Hair loss and thinning can have a dramatic impact on a women’s confidence and self-assurance. While it’s easy for females to feel alone in suffering from hair loss, it is actually quite common. It’s most common in women during and post-menopause, however, it can begin as early as a woman’s 20’s.
The key is to begin treatment or a hair loss regimen the moment you start noticing thinning, as most medications are shown to be most effective at the earliest stages of hair loss – Rogaine is one of them. Women’s Rogaine has the same formula as the men’s, the difference is the percentage of minoxidil (active ingredient) and recommended dosages to accommodate the differences in male and female sensitivity to the product. The American Hair Loss Institute has shown that minoxidil is often much more effective in women than in men – contrary to widespread belief. This means women need less to see growth. Women may also be more vulnerable to the side effects, which necessitate the smaller dosages. Thankfully, side effects are minor, and we will get more into that below.
What does Rogaine do for Women?
The active ingredient in Rogaine for women (and men, essentially) is Minoxidil. Minoxidil widens the blood vessels and opens potassium channels, sending more oxygen, blood flow and nutrients to the hair follicles. This will stimulate the hair follicles, promoting new growth and strengthening the hair. It is most effective at the onset stages of female-pattern hair loss, so try to start treatment as soon as you notice yourself starting to lose more hair than normal or if you start to see parts of the scalp due to the thinning of hair follicles AKA follicle miniaturization.
What is the Active Ingredient in Rogaine?
Minoxidil was originally a drug in pill form called Loniten – used to treat high blood pressure. Patients who were prescribed this medication noticed increased hair growth. By turning minoxidil into a topical solution to be applied directly on the scalp and being introduced in Rogaine in 1992, the product has become FDA approved for over-the-counter use and is now even more potent and effective. It is also the only FDA approved drug for women’s hair loss, also known as female-pattern baldness or female-pattern hair loss.
Rogaine Side Effects
Another popular belief about Rogaine for Women is that you’re going to grow hair in all the wrong places – this is exaggerated to say the least. Yes, some women have stated that they’ve grown unwarranted baby hairs past the hairline or on some parts of the face, but this is very rare and is most likely caused by improper distribution of the product, allowing it to drip down the face while applying onto the scalp. At Modena Hair Institute, we recommend wearing gloves while being very cautious as to where you are applying, only allowing it to reach the scalp and nowhere else, so just be careful. Although rare – other side effects include a dry scalp and minimal temporary shedding of the hair. Before you stop reading, don’t be alarmed… this isn’t only normal, but means it’s working! As the thin lifeless hair falls out, new healthy strands of hair begin to grow in place. Most female consumers find the benefits of having a thick head of hair outweigh the cons or minor side effects that come along with Rogaine. So, if you can withstand 2 weeks of some possible shedding, you’re in for a lifetime of Rogaine’s powerful benefits.

As with most things in life, consistency is crucial for optimal results. We like to tell our patients – it’s like brushing your teeth every day, you do it to maintain healthy teeth and gums, right? For most of us that will experience some form of hair loss and/or thinning in our lifetime, we must maintain a hair care regimen for a healthy head of hair!
Please note – while Rogaine works wonders for many women suffering from genetic hair loss, this product is not meant for treatment of other causes of hair loss (i.e. hair loss due to an underlying illness).  We don’t want you to waste money on a product that may not be right for you – we highly recommend seeing a hair restoration specialist to have an evaluation prior to using Rogaine. This will ensure your hair loss is in fact hereditary and just part of the ageing process rather than something more serious.
Still not sure if Rogaine is right for you? Luckily, there are other treatments for women that suffer from hair loss. At Modena Hair Institute, Dr. Yazdan offers treatments such as Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP), Low-Level Laser therapy, and GroMD’s haircare system including a DHT blocking Hair Loss Prevention Shampoo and Follicle Activator Spray.
*Hair Tip: For optimal results and to get your hair back without feeling self-conscious about throwing your hair up in a quick pony-tail – mixing Rogaine with GroMD’s Follicle Activator Spray has worked wonders for both men and women hair loss sufferers.
For questions or to schedule a consultation, call one of our offices conveniently located in Irvine, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas at 888-717-5273 or contact via our website at contact Modena Hair Link

