Hair loss is a common problem affecting millions of men every year around the world. The question becomes what to do about it. Some men may choose to simply shave their hair off and go completely bald, but for other men, this is not a viable option or something that they want to do.
The reality is that your hair can really help make you look youthful and virile which means that having a decent hairline is important and helpful. This is particularly the case in professions where you are in the public eye, and so it is not surprising that many actors and sports professionals have opted for hair transplant surgery.
Hair transplant surgery is the only way to ensure a permanent replacement of hair that has been lost because of androgenetic alopecia. There are medications such as minoxidil and finasteride which can help to slow the rate at which hair follicles are lost, but these do not offer a permanent solution to the problem. Wearing a hairpiece is also often not a good choice and is often obvious, making a man’s hairline look worse than if he wore no hairpiece at all.
Old versus new methods of hair transplant surgery
There have been many advances made in the field of hair transplantation surgery. In the past, hair plugs often made a man’s hair doll-hair and even though the FUT was somewhat better, it still resulted in a large scar and did not work as well as the newer methods that have been developed.
The most popular method today, which was developed in the early 2000s, is the FUE. This is Follicular Unit Extraction method which involves removal of individual follicular units from the donor part of the scalp and then transplantation into the areas of the scalp where the hair has been lost. You can visit the Vera Clinic in Turkey to find out more about the details of the FUE method for hair transplantation.
The FUE is a much better method than the FUT. This is because the FUT involves removing an entire strip of skin that contains many follicular units. The smaller incisions of the FUE results in fewer visible scars and a lower infection risk. However, the FUE does take longer to perform, but this is a small price to pay for the results that you get.
The FUE may take up to 8 hours to perform, and it does take a couple of months for the hair to grow in. Patients also need to understand that hair shock loss does occur but is a normal process in which some hair is lost a short while after.
This phenomenon of hair shock loss can happen anywhere from about 14 days to 8 weeks after the FUE procedure has been done, and is a normal occurrence because of the trauma of the procedure. Hair will grow back and excellent results will be seen usually by about 6 to 8 months after the FUE has been done.
The Sapphire FUE and DHI
The Sapphire FUE is a follicular unit extraction procedure which uses a blade that is made of the mineral sapphire instead of a metal substance. There are benefits to this method including the superior antimicrobial properties of the sapphire, which means that your chance of infection is even smaller when a sapphire blade is used rather than a metal blade. It is also a good choice for men who have an allergy to metal. These sapphire blades are sharp and small enabling microscopic channels to be formed into which hair can be placed at the correct angle.
The DHI is the Direct Hair Implantation method which uses a special instrument called a Choi pen. This is a newer method than the FUE which means that there are fewer trained specialists able to perform the DHI. In the future, this method may become more readily available and popular than the FUE.
The other issue with the DHI besides the more extensive training that is required is that it is far more expensive to have done than the FUE. For most men, the FUE still provides excellent results, provided that enough donor hair is available for grafting into the regions of the scalp where it is needed.
New research on hair transplant methods
Scientists are always looking to improve on techniques that are being done in medicine, including in cosmetic procedures such as hair transplantation. In fact, researchers are already completing laboratory studies in which hair follicles are grown using stem cells.
This work is only in the early stages, but it provides hope for the future, particularly for men who may not have enough of their hair left for conventional hair transplant surgery to work. The idea is that scientists may be able to grow your hair in a petri dish for later transplantation.
