If you are balding and are of Asian ancestry, you might wonder if your ethnicity will influence your success at hair restoration. While there are some unique factors that make hair restoration procedures somewhat different for Asians than other races, the overall chance of success is still roughly about the same.
One benefit Asians have over other races is that their individual hairs are thicker while the actual number of hairs is lower. This also means that the space between hairs is considerably larger. Therefore, moving hair from the donor site to the restoration site with hair restoration surgery is surprisingly easy. Fewer hairs overall have to be extracted from the donor area. Likewise, the thinning that occurs with most hair transplants is not as noticeable on Asians as it might be with other ethnicities.
Asians are somewhat more vulnerable to scarring than Caucasians, but less so than those of African descent. If a scar, infection, or discoloration of your scalp occurs following a hair restoration procedure, stop in to see a physician. Usually, if acted upon early, you can reverse the scarring. The likelihood of scarring in general is usually low if the doctor performing the surgery is competent.
One interesting fact is that Asian women are more prone to hair loss than other ethnicities. Hair restoration procedures for women are often a whole different animal than procedures used for men. Asian women experiencing hair loss should make sure that any procedure or products they purchase are specially designed for women to use. Asian women are also considerably more prone to body hair loss than other women. Some women might not consider this a bad thing, but others should see a specialist if it’s a problem to them.
Asian hair also sits differently on the scalp, which can present a challenge to a surgeon not used to dealing with Asian hair. Caucasian hair follicles tend to emerge straight out from the scalp, while African follicles take a spiral or radial sort of design. Asian hair, on the other hand, pokes out perpendicular to the scalp. If your hair transplant surgeon doesn’t take this into account, your head will look like a total mess.
If you’re particularly obtuse, the common theme here is to check with the surgeon doing the hair replacement procedure. See if they have experience with any clients of Asian descent, and if they have any before and after photos of an Asian client who had elected for the surgery.
