What was once thought to be a safe place to learn about hair loss and hair transplantation has become a breeding ground for gorilla marketers posing as actual patients and hair loss sufferers. The most egregious offences come in the form of agenda driven posts created by forum administrators and their multiple pseudonyms intentionally misleading their trusting readers.

The sad truth is that this once wonderful resource of information for people trying to help themselves, and to learn more about hair loss and hair restoration has become corrupted.

For years, we have been asked by both the hair loss community and the handful of ethical members of the hair loss industry, to create an official resource that would be untouched by the corruption that permeates many of the existing entrepreneurial message forums. A place where vulnerable hair loss sufferers can ask questions and learn from truly concerned professionals and veteran hair loss consumers who have no political or financial agendas.

Indeed the online hair loss and hair transplant community is ready for a new platform to obtain real and honest information, the ability to interact with hair transplant surgeons, and of course, other hair loss individuals as well.

As with any health disorder, education is key. It is equally important to find real places of support to help navigate you through the muddy waters of the hair loss industry.

First off, what is BHT? BHT is the transplantation of body hair from various parts of the body with the intent of placing it in the scalp. If performed correctly there is a great potential source of donor hair that would be, compared to scalp hair, limitless depending on the amount of body hair that a patient has.

The problem with this, like so many other ideas in the unregulated hair transplant industry, is that good ideas do not necessarily work out to be so great in reality. BHT is relatively new in the hair transplant field and is only practiced by a few clinics worldwide. These clinics however tend to promote the use of body hair as being reliable and effective. The truth however is that BHT is not only NOT reliable there are few success cases if these cases can be called successful to begin with.

BHT is not performed like a traditional hair transplant. The standard method of transplanting hair for the purpose of increased volume and density on the scalp is via the “strip” method. This is where the doctor removes a strip of tissue from the back and/or sides of the scalp. The effectiveness of this procedure allows for consistent growth. This is not to say anything about artistry and naturalness as these qualities in a surgeon vary widely but we know that in most hands this technique works. For better or for worse the hair tends to grow in the vast majority of cases. Body hair is taken with a small punch tool that will vary in diameter from .75mm to 1mm or slightly larger. The challenge lies in the extraction of these grafts and whether or not the follicles will be damaged during the procedure.

These punches that are used in BHT are carried over from another technique called FUE. FUE uses these same punches but to extract hair from various areas of the patient’s scalp. This procedure in and of itself is more challenging than the traditional strip method as it is essentially blind harvesting of hairs. Once the punch disappears below the surface of the scalp it is nothing more than a guessing game as to whether or not the hair or “graft” will be damaged.

The difference for body hair however includes but extends beyond this challenge. While extracting body hair the tissue surrounding and underneath is more pliable and has more give. The more give that the tissue has the more the follicle will bend thus distorting the angle that the surgeon felt should have been taken to begin with to successfully remove the hair without damage. It is similar to taking blade of grass, standing it on one end, then pushing down on the top end. The blade of grass will “bow” which is what happens to the body hair in this situation.

Body hair transplantation is a method now being advertised by some clinics as being reliable and effective for the right patient. Personally, with results shown on the web, I have yet to see any case that I would call successful. There are only one or two cases I have seen where I feel that growth was at best only OK but none that I feel were worth the money spent. What is more, is that some of these cases could have saved tens or yes even hundreds of thousands of dollars by not undertaking the BHT route and having traditional scalp hair transplanted to their scalps. Did I say “hundreds of thousands”? Yes, I did because these clinic tell patients that it takes far more body hair grafts to get acceptable results because of the generally finer caliber hairs that grow on the body as compared to hairs that grow on the scalp. When the least expensive of these clinics charge 5.00 per body hair graft (some as high as 10.00 to 14.00 per body hair graft) and some cases including graft counts as high as 30,000 grafts(!!!!!) then the math, while incredulous, works out.
It is my opinion that body hair as a viable source of hair for transplantation into the scalp should be outlawed as a procedure that is anything beyond experimental at best. Worst case repair cases are probably the only cases that should be considered for this procedure and even then it should be approached with caution. Virgin scalp patients or those that have never had any sort of hair transplant procedure in the past should NEVER consider BHT as a first line offense against hair loss. If anyone is considering a hair transplant and they are told that body hair would be a good option then run, don’t walk, toward the door. If a virgin scalp patient has never had a procedure and is told they are not a good candidate save for body hair then they should walk to their nearest drug store, buy a Bic razor then head to their nearest tanning salon. A shaved head would look multitudes better than someone with curly chest hair covering their entire head that has all the density one would expect from a dandelion.

