Hair Transplants

Many people wonder about hair transplants for a variety of reasons Are you worried that your thinning hair or receding hairline makes you look older than you are Just want to have a full head of hair again A transplant may be an option

A hair transplant uses your own hair to fill in bald or thinning spots The surgeon takes the hair from whats called a permanent donor site an area of the scalp thats not likely to become bald and move it to a bald location Think about that fringe thats left on even very bald men For some reason transplanted hair from that fringe isnt likely to fall out even when placed in a previously bald spot

Early transplants were of questionable success The transplanted hair certainly grew but it was arranged in individual plugs like the hair on a dolls head and was very obvious Today surgeons have refined the technique They can now transplant the hairs just one or two at a time creating a more natural look

There are several different types of transplant surgeries A common method involves taking one or more strips of hair from the permanent donor site and then dividing the strips into smaller pieces called grafts containing one to six hairs The smallest pieces with just one or two hairs are known as mini or micrografts The pieces are placed into small incisions in the balding part of the scalp This type of transplant may require several sessions over many months to adequately fill in a bald or thinning area

Another method involves cutting a flap of hairbearing skin and then simply rotating that flap into the bald area This method doesnt allow the careful arrangement of hair that micrografting does Your doctor can help you decide if a flap is a good choice for you

There is another surgical option which is not a transplant Scalp reduction involves removing some of the bald skin and stretching the remaining skin over the area Newer versions of the surgery sometimes use skin expanders devices placed under the hairbearing skin to stretch it for a period of weeks before the surgery

Most surgeons require you to be in generally good health to have hair transplant surgery If you smoke youll need to stop a week or two before the procedure and try to abstain for a while afterward because smoking can impair healing You may also need to stop some medications temporarily Your surgeon may ask you to wash with a special antibacterial shampoo before your procedure Hair restoration surgeries are usually done on an outpatient basis with local anesthesia Youll need someone to drive you home afterward

Any surgical procedure requires a period of healing Expect some pain and maybe a headache especially in the first couple of days You will probably be told not to wash your hair for the first day or two If your procedure requires stitches expect to have them taken out after about ten days

Hair transplants take a while to become established Its perfectly normal for grafted hair to fall out sometime in the first six weeks In most cases it will begin to grow again about five or six weeks later and continue growing at about half an inch per month

Be sure to find an experienced surgeon who can show you examples of his or her work If you dont like the way other patients surgeries turned out find another doctor The surgeon should be willing to discuss risks of the surgery candidly and should be honest about what you can expect Issues like how thick you can expect the hair to be how natural it will look how much of your scalp will be covered and how many treatments will be needed should all be explored thoroughly

There are two proven hairrestoration drugs on the market Minoxidil is applied as a cream It slows down hair loss and stimulates new growth Finasteride is taken as a pill It helps you hold on to the hair you already have Women of childbearing age shouldnt use finasteride because it can cause birth defects Some women will also benefit from spironolactone which interferes with male hormones that can cause hair loss

If youre a man remember that replacing your thinning hair isnt the only way to get a sexy youthful look Bald can be just as attractive Think about celebrities like Yul Brunner bald as a billiard ball but a Hollywood heartthrob for decades Patrick Stewart bald handsome and sophisticated… and the many action heroes whose shaved heads give them that toughguy look

Women may have a harder time with thinning hair since its not supposed to happen A conversation with your hairstylist can give you ideas on how to disguise the balding spot Fashionable wigs let you change your hairstyle daily Or you may want to consider a medical treatment like minoxidil