The Skinny on Hair Transplants

Hair transplants can trace their roots (to coin a phrase) to the 1950s, when doctors experimenting with hair transplantation realized they could move follicles from elsewhere on the body to the scalp, and have them continue to function for a lifetime. Suddenly, there was an effective cure for the ancient plague of hair loss and baldness. Follicular transplantation surgery meant new hope for millions of men.

A Bitter Sense Of Loss

For some reason, follicles on the top of the head are especially sensitive to male hormones. They often shrink as a man ages; the associated locks fall out, and classic male pattern baldness results. But follicular shrinkage is unknown for other types of follicles; those hairs keep growing forever, making them perfect for transplantation to the scalp.

A Historic Treatment

Doctors began performing cosmetic transplants in the 1960s. Though the price was outrageous at first, hair transplant costs decreased as better methods were engineered for restoration. Early surgery often resulted in a sort of clumped, bristly look that provided effective restoration, but looked phony. Eventually the medical procedure evolved from transplantation of round grafts containing 15-25 hairs to smaller plugs of 1-8.

The New Hotness

These days, the replacement surgery involves tiny "follicle-unit micrografts," containing 1-4 hairs, which are scattered thickly over the balding area. The back and sides of the head don't suffer from follicular shrinkage, so that's where replacement follicles usually come from. Micrografts are also randomly spaced across the hairline for a more natural look. It can take several thousand transplants to thoroughly cover a client's scalp. Because the transplants come from the donor, later rejection and loss is rare, therefore making this transplantation procedure for hair loss one of the best alternatives when it is performed by a competent physician.