Noticing less hair when you shower or style your locks? You’re in good company. About 50% of women and over 80% of men struggle with significant hair loss. Not all hair loss is alike.

All types of hair loss result when your natural hair growth cycle gets disrupted. This cycle involves three main phases:

• The anagen or growth phase (two to six years)
• The catagen or transition phase (about 10 days)
• The telogen or resting and shedding phase (two to three months)

At Honest Hair Restoration in Bradenton and Tampa, Florida, board-certified physician Martin Maag, MD, and the team evaluate your specific hair loss to create a customized hair restoration treatment plan that addresses your unique needs.

Keep reading to learn about the two most common patterns of hair loss and what each means for you. 

Type 1: Androgenetic alopecia

The most common hair loss for both men and women is androgenetic alopecia, or male or female pattern baldness. In fact, researchers estimate about 95% of hair loss in men is because of androgenetic alopecia.

This pattern of hair loss is hereditary, meaning if one of both of your parents experienced it, your risk of this type of baldness is higher. Male and female pattern baldness results when your hair follicles react to a byproduct of testosterone. 

In reaction to the chemical, your hair follicles shrink, and their lifespan grows shorter and shorter. Eventually, the affected follicles stop producing new hair and baldness or widespread thinning results. 

In men, androgenetic alopecia causes a receding hairline, less hair on the crown, and eventually, baldness. In women, hair typically thins more evenly across the scalp or thins from the center part out, though rarely leading to baldness.

What it means for you

Although you can’t control the genes that lead to male or female pattern balding, you can take steps to slow hair loss or restore your hair. The right treatment depends on the stage of hair loss you’re in and the condition of your scalp.

The first line of treatment is often medication to slow hair loss or nonsurgical treatments, like low-level laser therapy or platelet-rich plasma treatments to stimulate hair growth. Your provider may also suggest a hair transplant to create permanent hair restoration in thinning areas. 

Type 2: Involutional alopecia

This hair loss pattern is the second most common after male and female pattern baldness. It typically develops as part of the natural aging process when your hair growth slows, leading to a shorter growing phase. 

As a result, your hair follicles move into the resting phase of the hair cycle, where they are shed faster. This causes a gradual and progressive thinning of the hair, usually fairly evenly distributed across the scalp. It also leads to shorter hair, since the growth phase is shorter. 

What it means for you

First, be sure to talk to your medical provider and rule out any underlying health conditions that can affect your hair. As a medical doctor, Dr Maag can correctly diagnose your hair loss and suggest the best treatment for involutional alopecia. 

Patients with early-to-mid-stage involutional alopecia have found success with therapies that stimulate the hair follicles and promote natural hair growth, like platelet-rich plasma therapy and low-level laser therapy. For more advanced hair loss, hair transplant with follicular unit extraction (FUE) may be recommended. 

Hair restoration options

Dr. Maag at Honest Hair Restoration evaluates your hair loss through the lens of a medical doctor. This means you can rest assured our team isn’t trying to sell you on a particular treatment, but rather provide you with information about the best hair restoration approach for your unique needs. 

Before creating a customized hair restoration plan, Dr. Maag reviews your medical history, family hair loss history, and the condition of your scalp and existing hair. The right treatment depends on these factors and your type of hair loss. 

Some of our most popular therapies include:

• Custom-blended, prescription and prescription-strength medications
• Low-level laser therapy (LLLT)
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy
• Hair transplant surgery

For an evaluation of your hair loss and personalized hair restoration treatment recommendations, schedule a consultation online or over the phone with Dr. Maag and the Honest Hair Restoration team at our Florida office nearest you. 

Millions of American men and women experience thinning hair. The good news is that effective treatments exist to restore your hair and help you feel better about your appearance. 

Board-certified physician , and the team at  in Bradenton and Tampa, Florida, use a patient-centric approach to determine the best hair restoration solutions for your unique needs.

We know no two people—and no two heads of hair—are the same. That’s why our practice offers , including nonsurgical and surgical therapies. Keep reading to learn which is right for you. 

Nonsurgical hair restoration

Nonsurgical hair restoration options provide a way to address hair loss and improve hair growth without surgery. At Honest Hair Restoration, Dr. Maag has selected the safest and most effective nonsurgical therapies. Here’s a closer look:

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT)

Studies show low-level laser therapy is a safe and effective way to help men and women regrow thinning hair. 

This treatment uses near-infrared energy to increase blood flow to your scalp. The different wavelengths also trigger cell regeneration, stimulating your hair follicles to grow new hair. 

There are few side effects, making LLLT a good option for most people. To enhance your results, Dr. Maag may recommend combining this treatment with other nonsurgical therapies. 

Custom-blended medications

As a medical doctor, Dr. Maag has unique insights into how prescription and non-prescription medications can help restore your hair. He custom blends the right combination to slow hair loss or promote hair regrowth, depending on your needs.

Honest Hair Restoration offers options for both men and women. Results take time since the medications enhance your natural hair growth cycle. Generally, you can expect noticeable effects to begin after three to six months. 

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy

Your blood contains platelets, which house special growth factors that stimulate cell growth. Dr. Maag and the team can harness the power of your platelets to help you regrow hair without side effects or serious risks.

