How a person looks is important to him or her; it’s not just vanity talking. Hair loss can greatly affect a person’s self-esteem, which could lead to anxiety, depression or other emotional issues. Besides the psychological effects of hair loss, a luxurious head of hair is a sign of good health, youth and beauty, which is something many of us strive to project. When a person starts losing their hair, it can be devastating, but with advances in hair restoration and hair transplants is doesn’t have to be.
Pull the Plug on Hair Plugs
The surgical solutions to reversing hair loss have come a long way since the “hair plugs” of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Those fake looking clumps of hair that often made balding men look even more unsightly aren’t good endorsements for hair restoration. Technology was limited then, and doctors were forced to remove large clumps of hair follicles and transplant those “plugs” to bald spots. Almost no one does “hair plugs” anymore, and transplants have become so advanced that results are so natural-looking, people won’t even notice them.
Types of Hair Transplants
There are different types of hair transplants. Modern hair restoration methods include Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), which are both micro-graft procedures. While the implantation procedure of both of these types of hair grafts is identical, the difference is how the surgeon harvests the grafts of hair from donor sites. In FUT, which is sometimes called a Strip Donor Procedure, the surgeon extracts thin strips or micro-grafts from donor areas, then he further separates these hairs into clusters of one to four follicular units without any damage to the individual hairs. FUE is even more precise with a special “punch-like” instrument used to remove individual hair follicles.
FUT is one of the most commonly used forms of hair restoration. Some advantages of this procedure include:
- Association with greater survivability rate among individual follicular units
- Less time consuming, from start to finish
- More cost effective
- Minimal linear scarring
FUE is considered the successor to FUT techniques. It’s considered one of the fastest growing cosmetic surgeries and offers many advantages, including:
- Doesn’t require scalpel or sutures
- Shorter recovery time
- Less painful
- Minimal dot-like scarring, often not visible
Who Reaps the Benefits
Both procedures remove and relocate healthy hair follicles from one area on a patient’s body to another, strand by strand, called Follicle Renewal. These follicles replace missing strands of hair due to hair loss, often commonly caused by Androgenetic Alopecia. While female pattern baldness differs from male pattern baldness, both sexes can benefit from these procedures. Each procedure is customized to an individual patient’s needs and concerns, and his/her age, degree of hair loss, hair characteristics and donor hair availability. While countless patients have benefited from Follicle Renewal, realize that hair loss is a progressive condition, which means the thinning process may still continue, despite undergoing a restoration procedure.
Lets Recap
To recap, the term hair plug is an outdated term used by the public for an outdated procedure that had less than desirable results. According to WebMD, the results of micro-grafting procedures from modern surgical treatments for hair loss produce a more natural appearance than the old technique of transplanting plugs. Today, hair loss patients compare FUT versus FUE procedures to determine the best route to reverse their hair lose.
Are You Experiencing Hair Loss?
If you’re experiencing hair loss, it’s important to talk to an expert to find the right treatment for your condition. Contact Dr. Frank in New York or Columbus, Ohio to get more information or request a free appraisal today to get started.
