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Hair Transplants – New Hope For Men (and Women) Experiencing Hair Loss

Did you know that up to 50% of women will experience some form of hair loss by age 50? The numbers get even worse for men, as the American Hair Association estimates that up to 85% of men will experience hair thinning in their lifetime. 

Causes of hair loss in women include childbirth, severe infection, vitamin deficiency, thyroid disease, stress and unhealthy crash diets. For men, genetics, age, stress and hormonal imbalance play a huge role in this jarring experience.

Waking up to hair strands on your pillow or in the shower can be a traumatizing experience that could potentially affect your confidence and overall well-being. Fortunately, hair transplants have emerged as a viable and low-risk solution to hair loss. 

In this article, we’ll briefly look at everything you need to know about hair transplants.

What are Hair Transplants?

A hair transplant is a cosmetic  hair restoration procedure that is used to treat hair loss. They’ve popularized celebrities, football stars, TV personalities and influencers including Wayne Rooney, Elton John and Ben Affleck. 

There are two main types of hair transplants; 

  • Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) – This procedure involves transplanting hair follicles from other regions of your body, (usually other areas of your head that still have hair) to the thinning or balding areas.
  •  Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) – This procedure involves ‘stripping’ skin from the back of your head where you’d typically have denser hair. 

Types of Hair Loss That Hair Transplants Can Treat

Androgenetic Alopecia (Male Pattern Baldness and Female Pattern Baldness) 

This is by far the most common type of hair loss that affects both men and women. You might have seen it in men manifesting as thinning hair at the crown while in women, hair loss is evenly spread across the scalp.

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Hair transplants are very effective for this type of hair loss because the procedure involves transplanting hair follicles from areas ‘immune’ to hair loss( like the back of the head) and transplanted to thinning areas. 

Alopecia due to Trauma

Accidents, burns, and injuries could potentially result in hair loss. Hair transplants can treat hair loss in such cases, helping to restore hair to affected areas. 

Are You a Good Candidate for a Hair Transplant?

Are you experiencing a receding hairline? Have you had an accident that led to loss of hair? Is your hair falling out? If the answer to these questions is yes, then you might be a good candidate for a hair transplant. 

Other conditions that you might need to satisfy to become eligible for a hair transplant include:

  • Age – between late 20s to early 50s
  • Density of hair – you’ll need to have areas with dense hair for the graft or transfer
  • Free from chronic diseases that could impair the healing process

Are There Any Risks Associated With Hair Transplants?

There is a fairly low risk of infections and complications in the case of Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). FUE is perhaps the best hair transplant option because of its minimally invasive techniques that offer quick recovery times with fairly minimal scarring. Patients also heal quickly and feel less discomfort post-surgery. 

Because of the larger area of focus and operation, Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) have a ‘sizable’ amount of risk of scarring and infection. Although this procedure is great for patients who require hair transplants for a large area, due to the nature of the surgery, it has a longer recovery time and could also result in a larger scarring area.

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Should You Get a Hair Transplant?

The best way to determine your eligibility for a hair transplant is to speak to professional hair transplant surgeons who work at reputable and licensed clinics. Other factors that you’ll need to consider include price (expect to pay anywhere from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars)

However, one thing’s certain—hair transplants offer new hope to people experiencing hair loss. If this jarring and traumatic experience has lowered your self-esteem and confidence, you should definitely consider getting a hair transplant.