Hair Loss Questions, Answered —
Short Answers First

• Shedding or thinning? Handfuls after an illness point to shedding; a wider parting or visible crown, to thinning. Hair fall treatment sets out the difference.
• Is it male pattern loss? Usually, when temples recede or the crown opens. See male hair loss.
• Why are women assessed differently? Their thinning is usually diffuse with the hairline kept, and more causes need excluding. See female hair loss.
• Which medicines are used? Topical minoxidil, and oral finasteride for men, after the pattern is confirmed; whether either suits you is decided at a consultation. See hair loss medications.
• Where do laser and micrografting fit? On top of medical treatment, never instead of it: H2LT laser and Regenera Activa.
• Is a transplant the answer? Only for bare zones with enough donor hair. Hair transplantation is a surgical procedure; at Atelier, Dr SY assesses whether and when one makes sense. See hair transplantation.

It depends on which kind it is, and that is the reason the diagnosis comes before any product. Shedding after a fever, surgery, childbirth, crash dieting or a deficiency usually settles once the trigger has passed or been corrected. Traction loss from tight styles regrows if the pulling stops early. Patches of alopecia areata can regrow because the follicle is attacked, not lost.

Pattern loss is different. A follicle that has miniaturised still makes a fine hair and can respond to treatment; one that has stopped producing hair cannot be reopened. Bare, shiny scalp largely does not respond to medicines or laser. In scarring conditions the aim is to stop the process, not regrowth.

Book an assessment when any of these apply:

• shedding that continues beyond about six months after the event that started it;
• a parting that stays wider, a crown you can see in overhead light, or temples that keep moving back;
• smooth bald patches, or an itchy, red, scaly or sore scalp;
• thinning eyebrows or a pale, smooth band along the hairline, which can signal a scarring condition;
• shedding that began after a new medicine. Do not stop it without speaking to the doctor who prescribed it.

Extensive alopecia areata and suspected scarring alopecia are referred to dermatology. Patients under 18 should contact the clinic about consent before booking.

For simple shedding, waiting is often reasonable once blood tests have ruled out iron, thyroid or nutritional causes. For pattern loss, waiting is paid for in follicles. Each growth cycle under DHT produces a finer, shorter hair, and the follicles still in that state are the ones medicines and laser can work on. A year spent watching moves some of them past the point of response.

That is not a reason to rush. It is a reason to have the scalp staged and photographed early, so the next decision rests on measured change.