Factors That Confirm You Eligible To Have A Hair Transplant Surgery

The baldness pattern of the candidate makes a crucial assessment for the best technique of harvesting donor hair.  The current baldness pattern is a signal of future baldness and the extent of it. This is important because the hair affected with genetic baldness carries it’s characteristics to the recipient zone as well, and despite the expensive transplantation, it bears high risk of persistent baldness if the donor hair is not selected carefully.

Hair Densitometry And How Accurate Is it?

A densitometry is a principle to assess hair miniaturization and Norwood classification that uses some specially designed gadgets to do so. A hand held hair densitometer is used by many surgeons that purposefully use magnification to allow counting of the existing hairs. It is applied to selective regions of the hair, and the hair is clipped short for the magnification to image the hair follicles. The densitometer does not give any ascertained hair loss prediction, but with the condition of the hair miniaturization experienced in advanced stages of baldness, surgeons can figure out future hair loss and donor reserve quite well. However, with early stages of baldness, it is very difficult to accurately tell of the donor reserve, the hair loss has to stabilize at an advanced stage of the Norwood class.

What Does Texture And Thickness Of Hair Reveal

The texture and thickness of the donor hair is also determined to assess how many hairs each graft should have to achieve the best coverage. Hair pull test on unwashed hair is done by many surgeons to ascertain the hair strength and whether or not they are miniaturizing. A section of hair is gently held between the index finger and thumb and as gently pulled and if any hair pulls out in the process, it validates active hair loss in the candidate.

Early Stages Of Hair Loss Are Not Eligible For Hair Transplantation

The early stages of baldness due to androgenic alopecia are uncertain to reveal the extent of hair miniaturization and the donor reserve, especially in case of women, wherein hair loss is largely diffusive.

This is because, the early stages of baldness makes hair loss prediction difficult to have a certain conclusion of its future variation. Choosing random hairs from the back of the scalp is not obvious, since many hairs in there are prone to androgenic inflammation as well. So it takes the baldness to stabilize and stop at a certain pattern for at least 2years for surgeons to assess a more obvious donor reserve.

Even though the new principles of hair loss prediction like densitometry even scalp biopsy are run to assess the donor dominant hairs from the recipient dominant characteristic.

Surgeons have devised new and more precise instruments and surgical principles that promise better potentials. These new advancements have not only made hair restoration more far reaching than male pattern baldness. Other hair loss problems such as scarring alopecia, diffusive hair loss (commonly occurs in women) can be viably treated with substantial hair restoration possibilities.

Hair Graft Transaction Risks With Fue and possibilities

The Process:  

FUE is a new method, where the individual follicular units are removed from a donor site and placed in the recipient area to resume growth as normal. This process includes harvesting of small groups of hair (of about 5-6 hairs making one unit), which are inserted in the barren area of the scalp. The best part of this process is that it doesn’t require any surgeon to conduct any long incision in the donor area which later causes bruising, scarring, and swelling.

Instead, the small micro needle is used for making a tiny incision ‘punched’ through the skin around the hair follicle. Though suitable for candidate with eligible candidacy, this process is majorly meant for those who carry a short hair length or cropped hair style.

Undertaken It is also recommended for patients who have previously undergone a lesser successful the ‘strip’ method or a tight scalp.   Though it may sound similar to many people, the main difference in between the two processes lies in the way the donor hair is obtained. In FUE process, the grafts are directly taken from the donor area and inserted in the target area, while the FUT involves the follicular strips to be removed after being dissected under the microscope.

Things to consider with undertaking FUE:

ü The pattern in which the follicular units are distributed

ü The number of grafts in a particular session

ü Total number of follicular units required

ü The rate of damage of the follicular units

ü Maintaining the after care

 Potential Complications Of FUE Hair Transplant Process Are As Follows:

1.     There may be loss of dermal papillae(located at the bottom of the hair bulb, responsible for hair growth from the Telogen to Anagen phase) and hair bulb.

2.     Often leads to hair damage causing wastage  of a valuable resource. Once the hair is lost, it is lost forever.

3.     Loosing some hairs, which remains inside the grafts from the transaction of the hairs. It is not uncommon that the amputee hairs may die.

4.     The buried grafts become foreign bodies, which carries potential cyst formation and also leading to possible infections in many people.

5.     during the extraction process, it may lead to stripping of critical growth hair centers of the grafts.

6.     The donor area Necrosis is large in FUE sessions leading to potential troubles later.

FUE is advertised as a scarless, painless hair transplantation method for a few years now. There are definitely scars, but not a linear scar at a particular point, but scattered through the scalp area, making these 1mm to 2mm scars dissolvable with some time and invisible to the naked eye.

