Lifestyle Choices

Most men lose some of their hair and a fair number lose almost all of it, at some stage in their lives. Although balding is considered a common sign of ageing in men, very many suffer significant hair loss before their 30s or may even be almost entirely bald by then. Hair loss is hereditary and, if your father lost his hair young, it is quite likely to happen to you.

Despite much female approbation of big screen personalities, whose most immediately obvious feature is their lack of head hair, the first signs of hair loss are usually greeted with dismay by men. Some resign themselves to the inevitable but others resort to artistry with their remaining hair, growing it longer where possible and brushing it sideways to cover prominent gaps (a technique that doesn’t stand up to strong winds or vigorous exercise). Still others are prepared to go to great lengths in an effort to restore their hair.

A drug which can help hair to regrow has recently generated great interest. The drug, minoxidil, has long been used for the treatment of high blood pressure and only incidentally was it first noticed that, in some users, bald areas of the head started to sprout hairs again. However, minoxidil is by no means the perfect solution to baldness. It works in only about 30 per cent of cases, is only likely to have beneficial effect in younger men who have been balding less than ten years and have a fair amount of head hair left, and has to be taken for life because if stopped, the restored hair simply disappears again. As minoxidil is only available on private prescription, the whole business can get rather expensive.

The only other means of dealing with baldness is the hair transplant but, unfortunately, this isn’t effective for that many people either. You would be unwise to pursue this treatment if you do not fall within the categories of those for whom success is most likely. However, even if you do fall in the right category, you will probably find that most reputable cosmetic surgeons are unwilling to do hair transplants for purely cosmetic reasons. (If a hair transplant could provide a solution to disfigurement from head burns, that is another matter).

Few women need to seek hair transplants, as they tend to thin rather than end up with bald patches. However, an injury to the head can leave a bald patch around the scar and this can be rectified by transplantion, if desired.

Despite the fact that hair transplants often cause more problems than solutions — and very commonly end up the cause of litigation — there is no shortage of men willing to make use of hair transplant clinics. If you are one of these, do please see your family doctor first, if there is any possibility that your hair loss is abnormal. Sometimes loss of hair may be a symptom of hormonal or other disease, which needs treatment, or may be the temporary effect of an allergy or certain drug treatments. In either instance, a hair transplant is not appropriate and, indeed, may not even be required once the illness has been treated, drug therapy is stopped or the cause of an allergy is identified and subsequently avoided.

Hair Transplant

The aim of a hair transplant is to redistribute existing hair so that it can cover prominent bald patches. Inevitably, the areas from which hair is taken for transplanting will be correspondingly thinner than before. Hair transplants cannot make hair grow again. Avoid any practitioner who offers to sew synthetic hair into your scalp. This does not work and may lead only to nasty infection.

Hair transplants, if they work, do not guarantee you against later baldness. You may continue to lose hair from other parts of the head and, if the transplanted hair has come from an area that was destined to go bald anyway, it will fall out sooner or later, wherever it has been transplanted to.

Who may need Hair Transplant

Hair can be transplanted at any age but it is uncommon for there to be a need before your early or mid-20s and results are best if treatment is sought before you reach your 50s.

Unfortunately, those who may need it most are least likely to be suitable — that is, men who are virtually entirely bald will not have enough hair remaining to be transplanted. Also bad prospects are those with thin hair, particularly if there is not too much of it and it is very fair.

Your chances of a successful hair transplant are highest if your hair is thick and dark and you have only patches of baldness on the top of your head or a receding area at the front.

Women with a bald patch almost always have sufficient hair elsewhere to enable a transplant to be carried out. But, if their problem is extreme thinning, a transplant may not be helpful.

If you have any active infection of the scalp, such as psoriasis, acne or eczema, you should not have a hair transplant because of the risks of infection.

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