Hair transplant surgery can do much more than restore your hair. When Blain Randolf, 32, of Scottsdale Arizona began to experience premature hair loss, he was not prepared for how it would alter the course of his life. He was not prepared for how he would feel when he studied the back of his head in the mirror every morning to see how much more hair was missing. He was not prepared for the feeling that he’d lost a piece of himself along with his hair. Nor was he ready to accept the feeling that he was suddenly old before his time with his hair loss condition. The last thing he thought is that he would ever consider hair transplant surgery. He’d always been modestly good-looking, confident and athletic. He’d had his share of girlfriends, his pick of jobs and frankly, life. But suddenly his dream sales job was slipping away from him and he couldn’t figure out why. He’d always been a closer. Now he couldn’t seem to close anything but the book on how his life used to be. Blain found himself doing a lot of second-guessing after his hair loss. His confidence took a big hit, not only in his love life, which took a downturn. It seemed that he was screwing up business deals more often, losing focus. He didn’t, at first, connect it to his hair loss. After all, he knew that the people he worked with were not so shallow as to judge him for his hair loss. But the problem, Blain realized, was his. He walked in doors, anticipating failure instead of success. But when a manager finally sat him down and told Blaine that he needed to get his old mojo back, he knew it was his confidence his boss was referring to. That day, Blain made an appointment at a hair transplant surgery clinic. After analyzing Blaine’s hair loss issues, the expert hair transplant surgery physician suggested that Blain transplants. Because of his age, and the excellent quality of donor hair, the hair transplant surgery was a great option for him. Not only would he never have to worry about adhesives or constant maintenance of nonsurgical hair replacement, the transplanted hair would be his own, growing hair again. And the hair from the hair transplant would never fall out like the old hair had because it came from a location on the head that was not genetically predisposed to falling out. It was in there for good. Blain scheduled the hair transplant surgery after working out an easy payment plan. Undergoing the hair transplant procedure was easier than he’d expected and recovery was short. Within a couple of months, he began to see the new hair sprouting where once there had been nothing. The surprising thing was that as his hair sprouted, so too did his confidence. That confidence spilled over into every area of his life. His love life improved (he married a year later) and his work life improved, too. After his hair transplant surgery, his newfound confidence showed in his monthly sales figures. He felt like himself again and when he looked in the mirror, he didn’t see an imposter staring back. He saw himself, the way he used to be before he began losing his hair. He did not regret for a minute doing the hair transplant surgery. That summer he was promoted to Sales Manager and he hasn’t looked back. Today, Blain would be the first to tell you that it wasn’t the hair transplant that improved his life as much as it was the restored confidence the surgery gave him.
What did men do about their hair loss before hair transplant surgery? For centuries, men have been in search of a solution to their hair loss problems. Wigs, toupees, and more recently the dreaded hair plugs have graced men’s heads with unfortunate results. Modern technology has made tremendous breakthroughs regarding hair loss, in the last decade or so, from topical solutions (like Rogaine or Propecia) that halt hair loss to the more permanent solution of hair transplant surgery. But for those who are sick of daily medication, and do not want to wear a hair system, hair transplant surgery maybe the answer they’ve been hoping for.At the very mention of hair transplant surgery, most people immediately think of unnatural-looking surgery of the past where plugs of hair were inserted into the scalp, making it look, well, polka-dotted and awful. It was a terrible solution primarily because the groupings of 15-25 hairs doctors implanted in the scalp did not mimic what occurs naturally on the scalp. Naturally, hair grows in groupings of 2-4 strands, no more. And there is a direction in which these strands of hair grow that determines how the hair falls once it grows out. One new hair transplant technique takes that into consideration. When surgeons developed new methods using micro-tools, they were finally able to harvest hair follicles in small enough groupings to make what is called follicular hair transplant surgery look natural.According to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), understanding what made our hair fall out turned the tide in follicular hair transplant surgery. Doctors discovered that hair taken from the back of the head tended to be immune to the same process of weakening and falling out that the hair on the top of head was.So how does follicular hair transplant surgery work? Robert Collins can tell you. The forty-year-old has gone through the process. “I was skeptical at first, worried it might look fake or unnatural,” Robert said. “But I asked to see the hair transplant surgery photos my surgeon had and I felt more confident. Also, a friend of mine who suffered from hair loss had done the procedure the year before and I wanted my hair to look as good as his.”Robert made an appointment with a surgeon who specialized in follicular