I had an FUE hair transplant with Dr. Wasserbauer and couldn't have had a better experience. She is very honest and realistic and did not try to sell me on her services. Unfortunately there are many doctors in this field who do not have her ethics and honesty. The office staff is very friendly and relaxed and I was treated like royalty. Dr. Wasserbauer has a great personality and makes you feel at ease the moment you meet her. I cannot recommend her enough and will utilize her services again in the future. She is simply the best in her field!
Dr. Sara is awesome, as is her staff. I have had two hair transplant procedures -- the second one just recently. I did the second because the first transplant was so successful. The hair looks totally natural. I feel much better about myself, which surprised me quite a bit. How could some hair on the top of my head do that much for my self esteem? Well, it did. And what made it even better was Dr. Wasserbauer's compassion and skill.
A few months ago I started researching hair transplant doctors. I ended up finding Dr. Sara Wasserbauer. I had my FUE hair transplant a few days ago with doctor Sara Wasserbauer. It was a perfect experience, Dr.Sara Wasserbauer is a professional and she is very experienced. She answered all of my questions and concerns with great detail. Sara and her staff made me feel very comfortable before, during, and after the surgery. Her staff at the front desk, Ann, was so caring and considerate. I can't wait to see the final results in about 6-12 months. I will recommend Dr.Sara for everyone who need hair transplant. Thank you Sara, Roxanna, Naomi, Katy, Brianna, Ann and Jeff, they're simply the best. Sharone B.
Dr. Sara as she likes to be called is a skilled artist and a perfectionist which is a must in doing eyebrow transplants. She has quite the reputation in hair transplants and therefore it can take 8 to 12 months to get an appointment. Of course it's well worth it. On top of her expertise she's a down to earth person who truly has a kind heart and shows much empathy. She treats you as an equal .
Dr. W is phenomenal. She immediately puts you at ease and is informative every step of the way. I cannot recommend her and her staff enough! I was extremely comfortable for the entire 8 hour procedure and felt like my comfort and well being was the most important thing to the entire staff.
Granted, my procedure was a mere three days ago. 2700 grafts. Dr. Sara has amazing personality and charisma. Her staff are friendly and optimistic. I was very comfortable through the entire procedure. Staff was very methodical. If she wasn't married..... :) I'll edit and update at three and six months.
Let's be honest: Losing your hair is not one of life's more enjoyable experiences. It makes you self-conscious and causes you to waste years of your life trying to hide, camouflage, and generally obsess over the condition. And if you do eventually muster the courage to do something about it, that experience itself has the potential to be painful and possibly embarrassing. However, that is definitely NOT the case here with Dr. Wasserbauer. I simply can't imagine a more positive experience. Dr. Wasserbauer is kind, honest, open, approachable, communicative, and most importantly, at the absolute top of her field. Her knowledge, expertise, and artistry (yes, artistry, because this is a vital aspect of hair restoration) are world-class. Her technical staff, Annette, Naomi, Katy, and May share these same qualities, making the hair restoration process not only stress-free, but also filled with warmth, compassion, good humor, and humanity. There is nothing cold or clinical here. These people care. They want you to look good and they do their utmost to make sure that you do — even though this can mean (as it did in my case) working for over 8 hours to make sure that every single graft is meticulously arranged and placed. In fact, in my case, when the FUT process yielded nearly 1000 more grafts than anticipated, Dr. Wasserbauer and her staff generously did the additional work to ensure that each and every one was used (without any additional charge) — because they genuinely wanted the client (me) to look as good as possible. What more can you say about people like this? If you’re considering hair restoration, go to Dr. Wasserbauer. She and her team are more than wonderful; they are the best in their field.
Amazing. Thats how i would have to describe this Doctor AND her Team! They went above and beyond making me comfortable during the prodecure. They even stayed late the day before Thanksgiving to make things perfect. As a small business health care owner myself, I know what to look for not only in quality but customer service. I would highly recommend Dr Wasserbauer and her team to anyone looking to undergo this procedure. She will take the time to go over all other non surgical options to help you make the best decision. If you are thinking about undergoing this procedure you owe it to yourself to get a consultation with her first.