Hair Loss Treatment—Medication, PRP Therapy And Laser Therapy

Hair loss is one of the prime concerns of both men and women since some time now. There can be various approaches to counter the issue of hair loss, but choosing the right one suitable for you is important. The most sought for and reliable form of hair loss treatments is as follows:

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP): Procedure And Eligibility

Platelet Rich Plasma or PRP is showing impressive results and have helped many people reverse the conditions for intensive hair loss. The procedure usually involves drawing out one’s own blood for centrifuging the plasma and the platelets collected in a tube, allowing the platelets for tissue regeneration. This solution is injected a drubbed on the scalp after a Dermaroller treatment is conducted in the treatable areas.

ü Candidacy For PRP Treatment

Mainly suitable for candidates with thinning of hair loss and suffering from androgenic alopecia (which is male pattern baldness). It can also come to rescue in case of the receding hairline, women suffering from alopecia and people who have lost all hair as it does not help in recreating new hair, but can only make the existing thinning hair to be thicker by offering strengths to the accessible hair follicles.

Normally requires about 8 sittings, with a difference of about two weeks for best outcomes.

ü Expected results

On the fourth sitting there will be a noticeable fuzz of hair. The procedure not only strengths the existing hair follicles but also promotes hair growth.  It is considered to be a safe procedure compared to the other treatment processes without any side effects.

Medications To Prevent Hair Loss

Medications are preferred by many to treat the inherited hair loss before preferring the other treatment options. The most opted for medication choice are as follows:

·        Finasteride (Propecia) -is the available only when it is prescribed and there is a prescription available.

·        Minoxidil (Rogaine)- is available without a prescription and is rubbed or sprayed into the scalp area twice daily.

Medications required to treat alopecia aerate are:

·        Corticosteroids  ointments and creams which are applied on the scalp  to enhance the growth of the existing hair density  and can also be injected into the scalp apart every 4-6 weeks, meant for treating patchy hair loss or simply taken orally.

Laser Therapy

This is non-invasive infrared light subjected onto the scalp for stimulating hair growth in those areas targeted.  There are varied kinds of laser for hair treatments like the low level and the thermal laser treatments.

But the Low Level Laser Therapy is known for its versatility as the device can work for both men and women to restore fullness and volume to the hair with this advanced technology.

The most primary benefit of this treatment is that it doesn’t hurt and the journey will be a total comfortable and painless treatment experience, which is why it is often known as a cold laser.

Understanding FUE Strip Technique Hair Transplantation

The FUT strip procedure derives from the old technique of strip harvesting, where a thin strip of skin is removed from the back of the scalp or permanent donor zone to yield the donor hair. Formerly, the strip procedure has been largely responsible for majorly unwanted results of hair plugs and donor scarring and bruising. However, with the new advancement of follicular grafting and micro dissection, things have changed for the strip procedure. It is now favored by many surgeons for yielding the greater number of even quality hair grafts in comparison to the FUE procedure; and achieve full head coverage under a 7hour session.

The FUT procedure shares only the approach of using skin dissection for yielding hair grafts, whereas, it differ in the following measures.

·         Use of local anaesthesia

Previously, the strip method was performed under general anaesthesia which raised the issues of blood loss during surgery; bruising; scarring. Often the scars would be bumpy. The use of local anaesthesia constricts the blood vessels of the treatable area and stiffens it resisting against excess blood loss. The incision of the donor strip can thus be fine and so would be the scar.

·         Use of single blade incision

The use of lateral slit incision with a single blade scalpel has replaced the multi-bladed incision type. The single blade scalpel reduces the chances of graft transection in way of the strip removal. The multi-bladed incision was done with a specially designed instrument with a row of blades like in a razor that was implemented to reduce scarring. The multiple bladed incisions just didn’t work as expected that now the single blade incision has succeeded to achieve.

·         Follicular Grafting

As we know it, hair grows out of a single follicle, but the hair placement in a scalp occurs in 2 to 5 hair follicles closely residing in the scalp as a group or unit undetectable with naked eye; these are referred as follicular units. It is extracting these follicular units with a little fatty tissue enwrapped around them that makes a complete hair graft.

The follicular grafting process is abided by both FUT and FUE procedures. In FUT the strip of skin is placed under a microscope and with a fine needle is the follicular grafts dissected from the skin. Whereas, in FUE the hair of the entire donor zone is close cropped and the follicular units are easily detected with 30x magnification.

