Hairloss Treatment

Hair Restoration Procedures

There is more than one way to restore your hair. The most commonly known way is hair a transplant. But you could also have a scalp reduction, scalp expansion or scalp flaps. Or you could have a non-surgical procedure like laser treatment.

Hair Transplants

Hair transplants have been around in the US since the 1950s. Things have changed a lot since the days of hair plugs which could produce unnatural looking results. Today, with improved techniques, sometimes a hair dresser or barber will not be able to tell that a person has had a hair transplant.

Who Should Consider a Hair Transplant?

If your hair is thinning or you have well defined baldness or if you've lost hair due to a scalp injury or burn, you could be a good candidate for hair transplant surgery.

What is Hair Transplant Surgery?

Hair transplant surgery is usually done in a dermatologist's office or a walk-in surgery center or out patient facility. What they do is remove narrow strips of scalp from the back and sides of your head where you still have healthy hair and transplant it to a place where there is thinning or no hair.

First they will thoroughly clean the area, then give it a shot of local anesthesia to numb it. The surgeon will use a scalpel to remove the strip of scalp. He'll then sew shut the area. There will be a scar, but you won't see it because the surrounding hair will hide it.

The surgeon will then take the strip and divide it into 500-2,000 tiny grafts. Each will have just one individual hair or maybe a few hairs. It all depends on what type of hair you have, its quality and color. The size of the area where it is going is also important.

Next, after cleaning the area where the hair is to go, the surgeon will numb it, and then use a scalpel or needle to make slits or holes where the hair will go. With great care, each tiny graft will be delicately placed in one of the slits or holes. As you can tell, this is going to take a long time. Typically, depending on the area covered, it will take 4-8 hours.

Sometimes you'll go back for another procedure if you decide you want thicker hair. Most people will achieve the goal of natural looking hair in 1-3 sessions. Research is being done with the goal of making the natural look possible for virtually everyone in one session.

Won't It Just Fall Out Again?

Well, it may. But since hair is taken from an area which has healthy hair, when it is transplanted to a bald spot, it usually grows normally. Think about it. Even people with absolutely no hair on the top of their heads almost always still have hair around the back and sides near the neck line.

However, it is possible that the new hair will progressively fall out just as it did the first time. This usually does not happen rapidly. But this procedure may need to be repeated later in your life.

Preparation for a Hair Transplant

Be sure to tell your dermatologist about all medications (over the counter or prescribed), vitamins and herbal supplements you are taking. They could interfere with medication used during the procedure or the procedure itself. Some medications can cause excessive bleeding, especially blood thinners like warfarin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) or aspirin.

What Happens After the Transplant?

Within a month or so, a lot of the transplanted hair will fall out. (Gasp!) Don't worry, that's normal. In about two months, the hair will start to grow again. It will continue to grow at a normal rate. In about 6-9 months, you can expect to have about 60% of the hair growing. At this point it will probably look completely natural and people won't even know you've had a transplant. Sometimes it takes up to 18 months to obtain a full head of hair.

You may be prescribed an antibiotic or anti-inflammatory drug. And you may need a pain medication for a few days. Your doctor may have you wear a surgical dressing on your scalp for a day or two. Most people can return to work in 2-5 days.

Avoid the sun for at least a month. Wearing a hat is the best way to do that. Sun screens are not a good idea because they may irritate your scalp and hair follicles. Your immune system may be overactive for a while after the surgery which could cause you to react to the chemicals in the sun screen. Tanning beds do count. They emit UVA and UVB radiation, just like the sun and may be even stronger.

Avoid strenuous physical exercise after the surgery until your doctor gives you the okay.

Possible Side Effects

Complications from hair transplant surgery are few, as long as it is done by a physician skilled in this area. You could become nauseated or vomit after the procedure because of the medications used. A small number of people (less than 5%) have bleeding afterward.

It is also possible to experience swelling and bruising around the eyes after two or three days. If that happens, cold compresses and sleeping in a semi-reclined position may help. You may also experience infection, temporary headache or temporary numbness on your scalp, both where they take the hair and where they put it. The numbness could last around three months. Or there could also be scarring or hair loss. (That would be a bummer.)

When the new hair begins to grow, you may find you develope folliculitis todo (http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/folliculitis-topic-overview). This is inflammation of the follicles. Antibiotics and/or cold compresses should help with this. You could also experience "shock loss." That is where the transplanted hair suddenly falls out. But, fortunately, that is rarely permanent.

Scalp Reduction

Scalp reduction is used for people who have a great deal of balding. With scalp reduction, a bald spot, up to 5 centimeters wide, is surgically removed from the crown and top of the head. The part of the scalp with hair is brought closer together. Scalp reduction is not used to treat hair loss at the front of the scalp. This surgery can be done alone or it can be done along with a hair transplant.

Scalp Expansion

With scalp expansion, devices are surgically inserted under the scalp for three to four weeks where there is healthy hair to stretch it. This procedure may be done before a scalp reduction because it makes the scalp looser. Or it could be done by itself.

Scalp Flaps

Wit scalp flaps, a section of scalp with healthy hair is surgically removed and placed in a bald spot.

Laser Devices

You can find combs, brushes or other kinds of hand-held devices which emit a low level of laser light to stimulate the growth of hair. This could work for some people. It is important to know that the FDA requirements for approval of medical devices are not as stringent as those for approval of medications. And the long term effects of using laser light on your scalp are not known.

With laser treatment, it is important to start early. Once hair follicles are dead, they will not grow again. This treatment which is done weekly is often used along with others like DHT blockers like Propecia todo or topical shampoos. You will need to consult your doctor and dermatologist to determine the cause of your hair loss because laser treatment only works for some hair loss conditions.