Hair Restoration: Who’s Hair Is It Anyway

Hair restoration surgery has become very popular in the last few years as the techniques used have become more exacting.  Originally hair implants were called hair plugs because of the way the hair and scalp section was removed, as a round plug, and the fact that these groups of hair looked liked they were plugged into the scalp like the hair on a cheap doll’s head.  Now surgeons are able to work with individual hair follicles and place them in the exact spot needed to make the resulting hair coverage look natural.

The question often asked is where does the hair come from for hair restoration surgery.  At this time the vast majority of hair implantation procedures in the US use the patients own hair.  In very rate instances donor hair from another person can be used but like any other organ transplant there are problems with rejection of the foreign hair.  For a few years artificial, man made fibers were used as implants but they were banned in the US due to problems with infections at the scalp interface.  Artificial hair implants are still popular in other areas of the world, especially India, but they are not used here or in most parts of Europe..

So if a patient is bald how does he have hair to transplant?  If you notice, most men who are balding will still have good hair growth at the back of the head.  This area works very well as a donation site as it is easy to cover up any sign of hair removal with other hair in the area.  It is very common for several hundred to a few thousand hair follicles to be removed and placed into the balding area.

Really, the best thing about using the patient’s own hair is the matching of color and texture.  The implants look absolutely natural because they really are.  They have just been moved from one area of the head to another.