It is important to understand a hair transplant is not a miracle cure, a hair transplant is just the removal of hair from one place to another. Hair loss medications can play an important part in making a hair transplant work depending on the hair loss pattern of the patient, their rate of hair loss and potential for future loss.

Using medications can be important for those with minimal loss as well as those with more advanced loss; it is important to have realistic expectations as to why you use meds also. Meds will not always "grow" hair, but they can sustain the growth of the native hair and they can improve the quality of the native hair. This can either mean a hair transplant can be postponed for a period of time, or that maybe the hair improves enough to not require a hair transplant, or can reduce the number of grafts required when having a hair transplant.

Meds generally work better as prevention rather than a cure, do not expect them to lower a hair line again when the hair has been lost, this will not happen, but prevention of future loss is important. In the early stages of loss, say NW2-3 and in younger candidates hair loss can progress rapidly, and the trauma of a HT can increase hair loss so meds can reduce this and sustain the growth for much longer, not just making a HT more successful but reduce the need for grafts or the need for another HT as soon.

In more progressive hair loss stages using meds can reduce the graft numbers by sustaining the perimeter area between the recipient and donor areas. The recipient area can grow as the sides and back drop further down and if a HT has been performed and the sides drop leave an island of hair in the centre. If this is the case the amount of grafts required to repair the area can be great and maybe the donor will not be able to deliver the amount required.

All this comes down to planning from the first procedure, understanding where the hair loss may progress and the type of pattern of loss. This in conjunction with knowing what the donor can give should allow for a successful HT now but also for the future and with good education allow the patient to make educated decisions and understand some of the limitations a hair transplant has.

Not all people wish to use meds for whatever reason, and some people are lucky and have great hair characters allowing for high grafts numbers to deal with even aggressive loss, but meds do play an important role for the majority of hair loss sufferers and should not be overlooked.

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