Over-plucking and medication caused loss of eyebrows since 1971. Consulted Dr. Wasserbauer in July of 2013 for possible surgery. Became a candidate for the procedure when a patient was unable to be subject of an eyebrow transplant webinar in October 2013. By being selected for this webinar, there was no cost involved. Lucky for me!!!
I started slowly losing hair after 18 and by 28 I could see my scalp showing through my once rockstar hair. I started taking Propecia, which halted most of the hairline recession and my density improved. Still I was unhappy with my hair density, and very unhappy with my "new" hairline, especially when I saw side photographs which I could not have seen in the mirror. I don't mind aging gracefully, but it just wasn't me, it really looked wrong, and really bad. I researched several top specialists throughout California and decided to go with Dr. Wasserbauer for the following reasons: -She was within an hour's drive, and wouldn't require multiple trips to SoCal -Her portfolio of results was very good -She was very conservative and concerned about today's hair as well as decades from now -She was not so conservative that she would not alter my hairline, and thus, keep me from achieving my primary goal -She was well reviewed by patients and peers, and well-qualified -Her pricing was not low, but comparable to other top doctors -Although it was hard to reach her initially (more later), when I met her in person, she was warm, genuine, and understanding of how my case was so distressing to me. She was confident, but not arrogant (as other doctors I spoke with), and answered all my questions. Without going into every single detail, my experience was as follows: I arrived ready for my procedure, and felt surprisingly calm and excited to finally have it done. She and all of her staff were so wonderful to me, with 80's hair band music playing, and a quirky sense of humor which didn't bother me at all, we had a few laughs to start. The staff and Dr. Wasserbauer made sure I was very comfortable, blanket and all, and with three selected movies, antibiotics and a Valium in hand we began. There were a lot of injections throughout the top, front, and back of the scalp, and it felt as though I were wearing a helmet onto which they were working. They were all skilled and gentle injectors, and it was really painless except for a few pricks. I felt no pain or discomfort during the incision, stitching, or creation of thousands of tiny cuts for the hair transplants, all done by Dr. Wasserbauer. This was about 3 hours. We then took a lunch break, which they provided, and then the technicians got to work placing all of the grafts, which was a tedious process for them, and eventually I too, got a little antsy at the length of the procedure, but they gave me breaks to stretch, restroom, and back to work they went. I was so impressed at their precision and patience, as well as the thoughtfulness of Dr. Wasserbauer's placement of the graft locations. To my surprise, there were enough grafts to alter the hairline, but about 75% of the grafts (my guess) were used to add density to my thinning areas, ensuring a future full of hair. The total day took about 8 hours as expected, and I was bandaged up and sent home to rest. Recovery: I was pretty well read on the subject before starting, but the post-op instructions gave great clarity, the first 3 days required the utmost care to secure the survival of the grafts. -I had a mild headache, and occasionally my donor area or graft areas would be tender and start to get very sore by the end of each day, but the vicodin worked just fine. -I had to sleep 3 nights at a 45 degree angle, which was a challenge. -I had to wash the grafts with a sponge 3x daily, and spray water on them every couple of hours, which actually made the healing better. -I did get swelling, which was strange, first I had swelling and a "dent" in my head, then a huge forehead, then the swelling dropped between my eyes and eyebrows and I looked like an avatar for a day or two (see photo) The swelling was resolved enough for me to go outside publicly with a hat on day 4 post op. No pain, just a very mild headache. -On Day 4 I started to wash regularly and rub off the crusty skin tissue stuck to each graft, which looked like lots of lice, but was almost completely gone by day 7 post op. At that point I could go out in public without a hat, although the skin in the front was pinkish and some short remaining hairs were growing in. -It's now day 10 and I still have a tender scalp, and most of the numb sensation from temporary nerve damage is gone, except just above my donor scarline. I've checked the scar a few times, I don't scar badly, so I anticipate the resultant scar will be super fine, if not invisible. Conclusion Due to donor density, and Dr. Wasserbauer's kindness, I received more grafts than I was initially recommended, of which I was thrilled! It is too early to recommend based on results, but since all has been as expected, results