If your once lustrous locks are now looking limp and dwindling in number, take solace in the fact that you’re not alone.
For about 80 percent of men and 50 percent of women, hair loss is a part of life. Blame it on genetics, hormones, medications, overuse of hair dye, diet or stress. Call it androgenetic alopeciaalso known as male or female pattern baldness, but thinning and hair loss is a reality for many.
It often starts without much pomp and circumstance. A little more hair than usual in the tub. On closer inspection, they look thinner than you remember.
“Hair loss is generally a gradual process, and most people will lose about 50 to 75 percent of their hair before they realize they’re balding,” said Dr. Emran Imami’s Imami hair restoration in Melbourne. “During this time, the hair follicles shrink or become smaller, and over time the hair follicle closes permanently.”
By the time hair loss is noticeable, it’s time to act. Once the hair is gone, it’s gone for good.
“Early intervention is key to preventing hair loss in both men and women,” Imami said. “Early intervention with aggressive medical and regenerative therapies can reverse thinning and promote hair retention. Once the hair follicle shrinks and closes, it will no longer grow.’
The do-nothing option accepts baldness and opts for hats, wigs, hair powder, or scalp micropigmentation, or SMP, which involves artistically tattooing the scalp to trick the eye into thinking it’s real hair.
Eventually, a person may just embrace a bald pate, perhaps to the point of shaving off the remaining strands. According to a University of Pennsylvania study, a shaved head on men can signal dominance, even over a full head, so that’s something to consider.
Instead of doing nothing, Aubrey Blaire chose to take action.
“I don’t want to look my age,” the Merritt Island resident said.
Blair, who suffers from androgenetic alopecia, first noticed her hair thinning in her twenties.
“I had hair, but it got noticeably thinner,” she said.
He responded, first with Minoxidil at a time when the drug was initially gaining traction for hair loss and later evolved into platelet rich protein (PRP) and PDO (polydioxonone) threads.
PRP separates the patient’s own platelets through a centrifuge and injects them into bald spots. The theory is that the abundant growth factors inherent in these platelets will nurture the hair follicles to their original abundance. PDO threads, commonly used in cosmetic procedures, encourage cell division, starting dormant follicles to produce hair again.
For a time, Blaire was satisfied with PRP/PDO, which was further enhanced with adjunctive therapy such as biotin supplementation, which has been suggested to help restore hair growth in biotin-deficient individuals.
Eventually, though, she felt her hair fall out again. He decided it was time for the big guns, a hair transplant, still a top choice in the roughly $4 billion hair loss treatment industry.
“Hair transplantation remains the gold standard for hair restoration,” Imami said.
The procedure has changed significantly since it was first introduced in the 1930s to help burn victims.
“The technique has greatly improved to the point where we can now transfer individual hair follicles for an artistic, natural effect,” Imami said. “By transplanting individual hair follicles, the results are more natural and very effective.”
The procedure, performed on an outpatient basis, is much faster than years ago. Pre-treatment with PRP, exosomes and other drugs helps optimize results. Exosomes, or the building blocks of stem cells, have gained interest because of their ability to carry signals that initiate cell regeneration.
Donor hair is harvested from the back of the head where hair tends to grow thickest, but for men it can also be harvested from beard hair. Imami uses NeoGraft to precisely extract hair follicles with a 99% success rate.
NeoGraft, the next generation of follicle resection techniques, safely harvests individual follicles and transplants them. Because it is semi-automatic, it removes a large portion of potential human error. The hair follicles are removed with a wand that extracts them by suction. Another tool makes the incision and implants the follicles at the same time. Since it is minimally invasive, complications and scarring are reduced.
Blair went through with the process. “It was like sleeping in a massage chair,” she said.
He admitted that things initially looked worse before they got better. She experienced some initial hair loss as the scalp adjusted to the treatment and there was minimal swelling. But after a day off, Blair went back to work and not long after, he left for vacation. She didn’t tell family members about the transplant, and no one at work or at home seemed to notice or question her about it.
As the new hair began to grow, her head underwent a transformation. Her hair looked thicker, because it really was thicker.
“It’s a dramatic change,” he said. “It feels a lot fuller, but in a very natural way. I’ve had several people tell me they like what I’ve done with my hair.”
Because the transplants are permanent, Blair doesn’t expect to need to repeat them, especially since she’s also stacking things in her favor by continuing her PRP treatments and using over-the-counter hair loss prevention aids like those recommended by Dr. Imami. products such as organic shampoos and supplements rich in vitamins A to E, iron and trace elements, as well as Minoxidil, Finasteride or Aldactone, all FDA-approved drugs. Low-light laser caps, which look like baseball caps and are worn for a set amount of time each day, can also prove beneficial.
Imami notes that more and more women, like Blair, are opting for transplants.
“Ten years ago, as there were few medical options for treating ingrown hairs, I could only offer patients hair transplantation,” he said. “Ninety-five percent of my patients back then were men with severe hair loss or baldness and 5 percent were women seeking the same treatment. With the recent development of new and effective regenerative medicine treatments for hair loss, now 50 percent of my patients are women. Not only has there been a shift in the percentage of women in my practice, but both women and men are experiencing thinning hair or hair loss at a much younger age.”
For more information, visit imamihair.com or call 321-312-4168.
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