Hair Restoration and Replacement

When a new hair loss treatment comes along it makes a big splash because of two reasons. First, hair loss is a big problem in this country and all around the world. About 60% of all men will experience some early hair loss whether it is just thinning on top or a complete balding problem with nothing on the upper portion of the head but shiny scalp. And on top of that, about 40% of the hair loss cases reported to doctors will be women. This makes the hair loss problem something that close to half the population has a stake in. Also, there are so few hair loss treatments which actually are effective that when one shows promise it makes big news.

The most exciting new hair loss treatments available today involve the transplantation of hair follicles into the balding area in such a way that does not cause scarring and a long recuperation period. Historically, hair transplantation has been used for about 60 years to treat hair loss with some mixed results. Originally the hair restoration surgeon was forced to actually cut out a part of the scalp which had good hair growth and then implant that entire scalp section into the balding area. The micro-surgical techniques of today were not available so this was the only method possible. As you can imagine this left a very spotty solution with tufts of hair sticking up in all directions. In fact, the nickname for this procedure was the hair plugs method because it looked like the patient just had hair plugged into his scalp like a cheap doll’s head. Many people thought the results of the procedure looked worse than the baldness it was meant to treat.

Over the years the surgical techniques have been improved as hair treatment doctors experimented with different Hair Loss methods that would give a full head of hair without the negative affects of the original hair transplants. This has resulted in the best hair loss treatment available today. The name of this procedure is the follicular unit extraction method and it is making waves all over the hair loss community.

The idea behind this hair loss treatment procedure is really quite simple and elegant. After it was determined that removing and inserting an entire section of scalp was not giving the results desired, the hair growth doctors started to look at manipulating individual hair follicles instead of the scalp section itself. This method still required that a portion of scalp be removed, with the resulting scarring from the suture area, but it also involved another step besides just implanting the scalp piece. A team of medical assistants would take the scalp and remove the individual hair follicles and all their support structures including the blood vessels and nervous system component. These units, as they were called, would then be cleaned and prepared for the insertion into the balding area of the patient’s head. The hair restoration surgeon would next insert these follicular units into very small incision in the scalp being careful to match the directional growth of the surrounding hairs. This hair loss treatment for men gave very good results but it still resulted in scarring where the hairs were removed from. A technique needed to be developed that removed the individual hair follicles without causing scars that would be noticeable.

This new follicular unit extraction method was what was needed. This procedure, which has turned into the best hair loss treatment, uses a specially designed medical instrument to actually remove the hair follicles and support structures directly from the living scalp. This leaves no scarring and the removal site looks like a pin prick which easily heals within a couple of days. No longer will the procedure be noticeable because of the resulting scar at the back of the head. If you are looking for a new hair loss treatment that is effective then look into this form of hair transplants and see if you don’t agree that this is the best hair loss treatment available.