Hair Restoration

In St. Louis, hair restoration at Ridenour Plastic Surgery is a blend of science and art. Our founder and board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Brock Ridenour will work with you to determine the cause of your hair loss, then tailor a treatment plan accordingly. Dr. Ridenour welcomes questions and seeks to make each patient feel comfortable, heard and confident in making the life-changing decision to undergo a hair restoration procedure. 

For more information about our nonsurgical hair restoration options, please call Ridenour Plastic Surgery at 314-878-8600 or request a consultation online.

Hair Loss in Men

The most common type of hair loss in men is male pattern baldness. As the name suggests, this condition usually follows a predictable pattern, with hair loss starting at the hairline around the temples and gradually receding. Without intervention, the hair loss can progress until hair is left only on the sides and back of the head. Male pattern baldness accounts for over 95% of all hair loss cases in men.

Most cases of hair loss in men can be attributed to one or more of the following causes:

• Male pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia)
• Alopecia areata (an autoimmune disease)
• Heredity (family history of hair loss)
• Changes in hormones
• Medical conditions and medications
• Hairstyles that cause excessive hair pulling
• Scarring from accidents, surgery or burns

Identifying the type of male hair loss you’re experiencing is the first step in determining your ideal treatment plan. The sooner you address your hair loss, the greater the chance of a successful outcome.

Hair Loss in Women

Hair loss in women is more common than many people realize, making it a problem that is fairly prevalent but not often discussed. Many women with hair loss feel isolated in their experience and embarrassed to seek treatment. As today’s beauty standards associate attractiveness and desirability with a full head of hair, hair loss can have a particularly negative effect on a woman’s sense of self and emotional well-being.

Women’s hair loss progresses differently than men’s. Rather than starting with a receding hairline or a bald patch on the crown, it usually begins with diffuse thinning radiating out from the part. Causes of hair loss in women include:

• Female pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia)
• Traction alopecia from tight hairstyles
• Hormonal changes, especially around pregnancy and menopause
• Heredity (family history of hair loss)
• Medical conditions and medications
• Scarring from accidents, surgery or burns
• Significant fluctuations in weight and diet
• Vitamin deficiencies
• Emotional stress

Regenerative Medicine

Our bodies naturally heal themselves in many ways. Imagine the possibilities if we could capture this natural ability to heal and apply it to a range of medical and cosmetic conditions. With regenerative medicine, that is precisely what we can do.

Regenerative medicine focuses on methods to repair, replace or regrow damaged or diseased organs, cells or tissues. Regenerative techniques prompt the body to enact a self-healing response and enhance or accelerate it. This is a relatively new field that may help us discover solutions to some of the most challenging medical problems we face.

For hair restoration, regenerative medicine therapies work by repairing damaged hair follicles and encouraging natural hair growth. These treatments are performed in our St. Louis office under local anesthesia and have no significant downtime for most patients.

 

Nanofat Hair Restoration

Fat grafting is used in plastic and reconstructive surgery to counteract volume loss and redefine the facial features. As our fat grafting techniques grow increasingly sophisticated, we have observed that small amounts of fat can stimulate hair growth when injected into the hair follicle.

A nanofat procedure begins by obtaining fat cells for reinjection. This is done using liposuction where adequate fat is present, typically on the abdomen, thighs, hips or buttocks. Liposuction requires anesthesia and tiny incisions where a cannula will be inserted to remove the fat cells. The harvested fat cells are then processed, purified and placed into a syringe for injection into the scalp.

After nanofat hair restoration, you can expect some discomfort, swelling and bruising in the liposuction treatment area and redness and swelling around the scalp injection sites. You may be asked to wear a compression garment to support and contour the area treated with liposuction. Plan for about a week off work to rest and recover. 

Over the next several weeks, new hair growth will become noticeable in the placement areas. Regrowth will continue to improve over the next several months.

To be a suitable candidate for nanofat hair restoration, you must be prepared to undergo liposuction to obtain fat cells and have enough excess fat to be used for the treatment. Many of our patients are excited by the idea of addressing their hair loss concerns and receiving the slimming benefit of liposuction in the same procedure.

Topical Exosome Therapy

Exosome therapy is one of the newest hair loss solutions. Exosomes are vesicles (tiny particles released from nearly all types of cells) involved in intercellular communication and the spread of proteins, lipids, mRNA, miRNA and DNA. Even though they are significantly smaller than the average cell, exosomes are a rich source of biologically active growth factors that can promote tissue healing and regeneration.

Unlike nanofat, exosome therapy does not require drawing a patient’s blood or harvesting fat. The exosomes are derived from a donor source and purified in an FDA-inspected and audited facility. The treatment is an outpatient procedure with no recovery or downtime, done alone or in combination with hair transplantation or other hair loss treatments.

Exosome therapy is believed to reset the hair cycle, bringing the follicles into the active phase and restarting growth. Exosomes may also help by prolonging the growth stage. Results become apparent in three to six months. The duration of results depends on many variables, including genetics, age, hair quality, degree of hair loss and the use of additional hair loss therapies.