Female hair restoration is always a special topic that is far different from how hair restoration is performed in men. Starting with the pattern of hair loss, many women typically lose their hair along the central forelock anteriorly with gradually less hair loss going backward toward the crown, which Elise Olsen has referred to as a Christmas-tree pattern. In addition, many women lack sufficient donor hair to create a good result if the hair is not judiciously allocated to areas of maximal hair loss in women. With these two facts combined, it is important to strategize on how to create the most favorable female hair restoration possible given these limitations.

What I have devised is a simplified method of helping a prospective female patient understand how I can address her hair-loss situation with maximal efficiency. Unlike men who lose hair everywhere and continue to do so until they are frankly bald. Women just have hair that gradually thins out but do not progress typically toward total baldness. Therefore, I am able to create a pattern of hair restoration on women that specifically targets the area of baldness and can leverage the benefit of how the hair is parted for optimal camouflage, as will be described.


Female Hair Transplant Design Strategies (from Hair Transplant 360, Lam SM, Jaypee Brothers, 2011)

The T-shape design, as illustrated, permits the ideal shape for a woman who has central hair loss that tapers back to the crown and would desire to wear her hair with a central part. For a woman with a right-sided hair part, an L-shape design may be more ideal so that the bald part is covered as well as the central forelock. The part should be addressed since with hairs splayed open here the area can look particularly bald. Also, hair that is parted can travel over to cover the other areas of baldness effectively. (See the concept of the cascade effect to understand this better). Obviously, the backward-L shape would accommodate a part that goes on the left side of the head for all of the reasons enumerated for a right-sided part.

Samuel M. Lam, MD, FACS is a board certified hair transplant surgeon in Dallas, Texas. To learn more about Dr Lam’s female hair restoration and female hairline lowering procedures and female hair loss, please visit our website hairtx.com or call 972-312-8105 to schedule a consultation.