The Bald Truth
Americans turn to weaves, rugs, plugs, and drugs to alleviate hair loss, creating a $1.5 billion industry
Several other surgical procedures offer the possibility of quicker and more dramatic results, though each comes with potential problems of its own. Patients looking for a more immediate and dramatic fix may be tempted by a method known as the "flap." The procedure works quite simply by slicing all but one corner of a strip of skin and hair from the side of the scalp and rotating it around across the front of the head to replace the once hairless scalp. The skin around the area from which the flap is removed is pulled together and sutured shut. The best part about the technique is that it gets immediate results with much more hair than is possible with micrografts. The downside is that the hair may well grow in an unnatural direction: straight upward.
Many practitioners of both micrografts and the flap method recommend scalp reductions in conjunction with those procedures. In a scalp reduction, a doctor cuts out a strip of bald skin from the pate and pulls the scalp together to increase the area of hair coverage. Those with some pliability to the skin on their heads are able to shrink the size of their bald spot. But in many instances, the "reduced" scalp can stretch back apart, restoring the now scarred bald area.
Until doctors develop a medical cure for baldness, this treadmill of treatment and spending--and more treatment and more spending--is likely to be the only path for balding men and women who want their hair back. Even Mark S., who has already invested more than $12,000 on his hair, expects to return to the operating room in the not-too-distant future to hide the thinning he knows his genes have in store for him. With no miracle antidote for baldness on the horizon, there appears to be plenty of room for growth in the hair-loss industry.
True or False Much of the conventional wisdom about baldness is merely myth. Test your knowledge by answering these True/False questions. 1. The scalp of a man's maternal grandfather offers the best hint about whether he will lose his hair. 2. The average human loses about 100 hairs a day. 3. A male castrated before puberty will not suffer from male-pattern baldness. 4. The frequent wearing of tight hats or caps can cause baldness. 5. Bald men are viewed as being more intelligent than their hirsute counterparts. 6. A physician must earn proper certification before performing hair transplants. 7. Any hair that grows back through the use of Rogaine will fall out if you stop using the product.
Answers: 1. False, scientists believe that a baldness gene is just as likely to come from the father as from the mother. 2. True, hairs fall out every several years and are replaced by new ones. 3. True, testosterone is needed to trigger the hair-loss process. Without it, a man won't go bald. 4. False, wearing hats cannot cause baldness. 5. True, a recent survey found that, based merely on appearance, bald men are considered smarter. 6. False, any doctor who has graduated from medical school is free to perform transplant surgery. 7. True, the benefits gained from Rogaine fade away if you stop using it.
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