Surgical Hair Treatments | Non-Surgical Treatments | New Hair Loss Treatments | Hiding Hair Loss
While hair loss in general has challenging personal consequences, today’s hair loss treatment options have never been more varied or successful.
Surgical Hair Replacement
Surgical hair replacement has undergone huge advancement since the days of plugs.
In the 1970’s, ‘80’s & early 90’s, surgeons use to do flaps and scalp reductions, but with noticeable and sometimes unsightly results. To address these shortcomings, hair restoration surgeons began to develop and refine what are now the two state-of-the-art hair transplant procedures: Follicular Unit Transplants (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE).
FUT & FUE procedures achieve stunningly natural results for our hair transplant clients. Indeed, even hair care professionals cannot tell if our clients have had surgical hair restoration. These procedures just take a few hours on a single day in our facility and cost between $4000 and $15,000. Because of the slow growth of hair, around ½ inches per month, you won’t see your hair transplant fully realized until after about one year. Depending on the extent and pattern of your loss, you may need to have more then one procedure.
While the main objective of surgical hair replacement is to regain new and permanent hair growth on the scalp, we can also do this for other areas of the body too, such as the face, to restore a beard or moustache, for example, or anywhere else on the body where you want to have more hair.
My background in surgical hair restoration is grounded in my training as an ear, nose & throat surgeon. I’ve also trained with the early pioneers of these advanced modern surgical hair restoration techniques, FUT & FUE. I’ve been using both FUT & FUE since 2000 in both New York & California, at one point performing over 500 cases per year. In 2006, I opened my own practice with the goal of staying current with the latest technology and research and to apply my own, highly refined surgical techniques to achieve high quality, natural, satisfying results for my clients. The best doctors continually work on their knowledge and technique – that’s why we say doctors “practice” medicine.
Non-Surgical Medical Treatments to Stop Hair Loss
One of the best medicines prescribed for male & female pattern baldness is Finasteride (brand name: Propecia). It is a small tablet and you take it once a day orally. Studies have shown it to slow down, arrest and — in some cases — slightly reverse the course of hair loss.
Another well-known medicine for treating this type of baldness is Minoxidil (brand name: Rogaine). You apply Minoxidil topically to the scalp twice each day to help slow the course of hair loss. Minoxidil is available over the counter without a doctor’s prescription and comes in liquid, sprays and foams.
While many products claim to treat male & female pattern baldness, studies show that Finasteride and Minoxidil are the most effective treatments for permanent hair loss. However, neither of these medications can restore lost hair, at least not to a significant extent.
Finally, many other medical conditions aside from male & female pattern baldness can cause hair loss, such as Lupus and Hypothyroidism. Effectively treating these conditions will stop and even reverse the loss. The same goes for some scalp conditions, e.g., infections and cases of scalp inflammation – effectively treating these conditions effectively treats the loss.
For Dr. Frank, the first goal is to accurately determine the cause of your hair loss and then design an effective and affordable plan of action. If we cannot treat your particular hair loss, we’ll help you find the specialist you need.
New Hair Loss Treatments
A new FDA approved treatment for male and female pattern baldness is low-level laser light therapy. In individuals who have a less robust scalp circulation, laser applications may help to increase the blood supply and thereby arrest or reverse hair loss. The side effects are virtually nonexistent and low level laser light therapy has become a new useful and popular alternative to the traditional hair loss treatments.
Biocapillation (TM), currently offered only by Dr. Frank, is another relatively new treatment option, but for all types of hair loss. It combines Trichology, a century’s old customized approach to treating hair loss, with modern medical and surgical technologies into a powerful new treatment option.
Trichology specialists have been effectively treating hair loss for over 100 years. Trichology involves a more holistic approach to dealing with the cause of hair loss. It proscribes highly personalized treatment making use of a number of different remedies to reverse any or all of the harmful agents contributing to hair loss. This is in contrast to the oversold hair loss product market, which really comes down to a one size fits all approach.
Fake It Till You Make It: Effectively Hiding Hair Loss
If you are not quite ready to use modern hair loss treatments such as surgical hair restoration, or drugs like Finasteride, a popular and effective way to deal with permanent hair loss is to — fake it.
Many people today effectively employ products and techniques that conceal their hair loss.
The advantage of these products is that they are usually inexpensive, fast acting, and are easy to remove. This allows for easy testing.
For instance, several sprays, creams and gels can give you immediate benefit. They work great for wedding photos and other special occasions and they are very commonly part of most television and theatre make-up departments. The best ones are well hidden and only come off when you shower or wash your hair.
Another easy way to conceal hair loss is to use wigs, weaves, hairpieces and/or extensions. Manufactures make these products from synthetic fiber and you can easily apply them to your scalp. Of course, some are sold in retail stores where you go in, pick a style and color and you walk out the door with a new look or cover-up. The best ones however require expert design and fitting and are quite a bit more expensive. Highly skilled fitters will usually custom design what you need from real human hair, and the fitting will require specialized adherence products. Your hair system will also need periodic maintenance.
The real objective of any technique is to conceal the visible scalp, especially when there is a stark color contrast between the scalp and the hair.
Finally, many people are trying permanent tattoos where the scalp is given a wide pattern tattoo so that the color matches the hair. This is most effective in fairer complexion individuals with coarse, dark hair.
The biggest disadvantage of trying to conceal hair loss comes from the fact that the condition causing it can be progressive. That is, over time, you’ll keep losing your hair until the condition arrests on its own or – you run out of hair. Thus, you’ll need to put more and more time, money and effort into achieving effective concealment. In the end, stopping the loss, or, ideally, restoring the lost hair, is the most cost-effective solution.
To determine the best treatment for you, request your Frank & Honest Hair Consultation now.
