While eating nutritional, protein-rich foods and healthy fats can give your hair a thicker, shinier look, it won’t bring back the hair you have lost. However, being mindful of your diet and vitamin intake does matter. If you skimp on the B vitamins in particular, it can interfere with the formation of hair cells and consequently, hair growth.
Laser treatments may stimulate blood flow in your hair loss area, but they won’t help you grow any new hair. It might help you hang onto some of the hair you have, but it isn’t considered a viable, long-term hair loss treatment option.
Of course there are Rogaine® and Propecia®, which have both been on the market for many years, and have proven successful for some people. However, you must continue to use these products to have any sign of new hair growth. Once you stop, hair growth stops.
The best proven hair loss treatment is a hair transplant. Follicular Unit Extraction or FUE extracts hair from a donor site on your head, usually at the back/neck area where hair tends to grow thickest. A follicular unit is a group of hairs as it naturally occurs. Individual follicular units are very small and grow in an irregular pattern. Follicular units are usually preserved in their natural composition. This is important because it maximizes the supply of donor hair and contributes to the finest, most natural looking result.
In the FUE process, sometimes a micro-graft is needed. A micro-graft is a graft with 1, 2 or 3 hairs. The goal of any hair loss treatment is to provide the patient with a very natural look, maintaining virtually undetectable results and optimal density without compromising the donor area. Multiple techniques can be effective, but ultimately the surgeon is the one who decides the best method for obtaining a patient’s specific goal.
After your hair transplant, you will experience some scalp soreness, and your doctor might suggest pain medications and antibiotics to reduce your risk of infection and/or anti-inflammatory medications to keep swelling down.
The majority of people go back to work just 3-5 days after their hair transplant surgery.
In two to three weeks following your hair loss treatment, your transplanted hair will fall out. This is completely normal. Your new hair is making way for natural, new hair growth. Most people will see 60-65 percent new hair growth within six to nine months after the hair transplant procedure.
