Transplanting hope for balding men
KUCHING: No man dreams of losing their hair. Sadly, it is an inevitable part of life for many men who will lose their hair progressively as they grow older, helplessly watching their hairline recede as days go by.
However, balding men these days do not necessarily have to cover up with hats, shave their heads or sport the dodgy seventies comb- over which has become the punch line to many a joke.
Today’s modern men can now opt for a better solution to hide their lack of hair—hair transplants.
According to hair specialist Dr Aly Alias, many men are now opting for hair transplants as the procedure is ‘ fairly simple’ and usually takes an average of four to eight hours.
“Everything is done under local anaesthetic and it’s like going to a dentist. The implantation of the hair is done all within the same day because we want to have a good survival rate which is usually more than 90 per cent for most hair transplants.
“However, this does not mean that out of ten people who undergo a hair transplant, one transplant will fail — no. A good survival rate means that if I implant 1,000 strands of hair, more than 900 or 950 hair strands will grow,” he explained and gave his assurance that the success rate of most hair transplants at the centre is “nothing less than 80 per cent.”
He gave his guarantee that if the outcome of the transplant was less than 80 per cent, he will fix it at no cost.
“This is the kind of guarantee and education we want to give to our clients so that they don’t have to worry about getting cheated, not seeing results and coming up with more money.
“Our promise is that we will deliver results and first things first, during the consultation, we will check everything before giving the green light on undergoing the hair transplant. If the client is not qualified to do so, we will tell them frankly that we cannot do (the procedure).”
Dr Aly conducts the hair transplant procedure using patented European medical technology in hair restoration at Allunique Hair Restoration, Beauty & Wellness Centre here— the first such procedure available in Sarawak.
He said during consultation, he will find out what his clients’ expectations are.
“Some will say they want to have hair that is different and there are those who seek to look less ‘botak’ ( bald). We will have to do a scan for them and find out the condition of their follicles, calculate how much hair strands they need and redesign their hairline before planning for the transplant,” he revealed.
On the hair transplant, Dr Aly pointed out that the procedure will involve using the client’s own hair where the strands will be harvested from the back of the head or sides and implanted to areas required.
“The pattern for men is very typical as in they will usually experience hair loss on the front and top of their head. Since nobody has hair loss on the side and back of their head, we will extract hair strands from the scalp from the back of the head and then implant the hair strands in areas that are required.
“Since these are the client’s own hair, there is no rejection and therefore the success rate is very high. Infection rate is also almost non- existent and once the hair strands have been implanted, they will continue growing and clients can cut, style, dye and do anything they want with their hair,” he said.
On how many strands of hair would be required for each hair transplant, he said around 5,000 strands of hair will most likely cover from the crown to the front of the head.
“The most common hair transplant for men are the front corners which will be about 2,000 hair strands. This transplant and those involving up to 5,000 hair strands can be completed in one session.
“After that, it’s just maintenance and follow-ups which will be done on a monthly basis for the next 18 months where we will assess and make sure clients have more than 80 per cent hair growth.”
Dr Aly also noted that the recovery period after the transplant is fast and clients can go back to their normal activities after a day or two.
“The bandage is only on for one day and the next day, the bandage will be removed and they can go back to work on the second day, and within a week to ten days, they can participate in sports as well.”
Clients will start noticing the difference four to five months after the procedure, he added.
“They will see significant coverage by the seventh to ninth month and during this period, they will see a very big ‘wow’ factor as hair coverage comes on and there is less scarring,” he said.
As to whether there are age restrictions for hair transplant clients, Dr Aly said the transplant can be carried out on both men and women as long as they are above the age of 18.
“In fact, the trend has also changed as these days, those who are in their mid-twenties up to age 35 are in fact the ones who have hair loss problems.”
He opined that the most common reasons for this are genetics, hormones and lifestyle in addition to nutrition, stress and hair products.
“Hair loss used to be an old person’s problem but now the trend we see is those aged 25 to 35 are the most likely to come for hair loss treatment.”
Dr Aly is available for a free hair loss consultation and diagnosis session from March 24 to 26.
To make an appointment, please call 016- 5898668 or 082253399. Alternatively, drop by Allunique Hair Restoration, Beauty & Wellness Centre at Lot 3168 ( Ground and First Floor), 2 1/2 Mile, Jalan Rock here.