hair transplant surgery and did the preliminary work-up which included studying his scalp to make sure he had enough hair in his donor hair area to donate. On the day of the surgery, with light sedation and topical anesthesia, the hair transplant surgeon incised an eliptical-shaped piece of scalp from the back of Robert’s head–the place where the hair follicles are not generally subject to falling out permanently. While he was closing that wound (which would be completely covered by his hair) technicians got busy separating small sections of skin and hair. With 1-4 vellus hairs in each group carefully sectioned, along with oil glands, a band of collagen and a small muscle, each section had all the requirements to regrow in the scalp. Then, the surgeon delicately replaced these follicular hair transplant sections, paying close attention to the direction the hairs were growing. When he’d finished the hair transplant surgeon dressed his scalp with a bandage that allowed for breathe-ability. In the ten days it took for his scalp to heal, all of the external hairs the hair transplant surgeon had positioned in Robert’s scalp fell out due to the stress of the surgery. That was perfectly normal and did not affect the follicular roots settling into place there. Robert was able to go back to his normal life again, looking just as he had before. But within three months, hair began to sprout in the places where the surgeon had placed them during the hair transplant surgery. After a year, he had a full head of hair again. This all happened so gradually that no one really noticed the change, except that Robert had hair now. And this hair would not fall out as his old hair had.“I don’t regret doing the hair transplant surgery it for a minute,” Robert says now. “Not only do I look like myself again, I feel like myself. I’ve got my confidence back.”Hair transplant surgery remains at the top end financially of hair loss solutions. It is not cheap. But considering the long term necessity of using hair systems that need maintenance, or topical hair therapy medications that can never be stopped once started, or the even more unpleasant prospect of being bald for the rest of one’s life, the cost of hair transplant surgery is not so bad. Most patients are able to spread the cost of the surgery into affordable payments. But most importantly, find a surgeon who is an expert in hair transplant surgery with a great reputation to help restore your hair and your confidence.
An innovative nonsurgical hair replacement solution specifically designed for medical hair replacement applications was released by a Chicago-based hair loss solutions company, White Cliffs Hair Studio. The so-called “HRD” or “Hair Reconstruction Device” hair system – a state-of-the-art Cancer Wig – answers the unique needs of those in the Chicago area who have suffered impermanent hair loss due to Cancer treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy.”This is not like the simple Cancer wigs that all of the Chicago hair replacement studios are currently offering,” says Paul Sandor, owner and operator of White Cliffs’ Chicago hair replacement studio. “Our HRD Cancer wig is sturdy and durable and exactly duplicates the patient’s hair to what it looked like before the hair loss occurred.”More importantly, the HRD Cancer wig, while only a temporary solution until a patient’s hair grows back, can be adhered to the patient’s head for extended periods of time. This allows the patient to perform all normal living activities while wearing the HRC Cancer wig including exercising and showering and sleeping.According to Sandor, the process is a simple one. “After the diagnosis, the patient comes into our studio before the radiation or chemo treatment, the earlier the better. We will then design the hair system, or “Cancer wig” to exactly duplicate the patient’s hair as it is before she loses that hair,” says Sandor. “We’re talking about the hair texture, color, density, part and hairline. The works.”For many years, medical experts have insisted that Cancer patients who are able to go through the process of the difficult treatments, like radiation and chemotherapy, will heal faster and easier if they look in the mirror and see a healthier self looking back at them.Linda Sweeny of Round Lake Beach, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, lost her hair after chemotherapy. “I never saw myself looking so ill,” said Sweeny. “The hospital helped me with my hair system while I was still being treated. When I came home, I never had to see myself without hair and neither did my children. In the end, it allowed us all to feel better. Because I was able to live in this particular Cancer wig, I didn’t have to wear a non-custom wig that altered my appearance in a different way and my neighbors and co-workers never knew I was sick. That’s how I wanted it.”Sandor is quick to point out that even the best, most expertly made Cancer wigs can only be as good as the professionals who maintain it for the patients throughout the process. “The FDA has listed our solution as an acceptable prosthetic for this application,” says Sandor. “But even more important than that is the level of training our staff has undertaken to apply these Cancer wigs to a patient so that it looks natural and undetectable.”The White Cliffs Chicago hair replacement staff is highly trained and that, along with their natural talent and compassion for this very special group of clients, is allowing White Cliffs Hair Studio of Chicago to offer Cancer patients something unique and different that actually works helps them not just to look better but to feel better.
