Future of hair transplants

[Greybeer]

Hey guys I follow future treatments for male pattern baldness pretty closely, my knowledge of the science is not even remotely close to some of the members on here though! But I'm just curious if there is promising research being done today for hair transplants. I'm not talking about hair cloning either. I'm talking about a more effective procedure, delivery method etc. research with a goal of making the results look one hundred percent natural or even better in terms of look, feel and actual density? Is anything like that being studied

 

[ICUman]

Hopefully. Would be nice to have a cheaper solution, too.

 

[Swoop]

Not really. Go check out piloscopy. Also robotic surgery is improving.

 

[follicle2001]

Honestly, if you go to a good surgeon and it goes well you can already get a very natural result, dare I say 100% natural some of the time.

 

[buckthorn]

Hey guys I follow future treatments for male pattern baldness pretty closely, my knowledge of the science is not even remotely close to some of the members on here though! But I'm just curious if there is promising research being done today for hair transplants. I'm not talking about hair cloning either. I'm talking about a more effective procedure, delivery method etc. research with a goal of making the results look one hundred percent natural or even better in terms of look, feel and actual density? Is anything like that being studied

The ideal advancement of hair transplant surgery would be - patient describes to doctor precisely what they want. Doctor inputs it into computer program and shows a visual representation of the outcome. Robotic system (ARTAS) does 100% of the extractions and 100% of the recipient sites, with 100% perfect accuracy and at the PERFECT angles to create the optimal density, hair line and crown swirl patterns. 0% transection. 100% graft survival. ROBOTS ARE THE FUTURE!!!! :band:

 

[arfy]

The biggest problems are the limits of the donor supply (not nearly enough donor supply to accomplish a complete restoration for almost anybody).

Also, many hair transplants don't look natural (transplanted hair density doesn't match original remaining hair; texture doesn't match; hair direction is wrong; scalp looks bumpy or depressed (divots) where graft is placed; etc. I'm not sure if there is any research that has the potential to solve these basic problems.

Some doctors are experimenting with "unlimited donor" techniques, but that's been the domain of scams and charlatans before (Dr Gho, Dr Bazan) and I don't see any evidence that anything has changed. In my opinion, hair transplant doctors are mostly not doing serious research (the way that Dr Christiano, Dr Cotsarelis and others are). The hair transplant clinics do half-assed "research" as a way of attracting new patients to get hair transplants ("and we'll apply this promising new substance we're testing, too! We make it from your own blood!") Beware of the clinics who use this approach.

 

[Deadman1]

People are missing the point of hair transplants from the doctor's point of view. The only purpose of an hair transplant for the doctor is to make as much money as possible. They don't care how it looks, grows, or turns out. Add to that the assistance placing the grafts who care even less (doing most of the work and getting paid less than doctor) so the hairs are at the wrong angle or don't grow due to improper handling.

 

[Dench57]

The only purpose of an hair transplant for the doctor is to make as much money as possible.

That's pretty cynical. It's a business so of course their primary interest is profit. The best way to make money is by providing good results, gaining a good reputation so that you can increase prices and gain more customers? I doubt hair transplant doctors who turn out subpar results on a regular basis will be making too much money for long.

 

[GoldenMane]

As Arfy said, the limited number of donor grafts is the biggest drawback with hair transplants, not cost or surgeon skill or artistry, though that is a factor form some less than good surgeons. For advanced NWs, there is no possibility of restoring a full, thick NW2 head of hair using 6-8000 grafts typically available.
For lower Norwood patients, this is less of an immediate issue if hairloss is stabilized on finasteride, but there's no telling how long hair loss will be stopped, and what their pattern will ultimately emerge as if they stay on for life. The only real improvement to hair transplants would be the ability to clone follicles for unlimited donor supply. Cellular signalling drugs that can reactivate dermal stem cells such as the Samumed product or Folicel would be more hopeful alternatives and possibly just as likely.

