Surgical vs Non-Surgical Treatments for Hair Loss
Hair loss is devastating for men and women. When faced with hair loss many look to hair transplantation as their only option. Hair transplantation is a surgical procedure that first came to the market back in the 1950's. While hair transplantation has come a long way, so too have the non-surgical options, from the introduction of drugs Minoxidil and Propecia/ Finasteride, to the non-drug laser phototherapy option of a low level laser, to non-surgical hair replacement.
Hair transplantation remains the only permanent solution to restore hair. However, it is costly. The cost of hair transplantation ranges from $5,000 to over $15,000 and there is no guarantee it will fill in to meet your expectations. The best rule of thumb for a good candidate is to determine if the individual has enough hair in the donor site to estimate how much hair they will continue to lose.
Men are better candidates than women for hair transplants because women lose their hair in what is called a diffused fashion, meaning women have more of an allover thinning, not in just one place such as the sides or back making them a poor candidate for hair transplants. Whereas a man tends to lose hair in one area, such as top of head allowing for a better donor area.
This is where non-surgical options come into play. Today there are several non-surgical options to choose from.
Topical
Today there are only 2 drugs approved by the FDA for treating hair loss in men, and only 1 drug for treating women. Minoxidil is a topical drug which has been reported to regrow hair in both men and women, but there have been some reports of serious drug reactions occurring. Propecia is an oral drug which has also been proven to work in men (only), but there have been reports of serious sexual side effect occurring.
Low Level Laser
The laser energy used to stimulate hair growth is visible in the red light spectrum. The laser light used in promoting hair growth is defined as Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT). LLLT is sometimes included under a broader definition of 'Phototherapy' called Low-Level Light Therapy, where the light-emitting device may be a laser and/or light-emitting diode (LED).
LLLT has been proven to work in re-growing hair and has an excellent safety record in successfully treating both men and women with hair loss. There are 2 options for LLLT.
One is an in office treatment where the person experiencing hair loss sits under a hooded machine for 20 minutes 2 to 3 days a week. The machine disperses a combination of red laser and LED light diodes to effectively stimulate and energize cellular activity causing an uptake in the natural function of the hair follicle.
Two is a hand held devise such as the Hairmax laser comb which uses basically the same technology to stimulate the hair follicles.
We find the best results are from our customers using both the in office hooded device in conjunction with the laser comb.
Non-Surgical Hair Replacement
Non-Surgical Hair Replacement re-creates the look and feel of your own natural hair. It is less expensive than surgery and delivers the most natural look. Many Hollywood actors and actresses are using this method to give them a full head of hair.