Always remember to think, learn then apply. Do your research and always look for consistency to verify any claim, especially those that seem a bit odd or too good to be true. If these claims are true then you should have no problem verifying them through your own research.

First, notice that in the paragraph above I mentioned an interview. What does an interview have to do with picking a hair transplant clinic? It’s pretty simple really. You are hiring a clinic to do a job for you, in this case, restoring your hair. They are working for you so it is up to you to make sure you are “hiring” the best clinic for the job. Think of the hair transplant clinic (s) you are considering as contractors that you want to build a house. You want to make sure you are dealing with a contractor that has quality employees to consistently build great houses.

The materials they use obviously need to be of the highest caliber and in this case the materials are your hair. They also have to use the best tools of the trade and must be proficient with them. Learn what tools the doctor and staff use and find out the benefits of those tools and how they will serve you best. Why do they use those tools and why are they better than other tools you may learn about.

Ask your doctor if you can have a look at their references. In this case the references are the patients and you should be able to come away from your doctor’s office with a list of patients that have agreed to comment on their experience and maybe even meet with you in person. If you are considering a clinic that is out of your local area then you may have to travel a bit but a one or two hour drive is definitely worth it when you are making a life altering and permanent decision.

Finally, you should be able to see dozens of examples of the clinic’s past work and this would be in the form of documented before and after photos and/or videos. The clinic you are considering should have, in my opinion, no less than fifty examples to share. This will help to establish a record of consistency when combined with meeting patients in person.

Remember, the doctor and clinic you choose is working FOR YOU, not the other way around. You owe them nothing and if something doesn’t seem right then you should step back and consider your decision. There is nothing wrong with getting the jitters before a surgery. I did and so does everyone else but if you have questions that are unanswered before a surgery do not get in the chair until those questions are answered to your satisfaction. If and when each of my suggestions are met and you actually feel good about your decision then you can start building your house.

The first problem with this type of claim is that it is most likely a bold faced lie as was the story told to the patient at the beginning of this post. The chance of any doctor that you are speaking with having actually performed hair transplant surgery on an “A list” actor or celebrity is pretty small unless that doctor is in the Beverly Hills or greater Los Angeles area. Now, this is not to say that they absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, are lying but the chances that YOUR doctor worked on a big name celebrity are slim.

My second point is this…WHO CARES?!?!? Why should you make a lifelong decision based on what a celebrity does? The decision to have a hair transplant is a very personal one and is not to be taken lightly. Once a hair transplant is performed, that’s it. There is no going back, no reversal, no setting the clock back a few years. It is with you for life. Besides, if you are speaking to the actual doctor that performed the hair transplant surgery for the celebrities mentioned above, run, do not walk, out the door because you do NOT want the type of work they received (no offense if any of you reading this are actually Nicolas Cage or Sylvester Stallone. Call me, let me help.).

My third and final point is the most important. If you are speaking to a hair transplant doctor and they mention any one specific celebrity (or any patient for that matter) by name then they have just violated one of the most sacred of medical ethics. No doctor should reveal the name of a patient for any reason much less for self promotion. This is a very good indicator that your doctor is either lying for self promotion or is choosing to ignore doctor-patient confidentiality, again, for self promotion. It just isn’t something that should be done and should in and of itself be a very good reason to move on to your next doctor interview.

Almost all young males (teen and pre-pubescent) have a hairline that is more or less “straight” across their forehead. As males begin to mature the corners of their hairline will usually recede somewhat but this is perfectly normal and does not necessarily dictate that they will be bald or balding later in life. I sometimes call this the final stages of puberty as I think of temporal recession as the final indicator of maturation from that of a juvenile male into an adult male. Of course, that is not to say that future loss is not going to happen, because it can.

If you are developing minor temporal recession and are concerned about the future you should contact a reputable hair loss expert that is a member of the American Hair Loss Association to have them help determine if it is normal mature male recession or if it is an indicator of worse loss to come. If your hair loss expert determines that more loss is to come then they can help you to outline a prevention plan to keep what hair you still have. Prevention is always the best route to take before choosing the surgical option. As I always tell my fellow hair loss sufferers, surgical hair restoration is like building a house. You need to build a solid foundation before you begin actual construction.

Joe Tillman

Website survey participants were asked: “How old were you when your hair loss first started?” Results signified that hair loss onset is strongly weighted during one’s teen years, tapering off to just three percent after age 60.

