Hair transplant & female androgenetic alopecia

I was diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia at the age of 20. Ten years later, it started to become really distressing for me. My colleagues began to talk about it or to look at my scalp intently. I needed to find a solution quickly. I then considered both hair transplant and hair topper.

But how to make such a decision when you know nothing about either? I really felt at the time like I had to choose between the plague and cholera. Hair transplant was officially cholera for me. Because having to wear a wig at 30, or undergoing surgery just to have the right to look normal, was very painful for me to consider.

I am sharing my journey and the different elements that helped me make my decision 🥳

What to choose to move forward: hair transplant or hair topper?

Ten years of feeling complexed, focusing on my alopecia. Ten years of seeing only a thinning scalp in the mirror, in elevators, in the windows of the Paris metro in the morning. My daughter is two years old and I can no longer stand seeing myself in photos with her. I sometimes hesitate to take pictures when I know my hair is too dirty for my alopecia to be presentable. I can't stay like this and make myself unhappy. I absolutely need to move forward. But how?

Two solutions are available to me. Hair transplant and hair topper. But how to choose between the two?

I need to assess these two options to make an informed choice.

Hair transplant: first information gathering.

I start to gather information about hair transplants. The information about the results that can be obtained after a hair transplant in men is quite widespread. However, it is difficult to know concretely the effectiveness of hair transplants in women. There are indeed some before/after photos on Google Images. Some are actually impressive. But very few real positive testimonials. Nothing on social media like YouTube, blogs, or elsewhere. I fear that these photos are manipulated by the surgeons, or not representative of all their patients.

This doesn't really reassure me. Especially since I read several times that hair transplants are very ineffective in women. Unlike men, where the donor area for follicle grafts is little or not affected by alopecia, women have a more diffuse alopecia that affects the entire scalp. Androgenetic alopecia is an increased sensitivity of hair follicles to DHT (dihydrotestosterone). If the donor area is itself affected by alopecia, I understand that the grafts will also eventually fall out.

But I am not a dermatologist. This is therefore an understanding based on quick readings on the internet. I decide to go see a clinic specialized in hair transplants. The website of one of the clinics offers to send photos of one's scalp before making an appointment. I do this because doing it remotely at first reassures me as it is difficult for me to talk about this problem, even to specialists. The clinic specialized in hair transplants receives my photos and replies to me:

"Hello Madam, Thank you for your request for information and your photos. Unfortunately, your alopecia is too diffuse to consider a hair transplant."

It's simple, concise, and to the point. But it has the merit of being clear!

In the end, having this answer prevents me from having to choose between hair topper and hair transplant. Because I was really hesitating a lot between these two alternatives.

Indeed, hair transplant is much more expensive (around 5000 euros from what I understand), but I could potentially regain my own hair, unlike a hair topper. It's complicated to consider wearing a toupee/wig/dead fox on my head at 30. I really felt like I had to choose between the plague and cholera. I was ready to spend the 5000 euros. But how to do it when you're not sure of the final result? Or even what it will look like in the long run?

I had also read that it was better to avoid a hair transplant as long as the alopecia could evolve. I was only 30 years old, with one child. Of course, my alopecia was going to evolve further. I have 3 children today, 5 years later (#respect #morelife). My alopecia has significantly evolved in 5 years. And what will happen at menopause? I was asking myself all these questions when I was considering the transplant. And I thought maybe I should wait until I'm 80 for the hair transplant to be feasible for me 😱

Finally, during a hair transplant, the surgeon moves follicular grafts from a donor area to a recipient area. But unfortunately, this does not increase the final density of the hair. A rat tail will unfortunately remain a rat tail after a transplant 🐭! And I don't like rat tails! I prefer foxes 🦊

And what if I really recovered a dream hairstyle?

Alongside this process, I went to a wig and hair topper shop. The process was far from obvious for me as well. But when you have no hair... you do it! 😁 And in the end, the first fitting went quite well. Of course, I initially thought it was obvious, and that it looked like 'too much hair'. But after 30 little minutes in front of the mirror observing myself with a skeptical look, I got used to this new image. And I even managed to find myself a bit pretty.

At that moment, I had not yet received the wonderful email from the clinic. So I was still hesitating a lot between these two options. But I concretely thought that I would never regain as much hair as this hair topper could provide me.

I was seriously considering opting for this option instead. But it was still difficult to make my choice. Because a transplant could also potentially be something that works for me and would allow me to become a normal person again (feeling from that time). In the end, this email relieved me because it was no longer up to me to choose.

And finally, I was happy to think that I was going to have a truly beautiful platinum blonde hairstyle (I would have preferred my hair color, but oh well...) rather than a hair transplant.

This hair topper literally changed my life. I rediscovered myself. I became who I was, who I should have always been. I then developed a real addiction to these products. Some girls are fans of handbags or shoes. I love buying hair toppers and wigs!

I love it so much that I launched my own brand, Comme un diadème, to make women aware of this wonderful solution. And above all, to offer them even more beautiful models.

I am happy to now participate daily in the democratization and normalization of these products, especially on social networks like on my YouTube channel Comme un diadème:

Or on my Instagram where a true community is forming around alopecia and hair supplements:

And if you also want to adopt a beautiful fox 🦊 and avoid hair transplant, it's on the site Comme un diadème:

If you are considering a hair transplant, I can only advise you to meet at least two specialist dermatologists to ensure that the procedure is appropriate for your case. Indeed, it is really important to be sure to see someone who can advise you honestly and only perform the procedure if it is truly effective for you in the short and long term.