HairLoss.com, the world’s most comprehensive social network community dedicated to “all things hair loss” has been launched. The latest generation of HairLoss.com will live up to its promise of introducing a novel and groundbreaking website to the hair loss industry. HairLoss.com is a complete social network service, providing an online community of people who share a common interest in hair loss issues, from solving hair loss to celebrating hair loss and all things in between, while providing users with a variety of ways to interact and share facts, opinions and advice.”The premise of the website is simple enough,” states Michael Garcia, spokesman for the consortium of hair loss industry leaders who have founded the current incarnation of HairLoss.com. “Hair loss can be solved or celebrated, treated or embraced depending on how you feel about it. Whichever posture you adopt, you will find all the tools necessary here to prevent, solve or celebrate hair loss in every imaginable context.”The website, which launched on July 2, utilizes state-of-the-art technology and graphics developed by Bright Bulb Solutions in Los Angeles and features all-new original content developed specifically for this hair loss project including sections dedicated to hair loss conditions, hair loss solutions, a comprehensive professional providers directory, along with news and lifestyle channels.”Hair loss looms so large in our lives when it happens to us,” said Garcia. “Our Lifestyle channel shows our community how to perfect other parts of our lives, even if we may never have perfect hair again. Our Entertainment channel provides a little respite, a little fun while members seek out solutions to their individual condition.”The lifestyle channel features articles and advice on health & fitness, fashion & beauty, nutrition, entertainment, business and travel, as well as an advice column for community members to get advice from a “relationship coach” in order to assure that hair loss – and the complexities surrounding it – don’t overly complicate our personal lives.Full membership in the hair loss community is free and allows the member to participate and interact with others in the community by way of forums, newsgroups, comments, RSS feeds, friends and more. The amount of unbiased information about hair loss solutions is presented to speak to those across the broad spectrum of hair loss conditions. Men, women and children with temporary and permanent conditions such as Alopecia areata or hair loss caused by Cancer treatments will find information especially for them. ”One thing we all understand is that hair loss is more complicated than we knew before.” There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Many of the existing hair loss websites speak above the typical person seeking solutions or contain thinly veiled sales pitches, Garcia said. “We’ve reduced the rhetoric of solving hair loss to its simplest terms. Those using the Internet to perform their due diligence are going to appreciate this approach.”Also launching with the website will be HairLoss.com’s “Hair for Children” program that will provide children who suffer from hair loss – and who demonstrate financial need – a customized hair loss solution. A video contest that challenges filmmakers to craft videos raising public awareness about the many sensitive issues surrounding hair loss has also been announced with the launch.As presented, HairLoss.com represents an online community in the deepest sense. This website has its experts and has a stance, but its clear that members will be the lifeblood. The success of the online community will rely completely on members sharing their most creative and thoughtful ideas, experiences and insights with the community and to engage the experts so that everyone in the community benefits.