Complete survey results are as follows:

• Age 15-20: 20%
• Age 20-25: 19%
• Age 30-35: 18%
• Age 40-50: 17%
• Age 25-30: 14%
• Age 50-60: 9%
• Age 60+: 3%

“Information from both member emails and our recent survey are telling,” explained the Project’s founder. “A considerable number of women start to lose their hair at a young age, coinciding with the use of birth control pills. This can be extraordinarily crippling to a woman’s self-esteem at any age, but even more so during these extremely delicate years of self-discovery.” Though surprising to most women, even The Mayo Clinic warns that birth control pill use may result in hair loss. “The Women’s Hair Loss Project aims to educate women about various risks, while fostering a supportive and empathetic environment,” she continues. According to The American Hair Loss Association (ALHA), all women, especially those with a family history of hair loss, should be aware of the drugs potential for exacerbating the issue, recommending the use of low-androgen index pills or another non-hormonal form of birth control.

To learn more about this survey and other important information regarding women’s hair loss, visit www.WomensHairLossProject.com.

About The Women’s Hair Loss Project

The Women’s Hair Loss Project (www.WomensHairLossProject.com) is an interactive blog uniting and empowering women around the world. The website provides up-to-the-minute news, tips and information to help sufferers’ understand and cope.

Adams has also recorded at least two major medical malpractice settlements totaling nearly half a million dollars and has been sued by several patients in other cases, court records show.

A more powerful medium that the internet is television. Dr. Jan Adams appeared on “Oprah” and “Extra” and even hosted his own plastic surgery show on the Discovery Channel. It is no wonder why women from all over the world flocked to Los Angeles to have surgery by this famous plastic surgeon. It would appear that no one what there in TV land really did there homework first, if they had they might have found all the multiple complaints of women who have recently stepped forward after the tragic death of Kanye West’s mother, Donda West. Who can forgot Walter Riley, the man who died during hair transplant surgery by Crown Cosmetic Surgery on April 27. 2006. Mr. Riley’s wife, Yvonne Robinson-Riley filed a law suit a year later.
It is incredibly important to be very careful when searching for reputable doctors, surgeons and products online. A person can recover from being monetarily taken advantage of but unfortunately the damage doesn’t stop there, lives are ruined and relationships destroyed from the easily accessible misinformation being spread online. Be very careful, the internet can be a jungle of lies, and you never know when a lion is standing right behind you.

Related Article: The Hidden Dangers of Hair Transplant Message Boards

Read Original Article: Hairless fakers take note. Bald is in charge.

I’ve had a thinning spot on the top of my head for almost 10 years.

I’ve been using Minoxidil and Finasteride since 2004, and the combination seems to be working. I may have a little regrowth, but the important thing is that the spot seems not to be growing.

My question is this: Is there anything else I should be doing? The whole “Laser combs” thing sounds like a fly-by-night industry to me - do they really work?

You have a good question which has a highly debatable answer. The main idea behind the “laser comb” is basically that it increases the circulation in the area where the low level laser light therapy is used. This increase in blood flow to the follicles, according to the laser comb promoters, has a positive effect on the follicles which causes an overall decrease in hair loss.

I have a problem with the supposed mechanism by which the laser comb works to prevent hair loss. While I don’t dispute the comb’s ability to cause a transient increase in blood flow, I do feel that this does not treat the underlying cause of the hair loss. In my opinion, hair loss is not the result of a lack of blood supply to the scalp but rather, it is a result of the negative effects of DHT binding to the follicle receptors. This concept is widely accepted as the root of male pattern baldness and is the reason why finasteride helps prevent hair loss (by lowering the DHT level). Since the laser comb therapy does nothing to change the level of DHT at the receptor site, I do not feel that it has much more than a placebo-type effect on hair loss.

In practice, I have not heard many good things about laser comb therapy. I have had a few patients state their belief that the comb has helped stop their hair loss, but these are usually patients who are also taking finasteride. The problem in this lies in the fact that if a patient is taking two treatments at the same time, it is difficult to gauge the overall effects of each individual treatment. Basically, it is hard to show that the comb had any beneficial effects, as the hair loss prevention may have been attributable only to the finasteride.

I am going to point out one more issue regarding the comb. The laser comb does have FDA approval, though this may be misleading. The technology behind the laser comb has been around for decades. The FDA approval for this device is not based on any amazing new studies. Rather, it has been approved because the technology pre-dates when the FDA began its supervisory role. Therefore, this device did not have to pass through today’s stringent FDA approval process.

Source: Hair Transplant Adviser