·         Undermining

Undermining is a technique that is performed occasionally mainly to relive tension during closing and suturing the donor wound if the candidate’s scalp is too tight, or there have been hair transplant surgeries done previously. It is done by separating the skin layers around the wound edges.

Usually surgeons avoid undermining, mainly because it has the potential risks of injuring nerves, bleeding, slow healing and scarring. But it is only made a part of the procedure of a predetermined and well planned surgery.

·         Trichophytic Closure

The trichophytic closure or “tricho” closure reduces the chances of scarring with some systematic and coordinated incision and closure patterns. The closure technique allows the existing hairs to grow through the linear scar hiding it at the most. Usually the tricho closure requires the donor area to be sutured than stapled.

·         Use of Absorbable Sutures and Staples

The closure of the donor wound can either be with staples or sutures. Both can reduce scarring. While staples are advantageous of being inert this causes lesser inflammation and resulting in lesser risk of damaging the existing hair at the back of the scalp after the donor harvesting. The staples also reduce the chance of strangling hair follicles with its interrupted clipping in contrast to an uninterrupted running stitch.

Absorbable sutures on the other hand abort the event of cutting the suture and disturb the operated areas anymore. Absorbable sutures allow the surgeon good precision of closing the donor wound manually.

Hair Growth To Hair Loss To Hair Restoration

Hair growth starts from birth and hair loss is a part of it, but with adolescent the majority of men experience androgenic alopecia which is a common male hair loss that may lead to hair thinning, receding hairline and ultimately, baldness.  Among the top reasons the heredity accounts for 95% of alopecia and the rest 5% includes reasons like stress, illness, childbirth, medications, etc.

Hair Growth Phase

It is really important to understand the importance of hair growth in understanding the problem that you are encountering. There are three distinct phases of a hair growth cycle, which are- Anagen, catagen and telogen.

·        Anagen Phase

The hair grows of about half an inch per month and it grows faster in summer season than in winter. This phase is generally longer and can last as much as 7 years at almost a length of 1, meter.

·        Catagen Phase

The Catagen phase starts at the end of the anagen phase and this short transitional phase lasts for almost 10 days.

·        Telogen Phase

This is the resting phase of the hair and a follicle remains for about 3 months and the entire process is repeated. Each hair follicle is independent and enetres this phase in varied time because or else all your hairs would have fallen altogether otherwise.

Causes Of Hair Loss

Despite many possible reasons of hair loss, the most common cause of hair loss is as follows:

1. Androgenic Alopecia

2.Telogen Effluvium

3.Anagen Effluvium

4.Traction Alopecia

5.Tight braids

6.Trichotillomania

7.Autoimmune disease

8.Hypothyroidism

9.Infection

10.Chemotherapy

11.Medication

12.Vitamin/Mineral deficiency

Possibilities Of Hair transplantation And Restoration

 There are many ways to combat the hair loss in men and women, some of the most popular methods are as follows:

1.     FUT- considered as the most effective hair transplantation method performed with just local Anaesthesia. Offers superior coverage to the scalp, 95% success rate, and natural looking results, more effective for people with lighter color hairs.

2.     FUE- this process is minimally invasive, enabling implantation and extraction of hair follicles one-by-one in the most advanced way possible. This process offers the most natural looking results with visibly lesser scar and faster recovery time than FUE.

3.     Scalp Mircopigmentation – this medical grade application technique of colouring or depositing pigment into the epidermis or the upper dermal layer. This technique easily reflects the buzz cut and that of a shaved head. More like a permanent tattoo on the head, SMP, as it is also known as offers fastest recovery without the involvement of any hospital stay and is extremely safe.

11 Foods That Give You Better Hair Strength And Thickness

Ever since you narrowed your secrets to great hair to a good shampoo and conditioner, and perhaps a spa visit every now and then, things have fallen short lately that you don’t find yourself boasting off your tresses. Let’s do something. Hair Spa is expensive and they pretty much do a lot of home remedies to add to their luxurious services, or they use some harsh chemical products that actually damage your hair in a slow process. It’s great to have someone do the home remedies for you, but here are some”reality of life” hacks anyway.    

Balanced Diet For Better Hair

Have you noticed lately what has become of your diet? And this includes eating habits. As you start to take care of yourself, things fall short from the days when Mom did.

Essential Nutrients for Hair Growth— Protein, Zinc, Iron, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Vitamin D and Biotin

Essential Foods That Give You Great Hair—

1.       Almonds are great sources of essential Vitamin and Minerals that promote hair growth and also good skin and prevents heart disease among its many goodness. However, almonds are also good sources to build muscles and gain weight, so it is better to have them in moderate amounts if you are not aiming for weight gain. Any day, almonds are better snacking options than potato chips and French fries.

