TThere are all kinds of options for thinning hair, but as Christopher D’Souza, one of London’s leading hair transplant surgeons and President of the British Association for Hair Restoration Surgery, explains: ‘Once the follicle is gone, it’s gone for good. ”
This is where hair transplants come in. The two most popular techniques are FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction or Excision) and Strip FUT (Strip Follicular Unit Transplantation). The FUE technique involves extracting working follicles from where the hair on the head is thickest, usually on the back and sides, and the Strip version is similar, but works with larger ‘strips’ of skin rather than individual follicles. Both have you in and out of the clinic in a day — but not quickly. “It’s a long process, then you’ll be in the chair from morning to afternoon,” says D’Souza, “but the local anesthetic makes it comfortable. You can just watch Netflix while we work. Many people have visions of it it is much worse than it is.’
Aside from the potential pain, one aspect that put many people off was the idea of weeks of downtime or the shame of having it become a “job”. But both of those concerns are diminishing, says D’Souza. “The idea of ’shame’ has been widely replaced with ‘couldn’t care less,'” he adds, “and a good hair transplant—with proper hairline design and angulation of the grafts—should be undetectable.” After a week (sometimes less) you can return to work, and after 2-3 weeks, except for the length of the hair shaved before the treatment, the procedure will be barely detectable.
As with any cosmetic treatment, choosing a reputable clinic and doctor is key to getting the best results, but also to keep yourself safe. “There’s a big black market in the hair transplant world that we’re trying to combat,” D’Souza says of clinics in London and across the UK. These places rush patients (“sometimes four to six cases a day”) by illegally assigning unlicensed technicians to perform surgical steps in the procedure, instead of surgeons. “Patients need to make sure they know who will be handling the whole process when booking,” she adds, directing them to British Association for Hair Restoration Surgery for further advice.
Next to D’Souza (who offers hair transplants from £5,000), see below for some specialists and clinics recommended by Times Luxury.
Dr Bessam Farjo at the Farjo Hair Institute, transplants around £7,200
Since the early 1990s Dr Bessam Farjo and his wife Dr Nilofer Farjo have been offering hair expertise through transplants and non-surgical treatments. Their Manchester clinic is home to the UK’s first hair transplant training and research academy, along with luxury facilities on a par with their Harley Street clinic in London.
One of their newest treatments uses a technology called HairClone, “essentially an ‘insurance policy’ for future protection against further hair loss,” says Bessam Farjo. “It is essentially a ‘banking’ tool. Under local anesthesia or as part of your hair transplant, we extract around 100 follicles from the back of your head which are placed in a solution to cool and preserve, ready for storage. Once they reach the required temperature, minus 180 C, they are then transferred to an authorized tissue bank ensuring that their quality will be maintained for 20-25 years. After that time, the follicles can “come out of storage ready to be repositioned when someone experiences hair loss later down the line.”
Dr Munir Somji at DrMediSpa, hair transplant from £7,000
Having experienced hair loss himself, Somji understands the emotional impact of male pattern baldness (and other forms of hair loss). He is trained in various hair restoration techniques around the world and offers hairline reduction along with FUE and Strip FUT as well as other hair loss treatments. He also finds time to succeed YourHairDocan online hub featuring treatment options and advice for those suffering from hair loss.
Dr Marco Nicoloso at Ouronyx, non-surgical hair regeneration treatment, £2,850 per session
Although Nicoloso is no hair expert, he is a leading voice in the field of aesthetics and skin, and where does your hair grow from? Your skin. This procedure, which is not a full transplant but an excellent preventive treatment (making it a good choice for women suffering from thinning and loss, not just for male pattern baldness), uses micrograft technology with very little downtime to prevent hair loss and density. what is there
Nicoloso explains: “The most important type of hair loss is the one that women suffer from very often and is very difficult to treat, called Androgenetic Alopecia. Our hair regeneration treatment can help [protect] against it.” Micrografting uses our own skin tissue to help slow hair loss and stimulate existing follicles to grow longer and thicker by taking tiny skin grafts from the hairline area where the strongest follicles are ( often in the neck).
They are placed in a special device to extract growth factors and progenitor cells – all of which act as a repair system for the body – and the mixture is injected back into the part of the scalp where the hair is thinning. A local anesthetic helps with any pain and in about an hour you can go back to normal activities (but nothing too strenuous like vigorous exercise for a day or two).
Micrografting will not create new hair on your scalp. But it will encourage existing follicles to grow, so thinning areas on the scalp will become thicker and fuller, making it a cost-effective and safe way to prevent hair loss.
https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/luxury/article/londons-top-hair-doctors-times-luxury-dkvnsjwqw
