Question: Is hair transplantation in women more challenging?
Answer: There are unique aspects of hair transplantation in women that can make it more challenging. Women tend to have a diffuse pattern of hair thinning that requires placement of graft within hair-bearing areas, as opposed to in men where hairs are placed in bald areas. Women can experience "shock loss" of their adjacent hair when the grafts are placed among the native hairs, and this can lead to further thinning for up to a year. The diffuse thinning in women also means that there may be less hair at the donor site, resulting in fewer available grafts. Finally, hair loss in women can be due to more complex physiologic or hormonal influences that may need to be addressed.