Losing your hair can be a highly distressing feeling and one that brings you a lot of stress. Losing hair can damage your self-image, your confidence and more. In short it’s something that most people want to reverse, delay, or at least cover up when it happens. Unfortunately, many of us equate a head of luscious hair with youthful vigor and energy. When we start receding, we see it as the beginning of the end, and a constant reminder of our mortality. Thankfully, there are options – and they’re more affordable than they ever have been!
Hair Loss Options Are Now Cheaper Than Ever Before
Hair loss options include the likes of hair implants, hair extensions, grafting and more. Any of these can restore a full head of hair, with varying degrees of success. The great news is that these options are also cheaper than ever before – which means that they are also available to more people than ever before.
Why is this? One key reason is that the technology has been around for a while. When any new technology hits the market, it will be expensive to begin with. This can be due to the fact that it is new, and therefore desirable. Most likely, the technology is not yet refined, which means that it will take more work and time. Moreover, the technology won’t have been picked up by competitors yet, meaning that the supply is low and demand is high. Another reason hair loss technology is more expensive when it was first introduced, is that the solutions are very often patented. Patents ensure that only one company is able to carry out the procedure, such that the company is able to profit from its unique intellectual property. However, patents only last for ten years, at which point competitors are able to mimic the technique, driving prices down.
Hair transplants, grafts, and more have all been around for a while now and as such, they are more affordable and widely available than ever before!
Signs You’re Losing Your Hair
But do you even need to worry?
There are several different ways that we can lose hair and the pattern can vary in different circumstances. For instance, for some men, hair will literally fall out and fail to grow back. This tends to be a slightly more rapid form of hair loss, and will result in bald patches relatively quickly. In some cases, certain disorders can cause your hair to come out in ‘clumps’ so that you have bald patches around your head just in particular patches. Many people will choose to shave their hair or get hair loss treatments in these cases as although they still have a lot of their hair, the gaps make it look unusual and mean that they can’t create the looks and styles they would want to. If you wake up in the morning and you find that you have hair on your pillow, or if it starts coming out in the shower or when you brush, then these are signs you may be losing your hair.
Sometimes people will find that their hair thins out rather than falls out and that their hair begins to feel more wispy. This is how women tend to thin out on top, but it can equally happen to men. If this is the case, then you may be able to strengthen your hair with a number of hair loss products so this is something worth identifying. You can that way rely on expensive shampoos and treatments rather than paying for hair loss options.
You may also find that your hairline is receding and this is another common way for men to lose their hair. Here you will notice that your forehead seems to get larger as your hair moves further and further back across your scalp. Certain haircuts can lessen the impact of this such as a buzz cut or a faux mohawk, though some men will choose hair loss treatments to restore the hair they’ve lost.
Shaving your hair very shot is a good way to accept defeat graciously. It may be less acceptable for women though, and for men it will still be apparent where the hair line is.
Hair Loss Options
Once you have identified the need for a hair loss treatment, the next step is to identify the correct one for you. There are a number of different hair loss treatments to choose from1.
Hair Implants: Hair implants are an invasive and painful procedure that involve literally sewing new hair into your head. This process results in a permanent hair replacement however that you can treat as your own hair and that will never fall out. That said, it is also not the most versatile of hair options and it does have its limitations. It means for instance you can never restyle your hair because it won’t grow back, and normally the hair is synthetic meaning that it won’t respond well to curling or straightening. Perhaps a better option is to use hair implants, then to shave the hair very close to the scalp for a more gracious way to hide your hair loss.
Grafting: A hair graft is also known as a hair transplant. This works by taking hair from one area to another. This may mean moving hair from a thicker area of hair on the scalp, or it might mean using hair from other parts of the body. This tends to work better where the patient is experiencing patchiness in their hair, as of course the “supply” is limited. Keep in mind that patchiness is likely to continue to get worse over time, meaning that this could be a short-term solution2.
Hair Extensions: Hair extension is a great way to disguise hair loss. With hair extensions you get more hair clipped into your hair or bonded to it chemically in order to give it more length. This then can enable you to make your hair look thicker and to cover up bald spots, and because you can use real human hair in some cases this will act and appear just as normal hair. You’ll need to get the procedure done at least every four months though, and it will only work if you already have some hair to work with.
Wigs: Wigs are the next step up from hair extensions. These are not as tightly secured or natural looking as hair extensions, but at the same time they enable you to try out a lot of fun hairstyles and to alter your look immediately whatever the status of your existing hair. This then is a fun way to make the most of hair loss, but can be a little hard work as you try to avoid letting the wig blow off or slip. Make sure you choose the wig well, and again the best options are human hair wigs which look very natural comparatively.
Medication: Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (finasteride) are the only FDA-approved drugs to treat pattern baldness. While this is a non-invasive procedure, it is only effective in certain cases. Rogaine (a topical solution) has a success rate of around 10-14%, though it is more successful in slowing down the rate of hair loss. Propecia is a pill that is somewhat effective in slowing hair loss in men.
PRP: PRP is Platelet-rich Plasma, which can be extracted from the patient’s blood and then reinserted into areas of hair loss to help repair blood vessels and collagen production. The cost varies from $500-$1,000 per session and can take up to 2 years of regular visits.