Encouraging hair transplant before and after photos generally convince a patient to take that one important step toward hair “emancipation.” So what are usually contained in these testaments?
By way of discussing hair restoration before and after scenarios, this article will delve into baldness and discuss what the patient will undergo should he choose to submit himself to a specific hair loss treatment.
Hair Restoration: Before
Hair restoration info show that the incidence of pattern baldness differs from one population to another based on genetic background. Environmental factors do not appear to greatly influence this type of baldness. Roughly 25 percent of men start losing their hair by age 20, while two-thirds begin balding by age 60. There is a 4 in 7 chance of getting the baldness gene.
Male pattern is exemplified by hair receding from the lateral sides of the forehead, known as a “receding hairline.” Receding hairlines are commonly seen in males above the age of 20 but can also be seen in older teenagers as well.
Men may suffer from an additional bald patch that could develop on top or the vertex of their heads. The cause for this type of baldness – or androgenetic alopecia – is DHT. DHT is a powerful sex hormone that can negatively affect the prostate as well as the hair located on the head.
No one has fully explained and understood how DHT works. In genetically-prone scalps, DHT initiates a process of follicular miniaturization. Through the process of follicular unit miniaturization, hair shaft width is progressively decreased until scalp hair resembles fragile vellus hair or “peach fuzz.” Hair fall sometimes starts as early as end of puberty.
Types of Baldness
- Traction alopecia is usually found in people with ponytails or cornrows. These people, in an effort to perfect their hairstyles, usually pull on their hair with extreme force.
- Compulsive pulling and bending of the hairs causes trichotillomania. It tends to affect more children than adults. In this condition, the hairs do not disappear from the scalp but are broken. Trichotillomania is characterized by short, “exclamation mark” hairs.
- Traumas such as chemotherapy, childbirth, major surgery, poisoning, and severe stress may result in a condition called telogen effluvium. Hair follicles in the growing phase are affected by chemotherapy—almost 90% of hairs fall out soon after chemotherapy starts. Efforts to restore old hairline and crown during such a stressful time are usually confined to using hairpieces such as wigs.
- Iron deficiency is a common cause of hair thinning, though blatant baldness is not usually seen.
- Radiation to the scalp, which occurs when radiotherapy is applied to the head for the treatment of certain cancers, can result in baldness of the irradiated areas.
- A number of mycotic infections can cause massive hair fall.
- Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder popularly known as “spot baldness.” Spot baldness can result in hair loss ranging from just one location (alopecia areata monolocularis) to every hair on the entire body (alopecia areata universalis).
- Localized or diffuse hair loss may also take place in cicatricial alopecia (lupus erythematosus, lichen plano pilaris, folliculitis decalvans, central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, postmenopausal frontal fibrosing alopecia). Tumors and skin outgrowths also induce localized baldness (sebaceous nevus, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma).
- Hypothyroidism can cause frontal baldness and is specifically associated with the thinning of the outer third of the eyebrows.
- Hyperthyroidism can also cause parietal (rather than frontal) balding process.
- Temporary loss of hair can take place in areas where sebaceous cysts are present for a considerable duration – normally one to several weeks in length.
- Congenital triangular alopecia – It is a triangular or oval-shaped patch of hair loss in the scalp’s temple area that affects mostly young children. The concerned area mainly contains vellus hair follicles or no hair follicles at all, but it does not expand. Its causes are unknown and although it is a permanent condition, it does not have any other negative effect on the patient.
Hair Restoration: After
Of all the options available to a patient, hair restoration surgery has the most apparent and immediate impact. The results of non surgical hair transplant methods such as natural, topical and medical options are usually characterized by the gradual thickening of the hair in desired areas, while the effects of surgery are more “instant.” These are shown in hair implant before and after photos that are abundant in the Internet.
What to Expect After a Hair Transplant Surgery
- Your recovery time will depend on the extent of the surgical procedure. Most patients report mild pain, numbness and soreness. This can be controlled with pain medication prescribed by your surgeon. The transplanted follicles normally fall out in the first month and grow back. After a few months, they should be growing normally in their new location. Check out some hair restoration before and after photos to see these encouraging results.
- Potential hair transplant side effects may include scarring or uneven hair growth. If the results of the surgery are patchy or if the follicle grafts do not adjust well to the new site, your surgeon may wish to conduct a follow-up surgery to rectify scarring or to transplant more follicles to fill in thinner areas.
- Advances in wound care allow for semi-permeable dressings, which enable seepage of blood and tissue fluid, to be applied and changed at least once daily. The exposed recipient area must be protected from the sun, and shampooing is usually started two days after the operation. Shampooing is important to prevent scabs from appearing around the hair shaft. Scabs stick to the hair shaft and increase the risk of losing newly transplanted hair follicles during the first 7 to 10 days following the operation.
- During the first ten days, practically all of the transplanted hairs will fall out – such an occurrence is called “shock loss.” After two to three months, new hair will begin to grow from the moved follicles. The patient’s hair will grow normally, and continue to thicken through the next six to nine months. Any subsequent hair loss is likely to be only from untreated areas. Some patients choose to use medications to prevent such loss, while others plan a subsequent transplant procedure to deal with this possibility.