Many men – and women – struggling with hair loss may be contemplating hair restoration surgery, but there are myths and misconceptions out there that are holding them back. Here is the truth about hair transplants.
Hair transplant myth #1: Hair transplants are just for men
Many people associate balding and hair transplant surgery with men only, yet androgenetic alopecia affects women also and a hair transplant can be a viable solution. It’s estimated that in the UK over 10% of premenopausal women experience pattern hair loss. This rate increases around the time of the menopause and up to 56% of women over the age of 70 years have female pattern baldness.
Hair transplants for women can be more technically challenging which is why choosing a highly experienced surgeon is a must. Men typically experience hair loss in distinct areas whereas women usually have diffuse thinning across the whole scalp. A male hair transplant can restore specific areas of hair loss, whereas a woman may require a larger number of grafts to increase coverage. Also, the donor area is less predictable in women in terms of genetically resistant hair follicles.
Hair transplant myth #2: The results won’t look natural
A common myth is that everyone will be able to tell you have undergone hair loss surgery, but modern techniques combined with a skilled and experienced hair transplant surgeon will now produce natural and subtle results.
In the 1980s and 90s, several hair follicles would be implanted in a plug with gaps in between, with the end result looking very unnatural. Now the FUE or Follicular Unit Extraction method extracts and then carefully implant each individual follicle, depending on the number of hairs per graft and its angle. Your surgeon will also take into account your hairline and hair growth patten and any potential future hair loss.
Hair transplant myth #3: It will leave scars
Many men contemplating hair loss surgery are concerned about likelihood of scarring and this is due to an older hair transplant technique known as FUT or Follicular Unit Transplantation. Also known as Strip Surgery, this entailed removing a wide section of healthy hair follicles from the donor area at the back of the head. The follicles were then separated and transplanted to the area of hair loss. Men were usually left with a very distinct area of scarring.
Dr Mooz only performs FUE hair transplants. The hair follicles are removed individually, leaving minimal scarring which is usually invisible once healed.
The good news is that Dr Mooz may be able to improve old hair transplant scarring results from the FUT procedure by transplanting hair follicles into the area of scar tissue.
Got further questions about hair restoration surgery? Call us on 020 3325 6540 to arrange a consultation with Dr Mooz.
