Who had hair transplants 10, 20, 30 years ago or longer? How is your hair holding up after so long?
On behalf of the individuals who had hair transplants 30 years ago, they basically had scalp reductions.
I had hair transplants a little more than 30 years ago (plugs, NOT scalp reductions).
Over the last three years, more and more of the hair that was transplanted, has become very fine and wispy until now it is almost all fine and wispy.
While the hair remaining in the donor area–though not as robust as it was 30 years ago–has not deteriorated anywhere near as much as the hair that was transplanted.
I suspect that the act of transplanting hair follicles somehow shortens the productive life of those transplanted follicles.
When I worked at Dr. Cole’s office, I had the opportunity to evaluate a tremendous amount of research. I had transplants at Bosley over 30 years ago. All of the plugs faded except those on the hairline. Better blood supply there, I’m convinced that’s the reason. Around 2006, Dr. Cole did some body hair transplants and the ones along the hairline stayed and have done a decent job of camouflaging the plugs Bosley placed. The body hair on my crown faded as the other gentleman here stated happened to him. While I worked at Dr. Cole’s office, DC would do work for me and I had a total of around 1500 beard grafts. Beard grafts work great. For me and for many other men I spoke with, beard takes longer to see a result. My hair now looks far better than it did when I was in my thirties. I am posting because I believe there is a reason the hair fades and there is a way to make your hair grow fuller. George Cotsarelis revealed differences between balding scalp and the more permanent hair at the back and sides of the head. Valerie Horsley’s Yale study suggested the value of the adipose layer related to cell signalling. She stated that adipose signals blood to release growth factors. George Cotsarelis indicated the role of hair cycles, extended telogen and Prostaglandin D2 saturating miniaturizing hair follicles in balding scalp. Cotsarelis also found a marked decrease in progenitor cells in balding scalp. There are ways to address every one of these issues. Male pattern baldness doesn’t only affect the hair follicles. The scalp is affected as well by DHT. That’s why hair transplants often fade after a few decades. Balding scalp has fewer blood vessels and less adipose which makes the bald or thinning areas feel hard as opposed to a “spongy” female scalp. The last beard hair procedure Dr. Cole did grew the best and here is what I did:
After the procedure, I was of course gentle and careful not to dislodge any newly placed grafts. After the surgery, I sprayed the grafted area with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and at around 7 days post-op, I massaged the grafted area as opposed to babying the area. The added blood circulation helped. Did you ever notice that body builders have freakish over developed veins? Exercise promotes angiogenesis (blood vessel growth). How does that translate to the scalp? This is what I do every morning and evening and it helps my hair grow thicker and reduces the number of hairs that exit the anagen phase. After I shower, I blow dry my hair and rub Rogaine foam all over my scalp. With my head tipped down, I place the palms of my hands on the sides of my head and exert pressure stretching my scalp toward the top of my head. Using my scalp muscles I do 100 resistance exercise movements. Check up on my claims by researching “exercise promotes progenitor cell proliferation”. Remember Cotsarelis found a marked decrease in progenitor cells in balding scalp. Next look up triamcinolone acetonide. It is a medium strength steroid and has a listed side effect of excessive hair growth. I used it for eczema and noticed that hardly any of my hair came out in my brush. It either inhibits telogen or promotes anagen. Requires a prescription and only use occasionally because it can cause skin thinning over time with excessive use. Research PRP treatment for hair loss. The fact that PRP does improve hair growth to varying degrees underscores the importance of good blood supply to the scalp. Actually it’s the blood platelet growth factors, and blood thinners like warfarin have a negative effect on hair growth. Cotsarelis believes that the human immune system plays a role in hair loss and it may go something like this:
DHT causes changes to the scalp and hair follicles in a genetically predetermined area and that area begins to thin because it doesn’t receive adequate blood platelet growth factors. This sends the hair into extended telogen where it is soaked in prostaglandin D2 which is known to cause apoptosis in other parts of the body. It is possible as suggested in other research that an extended soaking in prostaglandin D2 causes an immune response where the body attacks the miniaturizing hair follicles. Many men including me have noticed itchy inflammation in balding areas of scalp. That’s where the benefit of the medium strength steroid, triamcinolone acetonide comes into play. It inhibits the immune response and seems to keep hair longer in anagen. There are ways to promote a healthy adipose layer in male balding scalp. Anyway, I am a tough hair loss case and it’s great to have people notice how much better my hair looks even at my age. D.C. is deserving of a lot of credit. He stuck with me and did a lot of work at N/C to help achieve my current result.