Tag Archives: southern california hair

Hair Transplants for a Thinning Crown

crown hair transplant
The crown region – sometimes referred to as the ‘bald spot’ – is located on the back portion of the scalp and is an area commonly affected by male pattern baldness. In fact, most men begin looking into hair transplants for the first time after noticing balding in this region. First time clients often tell us: “I hate the bald spot on the back of my head, it makes me look so much older than I am!”
So, what’s the matter? Aren’t all types of male pattern baldness equally treatable? Here at Modena Hair Institute we are experts in every type of hair transplant procedure, so is a hair transplant for the crown any different?
Simply put: yes. There are a number of things a patient with a balding crown must consider and talk to with their doctor, such as:
Prioritizing Frontal Hairlines First

While the crown features prominently on the scalp, it’s usually less cosmetically significant than more visible regions like the hairline and frontal scalp. Balding in the crown, because it’s at the back of the head, can be hidden more easily. Most men find it less discomforting than frontal hair loss, which is why we advise working from the front to the back when it comes to hair restoration.
If you’re experiencing hair thinning on the frontal area of the scalp, it’s highly advisable to tackle this area first, before attempting to restore the crown.
Even if you’re seeking to tackle both areas of thinning at once, it’s still usually better to start in the front and work back to the crown. That way if you do run out of grafts, the hairline, frontal scalp, and mid-scalp regions – which are more visible – are restored first. But why does this matter? Is running out of grafts an actual concern? Yes, you and your doctor will need to discuss:
Considering the Health and Strength of the Donor Area

The donor region – the area on the sides and back of the scalp where follicles are harvested for use in a hair transplantation – is limited. This means that a patient may not have enough life-time grafts available to cover the entire scalp if progressive hair loss occurs.
Both FUE and FUT/Strip methods of hair transplant surgery rely on a healthy and sufficient donor area to extract grafts for transplantation. If your donor area does not contain enough healthy, strong follicles to extract, it might result in a limited number of possible hair transplant operations.
When considering a hair transplant for the crown region, you must assess whether there is enough viable donor hairs to cover the frontal hairline in the future. If you fill out the crown area and begin to thin in the front, what will the result look like?
In most cases, the result would look unnatural. No man would like to have a full and thick crown, accompanied by a thin and empty frontal hairline. The opposite, however – men with fuller fronts and thinner crowns – is more natural and therefore more aesthetically desirable. So if you are faced with a limited donor supply, it is better to consider first what can be transplanted to the frontal hairline. An experienced hair transplant specialist should know how to approach splitting up the grafts, and will guide you through the process during the consultation phase.
Now, there are situations where men only thin in the crown and not the front. In this case, donor regions should be assessed differently and strategically. Certainty about how the hair loss will progress is impossible, but the closest approximation should be made. It is always wise to make sure there is adequate donor hair for the front first, as addressing the front first is almost always the safest and most strategic move.
So, should you have a hair transplant in the crown? Well, review your answers to the questions above and see how you feel. If you understand the need for a long-term approach and the idiosyncrasies of crown transplantation, you may be a good candidate. Consult with a clinic experienced with transplants in this region (make sure they can show you multiple examples of crown transplants) and make an informed decision with the above in mind.
Here is an example of a patient who met the criteria above and was able to restore his crown. Maybe you will be next!
crown hair transplant

Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.

Hair Transplant Specialist or Non-Specialist Cosmetic Surgeon? How to Spot the Difference

hair transplant experts
With more and more self-proclaimed hair transplant ‘experts’ joining the industry, the process of weeding out the bad from the good is getting tougher. Selecting an experienced and reputable hair transplant specialist is becoming harder to do based on internet research alone.
As such, we highly advise a more thorough and in-depth investigation of your doctor’s resume, experience and skill. The only guarantee of achieving effective and permanent results is to go with a doctor whose entire career is devoted to hair restoration. The following are a few factors to look for in finding a real expert and specialist in the field of hair transplantation:
They DO NOT Offer Various Cosmetic Services 
If a doctor offers rhinoplasty, face-lifts, liposuction and hair restoration, then they are not a hair restoration specialist. He or she is merely seeking to capitalize on marketplace demand and pick up extra business on the side. Go elsewhere and search for a hair specialist whose sole practice is based on hair restoration.
Doctor’s Resume
If you read through your surgeon’s resume, and he or she doesn’t have a great deal of training, industry associations or years of experience exclusively in the hair restoration industry, then chances are they are not a specialist.
Before and After Pictures
If you’re considering going with a certain hair transplant doctor and they don’t have an extensive catalogue of previous patient before/after photos, it’s a bad sign and highly unlikely they exclusively specialize in hair. One thing to look for are pictures that are loaned out to doctors using a specific Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) equipment. If you read the small writing under the picture, it will say it actually belongs to that company instead of the results being of patients from the doctor you’re considering.
Ask Difficult Questions
During your consultation, ask the hard questions and study your doctor’s responses. Who will be harvesting my donor area? Who makes the recipient sites for my grafts? Dr. Yazdan of Modena Hair Institute performs every major part of the hair transplant procedure, employing assistants only for very peripheral tasks.
Is your doctor an actual attending member of ISHRS (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery)? The ISHRS is a global non-profit medical association where the world’s leading experts in treating hair loss gather to share their most up to date research, techniques, and diagnostic approaches. Dr. Yazdan is a long-standing ISHRS member with deep academic and experimental ties to the organization.
Many doctors pay for membership but never actually attend meetings and lose out on continued education in hair restoration.
If you use the above guideline in your decision-making process, you will assure yourself of choosing the right hair restoration surgeon and assuring yourself of great results.

Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.

Southern California Hair Transplant Clinics – Feat. Spencer Kobren

“I’ll tell you what I like about Dr. Yazdan. He’s able to perform FUE surgery to state-of-the-art standards and is doing it himself, which is a rarity. Here in Southern California, there are so many pop-up turn-key hair transplant clinics doing FUE surgery with very little expertise or experience. Which is shocking considering Southern California is the mecca of plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery.”
Spencer Kobren

Last year Dr. Yazdan was listed as one of the top 20 hair transplant surgeons in the world. At Modena Hair Institute, quality of care, rigorous technical finesse and patient advocacy are the foundation of our work. Our Southern California clinic specializes in state-of-the-art medical and surgical treatments of hair loss for men and women including, but not limited to: receding temples, crowns, overall thinning, balding, sideburns, beards, mustaches and eyebrows.
Hair transplantation is an immensely exacting and technically demanding operation where thousands of microscopic incisions are created and thousands of hair grafts – full of sensitive tissue – are extracted, dissected and transplanted.
We believe that an FUE procedure from a skilled hair surgeon is the most effective, safe and aesthetically mature hair restoration option for patients suffering from pattern baldness and other forms of hair loss. The great caveat to this statement, however, is that the surgeon’s skill, expertise and clinical team must be operating at the highest technical and artistic level to achieve the right outcome. When it works, it results in stunningly beautiful hair growth and is one of the only methods to permanently combat baldness. When an operation is performed badly, the hair will grow in an unnatural direction and there’s a high risk for skin infection and scarring.
An aesthetically and technically successful hair transplant requires extreme hand-eye coordination, artistic finesse, calculated endurance and years of specialized experience.
At Modena Hair Institute in Southern California, Dr. Yazdan utilizes an extremely fine 0.7mm punch for all extractions. This not only reduces the risk for scarring, but reduces the risk of shock loss in surrounding follicles. Once the follicular units have been isolated and the incision made, the extracted hair is inspected closely and prepared for placement, utilizing only the healthiest and most optimal hairs.

Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.

Botched Hair Transplant Repair – Featuring Spex


For the past few weeks, we’ve had the privilege of enjoying the company of Spencer ‘Spex’ Stevenson, who is visiting Southern California to consult with current and potential hair transplant patients on their hair loss experiences.
During one of his many visits to our Newport Beach hair transplant clinic, Spex and his team filmed Dr. Yazdan repairing and revising a patient’s poorly executed hair transplant, clearly performed at a non-specialist practice. The patient under consideration came into our office with a very dispersed and pluggy looking hairline, as a result of excessively large grafts being placed too far apart. The patient’s transplanted area showed gaps and little hair volume.
The patient also displayed numerous instances of ‘pitting’ in the frontal region of the scalp – resulting from grafts which were planted too deep.
Dr. Yazdan’s job was threefold:

  • Add density to the front of the scalp all the way through to the crown
  • Add volume through careful and artistic donor extraction
  • Mask the instances of ‘pitting’ on the frontal region of the scalp

Importance of Choosing the Right Hair Surgeon
The root cause of bad hair transplants is almost always inexperience and non-specialization on the part of the hair transplant surgeon. Follicular unit extraction (FUE) is an extremely delicate procedure that requires a tremendous amount of finesse, dexterity, experience and skill. It is imperative to research and choose a surgeon who only specializes in hair transplantation, and someone who is verified by and affiliated with prestigious hair transplant organizations like the IAHRS and AHLA.
Dr. Yazdan is a member of the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons (IAHRS) and is the only such member practicing in the Orange County and Las Vegas areas.
Remember that repairing and revising a botched hair transplant is a far more difficult process to undergo than a first-time hair transplant.

Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.