 

[nidhi]

As according to my knowledge hair transplant is a permanent & best option for baldness. It takes 3 to 4 month to grow hair and 9 month for fullness of hair. After transplantation some medicines & precaution advice able by doctor should follow.
So I feel that future of hair transplant is bright rather than baldness.

 

[follicle2001]

I think that for the foreseeable future we are still essentially looking at FUT and FUE (with robotic work essentially being a variation on FUE). FUE often makes more sense for younger males or males with lesser degrees of hairloss. Older males or males with high Norwood status (or both) usually pick FUT as it usually makes more sense in that situation. FUT is also cheaper and has a higher yield in most studies. I.e. FUT ain't going away anytime soon but FUE will continue to evolve.

 

[shookwun]

I think that for the foreseeable future we are still essentially looking at FUT and FUE (with robotic work essentially being a variation on FUE). FUE often makes more sense for younger males or males with lesser degrees of hairloss. Older males or males with high Norwood status (or both) usually pick FUT as it usually makes more sense in that situation. FUT is also cheaper and has a higher yield in most studies. I.e. FUT ain't going away anytime soon but FUE will continue to evolve.

Both surgeries have their specialties, but as you mentioned FUT is not going any where any time soon. Unless their is a new method for harvesting and regenerating follicles then FUT will still remain the gold standard for high yields, and mega sessions requiring a lot of grafts.

 

[arfy]

That's pretty cynical. It's a business so of course their primary interest is profit. The best way to make money is by providing good results, gaining a good reputation so that you can increase prices and gain more customers? I doubt hair transplant doctors who turn out subpar results on a regular basis will be making too much money for long.

Unfortunately, the bad doctors are able to continue to work in the industry. This has always been the case. Every year there are guys who are just beginning to panic, because they recently discovered they are losing their hair. And when guys are upset about their hair loss, it makes them vulnerable to being ripped off. That's how con artists work (you have to want something, in order to be victimized by a con. In this case, guys want relief from hair loss). That's how "snake oil" has been profitable (and continues to be profitable) for hundreds of years. Secondly, very few guys who get screwed up with hair transplant are willing to come forward to complain. Most guys are too embarrassed, which allows the bad doctors to continue to work on new patients. Thirdly, very few doctors are so grossly incompetent that it's obvious immediately that the patient was screwed over. It can take months or even years, to figure out that you got sub-par work. On the positive side, very few doctors are still doing "dolls hair" transplants. Now the more common problem is mediocre work with smaller grafts, wasting the patient's donor supply, poor hairline design, bad aesthetics, etc. Less guys are being "butchered" now, but all those doctors still work in the industry, and now they've usually upped their game and merely do mediocre, awkward or generic looking work.

 

[Fall]

Con artists and bad doctors will continue to exist to make a short term profit. Any doctor who does not take his business serious will not make it for long with providing only crappy results. That is why it is important to get a recommendation from someone you know (same with manual workers) and not just read some reviews in the internet. In addition you should go to a clinic that is out there already for years.

I think the future of hair transplant lies in automated procedures and more outsourced work that will reduce the cost but at the same time the technology of robots and the skill level of doctors overseas will improve. So basically hair transplants will become more affordable while quality will stay the same. I am optimistic

 

[Greybeer]

So for Norwood 2 to returned to normal Norwood zero, there aren't enough donor hairs to achieve near natural density even for that small of a change in terms of Norwood level

When is piloscopy expected to go on the market A lot of articles say the end of 2015, will that's long gone I hope nothing went wrong. It also talks about the possibility of donor recovery/regeneration that would solve the problem is this method likely to result in a natural density!

 

[pratyush]

Hair loss is extremely common, it usually happens when the normal process of hair growth gets disrupted. Hair transplant is permanent and best option for hair loss. FUE and FUT is main method in hair transplant. There’s been a revolution in biology. Armed with powerful new tools, scientists are learning how to read the complex chemical languages of the body, including how to coin new treatments for hair loss. Hair today, gone tomorrow. Hair gain soon? May be thank to hair loss treatment.