Make a Full Head of Hair Your New Year’s Resolution
The new year brings about a lot of reflection. Many individuals will consider joining the gym, work on nutritional health, or make other physical and emotional improvements. But if you suffer from hair loss, why not start 2019 off with a consultation for hair transplantation surgery?
There are many reasons why you lose hair, but there are now permanent solutions available to help restore lost volume. Below, we break down how and why you're losing hair and discuss the best surgical and non-surgical options for hair restoration.
Cause of Thinning Hair
Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety are linked but not necessarily the same thing. Stress is a temporary state of being where your energy levels are higher than normal because of internal or external factors. Anxiety, on the other hand, is a persistent state of being that affects your hair growth because of the consistently high levels of cortisol.
According to The Calm Clinic, stress can cause the following hair loss conditions:
Telogen Effluvium: This is a condition where more hair than normal falls out.
Trichotillomania: This is a chronic condition caused by stress and anxiety, where a person pulls out their hair without realizing it.
Alopecia Areata: Sudden loss of large clumps of hair in areas around your scalp.
Stress and anxiety related hair loss is only temporary. When you remove the stressors, your cortisol levels will go back into balance and follicles will continue as usual.
Thyroid
Your body works by taking in the nutrients you feed it and dispersing them throughout the body. When your health is at its best, these nutrients are distributed everywhere. But the moment you develop an illness, your body focuses on only feeding the parts of the body that need repair and are vital to staying alive, such as the liver and heart. Thyroid issues often play out this way and some medications taken for thyroid health can cause hair loss issues.
Androgenetic Alopecia
Permanent hair loss is directly related to androgenic alopecia, sometimes referred to as pattern baldness. Usually, hair grows and then remains in a resting phase. This process can take 2 to 6 years and only starts over when the hair falls out naturally. When your hair is exposed to DHT or other androgens, it spends more time resting than growing. Balding doesn't happen immediately and sometimes takes years for the thinning hairs to stop growing altogether.
Hair Loss Solutions
Fortunately, there are surgical and non-surgical options available to patients that will give them natural looking results.
Non-Surgical Hair Loss Solutions
Scalp Micro Pigmentation
For people with limited donor hair and who need to treat scars, Scalp Micro Pigmentation is excellent. The technique deposits a small dot of colored pigment that matches the hair color on your epidermis. It simulates the appearance of hair. The effect is so realistic that it is nearly impossible to distinguish what is a hair from what is pigment.
P.R.P. (Platelet Rich Plasma)
Platelet Rich Plasma is an option for those who don't have a lot of downtime. The process uses a mixture of your blood, which is then injected to help "heal cells." The right candidate receives two to three injections and requires a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes once every month. You can read more about platelet-rich plasma in our recent blog post.
Laser Therapy
We've already discussed the benefits of laser therapy, but they are worth mentioning again. Laser therapy is a safe practice used to energize hair follicles on your scalp. The Phototherapy is cleared by the FDA and recommended by renowned hair doctors across the country. Various lasers are available, so you will want to book a consultation to get the best results possible.
Surgical Hair Loss Solutions
Multi-Unit Graft Surgery
Graft surgery works by taking large strips of hair from donor areas and applying them to areas with less volume. This particular procedure is ideal for those who have large bald patches on the scalp where they would like to improve density. You can customize those multi-unit grafts depending on your type of hair and the extent of your hair loss.
F.U.E.
Follicular Unit Extraction, or FUE, is a technique of extracting hairs from donor areas to restore volume in balding spots. This method uses a small, round punch to move small follicular units from one space to another. This particular process is fantastic because it is precise and allows the doctor more control over the results.
Permanent Results
If you are ready to start 2019 off with a fuller, more youthful head of hair, contact our offices at 615-257-1496 today! For a limited time, you can get $250 off your procedure when you book a consultation. Don't wait and give us a call now.