should be ideal as well. I cannot say enough about the kindness, patience, skill, gentle touch and social skills of all of Dr. Wasserbauer's staff: Ann, Monique, Roxanna, Naomi and Katy, all were so great to work with. My one and only concern in the whole process was that Dr. Wasserbauer is very unresponsive to email and phone. I almost didn't pursue her office because after my initial consult with her "Advisor" I waited 3 weeks without email response, I called her staff, then followed up with her, and instead of answering my questions I had bulleted, she replied that her staff would contact me to make an appointment, which then would not be for 2-3 months. This, I had to call for as well, and the doctor would not see or speak to me for 2-3 months unless I scheduled surgery in January and made a $1000 deposit. There were other emails she did not reply to, and when she gave her personal number to call if there were problems or questions (I called regarding swelling), she did not answer or call back at all. I understand I'm not the first person to experience this, but to me it is unacceptable. If a doctor cannot or will not reply to patients, he or she must designate a staff to reply or be "on call." This never happened unless I called up the staff myself for help. My takeaway is that she is a great surgeon, excellent when you have her in person, but otherwise unavailable; her staff do the rest. If there was an emergency, I'd dial 911 or your general practitioner. My GP responds to all my emails within 24 hours. My surgery experience was otherwise excellent and I hope it's the only one I'll ever need. Will post photos at 6 months or 1 year when actual results can be seen. Updated on 25 Jan 2015: Updated on 25 Jan 2015: Updated on 18 Feb 2015: 6 weeks post-op and the pink-rashy appearance is almost completely gone at the hairline. The first 4 weeks I experienced lots of hair loss after the procedure, including native hair- shock loss. All the areas of implant now look thinner than when I started, however are expected to come back. At 6 weeks hair shedding in the shower is back to normal/minimal. I have experienced a great deal of itching, I've switched to gentle shampoo and shampooing only once every 2-3 days (otherwise rinse with conditioner or water only, and lotion or hydrocortisone. I was experiencing large, tender pimples/ingrown hairs for the past 2 weeks- about 3-5 new ones per day, but they seem to have subsided with a little use of salicylic acid lotion, and I haven't had any more since. The donor site does create a bit of a line in my hair when cut short, but the scar itself is not visible, just a shadow line from the shaved hair section. Basically I've experienced all the expected side effects to some degree, but they seem to be managed for the moment; now I'm waiting to see actual hair growth likely after the 4 to 6 month timeline. Updated on 14 Apr 2015: Three months post op and any red/rashy appearance along the hairline is all but gone- not noticeable. I shed a lot of hair a few months before the procedure and it seems that there is new growth in areas of pre existing hair. Lots of wispy frizzy short hairs, but no noticeable new growth at the hairline itself (should start at 6 months post op). I have noticed flaking/scabing throughout the transplanted area, as well as the donor scar, small chunks of dead, dry skin, some of which have hairs attached, the hairs appear to be very thick, dark, short and without growth. A mild 2% salicylic acid lotion on the scalp from time to time seems to help keep this clean and loosen any grime when I wash. Due to dry itchy scalp I've reduced shampooing to 1-2x per week and daily washing with just a lightweight conditioner. It seems to work just fine, much less itchy, and not greasy. The worst part is my hair has never been thinner! Of course the transplanted hairs fell out, but I shed so much hair the first 2 months (shock loss) that now the hair is visibly thin at the hairline/top and temples. I don't know if others notice, but I can now see my scalp through my hair not just a few centimeters back, but probably 2 inches back. Everywhere there was transplanting around native hair, a lot of native hair was lost. For all I have read, this is the worst month and it will start to get better from here, I sure hope so, because I expect more, not less hair than when I started. I hope it all grows back... and more! Updated on 8 Jun 2015: At 5 months, the shedding is minimal, the itching is gone, only a few very small tender spots along the donor site. New hair (and old hair) is starting to grow in, thinning areas from shedding show less skin, and the hairline is ever so slowly starting to grow, a few hairs here and there. I can't wait to see the final results after 12-18 months post op. I'd like to see a lower and more "squared" masculine hairline. Updated on 8 Jun 2015: At 4 months, healing is looking well, however transplanted areas with additional shedding reveal even thinner spots than before compared