When patients come in for a consultation at Medi Tresse we always ask them what is the goal of their hair loss treatment. The reason for this is to make sure we can set proper expectations for what can be achieved from our treatments. With all of our treatments, we have three main goals; stop further loss, make the hair you have healthier, and if possible regrow hair. We like to remind all of our patients that attaining any of these goals is a success.
Stopping further loss is the most important step, as we want to prevent further thinning on the scalp. Unfortunately, most hair loss is progressive, which means it will continue if not treated. Through our treatments, if we are able to prevent further loss that is truly a success! While it may be difficult to appreciate stopping the loss, the truth is that without treatment the progressive thinning would continue and the hair loss would get worse. That is why it is so important to start treatment early.
Our second goal through treatment is to encourage growth of healthier hair. Over time, as hair follicles age, they actually miniaturize or decrease in diameter, and eventually will be lost for good. Our goal is to reverse this miniaturization to promote thicker hair growth.
When patient’s have lots of miniaturized follicles, you are able to see the scalp much easier, which gives the look of more significant loss. When we are able to reverse this miniaturization and provide thicker healthier hair, the scalp is less visible and the appearance of hair loss can decrease greatly.
The final goal, if possible, is to regrow hair. While the reversal of miniaturization actually gives the appearance of regrown hair, there are times we can actually regrow dormant follicles. If a dormant follicle is still alive we hope to be able to reactivate it into an active growth phase to grow the hair. However, this is not always possible if the follicle has been dormant for too long, which can occur if the hair loss has been progressing for many years.