2.       Apple, banana, guava, pomegranate, papaya are great fruits known to promote hair growth.

3.       Coffee is good, great in fact, that packs in essential anti-oxidants, but it must be consumed in limited quantity, approx. two teaspoons per day.

4.       Green Tea, great source of essential anti-oxidants and healthier alternate to coffee.

5.       Eggs are multipurpose nutrients with protein, vitamin D, biotin, iron and zinc is highly effective on hair growth. Having two eggs per day is normally good, you can have more, based on your lipid count.

6.       Lean chicken, mutton/beef and fish are the major source of protein.

7.       Salmon is a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids.

8.       Chickpeas, Soybean, Tuna, Kidney Beans and Black Beans are great sources of protein and are vegan substitute’s of real meat.

9.       Potato relieves stress and repairs brittleness of hair. But that doesn’t mean that potato chips or French fries are excellent options for the purpose, mashed potatoes may be good staples, or spiced boiled potato cubes may good snack items.

10.   Tomatoes are excellent source of Vitamins that could also be used into your hair packs. Eating tomatoes does the job from inside also gives you glowing skin as well.

11.   Spinach and Carrots are rich in vitamin A, known to promote hair g. Green leafy vegetables are great food items for everybody.

Have your meals at proper time and proper way. Do not eat on the desk multitasking. Have a handful of almonds with your morning coffee and perhaps one or two eggs (the way you like it), that’s a great start. Followed by an apple or two bananas and so on. For more details please visit at http://www.hshairtransplant.co.uk/ .

Why Should You Get A Hair Transplant and Why Not

Though the surgery of hair transplant is considered to be safe, but stay very clear that the person witnesses various side effects.  Though the side effects are minimal and can be easily treatable. One should get it because it works, especially on the candidates with diffused hair loss and baldness at an early stage and you shouldn’t because you may not fit the ideal candidacy or may be simply suffering from a diffused hair thinning. There are a lot more advantages than a probable set of disadvantages to worry about from this form of cosmetic surgery.

Advantages Of Hair Transplantation:

·         You can get rid of baldness once and for all, which is pleasingly advantageous.

·         You yourself being the donor make the process a lot easier and risk free to a great extent.

·         The operation is simple and just local anesthesia can do.

·         Uniformity of distribution of hair which may not be possible naturally

·         A highly cost effective result.

·         A natural continuation of the hair growth is possible

Possible Risks And Side Effects Of Hair Transplantation

Knowing about the minor complications and side effects would help you for taking a better decision. They are as follows:

·         Temporary thinning of hair

You may be alarmed to find out that your existing scalp hair actually gets thinner, which is a very normal post operative condition and the density may come back within a few months or may not.

·         Severe itching

Not that much usual, but may occur on certain areas. But itching is not supposed to be last more than a few days and washing your hair properly with shampoo may help you get rid of this problem in lesser time.

·         Bleeding

It may not sound funny, but bleeding post hair transplant surgery is not an uncommon issue. Putting external force or pressure on the sensitive or recently operated sections may cause you to bleed. But there may be rare situations when the bleeding won’t stop. Do visit a surgeon in this case you may require certain extra suturing and care.

·         Infected scalp

Though rare, but infections are also possible after getting a hair transplantation surgery done.   But caring from pre operation and staying cautious with antibiotic doses you can prevent the infections from occurring.

·         Swelling

Experiencing swelling around the eye and the forehead region is normal for almost every candidate. It usually lasts for a few days, so is not of much concern.

·         Numbness

Numbness is a common side effect and several patients have reported feeling numb for over week’s span, but get to know that this is only a temporary condition which shall go away.

Fixing Hair Transplantation Scars

Hair is an integral part of our beauty and there are many a things which directly depend upon that. Unavoidable and Unfortunate enough, but hair transplant scars are not a pretty sight, but the intensity of the scar depends upon how far linear the scar is. But you can have lesser scar by following the FUE technique and thanks to the advancements in technology; the scar can be faded out and significantly reduced.

A successful hair transplant is considered as a glorious achievement for many with their restoration of their previous growth of hair. But there is one unavoidable part of the surgery, irrespective of the success of the process, the scar. They are completely capable of leaving ugly scars on the patient’s donor zone, though the blemish seems to dissolve with more time. For those who can live with their scars can stay tension free. But those who have to wear their short and requires fading out the scars at the earliest may be witnessing a great deal of anxiety.  Once you have settled for transplanting hairs, then the knowledge that the scars can never be entirely avoided. It can only be reduced and faded, but not totally dissolved.

