Hair Loss
Our hair restoration surgeons are here for you. Our team of hair loss specialists are dedicated to supporting your success and ensuring that you achieve your health and overall wellness goals.
What Is Hair Loss?
Hair loss, known medically as alopecia, is a disruption of the normal hair growth cycle that leads to thinning, shedding, or permanent loss of hair on the scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, or body. It is one of the most common concerns patients bring to a physician and also one of the most frequently misdiagnosed, because many distinct conditions can produce what appears in the mirror to be the same thinning. The most important distinction is between non-scarring and scarring hair loss. In non-scarring alopecia the follicle remains alive and can often be reactivated with medical therapy, especially when treated early. In scarring alopecia, inflammation permanently destroys the follicle and replaces it with fibrous tissue, and hair that has been lost cannot regrow. Because the window for intervention in scarring alopecia is limited, early and accurate diagnosis matters a great deal.
What Are the Causes of Hair Loss?
The causes of hair loss are wide-ranging, and many patients have more than one contributing factor at the same time. Common causes include:
Androgenetic alopecia, also known as male pattern and female pattern hair loss
Genetic predisposition and family history
Hormonal changes during pregnancy, the postpartum period, perimenopause, and menopause
Thyroid disease, including both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism
Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) (previously known as Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)) and other causes of androgen excess
Iron deficiency, low ferritin, vitamin D deficiency, and inadequate protein intake
Telogen effluvium (shock loss) following illness, surgery, childbirth, or emotional stress
Rapid or substantial weight loss, including weight loss achieved with GLP-1 medications
Alopecia areata and other autoimmune conditions
Traction alopecia from braids, weaves, extensions, locs, and persistently tight styling
Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA), which disproportionately affects Black women
Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) and lichen planopilaris (LPP)
Seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis, and other inflammatory scalp conditions
Medications, including certain antidepressants, beta blockers, anticoagulants, retinoids, and chemotherapy
Trichotillomania and other hair-pulling behaviors
Scarring from trauma, burns, radiation, or previous surgery
Age-related decline in follicle density and hair shaft caliber
Because hair loss so often sits at the intersection of endocrinology and nutrition, patients benefit from exactly the kind of multidisciplinary evaluation that Well by Messer was built to provide. A patient whose shedding began three months after starting a weight loss medication, or whose thinning tracks with an untreated thyroid condition, needs those pieces addressed together rather than in isolation.
What Are the Treatments and Therapies for Hair Loss?
Treatment begins with diagnosis. A thorough evaluation includes a detailed history, examination of the scalp and hair with trichoscopy, targeted laboratory testing, and in selected cases a scalp biopsy. Only once the mechanism is clear can therapy be properly matched to it. These are some of the treatments and therapies offered at Well by Messer:
Comprehensive diagnostic evaluation with trichoscopy and laboratory testing
Topical minoxidil
Low-dose oral minoxidil
Finasteride and dutasteride for androgenetic alopecia
Spironolactone and other anti-androgen therapy for female pattern hair loss
Correction of iron, vitamin D, and other nutritional deficiencies
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy
Low-level laser therapy products
Hair transplantation surgery, including FUE, linear strip excision, and unshaven techniques
Eyebrow and eyelash hair transplantation surgery
Hairline lowering and forehead reduction for a high or receded hairline
Scalp reduction for scarring alopecia-related areas of hair loss
Scalp micropigmentation and camouflage guidance
Medical therapy and surgical restoration are not competing options. Nearly every surgical patient remains on a medical regimen, because a transplant redistributes hair but does not stop the underlying process that caused the loss. The most durable results come from doing both.
How Can Well by Messer Help You with Hair Loss?
At Well by Messer, our hair restoration surgeons provide expert care for patients experiencing hair loss. Our approach begins with finding out why you are losing hair rather than moving straight to treatment. From there we build a plan that may combine medical therapy, regenerative treatment, and surgery, and we adjust it over time as your hair responds. Working alongside our endocrinologists, gynecologists, internists, and dietitians, we can address thyroid disease, hormonal imbalance, nutritional deficiency, and hair changes that sometimes follow medical weight loss, all within one practice. We treat hair loss in men and women of every hair type and texture.
Meet Your Well by Messer Team
Under the leadership of top endocrinologist in New York, Dr. Caroline Messer, our caring and talented team of board-certified endocrinologists (adult and pediatric), internists, gynecologists, urologists, psychologists, plastic surgeons, dietitians, and personal trainers will be dedicated to supporting your long-term health & wellness at our locations in Manhattan, Greenwich (CT), Great Neck (Long Island) and soon to be Miami (FL)!
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