Hair Transplant vs. A Hair Restoration System
Cover Photo By Unsplash
Of the number of cruel realities that mark the passage of time, pattern baldness may be among the most painful. It is undoubtedly a widespread affliction. In America alone, over 1 in 5 people are losing their hair. As the body gets older, follicles simply stop producing. The leading cause is hereditary. It is known as androgenic alopecia, or perhaps you’re more familiar with its street name: male pattern baldness. The American Hair Loss Association estimates that 95% of men who suffer baldness owe their despondency to this condition. Thankfully, there are solutions to just about every problem we face, and regarding baldness, things are no different.
So what can we do? For men, the most common answer seems to be...nothing. They let the baldness run its course, making style adjustments along the way by the method of compensation. They might shave their entire head and grow a beard. To look younger, they might purchase brighter clothing for their wardrobe. But there are more scientific ways to approach the disorder of baldness. We will pair off two of them today: the hair transplant surgery and the hair restoration system.
Hair Restoration System
The easiest way to define hair restoration systems would be thus: artificial hair. From here, the mind leaps to cheap wigs that, no matter what poor Morris Kessler from the movie Goodfellas may believe, blow off in the wind. Such postulation does the technique little justice, for today’s hair restoration systems are far more advanced than those from the 1960s or even the 1990s.
These hair systems can also look quite real. Specialists who design and fit the pieces do so with the goal of achieving the most natural look possible. You may already know people who use hair replacement systems. Can you tell? Probably not. Many modern hair systems actually use real human hair that is carefully woven into a natural-looking base. The hair can easily match different ethnic sources, such as European, Asian, South American, and so forth. Realistic synthetic hair is also available.
There are two main types of bases the hair is attached to lace and poly. Which one the wearer chooses greatly depends on several factors, such as:
What hairline density changes the wearer wishes to capture
How much maintenance the wearer is willing to perform
Whether the wearer prefers a more natural look over durability, or vice-versa
The lace base is thinner and less detectable. It’s a good choice for those concerned with hairline density gradually becoming thicker toward the back of the scalp. Poly is more durable and easier to clean but does not work as well in depicting various densities. Both bases can last about one year under proper care; however, the hair itself will typically fail before the base. Over the course of 2 to 12 months, it begins to shed, dry out, and lose its color. At least once per year, hair restoration systems require replacement.
Hair Transplant
Hair transplants are a surgical solution to baldness. Some of its advantages over a hair restoration system include:
The balding areas of a patient’s scalp are filled in with the patient’s own natural, growing hair
Results from hair transplant surgery typically last for a lifetime or very close to it
There is no detachment for cleaning and no time-consuming reattachment
It’s best to have hair restoration surgery performed at a clinic by a board-certified surgeon. The two main methods used by these surgeons are the follicular unit transplant and follicular unit extraction. FUT, or strip surgery, is the process of harvesting strips of healthy hair from in back of the scalp and implanting them in the recipient area. For FUE, donor hair can be collected from just about any part of the body. The hairs are harvested one follicular unit at a time to achieve more natural-looking results without the scarring typically left behind by FUT.
Transplant surgery usually takes between 4 and 10 hours. It is performed under a local anesthetic, rendering the procedure virtually painless. But unlike the instant results offered by hair restoration systems, surgical results take a bit of time. Hair transplant patients can expect to spend about 1 year watching their baldness slowly fade as new, healthy hair grows in. The density of this hair will vary depending on how advanced their baldness was, to begin with, and how healthy the donor’s hairs are.
A professional, board-certified hair transplant surgeon is capable of transplanting all types of hair. This includes straight, curly, oriental, male, or female.
Seeing the Good in Both: Hair Transplant and Hair Restoration System
So to look at some of the advantages for each method of hair restoration, hair restoration systems offer:
Near immediate results
High density
Costs less than surgery
Hair transplant surgery offers:
A fully natural look, as the growing hair belongs to the patient
Lower maintenance than hair restoration systems
The hair that grows in lasts for many years, not just a few months
People who suffer from pattern baldness need not resign themselves to the fact. The above information outlines two of the more popular ways to refute nature. Modern technology has opened doors to a lot of what The Gong Show’s Chuck Berris used to call “stuff”. Today, such technology has helped millions of people worldwide put an end to their thinning hair. With this article, we hope you are better informed about what can be done for you or someone you know.
