When Is It Too Late For a Hair Transplant?

Men and women experience hair loss at different ages, paces and within various areas around their scalp, hairline and facial hair – and the primary reason a hair transplant surgeon may advise that it is too late for a transplant is because your hair loss has reached a stage where the extent of thinning or balding exceeds the areas of healthy growth.

Advanced hair transplant approaches, such as Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), utilise individually extracted healthy donor follicles, leveraging surgical skill, precision and advanced microscopic equipment to deliver bespoke outcomes.

Much may depend on the underlying factors contributing to hair loss, where some causes, such as stress and traction alopecia, may be easier to correct. In contrast, genetic or hereditary hair loss is unlikely to cease without swift intervention, and a hair restoration treatment, medication, or a series of therapies may be necessary to restore hair growth before a transplant is possible.

Importantly, while age-related hair loss is common, your age is not the primary indicator of the right time to proceed with a hair transplant. Instead, we will analyse the current stage of hair loss against clinical hair loss scales and use this data to determine the right hair restoration method.

When to Book a Hair Transplant Procedure

Hair transplants prove transformative for diverse clients of every age and for men and women looking to reverse signs of hair loss, correct patchy growth, or address thinning or receding hair that is impacting their confidence.

Transplants may be widely suited to many people. Still, it is possible to proceed with a transplant too early or too late, making independent, professional advice key to ensuring you make informed decisions – without the risk of uneven or only partial improvements.

We’ll discuss all these factors during your consultation, with candidacy for a hair transplant depending on elements such as:

• Your age: Hair transplants are available for adults aged 21 and above, but if you are experiencing initial hair loss, it may be too early for a transplant to provide optimal results.
• Your hair loss stage: If hair continues to recede, we will determine on a case-by-case basis whether now is the right time for a transplant or whether this will mean you require further transplants.
• Your overall hair health: The quantity and quality of donor hairs are crucial, and if your hair is thin, sparse or growing unevenly, this can impact our advice.

‘Rest assured that a customised hair transplant is one aspect of a hair regrowth journey, and other therapies and prescription medications may prove a powerful solution to help restore new growth, reactivate dormant follicles, or protect your hair from further thinning or loss before scheduling your hair transplant.

We are nearly always able to help, regardless of the stage of hair loss you are experiencing, and welcome prospective clients to visit their nearest KSL Clinic to learn more.’

Indications That Hair Loss is Too Advanced for a Hair Transplant

Extensive hair loss can impact the viability of a hair transplant because, without sufficient follicles to extract from the donor site, a surgeon cannot replenish the area of hair loss – depending, of course, on the size of the transplant area. [1]

The below circumstances could mean it is too late for a transplant or that an initial hair restoration treatment is needed to stimulate inactive follicles that could be used as donor follicles in a future procedure:

• Low number of healthy follicles

While some therapies, like laser light treatments and PRP, can reactivate dormant follicles, we speak with clients who have undergone low-quality transplants, often abroad, or who have scheduled a hair transplant with another provider too early. That may mean over-harvesting has depleted the number of follicles available to use. 

• Hair loss has reached an advanced stage

Once hair loss has extended beyond a point at which there is a good balance of healthy hair compared to the areas of hair loss, a transplant may not be possible.

If you are concerned about the extent of hair loss or unsure whether a transplant is the best option for you, we advise you to book a consultation where an accomplished hair transplant surgeon will analyse your scalp and hair and recommend the right way forward.

Understanding the Norwood Scale to Assess the Stage of Male Hair Loss

The Norwood Scale [2] is one of the most widely-used tools to assess and grade the extent of androgenetic alopecia, which can impact up to 50% of all people of all genders – although this grading scale is specifically designed to assist with the categorisation of male pattern hair loss. [3]

This scale works based on seven stages of hair loss, as follows:

• Stage 1: There may be slight or minimal hair loss around the hairline or gradual recession, which is unlikely to be noticeable to anybody else.
• Stage 2: The hair around the temples recedes marginally, creating a mature hairline, but one that may not appear to be obvious hair loss.
• Stage 3: Hair starts to recede more deeply at the temples, often creating a shape like the letters M, V or U. This phase is also the first stage of clinically treatable hair loss, with patches of thin or no hair.
• Stage 4: The client’s hairline has continued to recede to a greater extent, and there may be thinning around the crown or top of the head—also called the vertex. Many people see a strip of unaffected hair in between, without hair loss to the sides of their scalp.
• Stage 5: Both areas of hair loss at the vertex and temple are more pronounced, with the band of hair in between becoming narrower and thinner.
• Stage 6: The locations of hair loss become joined together, with a minimal band of hair between or without hair growth.
• Stage 7: This final stage indicates that the person has reached almost complete hair loss, although there may still be some thinner or sparser growth to the sides of the head.

Most hair transplant surgeons agree that hair loss is easiest to correct, treat or reverse between stages three and four, although some restoration may be possible up to stage 6.

Hair loss beyond stage 6 may be more complex to treat, as there may not be sufficient follicles to use within a transplant.

The Ludwig Scale to Determine the Level of Hair Loss in Women

As many as 38% of women experience some extent of hair loss, [4] usually around the crown or front of their hairline, and our surgeons will categorise your current hair loss stage as follows, according to the Ludwig Scale. [5]

• Grade 1: The hair is thinner around the crown of the head and reaches within one to three cm of the temple or front hairline on the forehead.
• Grade 2: Hair loss is more pronounced, with thinner growth across the crown, which is more visible, although still within the same region of the scalp.
• Grade 3: Complete or near-total hair loss throughout the crown of the head, extending towards the temple.

As a rough guide, female hair transplants often work best when a client is towards the later stages of grade one since there are still likely sufficient follicles around the back and sides of the head to complete a personalised hair transplant.

However, that does not necessarily mean that a hair transplant is impossible for women with more pronounced hair loss.

FUE Hair Transplants in Your 20s and 30s

Presumptions about age are common, where clients perceive that hair loss in their 20s or 30s cannot be corrected or reversed with a hair transplant since this type of procedure is only available to older adults.

Hair loss is often difficult to predict but can impact adults at any age, and we treat clients from age 21 and upward. Around 16% of men up to age 29 and 53% between ages 40 and 49 experience moderate or extensive hair loss. [6]

Our recommendations will naturally depend on your current hair loss, thinning, and the health of your scalp and hair. If we believe a hair transplant is unlikely to be a complete success at this stage or that ongoing hair loss will mean further follicles are affected, we’ll advise on the ideal timings.

Professional Advice About Hair Transplant Outcomes

The information and outlines provided here are indicative. Although we use standardised scales to try and assess the level of hair loss, it remains important to schedule a consultation to ensure an experienced hair transplant surgeon can provide more personal advice.

Even in some cases where hair has receded fairly far, or there are areas of baldness, a transplant may be feasible, provided there are enough donor follicles to select from without over-harvesting.

Please get in touch with us anytime to arrange a convenient time to meet with our sector-leading hair restoration specialists.