Repairing scars with SMP technique- Pros and Cons

SMP techniques are commonly utilized mainly for camouflaging scars attained from the process of hair transplantation. The advancements are inclusive of effective concealment, safer and quicker with no further concern, no maintenance and no more surgery, other than just shaving and moisturizing.

SMP technique can take the favour of making the visible scars distinctively faded and are considered as one of the most popular scar concealment methods among masses.

Working on a strip scar repair requires 2-3 short sessions, though for some additional sessions may be required. Infact, so may happen, that the scar repair took place during the course of a full SMP treatment for some, minimizing the number of sessions.

But there are certain things which you need to keep in your mind for concealing the scar in a better way. You will be required to maintain a short hairstyle, (though it may seem a bit counter initiative), especially to those who has already grown their hairs long for hiding the scars. For more details please visit at http://www.hshairtransplant.co.uk/ .

The second most important thing is that you require sufficient amount of time to heal an SMP treatment. The scars, which are pinkish in color, can be treated easily but the deeper wounds take longer time. A normal 6-18 months is required post surgery for camouflaging the scars.

What Level Of Scar Can Be Camouflaged?

Around 70% of the scar can be camouflaged. A significant improvement can be seen with gradual time and infact the second session can offer full disguise of the scar.

Hair Cloning— Justifications And Possibilities

Hair cloning is the exciting future serving as an alternative of the hair transplantation surgery.  The main idea lies that the hairs left on the head of the patient to be multiplied by cloning of the existing hairs, replacing the idea of extracting the existing the donor hairs on the head to create new in the hair transplantation procedure.  

Hair cloning involves harvesting the hair follicles from the donor hair, successfully implanting them after multiplying similar pattern of a single hair in many forms. With the increasing count of people opting for hair transplantation and hair restoration, surgeries to find solutions for varied hair loss related conditions have taken the method of hair cloning as a revolutionary breakthrough in the history of hair transplantation. 

Hair cloning is a very promising mode of treatment for those experiencing androgenic alopecia or male pattern baldness to a great extent. It employs the method of replicating hair cells after testing them in a laboratory for creating an unlimited supply of hair, enough to completely cover a full head.  

The fact still remains to be studied thoroughly, which requires further refinement. There are certain cells, which signal in the production of more hair, thus used for hair cloning.  These cells, which display this sort of characteristics are tricked to grow inside a Petri dish, allowing them to grow as proper hairs, which can be used properly for hair transplant.

Right Candidature

Anyone battling with immense hair loss can find this procedure beneficial. Candidates not having enough donor hair grafts from their own heads definitely find hair cloning as an effective solution to meet their requirements.

Benefits Of Hair Cloning

·        Uniform growth of hair density

·        Production of sufficient amount of hair

·        Lesser procedural time

·        Less invasive than other procedures

·        Leaves a comparatively smaller scar

Hair cloning is definitely an advanced stage of hair restoration with convenient promising results. Though it is new in this arena and may take some time to reach the  target audience is a successful manner, but still it can assuredly result in a greater coverage of a head with quality hairs.

Challenges Faced:

The main challenge which has kept this option still in the process of refinement as the researchers are trying to ensure the fact that the cultured hairs from this process would lead to a uniform density of hair growth or not.  There also  may be certain allergic reaction, which the scientists wish to conclude with a positive note before they primarily recommend this method to be opted for restoring the desired hair growth.

But, it is best if your assorted surgeon evaluates your case individually and the process of hair transplantation chosen as a possible solution to restore excellent coverage seems perfect.

Follicular Isolation Technique (FIT) And Other Essential Techniques Of FUE Hair Transplant

Hair transplant surgery found a solid ground in medical science in the 1990’s with many surgical advances concerning the FUT strip procedure to overcome or at least minimise the linear scarring and other potential invasiveness.

For the purpose of minimised scarring, extracting donor follicular units individually and directly from the donor reserve was coined with valid potentials, with Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) procedure. This way was successful in minimizing scarring, but the early attempts were met with a loss of hair grafts being transected by the very FUE instruments while extraction. But new FUE standards of instruments as well as techniques are revving up to overcome the limitations.

As other than the scarring, FUT is still the most substantial plan to yield the best quality of hair grafts.

