A Brief Overview

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A BRIEF OVERVIEW

What Causes Baldness?

The cause of male pattern baldness is no longer a mystery. Research has shown that when the male hormone testosterone is exposed to 5-alpha-reductase, an enzyme in the hair follicle, it produces another hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which cause permanent hair loss. This hormone (DHT) causes the hair follicle to shrink and grow finer and lighter in color, shorter and less deeply rooted than its predecessor. Most often, the hair in the balding region will continue to grow at an increasingly slower rate until the hair growth ceases completely.

The pattern of progression, and the extent and speed of male pattern baldness, is largely dependent by genetics, hormones and age. For men this for men this permenent type of baldness usually follows specific patterns depicted on the norwood scale.

Why Hair Transplants Work

Even in the most extensive cases, a horseshoe-shaped fringe of hair remains. This donor fringe is insensitive to the balding process and will last a lifetime because the hair is genetically programmed in the root, or hair follicle, to be resistant to the effects of DHT

The hair in this donor area provides the base for surgical hair restoration. These hairs, when transplanted with the state of the art procedure called microscopic follicular unit transplantation(performed at Shapiro Medical Group), will take root and grow, and continue to grow for the rest of a person’s life.

Are Hair Transplants Permanent?

Since the hair used in hair restoration surgery comes from the donor area, which is not sensitive to the balding process, it will be permanent. This hair will retain its genetic characteristics even after relocation. It will grow and continue to grow for the rest of your life.

What is “Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation”?

This procedure has been called the logical end point of 30 years of evolution in hair transplantation. What began as traditionally larger plugs has evolved into 1-,2-, and 3- hair follicular unit grafts, mirroring the way hair grows naturally.

The key to follicular unit transplantation is identifying the patients “natural hair groupings” and using them intact to create “micro follicular unit hair grafts” that are composed of naturally occurring 1-, 2-, and 3- hair grafts. These follicular unit micro grafts are much smaller than untrimmed micro grafts that contain equivalent amounts of hair. Their small size enables larger numbers of them to be placed closer together in tinier, less traumatic incisions.

Using this advanced technique a surgeon can move more hair in a totally natural way to create an undetectable look at every stage of hair restoration.