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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : September 25, 2014 2:39 PM IST
Q: Hi, my name is Pratik. I am 30 years old and already I have bald patches. It is very depressing as everyone else my age has hair, and my confidence too is going down. I have tried all the hair oils and undergone many treatments, but have not had success yet. Please suggest a surgical procedure to regain hair that is safe.
Ans: First of all, you do not need to be so depressed about losing your hair. In fact, stress will only worsen your situation. (Also read: Top 10 reasons why you may be losing hair)
There are a variety of medicines that you can try before going for surgical options.
Minoxidil: It is a solution that is applied directly to the scalp to stimulate the hair follicles. It slows down hair loss for many men and some even grow new hair. It works best on the crown compared to the frontal region. However, one needs to be very careful while applying it since application to the face or neck skin can cause unwanted hair growth in those areas! And you may have to continue using it for a really long time since stopping the usage has often been linked to increased hair loss.
Finasteride: It is a pill that blocks the action of natural hormones in scalp hair and reduces hair loss. Approved for use in only men with androgenic hair loss, this drug is found to be safe in postmenopausal women.
Contact immunotherapy: It may be the most effective treatment for severe alopecia areata or patchy hair loss. A medicine is applied on your scalp once a week which irritates the skin and makes it red and scaly. Hair growth may appear within 3 months of beginning treatment. Side effects include a severe rash (contact dermatitis) and swollen lymph nodes.
Hairfibre powders: You can cover up thinning hair areas with coloured, powdery fibre sprinkles that are commercially available. These coloured sprinkles attach to hair and give a fuller appearance!
Psoralen with Ultraviolet A Light (PUVA)therapy: It can also be used to treat alopecia areata if you have large areas of skin affected by the disorder or you cannot use other treatments. A medicine, called psoralen, is used to make the scalp more sensitive to ultraviolet A (UVA) light before exposing it to the same. (Read more: Hair loss treatment: Medications)
If these options fail too, don't be disheartened. There are many different surgical options in this day and age for you to consider.
Hair transplants: Surgical restoration is the only permanent solution to baldness; they are useful to 'fill in' bald areas. Tiny plugs of your hair are removed from areas where hair is thicker and placed in areas that are balding. You may have minor scarring at the site of hair removal. The procedure also carries a slight risk for skin infection. You may need many transplantation sessions. However, the results are often excellent and permanent.
Platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy: Platelet rich plasma is concentrated blood plasma and contains the growth factors PDGF and VEGF and other proteins that aid in wound healing. It is being actively tested in hair transplantation. PRP can be used to stimulate the growth of follicles, thereby reversing hair miniaturization seen in androgenic alopecia and even preventing hair loss.
Scalp Reduction: In this procedure, bald areas are cut away and the rest of the scalp is stitched together. This procedure is done if you have well-defined bald spots in the crown area of the scalp. It is sometimes done along with hair transplantation to reduce the size of the bald scalp.
Tissue Expansion: Tissue expanders are inserted beneath an area of hairy scalp and gradually inflated with saline water over a period of six to eight weeks. This stretches the hair-bearing skin, thus increasing the amount of hair-bearing scalp. After removing the bags, expanded hair bearing skin is moved to an adjacent bald area where a similar sized patch of scalp has been excised or cut away. It is most useful when you have hair loss associated with scarring due to burns and other injuries to the scalp.
Astressin B Peptides: Stress plays a major role in the loss of hair. Blocking a stress-related hormone called corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) associated with hair loss can help regain hair. The stress hormone blocker, known as astressin-B, has strong and long-lasting effects. Investigations and trials are being done to determine the efficacy of astressin-B in human hair growth.
Extracellular Matrix (ECM): It is a natural biological material that can be implanted at the site of damaged tissue to stimulate healing. It stimulates the body's own cells to form new tissue specific to that site (Auto-cloning). It also facilitates the healing after a hair transplant.
Capixyl: It prevents hair miniaturization, favours better hair anchoring and reduces inflammation (an aggravating factor in hair loss).
Hair multiplication (or hair cloning): Still in the research phase, the concept of hair multiplication is to extract donor hair cells from the existing hair follicles and then multiply them in a lab. Once enough hair cells are multiplied, they are then injected back into your balding areas, thus stimulating hair growth. Considerable work remains before hair cloning methods become a viable treatment for hair loss. (Also read: Hair loss treatment: Cosmetic and surgical methods )
We hope this has helped and if it hasn't you can always try the bald look. The likes of Andre Agassi, Bruce Willis, Jason Statham and Vin Diesel have been pulling it off with great aplomb!
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