If you’ve been sliding down a slope of thinning hair or a balding crown and have begun your hunt into hair restoration and ways to revamp your tresses, you may realize just how daunting of a subject it can be. Between all the ‘medical’ terminology and companies trying to sell miracle cures, figuring out what really works can feel like looking for a diamond in the rough!
So, what actually works? Are products like Rogaine the answer to all my problems, or is a more natural means to regrow hair viable through vitamins? And how do these methods compare with actual procedures for hair loss such as a hair transplant? If you’re feeling adrift when it comes to hair loss – no need to call a search-and-rescue, Dr. Yazdan and his team of experts at Modena Hair Restoration are here to help.
Hair Growth Products
Despite what you may have read online, there is no “magic pill” for hair growth. Increasing your vitamin intake into your diet or using products like snake oil to cure your balding issues simply have not shown enough proof of their effectiveness quite yet. If stopping hair loss was as simple as taking a vitamin, everyone would have a full head of hair; hair thinning women and balding men walking down the street would be virtually obsolete.
As of today, there are only two products approved by the FDA for treating hair loss; Yes, Minoxidil or better known as Rogaine is one of them and can be found over-the-counter. The second FDA-approved hair growth product is Propecia or its generic name – Finasteride which can be prescribed by a reputable hair restoration specialist, alike Dr. Yazdan. When used in conjunction, these two products are clinically proven to combat thinning hair, prevent future hair loss and are even proven to regrow those luscious locks you once had.

Propecia has shown its effectiveness in many clinical trials to regrow hair in men and some women, while Rogaine can significantly slow down hair loss and can encourage the growth of new hairs. When combined, Propecia and Rogaine can make a noticeable difference for those experiencing mild to moderate hair loss. For those experiencing more severe hair loss or looking for a more permanent solution, hair restoration procedures such as an FUE or FUT/Strip hair transplant may be a better solution depending on your needs and desires to have a thick and full head of hair.
Another product that has shown its effectiveness in fighting off hair loss and even regrowth is GroMD’s DHT blocking Hair Loss Prevention Shampoo and Follicle Activator Spray. No need to add any additional steps in your hair care regimen with this one as the DHT fighting ingredients come in the form of a product we already use daily – shampoo. Read more here on how elevated levels of DHT are the #1 culprit to men and women’s hair loss today.
Hair Restoration Procedures
Opposed to hair growth products, hair restoration procedures including hair transplants do not seek to solve or target the underlying causes of hair loss. Rather, a hair restoration surgery takes your own healthy donor hair – natural hair from the back and sides of the scalp and transplants them in receding hairlines and bald spots of concern. If done correctly and by a highly skilled hair restoration surgeon such as Dr. Yazdan, the results are natural-looking hair that blends in unnoticeably with your surrounding hair. Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) and Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) are the two most advanced hair restoration methods to date. Dr. Yazdan routinely performs both FUE and FUT/Strip procedures yielding truly transformative results for those experiencing hair loss and in need of a self-confidence boost!


Other options like Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy and Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) have also been shown to make a compelling difference in hair loss and balding in both men and women. Dr. Yazdan performs both PRP and LLLT daily as they have both shown and proven to be two powerful and effective hair loss fighting options without going ‘under the knife.’

How Do They Compare?
In a sense, comparing products vs. procedures is like comparing apples to oranges. They have different effects and solutions in treating hair loss. Hair growth products like Minoxidil/Rogaine, Propecia and GroMD Hair Loss Prevention Shampoo and Follicle Activator Spray can make an impact as you start to notice your hair thinning. The main goals with these 3 products are to STOP and PREVENT hair loss in its earlier stages. These 3 are considered great hair loss regimens. For best results, you’ll want to begin treatment at the onset of hair loss to stop it in its tracks! Hair restoration procedures can restore lost hair by harvesting and transplanting healthy follicles from elsewhere on the scalp but won’t do anything to prevent further hair loss. Both hair growth products and hair restoration procedures are advantageous options for those combating hair loss, but the perfect option for you truly depends on your individual hair loss and your desires.
Southern California & Las Vegas Hair Restoration surgeon, Dr. Yazdan, can often give the results patients’ desire in a single FUE or FUT/Strip hair transplant surgery, with future sessions to follow only if necessary. Dr. Yazdan personally performs each hair transplant in Beverly Hills, Orange County and Las Vegas surgical clinics at his surgical center, utilizing a dedicated team throughout the entire process. He is involved in every aspect of the procedure in order to ensure the best possible hair restoration results and is committed to performing only one surgery per day in order to provide patients with the undivided attention they deserve.
For questions or to schedule a consultation, call one of our offices conveniently located in Irvine, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas at 888-717-5273 or contact via our website at contact Modena Hair Link 

