Your Consumer Guide To Hair Restoration Options

Men and women who are suffering from baldness or thinning scalps have several hair restoration options. While in the past there were many brutal surgical procedures and snake oils being sold, today there are many effective treatments that not only help stop loss, but can even create significant re-growth. The key to finding a solution is experimenting with different methods and allowing each treatment enough time to work properly. Here is an overview of the current most popular and effective procedures used to combat balding.

Topical Treatments
There are several over-the-counter and doctor prescribed creams that both men and women have had various degrees of success using. The obvious benefits to trying these hair restoration treatments are the price and relative ease of use. It's no more difficult to apply the product than it is to shampoo. While some individuals claim that these products work (and of these a large percentage begin treatment at the very first signs of loss), scientific studies haven't shown any conclusive results. Regardless, if you are in the early stages of loss, have a family history of baldness, or are simply on a restricted budget, you may want to give a few different topical ointments a try before investing in more extreme measures.

Oral Medication
Currently the FDA has approved two drugs to fight male pattern baldness, and both have fairly high rates of success. Over half of patients taking the medication experienced significant growth or no further loss. The medication, however, is more effective in treating certain areas. Depending on which is taken, growth may only occur in the crown or frontal scalp, so it may not be ideal for every individual depending on his or her balding pattern. There can also be unwanted side effects when taking any medication.

Laser Therapy
For people who are not suffering from extreme baldness, lasers may be effective in stopping any additional loss. The goal of laser therapy is to stimulate the scalp, increasing blood supply to the surface through the use of light energy. Some users have reported good results, with others seeing little to no difference. The procedure is painless but will require multiple sessions, which can add up.

Transplant
One of the most effective and most expensive treatments for hair restoration is the transplant procedure. Currently there are two main types of transplants - strip and neograft. Strip transplants are the original and are still used today. In this procedure, strips of the scalp are surgically excised and the incision is then stitched together. Technicians will then use the strips to cut smaller follicle grafts to be placed where needed.

The other type of transplant is the neograft, which is less invasive. Rather than taking a larger swath and then breaking it down, a small punching device is used that extracts individual follicles without the need for any incisions. These follicles are then placed the same as they would be in the strip method with some being used to create a stronger hairline and others to fill in thinning areas.