Hair Transplant Density Limitations
What are the factors that affect your hair transplant density is a very important question and each patient coming to us for hair transplant is concerned about this very important factor.
This article elaborates about the factors which determine the density of your hair transplant along with its limitations and how we as doctors and hair transplant surgeons work around these important factors to give you the best possible hair transplant results in terms of density.
Is a Hair Transplant Permanent?
“Are my hair transplant results going to be permanent?” This is one question that most of the patients ask me during a hair transplant consultation. And strictly speaking, the answer is “no”. There are 2 factors which can cause thinning of your transplanted hair.
Hair Transplant Side Effects
“What can be the possible side effects of a hair transplant if I decide to get it done?” This is one question that I get asked by most of my patients during a hair transplant consultation. A hair transplant (especially FUE) is widely considered to be one of the safest surgeries. And even though a large majority of patients do not experience any complications, there are certain side effects that are possible as with other surgeries. So in this post, I will explain the most common side effects of hair transplant while focusing primarily on FUE, the commonest method of hair transplant. I will try and be as non-technical as possible. I will broadly divide the side effects into 2 categories
Follicular Unit Extraction
Follicular unit extraction is a technique used for hair transplantation, in which a very small cylindrical punch is used to extract follicular units directly from the donor area of scalp.
Follicular unit: Human hairs are arranged in groups of one to four hairs on the scalp and these groups are known as follicular units.
Donor area: Usually this involves the sides and back of your scalp which is resistant to the action of hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and therefore hairs in this region are permanent.
Other donor areas: Beard and body hair can also be extracted using FUE.
Natural looking Results
We design the hairline in a zig-zag pattern which gives a natural look to the hair.
Single haired follicular units are implanted in the front to give a soft natural hair line.
We make the slits at natural flat angles so that the hair grow on the scalp for the maximum distance, increasing the appearance of density.
Also, patient’s hair growth direction is kept into consideration at the time of making slits to keep the naturally existing thinning hair intact.
Male Pattern Hair Loss
Causes
It is usually caused by effect of male sex hormone, DHT (dihydrotestosterone), on the scalp hair. Testosterone is the main male sex hormone present in the blood. Testosterone gets converted into Dihydrotestosterone around the scalp hair, by the action of enzyme 5 alpha reducase on testosterone. This DHT causes shrinkage of existing hairs leading to formation of shorter and finer hair, which ultimately fall off. Over the period of time, new hairs also stop growing.
Genetic predisposition towards MPHL is also seen.
Female pattern hair loss
FPHL is a type of hair loss which occurs in the form of:
- Hair loss located over the top of your head with preservation of hairline. (Ludwig scale)
- Widening of partition. (Olsen scale)
- Male pattern hair loss (in some cases)
What is dandruff and does it cause hairfall ?
Dandruff is a common term used for a chronic skin condition called as Seborrheic dermatitis. This condition is characterized by an oily scalp and white flakes or scales present on it. It can also involve areas other than scalp like face and chest.
What exactly causes seborrheic dermatitis is not completely known but the most common reason is increased production of oil(sebum) from the oil glands (sebaceous glands). Not only oil is produced in excessive amounts but also has an altered composition.
The excess oil that is produced creates an environment which is a favorable for the growth of a fungus called as Malasezzia furfur. Read More
Is it healthy to shampoo my hair every day or will it lead to increase hair fall?
Shampooing of the hair has a lot of myths associated with them. People often think that shampooing leads to increase hair fall and will make their scalp and hair dry. This leads to a decreased shampooing practice in the society with people cleansing their scalp to as less as once in a week. But like our body, our scalp also needs cleansing of dirt and oils on a regular basis. The scalp produces its own oils from the oil glands present on the scalp. This oil attracts dirt and makes your scalp greasy and dirty. So it is a good practice to clean your scalp every day. Read More
How helpful are the home remedies for hair loss ?
People since ages have used many herbal as well as home remedies for healthy hair and hair fall treatment. Most comply used ones include onion juice, garlic juice, charcoal, various acids etc.. However, these treatment are not physician recommended and do not have much scientific evidence to prove their efficacy. A small number of population still have experienced some improvement in their condition with continued use of these products.
The logic behind their action is, these remedies act like a counter- irritant on the scalp which can erroneously stimulate the hair follicle to regrow. Even if it works, it can regrow hair only in those conditions which have an inflammatory pathology and has no response in situations like Male Pattern Hairloss which has genetics and hormonal issues as the main cause. Such treatments however need to be avoided or used very cautiously as they may sometimes cause exaggerated irritation on the scalp resulting in contact dermatitis which may further lead to increased hair loss. Rather than relying on these treatment as a sole remedy for the hair loss one should consult a qualified dermatologist to a better assessment and management of their problem.
What is LASER Hair Reduction and how to choose a good clinic for this procedure ?
Laser hair reduction (LHR) is common procedure done to get rid of unwanted hair growth on the body. Though there are many other common ways to get rid of these hair like waxing, threading, depilation etc. but LHR is a method which helps you to have a hair free skin for a longer period of time. It is increasingly becoming a common practice amongst men and women to opt for LHR to avoid the hassles of frequent shaving and waxing.
The mechanism behind LHR is the use of Laser light of a particular wavelength to target the pigment (melanin) in the root of the hair. The laser causes destruction of the hair by targeting this pigment. It is for this reason that the grey or white hair are resistant to the action of conventional LHR procedure.
The best candidates for a LHR procedure are the ones who are fair skinned and have thick and dark hair growth. Read More
Mesotherapy
Mesotherapy is a technique involving injections of medications directly into the skin.
What are these medications?
Injections contain “cocktail” of natural plant extracts, homoeopathic agents, blood vessel dilators, other medicines and vitamins.
How frequently is it done?
It is done at an interval of 2-4 weeks with the help of dermaroller or mesogun.
How effective is it?
Both the mechanism of action and the efficacy of other agents are not established and are doubtful. There is near total lack of documented data about all aspects of the treatment – mechanism of action, therapeutic regimes, etc., in standard medical journals.
