Male pattern baldness is the most common type of hair loss in men. It can be a frustrating thing seeing your hair thinning more week by week. Dr. Barrera knows the experience firsthand, as he has had three transplant procedures himself. That’s why he places an emphasis on hair transplantation procedures at his Houston practice.

What is male pattern baldness?

Male pattern baldness accounts for over 95 percent of hair loss in men. By age 35, two thirds of American men will have some degree of appreciable hair loss. By age 50, 85 percent of men have significantly thinning hair.

What causes male pattern baldness?

Clinically titled androgenetic alopecia, male pattern baldness (MPB) can be blamed on heredity in most cases. Men who suffer from MPB inherit hair follicles with a genetic sensitivity to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Hair follicles sensitive to DHT begin to miniaturize, which shortens the lifespan of each hair follicle affected. As the follicles become smaller they produce hair that is shorter and finer. Eventually these follicles will stop producing hair.

Male pattern baldness follows the pattern of a receding hairline coupled with thinning on the crown of the scalp. These areas seem to have hair most sensitive to DHT. As the man’s baldness advances, the entire top will usually become bald with a remaining horseshoe of hair on the sides and back.

Hair transplantation

To treat male pattern baldness, Dr. Barrera uses a form of hair transplantation using numerous very small grafts. These are called micrografts (containing 1-2 hair follicular units) and minigrafts (containing 3-4 hair follicular units). In a transplantation session, Dr. Barrera uses large numbers of these grafts, from 1000 to 2800.

A strip of scalp is taken from the donor area at the back of the scalp. This area usually doesn’t suffer from MPB. Dr. Barrera uses this method over the current rage, follicular unit extraction, because he feels more of the hair follicles survive transplantation. Plus, his surgical expertise makes the scar at the incision site far less noticeable than older transplantation methods.

Results

Your transplanted hair initially grows for about 10 days and then most of it falls out. This can be depressing, but there’s no need to worry. The follicles are simply responding to the stress of the transplantation process. Within 3-4 months these transplanted follicles usually return to the growth phase of the hair lifecycle and start growing new hair. By 5 to 6 months you’ll see significant improvement.

Are you interested in doing something about your male pattern baldness? Call Dr. Barrera at (713) 468-5200 to schedule a consultation.