Hair Implants

Physical trauma to the scalp, such as from wounds from accidental cutting or impact, thermal burns from heat or fire, chemical burns and such like can cause permanent and irreversible hair loss. Another form of trauma to the scalp can be in the form of elective cosmetic surgery, such as from synthetic fiber implants, improperly performed hair transplants, or radical scalp lifts which may result in scalp tissue death.

If any of these traumas occur, there are only two types of treatment available to the sufferer. The first involves surgery, either the cutting away of the injured area by performing a scalp reduction procedure, or by placing hair transplant grafts into the scar tissue of the injured area. The second option would be that of a hairpiece or a full wig.

In 1984 the United States Food and Drug Administration banned synthetic fiber hair implants. This procedure was a very popular choice for people suffering with hair loss, and involved a procedure where thousands of strands of fibers were implanted in the scalp to simulate the look of real hair. However, it was often the case that within a short period of time the “hair implant” could cause bumps, inflammation, infection and even lead to more hair loss.

It was also very often the case that because of the contrast to the transplantation of live hair follicle grafts, the hair implants referred to the surgical placement of synthetic fibers, or strands of hair, into the scalp, and this in turn lead to a severe immune response as the body attacked the foreign substance. This has since lead to the banning of hair implants in the United States, although they are still legal in some other countries.

Due to the damage which can be caused by the ineffectual use of hair implants, other procedures have been developed to try and rectify this. One of these is the use of scalp reduction techniques whereby the damaged scalp formed by the hair implant can be removed and the resulting space can be stitched together. This does not mean that the adjoining scalp will not suffer hair loss, and can also result in a visible scar.

Since the invention of hair implants, the remedies for hair loss have moved on significantly and many people who, in the past, would have had to deal with the permanent loss of their hair, have now many procedures to chose from and many of these are proven to be successful.