Over the last decade, the field of hair restoration has come on leaps and bounds, to the point that several new advances have been made to combat hair loss. (Disclaimer: This article contains spons0red content, meaning we may receive compensation from the products or services mentioned.)
Offering fresh hope for the millions of men and women around the world who are affected in some way by alopecia, a number of hair transplant techniques and technologies have been developed that have revolutionised the way the condition is treated.
While you should always consult with experts like Gro Clinics about the best course of action to reverse the symptoms of your hair loss, it is good to know your possible options.
With that in mind, here is our guide to some of the latest health advances that have been made in hair restoration techniques over the last few years. Hopefully, they will be legitimate solutions for you to explore.
How Common is Hair Loss?
Before we outline some of the latest health advances, it is worth briefly mentioning how common hair loss is among men and women.
Overall, the condition affects around 85% of the former and around 55% of the latter in some way, shape, or form during their lives and can cause some dismay and embarrassment despite their best efforts to protect and maintain it.
For men, the condition tends to manifest itself as a receding hairline or bald spots, while in women, it tends to show in the form of overall thinning or a widening of the parting on the top of their head.
Latest Health Advances in Hair Restoration Techniques
Okay, so now you know how prevalent hair loss can be, here are some of the most recent innovations that have been developed to treat it.
1. Robotic Hair Transplantation
The introduction of Robotic Hair Transplantation represents a major step forward in the way hair loss is treated.
This incredible, minimally invasive procedure uses a combination of robotics devices and artificial intelligence (AI) to help surgeons extract and transplant hair follicles with greater efficiency and precision than ever before.
Thanks to the pioneering ARTAS® Robotic Hair Transplant System, the process is completed much faster than otherwise would be by manual methods. It also ensures the treatment is performed more reliably, and with uniform results for everyone, as a result of it eliminating the potential for human error.
2. Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
Follicular unit extraction (FUE) is arguably one of the most consequential recent advancements in hair transplant technology.
Another minimally invasive procedure, it harvests individual hair follicles from other, hairier parts of the head, such as the sides or back of the scalp, and transplants them to balding or thinning areas.
While strip harvesting methods are not necessarily a new innovation per se, FUE (as it is commonly referred to) is gaining a groundswell of popularity thanks to it, leaving tiny scars that are almost undetectable to the naked eye.
Those who receive this treatment also tend to enjoy less discomfort after the procedure is performed on them, shorter recovery times, and a more natural-looking hairline appearance overall.
3. Stem Cell Hair Restoration
Despite being a new technology that is still in its infant stages, many experts in the field of hair restoration are excited about the potential that stem cell hair restoration has displayed so far.
This state-of-the-art technique utilises stem cells to regenerate and, ultimately, facilitate hair growth through various approaches. Two of the main ones are Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs), which inject cells harvested from a person’s fat tissue into their scalp to stimulate hair growth, and exosome therapy, which uses extracellular vesicles derived from stem cells. These vesicles are injected into a person’s scalp in the hope of stimulating their hair follicles and improving their overall hair density.
The initial results of both are promising. Many of those who have had either treatment performed on them are believed to have benefitted from improved hair quality and growth.
4. Tissue Engineering and Hair Cloning
Tissue engineering and hair cloning have the potential to change the way hair restoration treatments are performed in the future.
While still at the experimental stage, these techniques have the potential to create an unlimited number of hair follicles for transplantation.
Tissue Engineering is a method scientists are developing to engineer hair follicles using biomaterials and other growth factors. Once perfected, it is conceivable that they will be able to produce brand-new hair follicles from scratch.
Hair Follicle Cloning is a process where hair follicles are cloned in a lab and then transplanted into a person’s scalp, with the goal of generating new hair follicles that are, for all intents and purposes, identical, genetically to their natural hair.
Once perfected, these techniques are set to reduce the time it takes to perform a hair transplant and even produce better results for the men and women who require them than they are currently getting.
