HAIR LOSS PREVENTION (9)

HAIR LOSS PREVENTION (9)

Hair Replacement and Restoration Techniques

There has been a great deal of progress in the field
of hair replacement and restoration in the past few years.
Surgical techniques have improved greatly from the days
when hair replacement first began. All hair replacement
techniques involve the use of your own hair; therefore, hair
replacement candidates must have some healthy hair,
usually at the back and sides of the head. The process is a
relatively safe procedure when performed by a qualified
surgeon, however as with any surgery there are risks.
Candidates must be checked for uncontrolled high blood
pressure, blood-clotting problems, or skin that scars
excessively, as these conditions may make healing difficult.
Small pieces of hair growing scalp grafts are removed from
areas of the scalp with healthy hair and are placed where
hair is thinning. There are three major types of grafts:
punch grafts, mini-grafts, and micro-grafts. Punch grafting
takes about 10-15 hairs and places them in the scalp. This
was the first type of technique to be developed, and when
first developed caused a patchy look in many candidates.
The technique has been improved since the first days of
being developed, and the new mini-graft technique has also
been added as an option. Mini-grafts contain only 2-4 hairs
per graft, and therefore look much more natural. Micrografts
are still smaller grafts that contain one to two hairs
each. To maintain healthy circulation of the scalp, grafts
are placed 1/8th of an inch apart. Local anesthesia is usually
sufficient for these procedures, and several procedures are
usually required to achieve the desired result. Post-surgery,
a period of approximately 10 days of no sexual or strenuous
activity is recommended, as strenuous activity may cause
bleeding from the graft areas.
Of course surgery is a serious option, and often an
expensive one as well. For those not wishing to undergo
surgery for either reason, the option of non-surgical hair
additions is often explored. Many professionals have
developed techniques to add hair to existing hair on your
scalp that look very natural. Weaves, fusions, bonding,
cabling and micro linking are some of the techniques used
to bond hair to the existing hair or scalp non-surgically.
Many jokes were made in the past about wigs and
toupees, and they have gained an unfavorable light amongst
many people because they were so obvious on the wearer.
Today’s toupees and wigs are often made of real hair and
are very well styled, causing them to look more natural on
the wearer. These hairpieces are held in place by affixing
adhesive to the scalp and stay in place through vigorous
exercise. Of course you will need to seek a professionally
made toupee in order to make it worth your while, and you
should purchase at least two so that you can maintain them
properly, servicing one while wearing the other. A
professionally styled and fitted toupee is expected to cost
upward of $600 to $1000 in today’s market. Of course no
one wants to go through the embarrassment of wearing the
obvious “rug” on top of your head, so if you are not willing
to spend the money it takes to purchase a professional
toupee then it is probably best to not wear any hairpiece at all.
Structured hairpieces as they are called are a semisurgical
approach that permanently attaches hair to the
scalp by stitching the hair to the bald scalp. This procedure
is not recommended, as it is a process that involves
introducing a foreign material to the scalp. Most ethical
surgeons do not perform this procedure any longer as they
are generally deemed to be ethically inappropriate. If this
procedure is recommended to you, get a second opinion
from a trusted physician.
A much safer procedure is hair weaving, yet this
can only be used if hair is thinning and large balding areas
are not present. The process is also called hair
intensification or hair integration. Strands of synthetic or
real hair are braided or weaved into your own existing hair
giving an appearance of a full head of hair. This procedure
does have its drawbacks, because it can make the scalp
difficult to access, interfering with proper hair and scalp
maintenance necessary for the health of your remaining
natural hair, and this method can also stress existing hair
since the artificial hair introduced through weaving is
attached to it. This method is usually expensive, costing
several thousand dollars per application, and being that
because of the aforementioned drawbacks it can only be
left in for a few weeks at a time it is usually impractical for
the average person.
It is highly recommended that one seek professional
assistance with these procedures from licensed beauticians
or barbers, and have a patch test done to the skin if using
adhesives to test for skin sensitivities. Extra care must be
taken to maintain cleanliness of the hair and scalp when
wearing added hair in order to maintain the health of
existing hair and the scalp in general. Of course, if you are
undergoing chemotherapy or are in the early stages of
diagnosed alopecia areata then these procedures should be
avoided as the hair they are connected to is likely to fall out
as well. Either waiting for a period of time or obtaining a
full prosthesis is recommended in these cases.
Yet still there is another type of treatment which is a
spray of micro fibers made up of the same substance that
hair is made of: keratin. If your hair is simply thinning,
while you are investigating a more permanent solution to
your hair loss problems or in the process of employing a
particular process that takes some time, you can use these
substances to cosmetically produce the appearance of
thicker and fuller hair. The substance is marketed under
several different names, one such being Topik®. Being a
temporary solution it is relatively inexpensive, and can
provide some immediate aesthetic results to bolster
confidence and optimism as you work on more permanent
solutions.