“I Hated My Hairline, So I Got a New One”

“I Hated My Hairline, So I Got a New One”

A female hair transplant patient recounts her experience at Bernstein Medical.

Like many women, Alden Wicker felt self-conscious about her naturally high hairline and burdened with the high-maintenance of trying to keep her bangs perfectly positioned to cover her forehead. Alden discovered an article on Dr. Robert M. Bernstein, founder of Bernstein Medical – Center for Hair Restoration and pioneer of Follicular Unit Transplantation, and decided to see if he could fix her hairline. In an article she contributed to Racked, an online magazine published by Vox Media, Ms. Wicker describes her experience with Bernstein Medical and how thrilled she is will the results of her hair transplant.

Since the age of 13, Alden wanted full, voluminous hair and a lower hairline. After 16 years of covering her forehead with bangs, she started researching how to fix her naturally high hairline. In the course of her research, she stumbled on a 2009 article in the New York Times that featured Dr. Bernstein’s work in treating women with receding hairlines. She decided to come to his NY office for a consultation.

After Dr. Bernstein explained that she was a good candidate for a hair transplant, Alden scheduled her procedure for a cold Friday in January. Alden describes the entire procedure, including how Dr. Bernstein removed the strip and made sure the aesthetic plan was followed to a “T”.

She speaks about her post-op recovery and positive lifestyle changes that resulted from her procedure:

“By Tuesday, I was easily able to cover my forehead with my bangs and use BB cream to cover the yellowish cast to my forehead, the last remnants of the swelling and bruising.”

“When I went in for a trim before Memorial Day weekend and showed my hairdresser the new hairline, he was thrilled and started plotting with me to grow out my bangs.”

Alden even recollects how the transformation affected her self-esteem on a very important day, her wedding day. She says, “My new hairline had grown in enough to let my hairdresser pull the new hair back on the sides into a loose half-up style.”

Her bottom line:

“I bought myself aesthetic freedom, a carefree attitude, more minutes in my day that I could focus on living instead of ironing my hair and cringing at photos. And in that sense, it was totally worth it. My only regret is that I didn’t do this earlier.”

The article is titled, “I Hated My Hairline, So I Got a New One.”

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What is the Incidence of Hair Loss in Adults?

Q: How common is hair loss in adult men and women? — N.F., Bronxville, NY

A: The incidence of androgenetic alopecia (common baldness) is quite high for both men and women. By age 50, 50% of men and 30% of women are affected. By age 70, that increases to 80% of men and 60% of women. Fortunately, in spite of significant thinning, women often preserve their hairline and have a diffuse pattern, so their hair loss can be camouflaged for many years.

Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D.

Is A Hair Transplant For Women Different Or More Difficult Than One For Men?

Q: Is the hair transplant for women different from the one for men? Anything easier? Anything more difficult?

A: Women’s hairlines are far more complex than men’s as the hair in a women’s hairline often creates subtle swirls and directional changes. These must be mimicked in the surgical design for the hair transplant to look natural.

In women, we are more often working in and around existing hair, as most women that seek hair transplantation are thinning rather than bald. This slows down the graft insertion steps and makes the procedure take a bit longer compared to men.

Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D.

Dr. Bernstein Performs Hair Transplant on Fox News Hair Loss Special

Dr. Bernstein discusses the technique of follicular unit hair transplantation in a Fox News segment on hair loss and hair transplantation. In the video, he discusses the use of the Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT) procedure to correct hair loss and camouflage scarring that resulted from the surgical removal of a large skin cancer on the patient’s scalp. You can see this patient’s before and after photos in our Women’s Gallery.