to existing native hair. Updated on 6 Feb 2017: Shedding has decreased and density is starting to return to normal, little or no growth in bald hairline areas. Updated on 6 Feb 2017: Although density in the crown has returned to normal, the corners of the hairline has very very little new growth. (perhaps 20 noticeable hairs on each side??) Dr Wasserbauer agreed, said this was not normal, and offered a touchup of 300 new grafts to increase density. I was skeptical that this would solve the problem, but it was all I was offered. I agreed to undergo a second (but FUE) surgery. The recovery was MUCH easier, with no swelling or stitches. Minimal scabbing which easily came off with a little conditioner about a week after the surgery. Updated on 6 Feb 2017: More hairs are visible at this point, not dense, by any means, but the area that was bald/touched up does have some hair, and a softer hairline closer to the squared shape I was hoping for. At last- some progress! Updated on 6 Feb 2017: It's now 2 years since my first surgery. There is definately some hair where there was none, and I am grateful for that. The density of the "revised" areas is no where near the rest of the hair on my crown. The hairline now takes on the appearance of a person with a receedING hairline (Very thin in corners), vs someone with a receedED hairline (bald in corners). The actual scarring from both procedures is not visible without going in with a comb to look for it, however, with a #2 clipper summer haircut, I look like a skinned cat with missing stripes of hair from both surgeries whitening the scalp. Density checks from beginning to end showed no changes in the density of the hair at the crown of my head (not the hairline). I met with the doctor and let her know I was grateful to have something instead of nothing, however the hairline revision did not have anywhere near the density and definition I was hoping for, even with 2 surgeries. She offered to have my scars at the back of my head covered by SMP (an ash grey tatoo that visibly replaces the missing hair density). She was not willing to SMP the hairline where the density was noticeable, but I had the option to purchase the service. Of course I'm not happy to settle for a less than great result, but felt it might be unfair to ask for a third surgery, which I was unsure would yield the result anyways. Was it worth it? My "better half" tells me that there was no result, but I know that's not true. People less nice than me might have demanded a refund or a third surgery. I seriously question whether a third surgery would give me the density I want, since it's obvious to me that a great deal of transplanted hair (~2,900 total) did not survive the procedure, as this should have been enough for a dense result. Since visible hair gains didn't really occur until 18 months post surgery, I'll wait another 6 months before considering SMP, etc. I do believe the SMP tattooing would be able to bridge the density gap without additional surgeries. Does it look natural?- Definately, it looks like it's thinning in the corners. Is it better than before? Yes Do I feel better about what I have now? Yes Would I do it again? Debatable- the high cost of surgery and "subtle" results trouble me. My hair is medium/fine and dark ash blonde/light brown, it looks natural, but it's not coarse enough for a wow result you might see in some patients. What would I say to someone considering the surgery?- If you still have some hair, I'd very seriously consider just doing SMP, which would take the place of daily Toppik or other hair densifiers, is much less expensive, and looks good if the tech is good. It does fade with time, I'm told it will last about 4 years before having to redo. This would also look great on someone going for a shaved/buzzed hair look. If you are truly bald and it troubles you to not have hair- go for the surgery, but even if it's a small surgery, TEMPER YOUR EXPECTATIONS, it's probably never going to be enough. Updated on 17 May 2021: It has been 6 years since my first FUT procedure. Things are very stable. Shedding is well controlled with finasteride and Nizoral shampoo. The scar is nearly impossible to find, even when searching with a comb. My hairline is not dense, but it is more square, and gives me enough hair to part and style without looking bad- I even get complements from time to time. It is not the thick hair of my teens but as feel more confident and that worth a lot. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I thought I’d get a denser result, and someday may. The FUE procedure was far simpler in terms of recovery and scarring, so I’d recommend that for most people. The SMP is great for those with a shaved or buzzed hairstyle, no need to hesitate on that. I am now considering a hair advancement surgery because my forehead has always been large, and this would help both problems at once. Best of luck to those interested in this procedure. Dr Wasserbauer is definitely worth contacting if you are interested.
