Hair Restoration Facts

Hair restoration is a general term for a number of methods used to restore hair to balding areas. The process of restoring hair can involve topical, oral, medical and surgical treatments and may require a number of sessions. The options to restore hair presently can vary from medications to hair follicle transplantation. A person begins losing his/her self esteem when he/she starts experiencing a considerable quantity of hair loss, which can be of various types and may be caused by various factors, such as genetics, medications, disease, and cancer treatments. However, a number of medical hair restoration and prevention treatment options are available these days for millions of people across the globe suffering from such problems.

Now, the question everybody asks is: is treatment of balding or hair loss possible? The answer is yes - hair restoration is possible if the loss is due to medication, hormonal imbalance, thyroid problems or some underlying cause such as diabetes. Years of research have led to the discovery of certain drugs that have proved extremely successful in hair loss restoration. Among these drugs, Minoxidil (more popularly known as Rogaine) and finasteride - known as Propecia hair restoration can be effective in hair loss prevention, and may even help to re-grow hair for some men. The problem is, once you begin using Rogaine or Propecia for hair restoration, you have to continue using these products indefinitely. In case you discontinue their use, any new hair will just fall out. There are, however, other more permanent hair systems available to improve the appearance of thinning hair. By medical hair restoration, we mean a group of surgical hair loss treatments designed to restore hair and reduce baldness in men. Such hair restoration and replacement procedures include hair transplant grafting, flap surgery, scalp reduction, and scalp expansion.

The hair transplant is a surgical method used for restoring hair. In this surgical operation, parts of the scalp from the sides and back of the head where the hair grows well are extracted first. In the next step, it is implanted on those regions of the head that are going bald. Hair restoration and re-growth is possible because the hair follicles in the side and the back of the head are immune to hair loss problems. This hair replacement treatment leaves one poorer by about $15,000 and takes 1-2 years to complete. Hair weaving, on the other hand, is a cosmetic and non medical hair loss restoration method in which extensions of natural or synthetic hair are attached. In tissue expansion method, silicone bags are inserted beneath the hair- bearing skin to expand the tissues, and subsequently transferred to the bald areas on the head.