Most people today either would like to avoid hair loss, or are already in the uncomfortable realization that they have begun to suffer from this very common problem. True, everyone would like to keep a healthy, youthful scalp of thick hair, but at what cost? Many options have recently targeted consumers who might be interested in re-growing some or all of their hair. But which possibilities are actually helpful or worth the trouble is a common question that is often difficult to answer. One option that has improved over the years has now become increasingly available to the common individual. This is that of hair transplantation. You can get more in-depth details and comparisons at the Hair Loss Learning Center.

Hair transplantation was not originally targeted toward baldness. The first attempts at this procedure were to attack hair loss caused by an injury of some sort, including those sustained by soldiers. The approach to giving someone back some of their former appearance lost either in an accident or in service to their country received much attention. Eventually, this procedure spread to tackling the problem of baldness.

Older methods included plugs as well as larger skin flaps which were grafted to the injured area. Now, a newer method is being utilized which is known as follicular unit transplantation. This involves harvesting tiny sections of hair follicles that typically grow together in “units” from donor areas such as the back and sides of the head. These units contain as few as one follicle and rarely ever contain more than five. These sections are also genetically programmed to avoid baldness since they come from such targeted donor areas.

The procedure involves a shampoo and antibiotic treatment of the scalp prior to operation. Typically, patients may be mildly sedated. After the units are harvested, the surgeon and assistants will clean them of excess fatty or fibrous tissues, while being careful not to damage the follicular cells necessary for grafting. The surgeon then uses a fine needle to puncture the areas for grafting by following a pattern which replicates natural hair growth. You can read more details of the surgery itself at the Hair Loss Learning Center.

After the grafting is done, the patient is typically advised to keep the treated areas out of sunlight, and to gently shampoo the area on a regular basis starting approximately two days after the surgery. This is to prevent scabbing and possible consequent loss of the grafted hair. Almost all of the transplanted follicles will fall out naturally due to the shock of the transplant. However, within the next three months new follicles will begin to grow and thicken. With care and patience, the surgery will show great success.

Recently, hair transplantation has become a more viable option in the battle to stop hair loss and baldness. Further research is looking to improve this procedure even more. Hopefully, hair loss will continue to be less of a problem, as hair transplantation becomes more effective and more affordable in the future.