Post Hair Loss Questions and Get Answers

Hair transplant patients are attracted to today’s surgical hair restoration because not only is it proven to grow hair in completely bald areas, but in the right surgical hands it can be so natural that even hairstylists can’t detect the result. Hair transplantation has come a long way since the days of old plugs, but just how natural are they? Can today’s hair transplants be spotted or do they blend naturally with the rest of a patient’s remaining hair?

In this hair loss discussion thread, members of our community share their own personal hair loss stories and how surgical hair restoration has changed their lives. You are encouraged to read others and share your own experience with hair replacement surgery.

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher/Editor

Technorati Tags: Hair transplant, hair restoration, grow hair, bald, Hair transplantation, hair transplants, hair loss, hair replacement

Can I get body hair transplanted to my scalp?  How effective is this solution?

This hair loss question was answered by Dr. Cam Simmons of Toronto, Canada, who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians.

There are other hair transplant doctors who have done a lot more body hair transplants than me. I have performed body to body hair transplantation in rare situations but do not usually recommend transplanting body hair to the scalp for the following reasons:

• Body hair is not the same quality of hair as scalp hair and does not look as good or as natural.
• The life cycle of body hair is different than for scalp hair so it takes longer for the transplanted hair to grow.  Also transplanted body hair will spend less time in the hair growth phase and more time in the resting phase than transplanted scalp hair.  See the normal scalp hair growth cycle for more information.
• Body hair transplantation is still quite new in medical terms, so there is not a lot of data about results or survival of the transplanted hair.  FUE for body hair is usually technically more difficult than for scalp hair.
• So far, I have been disappointed by the few results that I have seen of other surgeon’s body hair transplants.
• Most men still have scalp hair available for transplantation.

Hundreds of hair loss questions are answered on our discussion forum and received in our inbox on a weekly basis. Below, we’ve collected some of these hot topic questions of the week and posted responses by veteran hair transplant patients and leading hair restoration physicians.

You can also ask your own questions and get answers on our hair restoration forum or privately by using the contact form.

Is Finpecia (Generic Finasteride) as Effective as Propecia?

Can Doctors Predict Future Hair Loss?

Dealing with Hair Restoration Complications (Dr. James Vogel)

What is the Difference between Rogaine and Minoxidil?

How Many Grafts are Needed to Restore a Balding Crown?

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher/Editor

Technorati Tags: hair loss, hair transplant, hair restoration

This insightful article was written by a Dr. Michael Beehner of Saratoga Springs, NY who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians.

Over the past few years Bill Seemiller (Falceros) and Pat Hennessey have asked me to share with the reading audience my rationale for using multi follicular unit grafts (MFU) grafts (multi-follicular grafts, 4-6 hairs each) in the hair transplant planning for some patients. I will try to do so here.

First of all, in order to get our terminology straight, the difference between a “minigraft” and a MFU Graft, is that the minigraft is cut with less magnification, usually with “loupes” and are “cut to size” and often have a little transection in the cutting process. A MFU graft is cut, at least in our practice, under a 10x stereoscopic microscope and the nurse in our practice who specializes in cutting them each case that we use them, under high magnification dissects out a graft that encompasses two (or sometimes three) follicular units (FUs) that are in close proximity to each other. Incidentally, MFU grafts can be placed into either a small slit (usually made in what we call a “parallel” orientation) or into a small, round hole (usually 1-1.3mm in diameter; about the size of pencil lead)

ADVANTAGES:

1) In most research studies performed on hair growth / survival in follicles within MFU grafts, the survival has been 100%. It is presumed that this is because of the fact that they are buffered and protected by the surrounding tissue around and thus are less susceptible to trauma and drying. Also, hidden “telogen” stage (hibernation) hairs are often present and grow out later, which with FU dissection might be stripped away.

This hair loss question was answered by Dr. Robert True of New York, NY who is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.  His professional answer is below.

I had a hair transplant 2 weeks ago and my scalp is still red.  Is this normal?

For hair loss patients with medium to darker complexions, pinkness or redness of the scalp following hair restoration suture removal is rarely an issue. However for fair complexion patients, a visible pinkness may persist for 3 to 6 weeks and for a small percentage of these patients, even 2 -4 months.

Hypoallergenic flesh toner concealer cosmetic can be used to safely hide the pinkness. The doctor may also prescribe a cortisone cream to speed resolution.

—

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher/Editor

Technorati Tags: hair transplant, hair loss, hair restoration

This hair loss article was written by Dr. Ron Shapiro of Bloomington, MN who is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. 

