Q: You said I was not a good candidate for a hair transplant because my donor area was too thin. Since finasteride and minoxidil can increase the thickness of the hair, could it make a hair transplant possible?

A: Unfortunately, the medication will not affect the donor area and, therefore, not make a person with low donor density a candidate for a hair transplant.

The lead article in the March/April 1997 issue of Hair Transplant Forum International focuses on the latest tools available for assessing whether or not a person experiencing hair loss is a good candidate for hair transplant surgery.

Dr. Bernstein uses the techniques of densitometry and video-microscopy to analyze the scalp under high-powered magnification. This gives the doctors vital information for making decisions about whether patients are candidates for hair transplant surgery.

Q: Dr. Bernstein, I was reading about a densitometer on your website. What is it and what is it actually used for? A: The hair densitometer was introduced to hair restoration surgeons by Dr. Rassman in 1993. It is a small, portable, instrument that has a magnifying lens and an opening of 10mm2. To use [...]

Q: Dear Dr. Bernstein, a full head of hair averages ~100 FU/cm2. To achieve the appearance of fullness with a hair transplant 50% is required. In one of your articles you say that you recommend 25 FU / cm2 to your patients. Is that the density per one session or the final one? If that [...]

Q: Can you get your original density back with a hair transplant? A: Although the cosmetic benefit can be dramatic, a hair transplant only “moves” rather than creates new hair. In surgical hair restoration, a limited amount of hair from the donor area is transplanted to a much larger area in the front and top [...]