We take a small amount of blood from your arm, then place it in a centrifuge to separate the platelets. The platelet plasma contains 5-10 times more platelets than your blood naturally has, so when we inject it into your scalp, it simulates your follicles to grow new hair. 

Surgical hair transplants

A surgical hair transplant offers a natural-looking, fuller head of hair. Dr. Maag and the team use the most advanced processes and techniques: follicular unit extraction (FUE). 

FUE means we remove each hair follicle graft individually using specialized tools. As a result, you don’t have visible scars—each graft leaves a tiny scar that’s no more than one millimeter in size. 

The transplanted hair sheds a few weeks after your surgery, however, the grafted roots take hold. This gives you lasting results as new hair grows in following your natural hair growth cycle. 

It takes between four to five months for new hair to grow from the grafted follicle and about one year for full hair growth after your treatment. 

Although there’s no guarantee of permanent results of regrowing a completely full head of hair, Dr. Maag works hard to meet your goals of restoring as much as possible with natural-looking results. 

Choosing the right hair restoration

The right hair restoration treatment is the one that best meets your unique needs. As a medical 

doctor, Dr. Maag assesses your scalp health, hair loss, and medical history to recommend the right hair restoration therapy for your specific goals and hair loss level.

For some patients, nonsurgical approaches alone are enough to help them meet their goals. For others, a hair transplant or combination of therapies may be what’s needed to provide a thicker, fuller head of hair. 

Ready to learn which type of hair restoration treatment will best meet your unique needs? Schedule a consultation online or over the phone with Dr. Maag and the Honest Hair Restoration team at the Florida office nearest you. 

If you’re a woman struggling with hair loss, it’s easy to feel embarrassed and alone. But the truth is that more than half of all women in the US will experience noticeable hair loss or thinning at some point in their lives. 

The most common cause of hair loss in women is called female-pattern hair loss (FPHL), which causes a widening of the hair part and thinning on the crown of the head. This common condition affects about 30 million American women, and it can strike at any age after puberty. 

At Honest Hair Restoration in Bradenton and Tampa, Florida, board-certified physician , and our compassionate team understand the unique toll that hair loss takes on women. We offer hair loss evaluations and personalized treatment to help restore your hair and your confidence. Keep reading to learn more about FPHL and why early treatment is key. 

Understanding female-pattern hair loss

Researchers are still working to understand the exact cause of female-pattern hair loss, or androgenetic alopecia. However, they do know it’s usually caused by a rather than a single event. 

First, women with FPHL have an inherited genetic trait that’s passed down from either their father’s side, mother’s side, or both. This increases the risk of thinning hair or baldness. 

Second, , or male hormones, also play a key role in the development of FPHL. Though women don’t have as many androgens as men, these hormones are still present and are essential in regulating hair growth. 

When the androgens are out of balance, the growth phase of the hair cycle shortens, meaning it takes longer for new hair to grow after it naturally sheds. In addition, this imbalance also affects the health of the hair follicle, causing it to shrink. As a result, thinner, shorter hair replaces shed strands. 

Finally, other factors can play a role in the development or progression of FPHL, including things like:

• Emotional or physical stress
• Diet or nutritional deficiencies
• Hormonal imbalances
• Certain medications
• Underlying health conditions

FPHL can start at any time of life after puberty, but it’s more common in women , and the risk increases with age, especially after menopause. 

Why early treatment of FPHL is important

The signs of FPHL are typically on the crown of the head and at the part. You may observe your part becoming wider or that your hair seems less dense on the crown (top-center area) of your head. 

Although it’s possible to try to hide thinning hair by changing your hairstyle, if you want to maintain and restore as much of your hair as possible, it’s important to seek out a consultation with a hair-loss specialist at the first signs of FPHL for several reasons:

First, FPHL is a condition. This means that as time passes, your hair loss will worsen. Early treatment and intervention help slow or stop the progression of FPHL, which can make treating your hair loss easier. 

Next, when you start treatment early, the health of your hair follicles is protected. This means less damage to the follicles responsible for growing new hair, which is key since the longer hair follicles are inactive, the more challenging it is to stimulate the growth of new hair. 

Finally, if you have any underlying conditions or factors contributing to or exacerbating your hair loss, such as hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, or thyroid problems, early diagnosis and treatment of these issues can slow or prevent further hair loss while helping you grow new hair. 

Treating FPHL

At Honest Hair Restoration, Dr. Maag takes a personalized, patient-centered approach to treating FPHL. The best treatment for your FPHL depends on the stage of hair loss you’re in and the condition of your scalp.

Though every patient is different, Dr. Maag typically recommends nonsurgical therapies, like platelet-rich plasma () treatments, low-level , or custom-blended to slow hair loss 

For women with advanced thinning, Dr. Maag may also recommend a to permanently restore hair in thinning or bald areas. The team at Honest Hair Restoration uses a technique called follicular unit extraction () to give you the best results possible. 

FUE involves removing each hair follicle graft individually, which leaves a tiny scar less than a millimeter in size. This means instead of a large scar across your scalp, you have . 

To get started on personalized treatment recommendations for FPHL, online or over the phone with Dr. Maag and the Honest Hair Restoration team at the Florida office most convenient to you.