About Hair Loss and Hair Restoration
To many, a full head of hair represents youth, attractiveness, and desirability both personally and professionally. Millions of individuals suffer from a common age and hormone-related form of hair loss known as androgenetic alopecia (also known as male or female pattern hair loss), which can cause the hair to become progressively thinner until it ceases to grow at all. In addition to androgenic alopecia, there are many other potential causes of hair loss, which can be related to mechanical trauma, nutritional status, physical or emotional stress, changes in health status, medications, autoimmune disease, inflammation, infection, and other causes. All these causes of alopecia can lead to loss of scalp hair, and in some cases, can also lead to the loss of eyebrow, beard, mustache, and body hair. They can also be symptomatic, causing you to experience itching, burning, or pain, in addition to psychological and emotional distress. These widely varying causes of hair loss include:
- Telogen effluvium
- Traction alopecia
- Lichen planopilaris
- Folliculitis decalvans
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Trichotillomania
- Anagen effluvium
- Frontal fibrosing alopecia
- Alopecia areata/totalis/universalis
- Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia
- Medications
- Bacterial or fungal infections
At Gateway Aesthetic Institute and Laser Center, our board-certified dermatologists will use their specialized training and years of experience to diagnose your specific form of hair loss, as well as its underlying causes. These diagnostic techniques may include obtaining a detailed medical history, conducting a thorough physical examination, obtaining laboratory studies, and the possibility of performing a scalp biopsy.
Hair Loss Treatments
In response to the many different causes of hair loss, our board certified dermatologists employ a wide range of treatments to halt the progression of your alopecia, grow your hair back, and improve the health and quality of the hair that you still have. Our dermatologists will devise a customized treatment plan for you, that will treat the underlying cause of your hair loss in a manner that is safely informed by your past medical history, as well as your comfort level with our various treatment options. These treatment options, depending on your type of alopecia, include:
Prescription-strength medications
Depending on the underlying cause of your hair loss, as well as your overall health status, our dermatologists can offer you several medication options for treating your hair loss in a manner that is both safe and efficacious. There are also several prescription strength topical medications that your dermatologist might also recommend as part of your individualized treatment regimen.
Laser hair stimulation
Laser energy, when delivered with appropriate settings and with proper technique, has been shown in clinical studies to help regrow hair by heating and stimulating the scalp. Our board-certified dermatologists are laser experts, and employ the most advanced laser technology to treat hair loss.
Low level light therapy (LLLT)
Red-light therapy has been confirmed in clinical studies to stimulate hair growth. This treatment can either be performed in the clinic with our high-powered red light, or in the comfort and privacy of your own home with a Theradome device. The Theradome is a hat-like device that is lined with numerous red diode lights that should be used at least 3 times weekly for 20 minutes per session. The Theradome is available for purchase in Apothica—our luxury skincare store—and can be shipped directly to you by calling 801-746-7444.
Platelet rich plasma (PRP)
Platelets are blood cells that are naturally found in your own circulation. Your dermatologist will draw your blood to harvest these cells, then use a special separation technique to isolate them in your plasma. This platelet rich plasma is then reinjected into areas of lost or thinning hair to help both stimulate regrowth and improve the strength and quality of the hair that is already growing there. It is recommended to have PRP treatment on a monthly basis until improvements are observed, then 1-4 times yearly for maintenance.
Injectable treatments
In addition to PRP, there are a number of other injections that your dermatologist might recommend to treat your unique form of hair loss. These might include specific medications to treat autoimmune or inflammatory forms of hair loss, or neuromodulators to treat androgenetic alopecia or scarring forms of hair loss. One benefit to injecting medication into areas affected by hair loss is that the drug is placed directly where it is needed and does not disseminate to other areas of the body. Your dermatologist will assess you on an ongoing basis to determine what medication, dose, and treatment schedule will work best for your specific form of hair loss.
High quality nutraceuticals
Nutraceuticals are once daily nutritional supplements that have been specifically formulated with high quality vitamins, minerals, and innovative proprietary ingredients that have been clinically proven to help regrow hair. At the Gateway Aesthetic Institute and Laser Center, we carry the full product line of Nutrafol Hair Growth Supplements, which include specific formulations for women 18-44 years old, women over the age of 45, postpartum women, and men. Nutrafol also offers a special hair growth supplement for vegans. Nutrafol Hair Growth supplements are available for purchase in Apothica—our luxury skincare store—and can be shipped directly to you by calling 801-746-7444.
Topical treatments
In addition to prescription strength topical medications, there are several options for over-the-counter medications that can be useful and affordable additions to a well-rounded hair restoration strategy. Depending on what is causing your hair loss, as well as where you are in your treatment journey, our board-certified dermatologists might recommend that you add one of these topicals to your regimen to complement its other components.
Hair Transplantation with NeoGraft®
With NeoGraft hair transplantation, follicular unit extraction technology is employed to transplant individual hair follicles from the back of the scalp to areas where greater hair density is desired. Several thousand hair follicles can be transplanted during a single treatment session to restore the frontal hairline, increase hair density on the top of the scalp, restore lost or thinning eyebrows, or replace other areas of hair that have been lost to other causes. In appropriate candidates, NeoGraft is the most effective and durable way of restoring areas of lost hair. You can learn more about NeoGraft Hair Transplantation here.
Why Gateway Aesthetic Institute and Laser Center?
Artistic skill combined with sound medical and aesthetic judgment is the key to natural, attractive, and well-balanced results. At Gateway Aesthetic Institute & Laser Center, our board-certified, fellowship-trained dermatologists have over 30 years of experience as pioneers in aesthetic treatments. They take a holistic approach to facial assessment, and take great joy in creating comprehensive, individualized treatment plans that combine a variety of treatment modalities to help patients feel confident and refreshed. When you place your care in the hands of highly experienced, specialty-trained physicians, you can feel confident that your safety, well-being, and beautiful aesthetic outcomes will be meticulously handled.