This is ridiculous. I know that many doctors say this, but not only is there no evidence FOR shaving, there is actually evidence AGAINST it! (higher risk of infection, see the link below) Typically this is a matter of either training or - frankly - laziness on the part of the doctor. I am not usually this blunt, but they either did not train with hair intact to help their patient transition AND have not put in the time to learn - OR - they themselves (or their staff) just want an easy quick surgery at the expense of your ease of recovery. It also helps their before and after photos to look more "dramatic." Doctors around the world can and do perform EXPERT hair transplantation surgery for your hair with the hair completely intact, long or short. Find one of these experts, and leave the less experienced hair surgeons to their shavers.
I know you don't have the time or money to see a doctor for your hair right now, AND I think you know that is what you need. Online advice just isn't going to be able to diagnose and treat you properly, and any patchy loss like this immediately raises alarm bells for a more significant inflammatory process that has the risk of permanent loss. Let me repeat that...there are conditions that start like this that have THE RISK OF PERMANENT LOSS. From this photo, your differential includes such disease processes as alopecia areata, cicatricial (scarring) alopecias such as lichen planopilaris. You might need a biopsy. Definitely get yourself seen. Good luck!
Yours is not an easy case, and I've seen many like this before. Lots of these come out of cheap medical tourism surgery centers in Turkey, Iran, India etc. The good news is that it is likely this can be improved significantly. Laser removal will avoid the scarring. FUE removal can be attempted too but the punch size has to be very small to avoid multi-dotted scarring, and thus a trial run might be adviseable. In both cases, this will be a long process, but likely a successful one. Choose a doctor who has experience with repairs and making a hairline look natural. You are aiming for a slightly recessed hairline with very fine single hairs at the edge. Good luck!
I love this question because it is absolutely spot on. Why aren't we pairing medicine with light? We know they both work AND they work better together for growing hair than either one does separately. So, ...why not? The answer is that none of the light devices currently on the market is optimized in its dosing. In other words, it is hard to get the light to the target (the scalp) when there is hair in the way. Sure, you can part the hair and use laser to get through it, but even 2mm of hair blocks about 32-37% of the light. That is like taking 2/3 of an aspirin when you are in pain, it is just not as effective. The other option would be to shave heads, then the light would definitely get through. But that kind of defeats the purpose. SO for now we are waiting for better technology and more studies on what optimal dosing will look like to have this "holy grail" of light+medical therapy actually manifest in reality. Great question though!
The correct answer is that there is no "stem cell" treatment for hair. There is this fallacy propagated on the internet that somehow stem cells are these magical entities that go wherever they are needed and cure the disease or reverse aging. This is simply not true. As a matter of fact the FDA here in the United States has been actively cracking down on clinics that take advantage of patients by promising "stem cell" treatments. The closest we currently have to a stem cell treatment is through tissue banking of your Dermal Papilla cells (DP cells) - which in the simplest terms are the regenerative cell for hair follicles. Once follicles are cryopreserved, they stay the same age as when you freeze them - for decades - and will be available for future therapies. Although several companies around the world are working on "cloning" hair (i.e. using DP cells to rejuvenate or regenerate hair) currently the only accredited tissue bank is the one in the UK associated with HairClone. They anticipate having therapies in mid-2021. Hope that helps!
