Sara Wasserbauer, M.D., A.B.H.R.S, F.I.S.H.R.S  is a Diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery - Fellow of the International Society Of Hair Restoration Surgery and is currently located in the Bay Area, outside of San Francisco, in Walnut Creek, California.

She currently serves on the Board of Governors of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), is the Past-President of the Board of Directors for the American/International Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS/ISHRS), and is a fellow and member of the ISHRS.

She is a world leader on the field of cryopreservation of hair follicles with the hopes of making hair loss history. As one of the most experienced and accredited hair restoration surgeons nationwide Dr. Wasserbauer is a regular resource for news media , blogs. podcasts and forums on hair loss and it's treatment. Read some of her archived articles.

Sara Wasserbauer, M.D.

Entrepreneurship and Inventions

Dr. Wasserbauer loves practicing in the creative energy and entrepreneurial climate in California.  Before medical school, she worked for Apple Computer as a webmaster, but she knew she loved people more than computers. Hence, her career changed to medicine.  Her entrepreneurial side never left her, though, and early in her career, she witnessed firsthand how pioneers like Dr. Matt Leavitt worked with light therapy combs and Dr. William Rassman worked with early FUE punches.  Dr. Wasserbauer has been granted several patents and copyrights (Hair’s The Question) and has even developed her own SYNSCALP - a new technology for Scalp Micropigmentation training, and a brow serum called BROW-WOW.  Lately, she has put her 3D printer and medical-grade silicon molds to work to improve her surgical flow by creating graft sieves, trays, cup holders, and even mask holders for her operating room.  She hopes her creative endeavors will result in better experiences and outcomes for patients and surgeons alike and looks forward to sharing her next big breakthrough with the world!

Dr. Wasserbauer instructs hair transplant surgeons in SMP techniques with SYNSCALP at the ISHRS Scientific Congress Workshop

Dr. Wasserbauer was part of the initial FDA trials for the ARTAS Robotoc System.

Research and Publications

From the beginning of her career, Dr. Wasserbauer has been involved with research and publishing about hair.  Her first research paper was as part of her fellowship training with the esteemed Dr. Perez-Mesa entitled Hydrogen Peroxide and Wound Healing.

She was the primary investigator for the FDA trial of the ARTAS Robotic Hair Transplant System, the pilot study for the amazing stabilized HOCl spray SurgiHEAL Pro, and has received grants from the ISHRS to study PhotoBioModulation (PBMT also known as Low Level Light Therapy) and Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) pigment safety.  She also has expertise in the oddly difficult problems of measuring hair growth and getting a topical treatment to work for hair growth treatments.  She has written book chapters on Brow transplant surgery, Female Hair Loss, Hair Transplant in Transgendered patients, and Scalp MicroPigmentation.  She wrote the featured content for the ISHRS website for Scalp MicroPigmentation and Low-Level Light Therapy (Photobiomodulation).

Dr. Wasserbauer writes a monthly feature article called “Hair’s The Question” for the ISHRS Hair Transplant Forum International.

She has published a Board Exam Prep Book for the ABHRS before she turned it over to them for their use as a mock exam (now online).  She has researched and beta-tested several devices and treatments, including the WAW cordless FUE device the Phyllotex4 hair vitamin, and contributed to various studies, including finasteride survey (Haber), Low-Level light therapy, efficacy of PRP as tracked by cross-sectional diameter hair mass measurement (Wasserbauer), length of anesthesia needles (Stough), FUE sharp versus dull growth and transection rates (Shapiro).

Cutting-edge therapy for hair growth

Dr. Wasserbauer is no stranger to the newest therapies for hair growth, but she has been in the business long enough not to jump on every bandwagon that passes by.  However, when experience tells her that something new holds promise, she stands at the forefront.  For example, she ran the first pilot study for stabilized HOCl spray (SurgiHEAL Pro) that is fast becoming the standard of care in hair surgery, she is initiating a study on the newest topical nanolipid formulations with finasteride and dutasteride (XYON), and she is one of the only active and accredited clinics for banking hair tissue worldwide (HairClone).

She is one of the few surgeons with experience performing eyelash replacement surgery, brow hair surgery, reconstructive transplants, and hairline feminizing surgery post-facial feminization.  In transdermal therapies, she has signed on as a consultant for ALMA’s TransEpidermal (TED) technology as an alternative and improvement on PRP for growth factor treatments to grow hair.  Recently, she has performed one of the rarest surgeries in hair transplant, a brother-to-sister hair transplant with no immunosuppressive treatment after a bone marrow transplant, which she plans to publish with her patient as co-author (now in medical school!).  She is planning another groundbreaking study of low-level light therapy devices for hair growth in the near future!

Passion for Education

As a world leader on the field hair restoration surgery, Dr. Wasserbauer lectures internationally, with a current special interest in photobiomodulation (low level light therapy) and the cryopreservation of hair follicles with the hopes of making hair loss history. Her special talent is question writing, which she does for fun to quiz herself on the new material she learns. She completed her undergraduate studies with a B.A. in Classical Archeology from Dartmouth College. She then went on to earn her medical degree from the Medical College of Ohio (now known as University of Toledo) where she was designated Class Leader. After finishing her training in Internal Medicine, Dr. Wasserbauer discovered she had a natural aptitude and eye for aesthetic surgery. Growing up in a family that experienced severe hair loss in both the men AND women, she found herself drawn to hair restoration and the dramatic change it could have on one’s appearance.

To fulfill her ambition and satisfy her drive for aesthetic perfection, she proceeded to train with some of the world’s leading hair restoration surgeons. She completed an accredited fellowship in Hair Transplantation Surgery in the United States, working with a national team of Hair Restoration Surgeons to refine her craft and better understand the subtleties of the procedure and medical treatment options available.  She regularly trains doctors worldwide at her offices in Walnut Creek, CA. She has been the clinical director for two international live surgery workshops, including hands-on brow surgery and scalp micropigmentation workshops, and the co-director for the live surgery workshop at the 2024 Denver ISHRS meeting.  She is a passionate advocate for the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS) and has been an examiner, question writer, and chair of the written and oral exams. She was honored to be the Chair of the ISHRS World Congress in Panama in 2022 and continues to enjoy mentoring young hair surgeons worldwide.

Patient Advocacy and Ethics in Hair Transplantation

As one of the most experienced and accredited hair restoration surgeons nationwide, Dr. Wasserbauer is a regular resource for news media, blogs, and podcasts on hair loss and its treatment.  She uses this platform to advocate for higher standards in hair transplant and treatments, including participating actively in the Operation Restore program for the ISHRS (pro bono reconstructive surgeries, Fight the Fight Black Market Awareness campaign and the Think Before You Ink Scalp Micropigmentation safety awareness. She has also been an expert witness and has submitted applications to be available as a medical reviewer for the Colorado and California Medical Societies.

Dr. Wasserbauer has been on ethics committees since medical school including her residency hospital ethics committee (St. Joseph’s Hospital), and the ethics committee for the ABHRS.  She is the current ISHRS Board Ethics Committee Liaison.  She subscribes to the ethical guidelines of the California and the American Medical Associations and serves as the current Alternate Delegate to the AMA for the ISHRS.

Dr. Wasserbauer is Affiliated with the Organizations below: