Hair Transplants For Young People: Yes Or No?
Hair transplants are a perfect solution for those suffering with hair loss and can give a patient the full and thick head of hair they’ve always wanted. You may have notice that the age bracket of those getting hair transplants is pretty high – in the UK, it’s generally from the age of 40 to 60 that men begin to consider getting their balding spots covered up with a hair transplant. But what about the younger ages? There is an increasing number of younger men receiving hair transplants, but how young is too young?
In 2013, a 14 year old boy suffering from a congenital scalp condition that left him with significant scarring all over his scalp received a hair transplant to cover the effects of his past surgeries. He received a few follicles to begin with, to check that they healed well and concealed the scar as expected. He then went on to receive a full hair transplant. Everything went well and the results were as expected, and of course his was an exceptional circumstance. It is therefore understandable that hair transplants can be used as a solution to things other than hair loss – but what about when men as young as 25 are receiving hair transplants to disguise thinning hair?
Having hair transplants too early for the treatment and concealment of thinning hair may seem like a good solution at the time, but it doesn’t mean you won’t lose any more hair from then onwards. Age and the hair life cycle are important factors when considering how suitable a hair transplant is for a potential patient. Hair is produced in three phases – anagen, in which hair grows, catagen, the transitional phases, and telogen, in which the hair detaches from the follicles and falls out.
The scenario with hair transplants while men are still young is usually as follows – the patient notices thinning hair on the sides or hairline, caused by the effects of the DHT hormone, so opts for a hair transplant which initially gives a denser look and thickens the hair. Because these implanted follicles are immune from DHT, they remain. As the years pass, however, the patients own hair follicles in the recipient area fall out as DHT continues to be produced, resulting in thinning hair once again. Unfortunately, this leads patients to believe that their hair transplant has failed and their money was wasted – however it’s simple because the hair transplant was performed too early on. Therefore it’s vital that age, future expectations and causes of hair loss are investigated in detail before a hair transplant is offered as a solution!