If a child who suffers from hair loss doesn’t have an Alopecia condition, most likely that child has lost his hair as a result of Cancer treatments. When the child loses his hair, they must seek out hair replacement options, such as long-term Cancer wigs and other solutions that provide hair replacement for children.When children are diagnosed with Cancer, they face a battle on two fronts: first, fighting the Cancer itself and the draining, ongoing medical fight that nearly always includes some form of chemotherapy and radiation. And when the effects of this battle have taken their toll, children face a battle on a second front; they suffer from hair loss, often requiring them to wear short or long-term Cancer wigs.Cancer treatments have a battering effect on a child’s health and immune system and can seriously affect his or her appearance as well. Medical hair loss necessitating the use of Cancer wigs is the most common result of oncology treatments and might well be the one aspect of Cancer treatment that children dread the most. Why? Because it makes them feel and look different from their friends. It makes them look ill, even after they’re done with Cancer treatments. And by the time a child whose been through all this is feeling well and ready to jump back into life, hair loss may stand in their way. No child really wants to feel different. Being bald, however, can make children the target of teasing and thoughtless comments from other children who don’t have the same filters or understanding adults do. A bad, ill-fitting wig on a child who needs a nonsurgical hair replacement for children option, such as Cancer Wigs is almost as bad as being bald. The emotional toll all of this teasing can take can be as devastating as the Cancer treatment itself, causing children to stay inside, decline invitations to parties and generally take a big step back from the recovery that will help them heal. Charity organizations like Teens Unite Fighting Cancer are doing something about this situation. Aside from helping children with Cancer make connections with other kids like them, they are taking on the problem of medically-related hair replacement for children. They know what a financial burden the fight against Cancer can be. Prohibitive costs of Cancer wigs stop many child cancer patients from seeking out help. Teens Unite Fighting Cancer also knows that a good Cancer wig is worth its weight in gold. That’s why they have formed partnerships with some of the top medical hair replacement community’s leaders to help kids get new hair while their own grows back. Teens Unite Fighting Cancer has made it possible to for children fighting cancer to qualify for a grant to receive free nonsurgical hair replacement solutions like Cancer wigs and hair systems. Caylee Bradhew, 14, had undergone surgery, chemotherapy and radiation for a brain tumor. When she successfully finished with her treatments, she was left with no hair. Those who didn’t know her well stared at her when she returned to school. She overheard others laughing at her ill-fitting, drug store wig. She felt as if she’d never get her old self back again. Until she heard about TeensUniteFightingCancer.org/. Caylee applied for and received a grant for a new, beautiful hair system made of human hair – a high-end Cancer wig that mimicked her own hair down to the part. The first day she wore it was the first day she’d felt like herself since the whole Cancer ordeal began. And that was the day she really began to heal. To qualify for a grant to have a Cancer wig or other nonsurgical hair replacement for children solution, the process is fairly straightforward and the application is not complicated. Because this charity and it’s partnering hair replacement company that provides the Cancer wigs understand the urgency of the problem, and the emotional toll oncology- induced hair loss has taken on the child, the waiting time is short – one to two months following application. After approval, the child (who must fall between the ages of 13-24) will visit a clinic to be fitted by an expert technician with a high-end Cancer wig. What is a medical hair replacement system? It’s better than what most people think of as a “Cancer wig.” First, a medical hair system is made completely from human hair, hand-tied individually, strand-by-strand by an expert technician. The hair is tied onto a breathable mesh fabric that is lightweight and virtually undetectable, and can be worn day and night. These medical hair systems can be worn swimming, showering and playing hard. They will not come off like a typical Cancer wig. Children can rest easy with their new hair because no one will know it’s not their own hair. And when thei r own hair grows back in? No problem. The hair system allows for this comfortably. Meanwhile, experts on hair replacement for children will style the hair system precisely for the child and style it and color it to match his or her original hair color. These so-called “Cancer Wigs” are a godsend for children who are trying to recover from Cancer treatments because it gives them the very thing they need most: confidence. It allows them to move back into their lives, feeling whole again. And doctors agree, the best tool for healing is feeling good about yourself. Cancer wigs during and after Cancer treatment helps a great deal.
