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im an african american male who wants to go get my hair examined for minuturization.The only problem is that my hair is high like in a small afro.Do i have to cut my hair and have a short haircut for the doctor to be able to check for minuturization

No, you do not have to cut your hair to get your hair mapped out for a miniaturization analysis.

This is an African American patient 8 months after a single hair restoration procedure of 2148 grafts and a Norwood Class 3V balding pattern. Click the photos to enlarge.

Here’s his before photos for comparison:

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I’m a 24 year old female with African origin. I would like to lower my hairline through transplant. Would there be a problem for someone like myself with afro hair to get a hair transplant done? How much would it cost?

Women with African hair should not be a problem for hairline lowering procedures, providing there is no tendency to scarring. Costs of hair transplants will be about $6,000 (rough estimate) with possibly two procedures to accomplish the goals provided that the hair supply is adequate. The hairline lowering procedure costs can be found here and if any scar should show up, then transplants may be needed to address any widened scar.

I am a 46yr old african american fenale. I have thining hair and I am letting my hair go natural. The hair salon I attend uses a process where you sit under a steamer with the conditioner to build moisture and blows drys and flat irons your hair with a ceramic ionic blow dryer and flat iron. Since I am an active person I sweat and my hair converts back. The stylist says it is ok to use these items on a daily basis because it seals in moisture unlike the regular blow dryers and flat irons. Does this make sense? I don’t want to do any more damage. If this process is ok, do I need to wash my hair each time since it is sweaty? I’ve searched your site and can’t find anything addresee ceramic ionic tools. Thank you for considering my problem.

Heat treating your hair the way you do will cause damage to it. Is it permanent damage? Well, it could be. I would think that a good stylist learned how to balance the damaging elements for hair straightening. This is where the ‘art’ comes into play in what your stylist does. I can not comment on her explanation, but if what she is doing is working, then continue with her approach with caution.

I am a 40 year old African-American male with a receeding hairline. I have been thinking about hair transplants, but am worried that they will not take or fall out as I relax (straighten) my hair. Will the chemicals in these relaxing products damage the hair grafts? Thanks … this site is incredibly helpful.

As long as you wait on using the relaxers for a few weeks it should not affect the hair grafts. People can color their hair 2+ weeks after hair transplants. Using relaxers is not much different.

I am a 35 year old African American male. I started balding about 10 years ago. I recently started getting dark spots on certain parts of my scalp, and no hair grows around the dark spots. Sometimes it itches could you tell me what this might be and what is the best way to treat this condition. Thanks for your help Dr.

I would have to see what you are describing. Please send me pictures to the address on the Contact page (and reference this post when sending).

I’ve read some of the cases and almost feel that I may have “traction alopecia”. I’m a black female with balding hair for over 20 years, it’s been a very very slow process as you can see. But the top of my head is extremely thin and I have a quarter sized dead spot which has no hair at all. I get tiny bumps, razor bumps, bleeding if massaged on occasions. My hair is very short. It will grow on the sides, but the top front to the crown is stuggling for survival. Any advise? Thank you!

You need to be examined by an expert. Since you indicated you were in New Jersey, Dr. Robert Bernstein in Fort Lee, NJ could help you.

no family history.except half brother.(we have same mother.)he went bald early from the crown first.no one else on mothers side is bald at all.could infection in testicle produce high testosterone.And my head has been itching alot throughout the day for a couple months now.would rogaine damage what i have there if i tried it just to ease my self conciensce?

I do not think that your testicle infection should be the cause of high testosterone or your hair loss. If you have a high testosterone level, I would want to know why. Your hair loss pattern from the pictures you sent show an incomplete Norwood Class 4A pattern. That is fairly extensive in your frontal area. Rogaine may help, but finasteride (Propecia) would probably be better for you. Usually frontal hair loss does not respond to medications and only wigs or hair transplants will give you the coverage that looks full. African hair is generally better than Caucasian hair because of the curly nature of it (it wants to cover better). If you are in California, consider visiting me at either my San Jose office or my Los Angeles office.

I understand you say that the hairline matures at ages 17-29 depending on the person (race,genetics,etc.). when would u say african americans usually start to recede? i’m african american 18 yr whos temples began to recede a little and there is no balding on my mother side and receded hairlines on my father side.

Everyone varies. African hairlines are often flatter than northern European hairlines, so there is less a genetic propensity for the African hairline to behave as the photos show on the Maturation of a Hairline — Moving From Juvenile to Mature post. Still, although there are no absolute statistics, I believe that the mature hairline takes on a different appearance in people with African heritage. Where I believe than 96% of Caucasian males get the hairline shown in the above link, that number is substantially less in men with an African heritage. The mature African hairline, if it does undergo the changes shown above, should fall into the same age group. These hairline pattern also applies to Indians from India, many people from the Middle East and a large segment of men from Asian populations in China, Japan and Korea.

Good question!

I am an african American female 35 years old. My entire crown is bald. What do I do now? I’ve been using 2% minoxidil and it continues to fall out.

You need to be seen for close examination of your hair and scalp. A diagnosis should be made. You could have a variety of non-genetic hair conditions causing it. You might have genetic female balding limited to the crown as well. I need to know the miniaturization mapping results of your scalp and the pattern of your hair loss before making any diagnosis and treatment plan. You need a good doctor to take charge of your hair loss.