Page 72 - How It Works - Book Of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, Volume 05-15

How is hair How to perform

transplanted? a hair transplant

The basic steps in performing a strip harvest
of hair, the most commonly used method

How this surgical
technique battles baldness

ale pattern baldness is common,
although in some people it can
Mlead to concerns over appearance
and even a severe loss of confi dence. Most 1 Harvesting
choose to accept it, but others are fi ghting the A thin strip of skin
and hair is
balding process. Modern science has removed from the
recently updated ancient techniques, back of the scalp.
meaning that hair transplants can now
reliably restore normal hair patterns.
Patients are carefully screened before
undergoing hair transplantation, similar to
patients before any cosmetic procedures.
While hair transplants can restore self-
confidence, it’s important that they aren’t 2 Hairline scar

The two resultant

used to fix problems in patients’ lives that
skin edges are
can’t be solved through a change in closed, leaving a
appearance alone. thin scar, although
this is typically
Hair transplants have been practiced as covered with
far back as the 19th century. However, it is surrounding hair.
only in the last 20 years that modern
techniques have led to reliable and realistic
results. Currently, two techniques are used
the most. The first involves taking a thin strip 8 New hair

The micrografts are
of hair from the back of the scalp, removing inserted into these
the hair follicles and implanting them to the holes, orientated so
the hair grows in the
front of the hairline. The second doesn’t
right direction.
involve removing a strip; rather, small units
of two to four follicles are removed and then
transplanted in the required area.
These techniques have become so
sophisticated that the direction of the hair
follicle is controlled when implanting it in
the new site. This gives a natural hair-growth
direction and a realistic pattern. These
procedures aren’t without risks, though.
They can be painful, and as with any surgical
wound, infection can set in. There is also no
guarantee of success as baldness can recur.
However, it is a generally successful
procedure and can restore lost confi dence.

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Modern science
M
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e

i
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has recently updated
ancient techniques
72 How It Works