Hair Loss Remedy
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Hair Loss and what you can do to take control of the situation

Hair transplantation is exactly as what its name implies. It involves taking hair from other areas of the body or areas of the scalp which aren’t affected by the hair loss and reposition it in areas which suffer from the condition. The transplanted follicle or skin grafts will generally keep growing well into the golden years as these hairs are resistant to hormones that normally affect hair loss.

When hair transplantation first started off it was simply simply removing a flap of skin from areas of the scalp which still had hair and stitching up the wound and replacing it in the area where hair is needed. This is extremely crude and often resulted in hair that looked even faker than even wigs. The results were marginal at best and the resultant hair never looked like it was in the proper place.

Thankfully over the years great progressions have been made in the field of hair transplantation. The first steps towards modern transplantation methods was the advent of follicular unit grafts where hair was harvested from either the scalp or other hairy areas of the body, sliced up into follicular units which can easily be transplanted onto areas that needed the hair. Initially the units were 2-4mm square grafts that did not perform very well as the resultant pattern looked similar to a doll head with its uniform hair follicle distribution pattern.

Further development of the follicle hair graft method resulted in the follicle units becoming smaller and less defined. The current practice is to have each follicular unit contained one follicle with its naturally occurring group of 1-4 hairs. The magic in this type of hair transplant is in the doctor’s ability to remove the singular hair follicle without damaging it. Microscopic dissections are necessary in order for the procedure to be a success. Currently only minimally invasive pin-head sized “ports” have to be made in the area where the new hair is supposed to be moved too. The moved hair follicles can also be positioned in a random manner and oriented properly to follow the proper hairline of the patient. With current standards of surgery, up to 50 follicle units can be placed within one square centimeter making it extremely hard for people to tell the difference between the transplanted hair and the real hair.

Procedure wise it is actually very easy. After an initial consultation and a detailed analysis of the patient’s scalp and problem areas, the doctor will then put forward a recommended plan of action and also help guide the patient through the procedure so they know what to expect and also how to best care for the new hair once it has been implanted. There are normal precautionary things to do before the surgery such as to refrain from taking alcohol or any other substances and also take the pre-operative antibiotics to prevent post surgery infections. This is to ensure that the graft and new implants have the best chance of taking to the new location without any further complications.

For a modern complete hair transplant which will cover up most bald areas for a patient that suffers from male pattern baldness will typically cost anywhere from $7,000 to $15,000. This price is based on a cost of about $3.00 to $8.00 per graft with the average Joe needing about 3,000 to 6,000 grafts for a proper solution.

The actual transplantation process of the surgery isn’t very invasive and is normally done on the outpatient basis with only mild sedation if any at all. The first step is to have the scalp and the area where the hair is to be harvested properly shampooed and treated with appropriate anti-bacterial chemical solutions to prepare for the surgery. The surgeon will then harvest a strip of hair from a specified high hair area. The skin with the hair actually removed and the skin is pulled and sutured back in place. The excised strip will then have all the hair follicles removed with micro-surgery tools and set aside for later use. All fibrous and fatty tissues are removed carefully leaving just the hair follicle in place. The surgeon will then either use fine needles to make holes on the site and carefully graft each hair follicle at a pre-determined density and pattern, also angling hair to form a proper hair line.

When it comes to care after the surgery it is vital that the hair follicles be given enough time to bind in its new home and not be subjected to any further stresses after the surgery. You will be required a wear a dressing that will hold down the transplanted hair for at least one or two days. Normally the dressing is changed every 2 days, during the change a light wash is recommended but should only be done by the hair transplant clinic staff. It is normal for the hair of the follicle to start shedding the hair during the first 10 days after the surgery. It isn’t uncommon to have almost all the transplanted hairs fall out due to “shock” experienced by the transplant. Having said that, all of the hair should start growing out again after the initial loss.

Find out more about selecting the right hair transplant experts and tips and trick that you must know in order to get the best results: Hair Transplant Experts.