Many women suffer in silence with their hair loss, often not knowing where to turn or if there’s even help out there for them. Truth is, help is out there, and you can find it at Medi Tresse. The important thing is to find qualified help by medical practitioners who dedicate their lives to researching and treating female hair loss. So what's the difference between trichologists versus hair loss specialists, and why does it even matter?
Maybe you’ve seen or plan to see a trichologist, a specialist that studies diseases or problems related to the hair and scalp, along with their corresponding treatments. It’s important to note, however, that trichologists are only qualified by and registered by the Institute of Trichology, so they may not have a medical background. With hair loss, it is so important to get a proper medical diagnosis from a hair loss specialist that is a medical practitioner and that can provide an accurate medical diagnosis.
Because trichologists are not necessarily licensed medical practitioners, they can’t prescribe medications or perform procedures.
The practitioners at Medi Tress are hair loss specialists and medical practitioners, and are therefore your most promising solution to the challenge of thinning hair. Hair loss is incredibly complex, and treating it (especially in women) requires extensive training to properly diagnose. With six common types of hair loss and a variety of factors that can contribute to each one, you need a practitioner trained in this area to accurately diagnose your condition and develop a targeted treatment plan.
When searching for a solution to hair loss, you want someone who focuses solely on hair loss and who works with people just like you every single day. Yes, trichologists can help with issues such as hair loss, hair breakage, scalp psoriasis, oily scalp, alopecia and trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder). They can undergo training, coursework and mentorships to become licensed in treating hair and scalp conditions. Some can even become certified.
But at the end of the day, they are not licensed medical practitioners (doctors, nurses, etc.), so they can’t prescribe drugs, order lab work, or perform medical and surgical procedures.
Here at Medi Tresse, we can do all that and more. Our team is comprised of medical professionals who are hair loss specialists. That means we devote our lives to the diagnosis and treatment of hair loss in women, and have been trained extensively in this area specifically. There is a clear line between trichology and hair loss specialty. The medical professionals at Medi Tresse aren’t necessarily trichologists but are in fact hair loss specialists.
Translation? Treating female hair loss is all that we do here at Medi Tresse.
We go to conferences specific to hair loss, we strive to keep up to date on the latest research, and we even conduct our own research.
The consultation experience when visiting a trichologist versus a hair loss specialist will be different as well.
When you come to the hair loss specialists at Medi Tresse, we book you for a one-hour consultation. This is how long it takes to complete a full hair loss evaluation in women.
The protocols and processes for treating female hair loss were developed by Dr. Mary Wendel, a practicing physician for more than 35 years. Inspired by the experience of her own hair loss at age 50, Dr. Wendel dedicated much of her professional life to exploring the complexity of female hair loss, developing treatment options, and helping women reclaim their lives.
The Medi Tresse team boasts doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners who also focus solely on female hair loss, such as Dr. Mark DiStefano, a physician and member of the Medi Tresse surgical team who has specialized in the treatment of hair loss for more than 25 years and has treated more than 2,500 women.
While trichologists can advise people with hair-related problems, such as hair loss or scalp conditions, they are not medical professionals like those at Medi Tresse and cannot perform medical or surgical procedures. The team at Medi Tresse can perform innovative procedures and techniques to improve hair thinning in women, including platelet rich plasma (PRP), optimal platelet concentration therapy and low level laser therapy.
You can’t always get that kind of in-depth attention from a trichologist or dermatologist, which is why many dermatologists refer their patients to Medi Tresse. Yes, dermatologists are medical doctors but hair loss is just one sub-specialty of that profession. Hair loss requires extensive training to properly diagnose, with female hair loss in particular being yet another sub specialty under that. While they have training in hair loss, their attention on a daily basis is often divided in many different areas – most of the time with skin conditions and skin cancers.
A hair loss specialist comes to the table already equipped to deal with the problems associated with hair loss – plus, we only treat women so you are already ahead of the game when you come to see us.
You will get a full medical evaluation at your first visit with us, where we will take your medical and hair loss history, do a hair pull test, do blood work, perform trichoscopy, and take a biopsy of the scalp if necessary.
Trichoscopy is a method of evaluating the scalp and hair follicles at a higher magnification (30x to 60x magnification). This is important because different types of hair loss in women can look similar on the surface. Only when an experienced practitioner reviews the hair and scalp using trichoscopy can key differences become apparent.
A recent article in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD) reviewed a form of scarring alopecia, known as fibrosing alopecia in a pattern distribution (FAPD). To the naked eye, hair loss with FAPD occurs in almost the exact same way as androgenic alopecia (AGA), or female pattern hair loss.
The treatment for scarring alopecia is very different from AGA, so if a patient with FAPD did not undergo trichoscopy by an experienced hair loss specialist, they could be misdiagnosed with AGA instead and fail to receive the appropriate treatment plan. This is just one example of what sets medical hair loss specialists apart from trichologists.
As we said above, your consultation will take about an hour. We will put you at ease from the get-go, letting you know beforehand what to expect at your consultation.
We hope after reading this article, you will understand the clear benefits of seeing a hair loss specialist rather than a trichologist to truly get to the bottom of your hair loss struggles.
No matter which office you choose, you will meet with a medical practitioner who is an expert in the treatment of hair loss in females. Plan to be here for an hour so we can get to know you, take a medical and hair loss history, hair pull test, trichoscopy, and blood work or biopsy of the scalp (if necessary), depending on your stage of hair loss.
Rest easy knowing you are in good hands with our experienced hair loss specialists!
