Which Hair Replacement Procedure Might Be Best For You?
Most men lose a significant amount of hair by the time they are thirty-five. To preserve their 'looks', they set out looking for hair replacement options. More than 50 million men in the US fall prey to a genetic disorder called 'Androgenetic Alopecia'. 95% of men who suffer from androgenetic alopecia report to excessive hair loss.
In the face of such grime situation, men turn towards solutions to combat their hair loss. And come across an overwhelmingly large number of options available. From different types of non-surgical treatments to the surgical ones, we have summarized the most common hair replacement options for you.
What are Hair Replacement Systems?
Hair replacement systems are specially designed hair units or procedures. They either help in the regrowth of natural hair (in case of transplant). Or cover the bald or thinning areas of the crown by employing synthetic or natural human hair.
The hair restoration industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and many people from almost all walks of life, from celebrities to the common men, consult a hair restoration physician or expert to fight their excessive hair loss problem.
Types of Hair Replacement Procedures: Which one to pick?
When people get out in search of hair replacement procedures, they land on multiple options. Each of these options claims to have promising results, yet each one has its downsides. Therefore, selecting the right hair replacement system can often be very difficult. It can make you want to pull your hair out (and you wouldn't want to do that if you're already going bald).
Therefore, we have briefly explained some of the most promising surgical and non-surgical hair replacement options. Read on to find out which hair replacement procedure is capable of giving you everything that you need.
The Surgical Hair Replacement Procedures
Surgical hair replacement systems make use of your existing and 'immune to hair fall' follicles to encourage natural hair growth in the balding regions of your crown. These procedures, like all other procedures, have advantages and limitations.
The Surgical hair treatments require patients to come in for multiple sessions and may cost up to $18000.
There are two major surgical hair replacement procedures:
- Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT)
- Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
The Follicular Unit Transplant
FUT or follicular unit transplant is one of the earliest hair transplant procedures. Everyone who considers hair transplant thinks of a FUT procedure. Because it has been in commercial practice for more than 20 years thus, is very popular among masses.
In a FUT procedure, the physician cuts out an area of skin from the donor area (mostly the sides and back of the crown). The donor area is that region of your head that appears to be 'immune' to hair fall. It may have natural hair even after the rest of your head has gone bald.
The hair transplant physicians then retrieve the tissues from the skin that they've cut out from the donor area to make tiny grafts from them for transplant. While the team of transplant experts prepares grafts, you will have some physicians making incisions in your 'acceptor' or bald area.
Then they will insert the follicular grafts into the incisions that they would have made in the balding region and wrap your head in a bandage to allow the healing process to begin.
FUT procedures can take up to 8 hours to complete and leave a long cicatrix on the back of the patients head in their wake. Post-surgery care routine is tougher for FUT procedures because the patients have to tend to the big scar that runs across their donor area while also caring for their newly transplanted hair.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
Researchers and hair transplant experts developed the follicular unit extraction (FUE) procedure to eliminate the shortcomings of the FUT procedure without compromising on the results.
In this procedure, instead of removing patches of skin from your donor area, physicians will only extract individual follicles from the donor region and inject them in the acceptor region by using ultra-thin needles.
In this way, physicians transplant the follicles of the donor site that are capable of growing natural hair in the bald regions. So that natural hair can grow in those regions and eliminate baldness.
However, eliminating much of the pain and post-surgery problems of the FUT procedure, the FUE procedure still costs a lot and may last longer than and FUT procedure. But it has almost negligible post-surgery care requirements and is thus more preferable over FUT.
Surgical procedures produce visible results over 6-10 months; however, there is no guarantee of satisfaction from these results. Moreover, if gone wrong, your hair may not only look unnatural but also appear aesthetically displeasing.
Non-surgical Hair Replacement Procedures
When going for non-surgical hair replacement procedures, there are once again lots of options for people to consider. The most common types of non-surgical hair replacements, however, are:
- Hair Weaving
- Hair Bonding
- Cosmetic Transdermal Reconstruction
Hair Weaving
Hair weaving is an option better suited for people with very thin hair who want to add more volume to them. In this restoration procedure, hair replacement personnel integrate hair strands with the existing natural hair on the recipient's head. These hair strands are either synthetic or made from natural human hair. Most hair replacements experts often refer to this procedure as hair integration.
Hair Bonding
People who are looking for full coverage options for their balding head may want to consider the hair bonding procedure. Hair bonding is a non-surgical hair replacement procedure in which a hair unit is applied to the patient's head using dermatologically-approved medical adhesives.
The hair unit is made by tying individual hair strands (synthetic or natural) to polymeric, lace or BioSKin base. This hair unit is then applied to the recipient's head and given a haircut as desired.
Cosmetic Transdermal Reconstruction.
Cosmetic transdermal reconstruction (CTR) is the most technologically advanced, non-surgical hair replacement procedure. It involves the application of ultra-thin grafts on the person's scalp. These skin grafts exclusively crafted after taking the patient's scalp measurements, hair growth direction and hair density to give the patients a hair replacement that looks as real as natural hair.
All non-surgical hair replacement procedures are 100% pain-free and non-invasive. Unlike hair regrowth supplements and transplant surgeries, non-surgical systems are free from any side-effects and produce immediate results.
Contrary to popular belief, non-surgical hair replacement procedures, if done right, appear completely natural. They are much affordable as compared to the surgical options. However, CTR being an ultra-modern procedure may lean a bit on the expensive side.
These non-surgical systems, unlike the surgical ones, reveal immediate results and since, in this case, you have an option of customizing your hair units. Thus satisfaction is almost always guaranteed.
However, most non-surgical hair replacement systems may need regular maintenance. Moreover, they are not permanent, and even the best hair units only last for about 4-6 months maximum and need a replacement after that.
But even after calling for a replacement almost twice a year, non-surgical hair replacement systems are cheaper than the surgical procedures.
EndNote
Hair loss is becoming a global issue with time; more people are indulging in unhealthy habits, diet and lifestyle that directly affects general health. These factors, combined with a family history of androgenetic alopecia, wreak havoc on most peoples' scalp. Thus, billions of people worldwide suffer from extreme hair loss conditions.
In this situation, the popularity of hair replacement systems is increasing by the day. And people often wonder which hair replacement procedure would be best for them. While there is no sure-fire way to answer this question, there are some pros and cons of every hair replacement option that people can consider to pick a hair replacement system.
While surgical hair transplants are expensive and not covered by most health insurances, non-surgical hair systems require frequent replacements and need proper maintenance.
Every person has different requirements when it comes to a hair replacement procedure. What may work well for one person may not sit so well with another. Thus, it is important to do extensive research and take proper consultation before choosing any hair restoration option.
To learn more about hair replacement system, contact our experts now.
