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Thinning hair and baldness afflict millions. These
conditions are caused by several main factors:
1. African-Americans and others who style their hair
in “corn rows” or tight braids often suffer hair loss, because chronic pulling
of the hair follicles (roots) slowly destroys them. This usually results in
permanent hair loss of the frontal scalp.
2. Pattern baldness is a genetic condition that
usually afflicts men but also occurs to a lesser degree in women. This
condition, also known as male pattern baldness, is caused by excessive amounts
of the hormone DHT, which attacks and destroys hair follicles, causing baldness
on the top of the head.
Excess DHT is caused by too much testosterone in the blood. This may occur
naturally or be caused by certain pills and supplements.
3. Hair loss may occur as a side effect of some medications and certain
medical conditions. These include thyroid and anemic disorders. Hair will
probably stop falling out if the medication is discontinued or the gland or
organ is restored to normalcy, but in areas where hair follicles have died, hair
won’t regrow and a person may be left with permanently thinned hair or bald
spots. Many of the pills, potions, gimmicks and gadgets on the market claiming
to restore hair are ineffective or downright fraudulent. A few of them may
produce some hair, often of marginal quality, but that hair may fall out when
the drug or treatment is discontinued.
Hair transplantation, or hair replacement surgery, is the one solution to hair
loss that is permanent and that does not depend on ongoing, expensive
medications or therapy.
Hair transplantation is accomplished by making a small strip incision in an area
where hair is plentiful, usually back of the head. This hair is plentiful
because it has been genetically programmed to grow throughout life (even in
cases of pattern baldness). This donor area is then sutured shut, with hair
concealing it. Each small donor strip contains as many as three-thousand hair
follicles. These are harvested, separated into units of two or three hairs, and
inserted into tiny incisions in the bald areas of the scalp.
The surgery requires just a local anesthetic. In most cases, two
three-to-five-hour sessions are sufficient. In many cases patients are happy
with just one or two sessions since the genetically fecund transplanted hair
follicles will produce hair for the rest of one’s life.
Unfortunately for the unsuspecting public, it takes a bit of sleuth work to find
a knowledgeable and highly experienced doctor. Such doctors are rare, and most
people naively assume that plastic surgeons and dermatologists who do a few hair
replacement surgeries a month will do a good job. Others fall for hair
transplant companies that are merely sales offices, many importing inexperienced
doctors. The results can be disastrous: “doll’s head hair,” (unnatural-looking
plugs or tufts of hair), freakish hairlines, scarring, and flaps.
So How To Find A Specialist Hair Surgery Doctor?
1. Look for a doctor whose sole focus is hair replacement and who
performs this type of surgery every day, having performed thousands of
procedures throughout his career. If a doctor is part of a large group working
for a transplant company, or has been in practice just a few years, he may not
be able to fulfill this criterion. Don’t be afraid to ask how many cases the
doctor has personally performed.
2. Ask if you may observe a procedure.
3. Most importantly, ask for the names of many, many patients whom you
may call.
If you meet resistance in obtaining any of this information, look elsewhere. You
are not buying a car. You are making a decision which will determine your
appearance for the rest of your life. If you insist on the best, you will be
delighted with the results.
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