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by Alan J. Bauman, MD, ABHRS
June. It’s the month when we honor fathers and the month when I dedicate my article each year completely to men. I thought, why not start off with a little (maybe too little) male hair humor to make you smile? So here goes:
What did the balding man say when gifted with a comb? “Thanks. I’ll never part with it.”
How do you know when a man is definitely going bald? When he starts using more toothpaste than shampoo.
What has happened between a man who’s started losing his hair and his head? They had a falling out.
OK. Those jokes are indisputably corny. Maybe you’ve even told bald jokes yourself to deflect self-consciousness about your own thinning hair. Hope you didn’t stop reading, since all kidding aside, I know that hair loss is no laughing matter for men who’re warily watching their foreheads grow larger.
Men’s hair loss can start as early as the late teens or twenties and impacts an astounding percentage of the male population. More than a third of men are experiencing hair thinning by age 35, and half of them are dealing with hair loss by age 50.
But why?
Blame genetics, but don’t be too hard on Mom. It’s a common misconception that hair loss comes only from your mother’s side of the family. In fact, it can come from either side. I guess you could call it double trouble.
Most male pattern hair loss is caused by a combination of genetics and hormones called androgens that help men be, well, men. The biggest androgen culprit is DHT (dihydrotestosterone), which is made from testosterone.
In men with certain genetics, DHT causes hair follicles to progressively shrink and produce weaker, thinner hair over time. The outcome: male pattern baldness, also known as androgenetic alopecia. It starts as a receding hairline, then thins the crown. It can result in the loss of all hair up top, sparing the sides and back of the scalp.
This doesn’t mean that a man with male pattern hair loss has more testosterone or DHT than men without hair loss, however. He’s just inherited a sensitivity to DHT. Sorry, guys.
While you can’t undo the genetics causing your hair loss, we have a number of therapies to encourage your hair to grow back or to stop or slow your hair loss.
Regenerative Approaches
Low-level laser therapy (also known as red light therapy): The medical grade Bauman TURBO LaserCap® is FDA-cleared. It’s portable, hands-free, cordless, rechargeable, and fast, requiring only five minutes of treatment per day for improved hair growth at home. It’s also drug- and chemical-free with no risk of side effects.
Proper and consistent use of medical-grade low-level laser therapy has been scientifically proven to improve hair quality, strength, and thickness, as well as promote hair regrowth.
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma): A comfortable in-office procedure that takes about an hour with no recovery time, downtime, or significant risk. Derived from a small blood sample, platelets and plasma are separated from other components of the blood, concentrated, then painlessly applied into the scalp under local anesthesia where weak hair follicles exist. When performed using the appropriate concentration of platelets and proper application techniques, you can expect hair growth improvements that last a year or more from a single treatment.
PDOgro™: Researched and developed right here at Bauman Medical, we were the first hair restoration clinic in the U.S. to use PDO threads to enhance hair growth. PDO, or polydioxanone, is a synthetic absorbable FDA-cleared material. Used for decades in surgery, and more recently in aesthetic procedures to reverse the appearance of skin aging, PDO threads placed into the scalp have been shown to stimulate hair regrowth.
Typically performed in combination with PRP in a no-downtime “lunch-break” procedure, the threads are comfortably applied into the scalp. They dissolve and are absorbed over time, safely stimulating collagen production, new blood vessel formation, and a release of powerful rejuvenating growth factors.
The PDOgro™ procedure may help prevent or reduce the need for future hair transplantation by stopping, slowing, or reversing hair loss.
Hair Transplantation
In some cases, hair loss is so advanced that a hair transplant is the only way to achieve lasting hair regrowth in areas like a receded hairline, thinning crown, or other areas where hair follicles are severely depleted or gone. Luckily, hair transplant procedures have become more effective, comfortable, and 100% natural-looking due to major innovations in techniques and technology.
FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) is one of Bauman Medical’s most popular hair restoration technologies. We employ several types of FUE, depending on your particular need or situation. Using robotics, or with the aid of mechanical instruments, we harvest hair follicles directly from the scalp, replacing the older, invasive method of “strip harvesting.”
FUE hair transplantation allows for the harvesting of follicles without leaving behind a telltale linear scar and with the added benefits of a shorter, less restricted, and more comfortable recovery. Results are natural looking, not like the old-fashioned “plugs” that your father or grandfather may have had decades ago.
Learn more
Ready to stop joking around about your hair loss and start doing something about it that’ll make groan-worthy bald jokes a thing of your past? Don’t wait another day. Let’s talk to see how we can help.
To learn what treatment regimen is right for you, call 561-220-3480 or point your camera at the QR code below to schedule your private one-on-one in-person or virtual consultation at www.baumanmedical.com.
Dr. Alan Bauman is a full-time board-certified hair restoration physician who has treated over 33,000 patients, has performed more than 10,000 hair transplant procedures and over 10,000 PRP’s since starting his medical hair loss practice, Bauman Medical in 1997.
Dr. Bauman is one of approximately only 200 physicians worldwide to achieve the certification from the esteemed American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS). Dr. Bauman is known for pioneering numerous technologies in the field of hair restoration including minimally-invasive FUE Follicular Unit Extraction, VIP|FUE™, Low-Level Laser Therapy, PRP Platelet Rich Plasma, PDOgro™, eyelash Transplants and others.
Dr. Bauman was voted “#1 Top Hair Restoration Surgeon” in North America by Aesthetic Everything for the 6th consecutive year, “Top Hair Restoration Surgeon of the Decade”, and received the 2022 “Lifetime Achievement Award in Hair Restoration”.
He was also recognized by Forbes as one of “10 CEOs Transforming Healthcare in America.”
Bauman Medical
Hair Restoration for Men and Women
561-220-3480