Even though the common belief is that the world of hair restoration began in the Unites States, it didn’t. The roots of modern day surgical hair restoration were actually cultivated in Japan in the late 1930’s. It was in 1939 that Japanese physician, Dr. Okuda described in detail his groundbreaking work in surgical hair restoration for burn victims. He created a grafting technique also known as the “punch” technique to harvest round sections of hair-bearing skin (tissue), which were then transplanted into small round holes at the recipient site. The use of this method was used in order to regrow hair in burn victims and the holes were prepared in the scared or burned areas of the scalps of his patients. After the skin grafts healed, they continued to yield hair in the previously bald areas of scalp.
Another Japanese doctor, Dr. Tamura lessened the size of the grafts to 1-3 hairs for better results. Unfortunately, this technique was lost during World War II, but they were soon rediscovered and used in the West.
The issue of baldness has affected humanity as recorded history has made notes about peoples’ lack of hair. No longer did we have to go bald and do nothing about it!
1950’s: A New York physician by the name of Dr. Norman Orentreich performed the first known hair transplant in the US on a man suffering with male pattern baldness (MPB). It was that day that Dr. Orentreich essentially reinvented modern-day hair transplantation. His work demonstrated that the hair from the back and the sides of a patient’s scalp was for the most part – resistant to the balding process. This is called the donor zone and is known to be DHT resistant, these hairs are essentially “protected” and are considered the holy grail for any type of hair transplantation.
According to the research of donor dominance, it was a principle that expressed why transplanted hair would continue to present the characteristics of the hair from where it was taken.  If taken from the side of the scalp, the hair will continue to grow as hair from the side of the scalp, but it would continue to grow in areas of the scalp that were thinning or completely bald.
1960’s: The decade that the industry of surgical hair transplantation had forever found a place in cosmetic surgery! The new views of baldness created a holistic treatment as the complete issue was beginning to be understood in the 1960’s. Surgical techniques focused on moving hair-bearing flaps to bald areas, using tissue expanders to help scalp reconstruction in bald areas and finally using bald reduction scalp surgery to remove part of the bald scalp and replace it with hair bearing scalp tissue. However, these techniques still could not have the desired natural look.
1970’s: Large grafts were used during this era and became known as “hair-plugs.” Hair plugs gave a negative view on hair transplants. Limitations on technology and procedure had drastic, sometimes crude results for Orentreich’s patients, and this created a social stigma associated with hair transplants.
1980’s: By the early 80’s micro-grafts used smaller grafts rather than one long strip resulting in a more natural look. Moving away from easily detected plug transplants, these techniques set the foundations for modern surgical practices that focus on safety and natural looking results. Micro-grafts were an improvement, but they still were not perfect.
1990’s: It wasn’t until the mid-1990’s that surgical hair restoration came out of the dark ages to produce credited and natural looking results. Alas! The advent of follicular unit transplantation (FUT) requires follicular units dissected from a donor strip (i.e. the back of the scalp) for a better result but requires more time and surgical skill.

Mid-2000’s: Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) became the current method of hair transplants that used a very tiny punch from a donor strip until the proper number of follicles were obtained.  FUE became more widely used as it made hair transplantation a virtually undetectable, viable option for many hair loss sufferers.  While technology ‘advanced’ that doesn’t necessarily mean ‘improved’ technology, the Robotic FUE method using an ARTAS Robot has seen more harm than good. FUE performed by the human-hand has made hair transplantation a virtually undetectable, viable option for many hair loss sufferers.

Hair transplants have also been coupled with new medications like Propecia/Finasteride and OTC Minoxidil/Rogaine in order to slow or even stop hair loss for optimal results.  In the past 30 years, tremendous advances have been made in stopping hair loss and regrowing hair back.
At Modena Hair Restoration, we want you to make an informed decision when choosing not only the right method that suits your specific needs, in addition – the right surgeon is just as important, so we’ve added a few quick pointers to help you choose a clinic and physician for your next hair restoration procedure.

• The surgeon specializes in Hair Transplant surgeries with extensive expertise
• The surgeon performing your procedure is a member of the ISHRS
• The surgeon only performs 1 surgery per day
• The surgeon performs the surgery – not allowing his or her technicians to take over
• The surgeon extracts by hand – not a mechanical robot such as the Artas or NeoGraft 

Southern California & Las Vegas Hair Restoration surgeon, Dr. Yazdan, can often give the results patients’ desire in a single FUE or FUT/Strip hair transplant surgery, with future sessions to follow only if necessary. Dr. Yazdan personally performs each hair transplant in Beverly Hills, Orange County and Las Vegas surgical clinics at his surgical center, utilizing a dedicated team throughout the entire process. He is involved in every aspect of the procedure in order to ensure the best possible hair restoration results and is committed to performing only one surgery per day in order to provide patients with the undivided attention they deserve.
Remember, while a hair transplant is considered minimally invasive, this is still a surgical procedure that takes many years of skill and artistry to make it look natural and undetected by the naked eye. For more information regarding helpful tips, read our blog topic – Hair Transplant: Consultation Questions to Ask Your Surgeon.
For questions or to schedule a consultation, call one of our offices conveniently located in Irvine, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas at 888-717-5273 or contact via our website at contact Modena Hair Link