Aside from those who shaved their heads bald for style (some men such as Jeff Bezos are known for this look), adults have hair on their heads, and this hair is a great concern for many people. Adults base a lot of their self-image and even their esteem on the quality and appearance of their hair, both men and women, and the proliferation of different hair styles and hair care products reflects this. Many hair styles have gone in and out of fashion throughout the years, from mullets to crew cuts to the famed Farrah Fawcett look. Americans spend a lot on their barbers and home hair care products, looking to get perms or curls, dye their hair different colors, cut it shorter, or even add woven hair wefts to add length or density.
Thinning hair and bald patches are another concern. It is natural, harmless, and common for adults to have their hair thin out as they age, but few if any people actually savor this natural process. Male pattern balding is common, and many men have receding hair lines or bald patches on the top of their heads. Less frequently, but still often, women also experience hair loss as they age, and many people go to great lengths to fix this. Hair specialists, meanwhile, may offer a solution at a hair transplant clinic, and hair specialists may offer an FUE transplant. FUE, or “follicular unit extraction,” is a common means for hair specialists to rearrange their clients’ hair to fill in bald spots or thin patches of hair. Why might an adult today consult hair specialists, and what can they expect from an FUE procedure?
Losing Your Hair
Hair is among many health and personal appearance trends that many professionals are studying, since hair is nearly universal and most adults care a great deal about their hair. What to the studies and surveys show? Men experience hair loss the most, and 95% of men will go through common male pattern baldness. Even if a man does not go totally bald, he will probably lose a noticeable amount of hair as he grows older. By the time men are 35 years old, two in three of them will have a lot of hair falling out, and by age 50, about 85% of men have visibly thinning hair on their heads. Generally, a person will have to lose about half of all hairs on their head before the effects are visible, but this happens quite often. Today, around 35 million men and 21 million women are going through hair loss.
When a person starts losing their hair, they may expect this phase to last about 20 years, although it starts sooner in some adults than others. Some men may get a receding hair line as early as their late 20s or so, while others may start getting major hair loss in their 30s or even as late as their 40s or early 50s. Surveys have shown that many people would go to great length to restore their hair. Around 47% of those surveyed said that they would spend their entire life savings to restore their full head of hair, and over half said that they would prefer fully restored hair over money or friends. That shows a great deal of concern about hair. What can be done?
Visiting Hair Specialists
While there isn’t a “magic potion” to restore all the hairs that a person has lost on their head, current medical procedures can do the next best thing. Interested clients may look up hair clinics near them and set up an appointment, and they may try out FUE. During this procedure, a hair specialist will carefully remove the person’s upper layer of skin in small patches that contain units of one to six hair follicles. These relocated hair follicles can be placed in bald spots or thin patches of hair, and oriented for a natural look. This can be repeated until unwanted bald spots or thin patches are filled, and while this does not add more hairs to the head, it can make for a fuller look that many patients want. There are few side effects to this, with only minor scalp bleeding afterwards being typical.