Fundamentals of FUE— It Is Still Follicular Transplantation

Fundamentally, with the FUE donor harvesting technique 2-5 hair follicular units that occurs naturally in the scalp, are plucked out from the donor reserve at the back of the scalp and above the ears, instead of a linear excision of a skin strip.

While FUE is at large considered to be a wholly different hair transplant technique than the FUT procedure, fundamentally it just differs by means the hair follicles are harvested, whereas, the rest of the surgical plans of follicular grafting, getting it from back of the scalp and above the ears, or techniques of planting them, are all the same. So technically, FUE is just a different type of follicular grafting, than a totally different procedure.

FUE Challenges, Techniques And Instruments

A very distinct character of hair follicles is that it changes directions and angles from that as a pact one direction bundle of hair above the surface of the scalp, while beneath the scalp skin it changes in a splaying manner. So while a hair strand has one angle on top of the scalp it is at a different opposite direction underneath which the surgeon cannot see. With this angular variation, while plucking the hair follicle, it greatly risks transecting by breaking apart with the slightest movement of the punch out of a perfect straight alignment. It is simply not possible, even with the highest experienced surgeon to attain large number of hair grafts like this.

The graft transection rate with FUE technique is not obvious either. With factors like hair strength, or scalp softness, and other many minute details, the challenges appear differently with some patients it is nominal, while sometimes it results high rate of graft transection.  The 2-step Follicular Isolation Technique and 3-step FUE techniques are coined for the manual procedure to suit up to varying candidates.

Follicular Isolation Technique (FIT) or the 2-Step FUE procedure— The idea is to pluck out intact 2-5 hair follicular units with the hair follicular bulb compact in a thin sheath of fatty tissue. To get this, very fine, specially designed blunt punches and forceps are used to create a very fine incision circling each 2-5 hair follicular unit and gently pluck it out the hair with the intact hair follicular unite, individually, one at a time, looks much like eyebrow plucking. But in the process, even though it relieves any scarring potentials, extraction of intact hair grafts is a challenge.

Three Step FUE Technique— A third step is added to the 2-Step Follicular Isolation Technique wherein a third sharp punch is used to slit the epidermis around the follicular unit before the dull punch is inserted in a twisting manner to dissect the follicular unit, and finally scoop out with the forceps.

Automated and Robotic FUE

The basic requirements of a punch and forceps is advanced into a device called Rotocore, which something liken an automated punch, that uses gentle vacuum technology helping to pull out the grafts in two and three step follicular isolation.

Robotic FUE is another extravagant technological breakthrough of the FUE procedure, which brings the apt prediction in graft excision, unachievable manually by human hands. The robot mimics the same course of procedure, with computerized precision. It is highly expensive, and not many surgeons have marveled its usage.

Hair Restoration To Baldness Using Body Hair

Hair forms to be a major aspect of a person’s face, so much crucial that with changing shape and style, the entire appearance varies. Thus, candid     ate loosing more than normal amount of hair strands can go for several options available to them like FUT and FUE, etc.

Hair is a vital object in the body.  Taking a random picture in this scenario would show that around 80% of men are affected by androgenic alopecia, which is men pattern baldness. Usually in the process of hair transplantation, the hair from the back of the scalp of the patient himself is considered as the donor region replaces the barren space. But what should the people with no hairs left in their head do. This is when the need of changing the donor zone comes on the scene.

Body hair is also used in the procedure of hair transplantation surgery, known as the advanced follicular unit extraction.  The one limiting factor which can obstruct you from achieving a successful outcome is the limited donor zone.  Body hair is proposed to be an alternative to the source of the donor region from where the hair could be taken. Though body hair is seen to grow much longer when placed in the scalp, as a result from the influence of scalp dermis or recipient influence.

FUE enables to harvest follicular units with natural grouping of 1-4 hairs at a time, which are implanted in the recipient zone.

As a leap forward for this advanced practice, this donor area enables potential chance of hair transplant with body hair. Any hair transplant actually confines the donor supply to the 5000-7000 follicles, but only a tenth of the lost hair can be replaced using a head donor source alone, with at times making it a displeasing coverage area.

 The benefits

When it becomes virtually impossible to achieve full scalp coverage of hair with successful hair transplant to restore hair, the body hair transplant has opened up great opportunities combined with today’s technologies for a virtually limitless amount of donor hair, eliminating the previously faced issue.

·        Minimally invasive process

·        Minimal scarring

·        Quick recovery

·        Services even severely bald men

·        Also meets the need of eyebrow transplantation

There are certain things which the patients should know from beforehand. The location change of the scalp doesn’t change the physiology of the body hair and the growth will be just to a certain extent and can never grow longer than that nor change the composition compared to what it was in the original location.  Depending on the success of the process, the new hair usually grows around nine months and continues to improve for the next 24 months.

