Why does hair loss occur?

Contrary to general belief, our hair growth is not a continuous process but undergoes a cycle. We have approximately 100,000 strands of hair and daily shedding of up to 100 strands of hair is considered as normal. So if you see some hairs sticking to the end of the brush, you don’t need to necessarily panic yet. The hair cycle consist of 3 phases:

• Growth Phase (Anagen)
  This lasts for 2-6 years whereby the matrix cell devide, become keratinized and hair is produced.
• Transitional Phase (Catagen)
  This phase lasts for 1-2 weeks and signifies the end of the growth phase with detachment of blood supply.

• Rest Phase (Telogen)
  This phase may last for several months, whereby it is in rest mode (no active growth). In addition, the lack of blood supply the hair may undergo shortening and reduction of volume. Over time hairs in this phase may be shed through normal traction or movement before giving way to the cycle to repeat itself.

What causes hair loss?

There are many causative factors that contribute to hair loss, but by far the most common cause that affects up to 95% of men is due to genetics and hormonal imbalance/sensitivity.

Other causes that contribute significantly include bacteria and/or fungal infections, stress, imblanced nutrition, and chemical exposure. Quite often it is a combination of a few factors that make up for a person’s hair loss and it is important that each causative factor is identified and addressed.

The most common hair loss pattern is the male pattern baldness that affects most men with hair loss and also some women. It is difficult to predict the progress and outcome of the hair loss and while it is very treatable, one must be prepared that it is not curable as it has been genetically predetermined.

The Different Standards

Hair restoration is not a new procedure and despite decades of advancement, some of the age old techniques are still widely in practice and available to people with hair loss throughout the world. We have a finite amount of hair, both good and deteriorating follicles, hence each follicle literally counts in the pursuit of maximum output and results of a hair restoration procedure.

Until today, strip surgery or Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) is still being practiced in many countries be it developing or developed nations. Strip surgery is the practice of removing a strip of skin, usually 1 to 2 cm in width, which also involves the use of surgical stitches to close up the stripped gap on the scalp and scarring usually ensues. Once the strip has been harvested, it is then sliced into microscopic slits of 1mm to preserve the follicular structure of the donor graft. Only under strict expertise are these microscopic slits made without damaging the grafts, which determines the outcome of the transplant.

This makes the procedure yield lower survival rate of the grafts and have longer recovery time in the improper hands of technicians and operators handling the grafts.

The DHI Difference

The technique we use at DHI is the most advanced, least invasive hair transplant procedure available. Direct Hair Implantation results in no pain, no scars, a quicker recovery time than FUT and delivers natural results by regrowing your own hair after the procedure is done. With the DHI technique, we extract each hair follicle one by one from the donor area (a location on the scalp where hair is dense and in abundance) and then implant it directly to the area you desire. Hair follicles are then implanted after they are extracted. Smaller diameter punches lead to faster healing times and less marks as a result of less trauma to the skin and less damage to the local blood supply. We provide the solution that is the least invasive, yet, manages to provide the best results. The handling of the graft is minimal, which increases the survival rate of the hair follicles.