Hair replacement

The only FDA accepted way to grow hair is with a 2% solution of minoxidil, found in over-the-counter products such as Rogaine.  Studies show minoxidil is most effective in younger people who have most recently lost their hair.

Hair replacement cost for such things as surgery has decreased in the past 25 years because the technology has advanced and more people are opting for hair replacement surgery than they were 25 years ago.  Twenty years ago people feared they’d end up looking like Buckwheat of the Little Rascals or a Cabbage Patch Kid Doll with wild hair if they underwent surgery for hair replacement.

There are two main types of hair replacement surgeries: scalp reduction and hair transplants.  Transplantation of hair involves removing hair from a densely populated part of the scalp, usually near the back or the sides, and placing it into the balding area.  Because women suffer from a diffuse pattern of baldness or an overall thinning, it is difficult to find a donor area on their scalp to remove hair and replace it on the top or thinning is most evident; therefore this procedure is not often done on women.

Scalp reduction surgery is the surgical removal of large sections of a bald scalp.  Stretchy devices, expanders and extenders are placed under the skin to stretch the hair bearing scalp regions from the side of the scalp to address the missing portion.

One of the biggest improvements in hair replacement surgery or transplants is the mini or micro grafting that takes place in order to enhance the hair growth in the balding spots.  This procedure is where one or two strands of hair are shot into the head with a needle.