Follicular Unit Transplant—Improvisations Of The Strip Technique

Over the years something, more than just the revamped names have changed. With improvision over the years, the surgery was performed by the surgeons as groups of 1- 4 hairs pulled together, known as follicular units. The principle of follicular grafting has come up with a new dimension with well projected medical procedure and revamped terminologies like FUT and FUE. Inititally, the surgeons juts picked up random numbers from anywhere they found suitable depending upon their perception of hair restoration process.  But this technique had a very funny looking appearance and the head seemed to look like a doll’s hair, which was far from natural.

 The process which involved punch grafting and strip harvesting had both increased the count of morbidity issues as the idea of a method which involved excising the skin from the permanent donor zone at the back of the scalp didn’t do quite well, resulting in more and more scars and unwanted results.

Giving rise to a new technique of strip excision known as Follicular Unit Transplant  or FUT procedure.  The main change, which has come with the internal process with the use of multiple bladed scalpels during the process of anesthesia. But after the change in scenario now after local anesthesia the procedure is performed without affecting the area anyhow, without bruising, scarring or excess blood loss.

Local anesthesia constricts the collagen and blood vessels, causing less blood flow and fastening up the recovery procedure.  While there were multiple strips of skin extracted, causing more transection rate of hair follicles earlier, it is just a  2mm wide strip of skin  from the donor zone which is deployed.

With the help of advanced technique the donor wound is closed with a closure technique known as Trichp closure which dissolves with the soluble sutures and staples.  Before this the donor closure technique of the strip procedure had morbidity issues with serrated island and pierce closure techniques.

Infact , standing in the present scenario, the punch grafting technique is outdated and FUT is the preferred one.  Some people confuse between these two processes as they may look pretty similar.

But in reality the hair follicle units are harvested one by one with micro-punches and magnified vision with advanced techniques and super fine instruments, leaving tiny pin prick holes in the donor zone and a decreased density of hair. While earlier, it would be in the size of a pencil eraser leaving bigger spots to heal.

The FUE process takes 2 weeks time to complete healing and fade, which is way faster than the previously used technique. Patients are given post operative instructions which should be taken care of enabling faster recovery.

Hair Grafts— Methods, Possibilities, Costs and Reviews

Hair transplantation is an autologous surgery wherein a person’s own hair at the back of the scalp is relocated onto bald areas at the front and center of the scalp to achieve an even coverage all over. The density and volume of the resulting hair restoration depend on how much hair the patient has to donate for the procedure.

There are two modern methods of extracting the donor hair— Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT strip excision) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). The two methods differ by means how the donor hairs are extracted, while the final creation of the hair grafts and the methods of planting them on the recipient (bald) zones, are all the same. FUT removes a strip of skin from the donor zone and dissects that skin to yield hair grafts according to the follicular units, while FUE plucks them out directly from the scalp.

Follicular Grafting and Micro Grafts

It is now identified that hair growth takes place in a certain pattern, in naturally occurring groups of hair rather than the single strands as we see it. There are single hair follicles as well as 2, 3, 4 and a maximum of 5 hair follicles that are densely packed in a unit, termed as follicular units.

So now, each hair graft contains from a single hair follicle forming a single hair graft, and up to 5 hairs, forming micro grafts. Hair transplantation practitioners hadn’t known about the hair follicular units until the late 90s. The predated techniques of the 80s and early 90s used larger hair grafts, that were chunks of skin harvested through strip excision or punch grafting that went on to create hair plugs that looked like the bristles of a toothbrush rather than natural hair. But now, only follicular grafting concept is followed outdating the “mini grafts” as now referred to contrast with single grafts and micro grafts.

Types of Hair Grafts

The types of hair grafts are referred by the number of hairs each graft contains, which could be from one to 5 and sometimes, 6 hairs and anything more that that could be considered as an immigrant that is no more in use.

Types of hair grafts are classified as a single hair sprouting from one individual follicular unit, type two could be two hairs sharing one hair follicular unit, and a three or more hairs sprouting from a common unit. Hair graft numbers determine the placement of them in a row.

Creating Hair Grafts

The creation of hair grafts differ with FUT and FUE. The strip excision with FUT is done under a microscope in an open dissection process where the surgeon could see the hair angles and directions apparently. Hair follicles have the tendency to change directions that seem on the surface of the scalp and that which resides beneath. So the open dissection is an advantage, which with the FUE procedure is a risk factor. As the FUE procedure plucks out he hair follicular units, it is at risk that the hair graft could be damaged in the very way of extracting it, if it is pulled in the opposite direction.

