Hair transplant technology has come a long way since its inception in the 1960s.
Today it is a technique that can be carried out with minimal discomfort, under a local anesthetic, and can help people who don’t like the way that their receding hairline or thinning hair looks to feel more confident about themselves.
The most modern method of hair transplantation is known as FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction). It is now more popular than the older FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation), otherwise known as ‘strip harvesting.’
Who can get a hair transplant?
If an underlying medical issue is the reason for the hair loss, then a hair transplant probably isn’t the right answer.
Hair loss can be caused by a few different things. A common reason that people experience hair loss is stress, as the stress hormone cortisol actually attacks the hair follicle and prevents new hair from growing. In these cases, a more effective method to promote hair growth would be to combat the cause of stress.
People can also lose their hair as a result of medication side effects, thyroid problems, and hormonal changes such as those brought about by pregnancy. Again, in these cases, it would be more effective to address the underlying cause than to get a hair transplant.
The most common reason for hair loss is genetics, where people are genetically predisposed to losing their hair at a certain age. In these cases, a hair transplant can be an effective treatment and means that the patient can enjoy having a full head of hair once again.
FUT Hair Transplants
Hair transplant technology was first developed in the 1960s based on the theories of Dr. Norman Orentreich.
The first hair transplants were done by taking hair tissue comprised of multiple hair follicles from healthy areas of the scalp and performing a skin graft to graft it onto the area where hair growth was impacted.
This method is no longer performed because it looked quite artificial, and the hair grew at an extremely slow pace.
Over the years, the FUT technology improved significantly, as doctors used smaller and smaller donor areas of skin to be moved onto the area of the scalp with impacted growth.
The tools that were used were getting smaller too, which meant that the trauma to the tissue was minimized, and the overall look and effect of the procedure was much more effective.
FUE hair transplants
FUE hair transplants such as those performed at the Harley Street Hair Clinic are based on the principles of the older FUT transplants, but rather than moving entire strips of scalp containing hair follicles, individual hair follicles are removed from healthy areas of the scalp and then implanted in the areas where growth is lessened.
Once the follicles are implanted, they are able to grow healthy hair. This gives the transplant recipient a full and natural head of hair.
The procedure is performed under local anesthetic, and it has been developed over the years so that the discomfort is kept to a minimum.
