant techniques can address hair loss in the eyebrows, which can be genetically thin or become thinned out by years of plucking. Hair transplantation can also be used to create or restore facial hair and to repair scars or hairline distortion caused by previous trauma or cosmetic surgery.
The Bottom Line: Both men and women who have visible hair loss, are generally healthy, and in whom there is no underlying medical condition requiring further investigation or treatment are candidates for hair transplantation. When performed well on appropriately selected patients with realistic expectations, the procedure generally leads to very gratifying results with marked improvement in hair density. For those who wonder if they are a candidate for hair transplantation, I would say that the time to consider the procedure is when you look in the mirror or at a photograph of yourself, and the hairline that you see does not reflect the way that you feel or the image of yourself that you wish to project to the world.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation at Follicle HT, a renowned hair transplant clinic in Toronto. Take the first step toward a fuller, healthier head of hair!
Book a consultation by visiting – www.follicle.ca or call us at – (905) 764-7799