Posting for a female friend.
According to what I read females cannot take Finasteride/Dutasteride regardless of being pre or post menauposal, correct?
Is minoxidil/Rogaine the only approved drug for females?
With diffused FBP requiring a HT of only a few hundred FU's, would you agree that FUE makes more sense to densily repack the thinning areas?
Any other options I should know about?

HK500,

I don't know much about the drugs available for women...but I'm pretty certain all finasteride and probably dudasteride is a no no.

Regarding HTs...personally, I would say a woman with diffused FBP simply wouldn't be a good candidate for a hair transplant. The grafted hair would have a chance of being lost as well if more and more thinning occurs. With FPB, the hair thins all over the head, so there really is no "safe" zone, regardless of strip or FUE. Typically females with this type of hairloss resort to hair pieces from what I understand.

Falc

im reading the label on my minoxidil

"Do not use if:
-You are a woman"

Thanks guys. It looks like women have many less options than guys do!!!

We used to hand out samples of minoxidil made especially for women. The box was white and pink. I think they stopped producing it though.

I agree with Falc that it wouldn't really matter if the women opted for FUE or strip. I would personally perfer strip-less time and money.

Thanks Janna,
Are there any drugs that work and are approved for women?

quote:

I agree with Falc that it wouldn't really matter if the women opted for FUE or strip. I would personally perfer strip-less time and money.

Just to clarify and/or reiterate...fora woman with FPB, I wouldn't suggest either strip or FUE or any kind of hair transplant. The donor area is a crap shoot at that point since there is no safe zone. Further thinning all over the scalp means that donor hair is also susceptible and may be lost when grafted.

Falc

Good point Falc.
Janna, why do women bother doing a HT then?
The transplanted hair has a high chance of falling, right?

Generally, we have three types of female patients. 1) they suffer from FPB of thinness all over, 2) they suffer from hair loss similar to a typical MPB, 3) they have an unusually high forehead, or they had a facelift (do not suffer from FPB or MPB)

Even though all of our female patients are fully aware of the risk of potentially losing transplanted hairs sometime down the road, they are willing to risk it as they do not feel they have many options. Our society is geared more for treating the men then the women with hair loss. It’s a strange phenomenon since it’s more acceptable to see a bald man than a bald woman. And of course the women with FPB have the bleakest outcome after surgery, we tend to not get the desired density as their donor supply is minimal. Then on top of that, they may lose the transplants anyway. Our patient base of females with FPB is pretty small.

Besides Minoxidil, I'm not aware of other drugs approved for women.

Janna (and everyone reading),

You're exactly right...there are females that are better candidates for an HT if they suffer from a typical MPB pattern or want to lower their hairline. These are the ideal candidates for an HT. I really think, personally, it's a bad idea for a female with FPB to have an HT, simply for the facts I mentioned above, however, if the patient knows the risks up front and agrees, then it's their decision. This is one of those risky situations, IMO, however...because one could argue that the female patient is making a highly emotional decision and even though they have been made aware of the risks up front, it could be argued that they weren't in a rational state of mind when they made the decision. I'm not saying this to start any kind of argument...I just think clinics that decide to operate on this kind of patient may be opening themselves up to trouble. Notice my use of the word "may" . I say this due to the large possibility that the female patient's expectation may not be met, especially if they start losing grafted hair, and may decide to start a war against the clinic. Hopefully, this would not happen, but it could...that's my only argument here.

Falc

Falc,

You make a very valid point. I would think that this is a true concern but I guess it could be stated that it is always a concern for any type of cosmetic surgery. This is why some larger cosmetic surgeons have employed or make it apart of the process that the patient see a councelor prior.

This is a very good topic. I also think that it is very crucial that all candidates know ahead of time of the expected outcome and possible risks. There are currently a couple of threads going where I believe the male patients had other expectations than what could be provided.

Hi, I'm a 52 yr. old female, always had a high forehead made worse by a brow lift 3 years ago. A company, Ziering Medical, has a consultation office in the town I live in which is 200 miles from Las Vegas. I liked the Dr. and felt she knew her business. She feels I need 1500 grafts, which is about what I felt. Has anybody here had experience with this firm or other offices in the Las Vegas Area? Also (and I know this is personal) but what is the going price per F.U.? I read on different web sites and it's all over the board. I know you get what you pay for but even in the office I visited with there is a $3.00 per FU difference depending on the Dr. and I know you can pay top dollar for bad work also. YIKES!!!

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

Welcome to the forum annsview,
Ziering medical is what we call here a hairmill, like Bosley and others. I consulted with them in the LA area and I can confirm it. You might get a good result from them but you might not. Don't take a channce and go to the coalition or recommended Docs. The average going price is $4 to 5.00 per FU graft.
I strongly recommend you do more research before you make a decision, read my new member reco below:
- Take pictures of you hair, top, front, back and sides and post them here in the photo album section, you'll get a lot of expert advice. For the best way to take pics go to:
http://www.hairtransplantmentor.com/hair-loss-photo-tips.htm

- Ask as many questions as you need, we are here to help. Research, read, learn as much as you can on this forum and on the Multimedia Hair Loss Learning Center:
http://www.hairlosslearningcenter.org/

- Check members Hair Loss Weblogs to find cases similar to yours, the doctors who did their HT and their results:
http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/

- You can also play with the graft calculator to get an idea:
http://www.hairlosslearningcenter.org/mm/calc.html

Don't rush, the more you know, the best choices you'll make. Some members spend months here before reaching their best educated decision.
We are looking forward to more of your details so we can be more helpful.

Thanks for the reply and great information HK500

I see roaming the different web sites on HT, many offices look like chains or as you call them "mills" How do you weed out a good from a bad? Even a Dr. practicing in Vegas that is on the coalition site, Joseph Williams, appears to have multiple offices.

I have a digital camera but it's apparent I need to get proficient in it's use and will get back soon with pictures. Thanks again.

The best way to tell the good from the bad is research, and more research ....
You'll find all the answers on this site, the coalition and recommended Docs are the safe way to go. You can rely on members past experiences to choose your surgeon, check the weblogs, a woman had a good experience recently and she posted there but she is only one voice, so we need to further evaluate the Doc she went to. Take your time before you make your decision.