When an aging population lives in a society that is determined not to grow old, people will push the limits to appear younger than they are. For example, 30, even 20 years ago a procedure such as hair transplant surgery would have seemed bazaar at best, ludicrous at worse. However, today it is a fairly mainstream way for people, mostly men, to retain some of the youthful appearance they hold dear. While this procedure is a growing trend, there are still a great many people who do not know how it is done, the following information will explain the procedure and answer some questions.

1- As a man ages, he looses hair. There is not much that can be done to stop this from happening. There are topical and oral drugs that can be taken to slow the process, but if they are stopped, the hair loss resumes. A person can use cover ups such as toupees or hair weaves, but they really do not look very natural. Enter the hair transplant surgery. This surgery utilizes hair from the body (normally the back of the head) that is not programmed to fall out to replace the missing follicles. But how do they do it?

2- The first step involved in a hair transplant is for the surgeon to draw a replacement hairline for the patient. Then the scalp is numbed and the donor hairs, usually from the back of the head, are shaved. Once this is completed, the skin that the donor hairs are attached to is removed from the head.

3- The scalp then gets sutured or stapled together and the donor hairs are given to technicians. The technicians remove each individual hair follicle and place them into a saline solution where they will await transplant. In the mean time, the surgeon is busy cutting small incisions into the front of the head within the hairline that was drawn earlier. There needs to be a separate incision for every follicle that is to be transplanted. This number can be as high as 2,000 per transplant.

4- Once the surgeon has all of the cuts made, it is time to insert each hair follicle. This is done on an individual basis, very carefully, to ensure that the follicles are inserted in the right direction allowing the hair to grow straight. The doctor then examines the work that has been completed, when the desired result has been obtained, the hair transplant is finished.

5- In about a week or so, the incisions have started to heal, the scabs have fallen off, however, it will take up to a year for real hair growth to appear. In order to avoid further hair transplant procedures from needing to be performed, it is recommended that the patient use a drug such as Propecia. The continued use of this drug will help to minimize the need for another surgery.