01
Donor supply
Enough permanent density on the back and sides to spare hair without thinning the area you take it from.
Candidacy
Who a transplant works for — and who it does not
Four factors decide it: donor supply, pattern stability, general health, and whether your expectations fit what the donor area can cover.
Factors that apply to everyone
02
Pattern stability
Loss that is predictable enough to plan around. Rapid loss in your early twenties usually calls for medical therapy first.
03
General health
Controlled blood pressure and blood sugar, no untreated scalp disease, no bleeding disorder, realistic medication review.
04
Expectations
Understanding that a transplant redistributes hair rather than creating it, and that the result matures over a year.
Male candidates
Classic pattern loss is the most straightforward case: a stable donor zone, a defined area of loss and a predictable future pattern. The planning question is where to spend donor supply first — almost always the frontal third, because that is what frames the face.
Younger patients with aggressive loss are the group most often over-treated elsewhere. A hairline designed at 24 has to still look right at 54, when the loss behind it has moved on.
Female candidates
Women are assessed differently because female loss is usually diffuse and can involve the donor area itself. Medical causes are ruled out first; hairline, temple and traction cases tend to do best surgically.
Find out where you stand
A measured assessment beats guessing from photographs online.
Talk to the surgeon who would perform your procedure
Consultations are free, measured and without obligation — in Newport Beach or by video.