When Hair Restoration Surgery (HRS) was first popularized by Orentreich, the primary graft used was the “standard” 4 mm round punch graft.  However, over the past 10 years we have seen the introduction of much more diversity with respect to the size and shape of grafts. Grafts used today vary significantly and can be described with respect to a number of different variables including:

• Number of hairs
• Number of follicular units (FU’s) per graft
• Graft shape (linear, rectangular, round, chubby, skinny)  
• Size and type of the recipient site used (i.e. slit, slot or punch incisions).  Although technically this last variable refers to the recipient site and not the graft, in clinical practice, grafts are often described in this manner. 
• Process of graft production (i.e. cut “to size” vs. deliberately cut to contain a specific “number of hairs (or FU’s)”.

The reality of the situation was that for a long time a great deal of inconsistency and lack of specificity existed  when grafts were  described in the literature or at conferences.   Often in the past all that was stated was  that “Micrografts” or “Minigrafts” were  used.  This lack of specificity contributed to much of the confusion that existed when trying to compare different techniques that have developed over the years. 

When is it safe to color or dye my hair after a hair transplant?  Can I do this as early as 10 days post-op?

This question was posed by a hair loss sufferer seeking hair loss help on our hair restoration forum and answered by Dr. Steven Gabel of Hillsboro, OR who is an elite member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.  His professional answer is below.

There is no magical answer to when hair transplant patients can start dying their hair. The reason for this is that each patient heals at a different rate. I have some patients who come back 10 days after their hair replacement procedure and their incision and recipient sites look like they have healed.  I have others that need a little more time to heal.

The postoperative instructions I give patients are to wait until the transplanted hairs have gone through their initial shock period – usually four to six weeks.  By that time, I know that the grafts are firmly in place and exchanging their blood supply. The problem with hair coloring and the dying process is that different hair stylists will use several chemical compounds to dye the hair and I don’t want any risk of injury to the hair follicles with outside chemicals. My advice is always: be patient!

This hair loss article was written by Dr. Ron Shapiro of Bloomington, MN who is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. 

What is Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)?

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is a method of obtaining donor hair for Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT), where individual follicular units are harvested directly from the donor area, without the need for a linear incision. With the FUE technique, a .8mm to 1 mm punch is used to make a small circular incision in the skin around the upper part of the follicular unit, which is then extracted directly from the scalp.

Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) are sometimes mistakenly viewed as being two totally different hair transplant procedures. FUE, in fact, is a sub-type FUT where the follicular units are extracted directly from the scalp, rather than being microscopically dissected from a strip that has already been removed. To say it another way, in Follicular Unit Transplantation, individual follicular units can be obtained in one of two ways; either through single strip harvesting and stereomicroscopic dissection, or through FUE. Therefore, when comparisons are made between FUT and FUE, what is really being compared is the way the follicular grafts are obtained (i.e. strip harvesting and dissection vs. direct extraction). The process in the recipient area is the same.

The main advantage of FUE is that it does not cause a linear scar. Therefore it is useful in patients who for one reason or another may in the future want to have their donor area very short. (<1cm in length). This advantage was the main reason for the development of the technique.

I’ve known Dr. Sharon Keene for over ten years and first saw her perform hair transplant surgery when she was working with Dr. Ron Shapiro in his clinic in Minnesota several years ago.  She has always impressed me as being very meticulous, dedicated and caring.

She has been recommended on the Hair Transplant Network for over ten years and is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. She has consistently garnered rave reviews from her patients, who often comment on our dedication and caring nature.

To view her recommendation and patient photos, view her physician profile.

Just recently I had the pleasure of watching Dr. Keene and her staff perform an ultra refined hair transplantation at her full time office in Tucson, Arizona. It was obvious that she’s only gotten better with time. She continues to be very hands on and places many of the grafts herself. She is a stickler for quality control and feels she can monitor the process from A to Z best by working along side her medical technicians during the entire process.

Though she once did all pure follicular units, she now likes to use a limited amount of double follicular units (two follicular units that are very close together) when appropriate. She believes that this gives the patient the best illusion of density, while still maintaining complete naturalness, even under close inspection. She also feels that the careful use of some multi follicular unit grafts in the midscalp region also gives her patients the best financial value. I tend to agree that it is best not to be bound by pure follicular unit dogma.

Last year, The Hair Transplant Network hosted regular live chat sessions for our members to discuss “hot topic” hair loss issues real time with great success. To see the previous chat topics discussed, member involvement, and to learn how to use our chat feature, click here.

Though the chat rooms are always open to all hair loss forum members, we’ve found that by scheduling regular times for meeting, more members participate, including knowledgeable hair transplant patients and hair restoration physicians.

At the request of a few of our members, we are considering scheduling a live chat session trial to see who’s genuinely interested. You are encouraged to express your interest on this hair loss discussion forum thread. Listing days and times most convenient for you will be helpful in making a decision on when we host it. We look forward to seeing you on the forum and in live chat.

Bill - aka Falceros
Associate Publisher/Editor

Technorati Tags: live chat, hair loss, hair transplant, hair restoration