Hair Loss— Types And Causes

About Hair Growth Cycle

Every hair is a single shaft which grows form a follicle embedded on the dermal papillae of the scalp. The hairs keep growing and fall out and grow again, and this growth cycle continues.

Ø Male Pattern Baldness

Receding hairline is what determines the pattern of a male baldness. This hairline keeps on moving backwards and forms an ‘M’ pattern. Caused mainly due to genetic pre disposition and hormonal changes and fluctuations, this is pretty common among all men.

Ø Women Pattern Baldness

The hair thins starting from the top crown region and the exact reason behind this are still not understood. It can be due to any of the below mentioned things like changes in the  male hormone for example  after  reaching menopause , aging , or medical side effects, pregnancy, etc.

Ø Telogen Effluvium

Telogen Effluvium is the second most common form of hair loss, which starts at the early telogen phase of hair growth cycle, causing the telogen hair to shed, which can be recognized with the presence of the keratin bulb which sticks at the root of the hair.

Ø Traction Alopecia

This is a form of alopecia caused when external force is applied in pullingthe hair, leading to trauma and tension in the area. This is mainly found on head of people who tie their hairs a lot in pony tail, pig tail, braid, corn rows, etc from of hair styles. Mainly found among the Afro American women, telogen alopecia is not quite uncommon among female candidates.

Aspects Which Make A Candidate Ideal For Hair Transplant

1.     Donor Density

This plays a great role in hair transplantation as if the patient possesses good hair density then the transplanted hair in the recipient area can be expected to grow in a fair density.

2.     Donor Dominance

Auto grafting, which is also known as donor dominance maintains the characteristics of the donor hair selected, deciding upon the growth rate, texture and quality of the existing hair which will offer probable results in a new site irrespective of what are the qualities of the recipient area.

3.     Scalp Laxity

The extent which determines how far the tissues can be stretched under tension suggests the scalp laxity. Though it varies from person to person, but one with a good scalp laxity can recover more hair restoration in lesser time post surgery as compared to candidates with weaker scalp laxity.

For more details please visit our Harley Street Hair Transplant Clinic.

Exploring the FUT Strip Technique

There are numerous factors which can cause tremendous amount of hair loss, so much so that there remains no viable option to be chosen from other than going for the hair transplantation. The two main types of hair transplant, which have been ruled in the present scenario, are FUT (Follicular Unit Transplant) and FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction). There is a stigma attached to the FUT procedure of hair transplant has misled many and taken away from the pros of the newly advanced methods. FUT strip process involves a single blade incision, follicular grafting and is a lesser invasive procedure with more benefits than demerits.

FUT strip has developed from the old technique of strip harvesting, involving a procedure of stripping out a thin part of the skin from the back of the scalp, which is the permanent donor zone, meant for yielding donor hair. The strip procedure has been previously the sole reason for donor scarring, bruising and hair plugs. But with the advanced technology and improvised techniques, follicular grafting and micro dissection has changed the dimensions of the outcome involved.  Infact, now it is favored by the surgeons themselves for an even quality of hair grafts as compared to the FUE process  for a full head coverage operation just under a 7 hour session.

·        Use Of The Local Anesthesia

Previously this method  was performed  under general anesthesia, with greater issues of blood loss, scarring and bruising, replaced by the new procedure of local anesthesia, which not only constricts the blood vessels of the treatment area, but also  stiffens the excess blood loss in that region.

·        Use Of A Single Blade Incision

With the use of a scalpel just a lateral slit is made in the present time, which used to be a multi blade incision process.  This has reduced the level of scarring along with greater rate of success to achieve the desired results.

·        Follicular Grafting

Every hair grows out of a single follicle.  The follicular grafting is abided by FUE hair restoration and FUT. / While for FUT the strip of skin is placed under a microscope to dissect the follicular grafts, while the FUE process involves the donor zone to be cropped and collected after easy detection under 30 x magnifications.

·        Undermining

Performed occasionally to relive tension this process can help you ease out while recovering.

·        Trichophytic Closure

This closure process reduces the chance of the coordinated incision in a systematic way. This closure technique also allows the existing hairs to grow leniently through the scar hiding it completely.

·        Use of absorbable staples and sutures

 The closure of the donor wound can be either is done with sutures or staples. With staples there will be lesser inserted and lesser inflammation, and lesser risk of damaging the existing hair after donor harvesting.