Hair loss can be devastating, whether you are male or female, regardless of race or ethnicity. Typical hair loss among men crosses the boundaries of race and culture. However, African American hair poses a particular set of challenges with regard to hair loss. Hair replacement clinics across the country note that while black men seem to suffer the same sort of male pattern baldness and challenges as Caucasian men, African American men and women seem to suffer a higher percentage of problems with hair loss for a variety other, culturally specific reasons. Hair replacement solutions to African American hair loss can be equally complex. Every year, thousands of men and women of African descent struggle to resolve issues that have left them with receding hairlines and patchy balding spots. Many of these causes are due to hairstyling techniques that have become part of the African American culture, such as:• Traction Alopecia – caused by braiding too tightly, long term use of corn-rows or tight pig tails in hair. This causes a constant tug on the root of the hair which eventually not only pulls it out, but can cause scarring on the scalp.• Use of Chemical relaxers that contain lye (the same ingredient used in products like Draino) can actually cause chemical burns on the skin. Even the more natural relaxers use chemicals harsh enough to cause a burn. • Use of hot combs or irons on the hair too close to the scalp, causing burns and scarring.• Bleach–again, a harsh chemical not intended to come in contact with the delicate skin of the scalp. What many people don’t realize is that all of these procedures can, if done improperly, cause permanent hair loss due to scarring of the scalp. Once hair follicles are scarred, there is no resurrecting them. That hair is gone for good. Hair regrowing products like Propecia and Minoxidil will not regrow hair here. Hair replacement experts understand the emotional toll this kind of loss can take on somebody suffering from hair loss. Not only does hair loss cause embarrassment, the self-esteem can take a nose dive as well. Janelle, a twenty-four year old African American woman, noticed that her hair had begun to recede around her hairline. She had worn pig tails as a child and as an adult, had begun chemically relaxing her hair. To save money, she decided to do it at home. The chemicals burned her scalp. Alarmed, Janelle discovered several bald patches the size of a half dollar on her crown. She saw her doctor and learned that Traction Alopecia was responsible for her hair loss around her hairline, and chemical burns were responsible for the now permanent hair loss on her crown. He sent her to a hair replacement specialist. Janelle was dealing with three problems: Bald patches on the scalp and a receding hairline; but more importantly, her biggest problem was the toll the hair loss took on her self-esteem and emotional well-being. She considered surgical hair replacement, but this is a complex issue when it comes to black hair. Why?• The cost is prohibitively high. And quite often, if simply doesn’t work. Hair does not regrow in the density required.• The formation of keloid tissue. Keloid scarring is a condition to which black skin is often prone. While skin on the scalp rarely forms keloid scar tissue, the skin on the forehead and face often will. So if a receding hairline is the issue, often surgical transplantation is not an option on black skin.• Grafting is tricky – Black hair is curly not only above the skin but below, at the root as well. So the grafting of individual hairs is complex and often impossible. In the end, she found an expert who specialized in high end hair replacement systems to restore her hair to it original state. Using breathable lace mesh and hand tied hairs, the hair replacement specialist matched Janelle’s hair with real hair, then filled in the missing spots and her hairline with several hair systems to extend her hairline. The new hair blended in flawlessly with Janelle’s own hair. This hair system was not cheap either. A high end hair system that is virtually undetectable costs somewhere around $2500. But let’s face it, nothing good is ever cheap. Nor was the hair system without maintenance. She had to adjust the color monthly and occasionally have new hair tied to replace hair that routinely shed from the hair system. But in the end, she couldn’t be happier with her full head of hair. Restoring her hair has, made her less self-conscious and given her back her confidence. It’s hard to put a price tag on that. Every year, hair replacement experts help thousands of people just like Janelle reclaim their lives with the help of hair replacement systems. There are other hair replacement options available to those with spotty hair loss like Janelle. Hair extensions made with clips are temporary or removable hair systems that don’t require glue to be fixed to the scalp. These are also made with high quality human hair in China and can blend invisibly with your own hair. If you have experienced hair loss and are looking for options, study hair replacement systems on the internet. Look for hair systems that are virtually undetectable, made of human hair, and have local clinics available for custom fitting.
