For people suffering from Androgenic Alopecia, the most reliable and permanent solution for getting their hair back is hair restoration surgery. Known as male pattern baldness in men and female pattern baldness in women, it is caused is the presence of Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) which is a male hormone.
Testosterone is converted into DHT with the help of an enzyme called 5-Alpa-Reductase. Having a glance at the statistics, almost all men and women suffer from this condition at some stage of their lives.
There are a number of procedures that are available at this point in time including the mini and micro grafts, the Follicular Unit Transplant (FUE) and the Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). Each individual case varies and only a hair transplant surgeon can ascertain which works the best for you.
So where does the hair come from?
This is a very important question as no hair transplant can take place without new hair. There are certain areas in the head that are known as donor sides and hair follicles are taken from these sites for the purpose of transplantation. These are the back and sides of the head with the former being used more often. Currently no other areas of the body are used for this purpose.
Why these hairs only?
One of the restrictions in the hair restoration procedures is restricted number of donor sites. The hair can only be taken from the person who himself or herself is going through with the surgery. The reason lies in two things. One, any kind of transplantation faces rejection. Medications are used along with the procedure to ensure that the rejection is minimized. Using one’s own hair and that too from the head helps.
The second reason is that the hair on the back and side of the head are the most resistant to the DHT. Once these are transplanted to other areas of the head, they maintain their resistance. If hair from other areas are taken, they are likely going to suffer from the same fate as the previous hair due to androgenic alopecia. So these hair are the most viable options for this purpose.
Old Times Formula
In olden times, wearing head pieces was the only solution to the problem. Some weird toupees could be seen around all the time. With time as the medical world evolved, better solutions came to the fore and this process is still ongoing.