Are you considering hair replacement or restoration? Whether you have just noticed some minor hair loss or have discovered that your hair loss is more noticeable, it would be a good idea to consult with a hair loss specialist in order to address your hair replacement options.
If you’re around 35, were you aware that 2/3 of American men your age are also experiencing hair loss? If you’re approaching 50, you may have noticed that 85% of men within your age bracket are experiencing significant thinning. Most male hair loss, or 95%, is due to Androgenetic Alopecia, which is also referred to as “common male pattern baldness.”
Prior to losing one or more strands of hair, the strand may continue to grow for approximately 2 to 6 years. After this, it enters a several-month-long resting phase before falling out. It’s not unusual for someone to have lost half of their hair before it is noticeable, however.
There are 2 primary methods for replacing hair, Follicular Unit Strip Surgery (FUSS) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). While the former is more invasive, the latter is considerably less so.
Method 1: Follicular Unit Strip Surgery
In FUSS, a physician will surgically remove a strip of scalp from a non-balding area. They will create incisions in the bald area, and then place the hair graft accordingly. In addition to being invasive, there are other issues that result from this procedure:
- Higher complication rate
- Large scars
- Limits future graft harvesting
- Longer recovery period
Method 2: Follicular Unit Extraction
During the FUE transplant procedure, which usually takes 8 hours, individual follicular unit grafts, or hair groupings, will be harvested one at a time. Rather than surgically removing these, a tiny punch is used to harvest 1 to 4 hairs at a time. In some cases, however, there may be up to 7 to 8 groupings in a graft.
While the healing time involved does depend on individual skin type, these grafts usually heal after a few days. Furthermore, the redness should disappear in about 4 to 5 days.
In addition to being minimally invasive, FUE, which is also referred to as “follicular transfer,” has the following results:
- Lower complication rate
- No large scars
- Shorter recovery time
- Hair can be be kept short
Once you consult with an FUE hair replacement specialist, you will be able to learn more about the benefits of FUE as well as the costs. If you’ve just realized that your hair is thinning a bit, doesn’t it make sense to address this issue now rather than later? When you consider the benefits of hair restoration, and how you’ll feel after an FUE hair transplant, you’ll wonder why you postponed restoring your more youthful appearance.