Last Updated on Friday, 26 February 2010 14:55

Hair loss is thought to affect 10m men and 8m women in the UK, 50% of all men over 50 are affected by male pattern baldness. When considering hair restoration it’s essential to educate yourself about the available treatment options, what you can expect and what is likely to work best for you.

This Hair Restoration Guide covers in detail the latest techniques, how they work, what’s involved, the procedure themselves, common questions as well as looking at ways to slow down your hair loss. You can also arrange a free no obligation consultation with a GMC Certified Specialist at the prestigious ELY clinic in London by filling out the form on the right.

Hair Restoration Guide

New techniques and quicker recovery times mean it is often possible to achieve a natural result with quick, minimally invasive procedures. The two primary forms of surgical hair replacement are Hair Transplants and Laser Hair Retention Therapy. These procedures are often used alongside medications that can help slow down hair loss.

Hair Transplants

Hair replacement surgery involves the surgical movement of “permanent” hair along with its roots to an area of bald or balding skin. There are several surgical techniques available but the method most often used today is hair transplantation.

Hair Transplant Surgery has evolved dramatically since the old 'plug' hair transplants of the past. The gold standard is now Follicular Unit Grafts. A follicular unit is a microscopic group of hairs that naturally grow together. The hairs are transplanted in groups of 1-4 hairs.

The end result is a hair transplant that looks totally natural because it is created in the way that hair naturally grows.

• More on Hair Transplants

Laser Hair Therapy

Laser Hair Therapy is a program that treats hair loss and regrows hair by stimulating the scalp, increasing blood flow and blocking the harmful hair loss effects of Dihydrotestoterone, also known as DHT. DHT causes hair follicles to stop producing the thick, healthy hair we once had.

• More on Laser Hair Therapy
  

Hair Loss Medications

Decades of clinical research has led to the discovery of vitamins crucial to the health, growth and treatment of hair. Patented formulas and medications have also been developed to combat the hair loss problem. None of the hair loss treatments, however has proven as effective as a hair restoration transplant and are most successful when used alongside other hair restoration techniques.

There are two drugs that have shown to have a positive effect on balding, Finasteride (Propecia and Proscar) and Minoxidil (Rogaine).

• Finasteride is a 5-Alpha Reductase Inhibitor and works by blocking 5-Alpha reductase. This prevents the enzyme from converting testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is DHT that causes male pattern baldness. There are two drugs that contain Finasteride, Propecia and Proscar.

• Minoxidil (Regaine) is found to be effective in about 25% of men with baldness on the crown

• Vitamins: Tricologic® contains KeratoneTM – a unique formula combining amino acids essential to protein/keratin synthesis, with powerful antioxidants and plant derived extracts helps maintain existing hair growth in men of all ages. Tricologic® also provides other nutrients crucial to healthy hair growth, including, antioxidant vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, iron, pantothenic acid, para-amino benzoic acid, selenium and vitamin B complex.

FREE Consultation at the Ely Clinic

Arrange a free no obligation consultation with a GMC qualified specialist at the prestigious ELY clinic in London. Simply fill in the form on the right.