The Benefits Of FUE

Balding Strikes 40% Of Men By Age 35 -- FUE Want To Challenge That Statistic

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It could be argued that the market for male grooming is somewhat exaggerated in the mass media. But there is one aesthetic affliction that cuts to the core of all grown men. Hair loss, for both aesthetic and psychological reasons, has the unique power to elicit responses ranging from ‘steadfast denial’ to ‘crisis behavior’ and even ‘Televangelist-style comb over.’ For centuries, a full head of hair has been a symbol of masculinity, an expression of youth, strength and virility. And so for many men hair loss can be a brutal blow to their self-esteem, not to mention a depressing reminder that time is passing.

This seems doubly cruel when one considers that balding strikes 25% of men in their 20s while 40% will have noticeable loss by age 35. The sense of defeat runs so deep that 47% of men said they would “spend their life savings to regain a full head of hair” in a study conducted by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery. For many years, the solution among my style-savvy peers was a buzz cut and a sense of humor. But acceptance is increasingly inconceivable in a world where there are so many viable options to tackle follicular shortcomings.

Cosmetic camouflage, low-level lasers and medications like finasteride (Propecia) or minxoidil (contained in the infamous Regaine) may be popular, but for the first time ever surgery seems like a viable — and, crucially, undetectable — solution for hair loss.

“Before, people used to laugh about transplants,” says surgeon Dr. Bessam Farjo (farjo.net) in reference to the Elton John school of procedures that existed in the ‘70s and ‘80s. “These days they’re taken seriously because people understand how natural the results are.” He attributes the boom in interest to celebrities including Bradley Cooper, Louis Walsh and Jeremy Piven who have allegedly undergone Follicular Unit Extraction.

FUE is a minimally invasive procedure that yields dramatic results in a relatively short amount of time with no shaving, scarring or redness. It’s a quantum leap when compared to the dodgy plugs of yesteryear.

The procedure involves the extraction of individual hairs from a donor area such as the back of the head. The grafts are then implanted one by one into balding areas, where they grow naturally over the following months. It is a painstakingly laborious process that requires a certain amount of artistry (not to mention patience) on the part of the surgeon. “It takes a long, long time to master FUE,” says Dr. Raghu Reddy, a leading authority on FUE (phiclinic.com) whose own hair loss at age 18 defined his whole career. “It’s a lot like watchmaking: you’re sat there in an odd position, putting the pieces together for eight or nine hours a day. It’s manually intensive labor,” he says.

Granted, FUE has been around for about a decade or so. But don’t mistake the FUE procedures of 2005 for the ones that are being carried out today. The procedure has been refined to the point where a good surgeon can yield more hairs per graft.