Hair plugs have become a common treatment for male baldness. Technically, the term hair plug refers to a section of scalp that is removed, containing a few strands of hair. This plug is then transplanted to a bald, or balding, section on the head.

Most balding men have their hair loss in the form called a receding hairline or on the crown of the head in what is called a bald spot. This type of hair loss is referred to as male pattern baldness. What happens is that the man’s body attacks the hair roots and they stop producing new hairs when an old hair falls out. This is the time for one to begin to search the benefits of getting hair plugs for men.

There are many advertisements for creams and lotions that will fix baldness. However, the fact is that once the hair is gone, the chances of the hair follicles starting to work again are pretty close to zero. The only way to get hair back onto the bald spots is by using hair plugs, a now very accepted procedure to treat male baldness.

Now called hair transplantation, there has been a lot of improvement over the decades since surgeons first tried using hair plugs as a means to treat baldness. Typically, the procedure is performed in a medical setting and can take several hours. A common procedure used today is where the surgeon takes scalp and hair from the back part of the head. The doctor then makes small cuts into the balding scalp section and inserts a small plug into the slit. The doctor is very careful to place the plugs so that the resulting hair growth will look natural.

There have been lots of improvement and refinement in hair transplantation techniques. For some procedures being done, the term hair plug is not accurate. Some doctors use a technique that removes individual hairs from the scalp, along with their root and then transplant these, with one to three hairs to a group, into a bald area. This procedure can be done using just local anesthetic. What is very nice about this way to do hair transplantation is that it is a lot less mess and the patient can leave the office the same day with no bandages. There can be some irritation for a few days but it quickly goes away.

Hair plugs is a great way to treat a receding hairline or any bald or balding spot. It actually allows you to use your own hair. Rather than getting a hairpiece, you have your own hair growing out of your head. You do not have to worry about swimming or showering or any mishaps that can happen when using a hairpiece.

Once the hair plugs are inserted, you very own hair will grow in naturally. You will be able to cut it and comb it the way you want. If you have very obvious bald spots but have healthy hair growing on another part of your scalp, hair plugs might just be right for you. If you are a man in your 40’s, you do not have to live with male pattern baldness. Talk to your physician about the options and benefits of getting hair plugs.

Hair plugs were originally tried in the 1950’s with not very good results. At that time there was no such thing as micro-surgical techniques so it was necessary for the surgeons to actually remove entire portions of scalp with growing hair and then place these scalp chunks into the balding area where incisions had been made. The surgeon would use a tool which removed a round plug of scalp with about 10 to 15 hair still growing in it. These plugs were removed from the back or the scalp where there is less hair loss and the removal is less noticeable.

If you notice the majority of men who have hair loss do so above the forehead, which is called the receding hair line, or on the vertex of the head which is called a classic bald spot. This is because of the cause of the hair loss in the first place. 95% of men who suffer from balding issues are suffering from a condition called male pattern baldness. MPB is a genetically derived medical condition in which the man’s own body attacks his hair follicles (hair roots) and causes them to stop producing hair shaft material. There is a substance in the body called DHT or dihydrotestosterone which is a metabolite of the male testosterone hormone. This DHT bonds with receptor on the hair roots and causes a stoppage of the nutrients and oxygen flow to the root. This causes the root to slowly stop producing keratin and thus the hair shaft gets thinner and thinner. Eventually the shaft is just a wisp of hair. Eventually it falls out and the hair follicle goes dormant. Eventually the follicle is encased in fibrotic material and will never function again.

Once the hair falls out, the chances of getting the hair follicle to start producing hair again is close to or at zero. The only option if you want to have growing hair again is to replace these dead roots with vibrant ones from the back of the head. When a man suffers hair loss from male pattern baldness he does not generally lose the hair on the sides of the head and back or posterior section. This is because of how the DHT attacks the hair. For some unknown reason, the substance will not kill the follicles in these two areas which is good news because it means you have a good donor site for the hair plugs.

Actually, the term hair plugs is really a misnomer any more. Surgeons do not remove entire sections of scalp using either the hair plug or hair strip methods. Instead, they will generally use the hair follicular unit extraction method to remove individual hairs and their support structures and then insert these into groups of one to three follicles into the bald area. This is much less messy and allows the patient to leave the office at the end of the day without bandaging. There is usually some irritation for a few days but it quickly goes away.

A more common name used today for this procedure is hair implants or hair transplants. These are both based on the follicular unit extraction and placement method of hair restoration and really are the same procedure under a different name.

Getting hair plugs as a way to treat your receding hair line is a great idea because you can actually have the hair growing right out of your scalp. Hair piece manufacturers claim that you can comb their hair straight back with no problems but you still have fake hair on your head. No, I think the only way to get hair growing in this area is to have hair plugs inserted and allowed to grow naturally.

Today the implants are much smaller usually comprised of one follicle grouping of hairs. This is usually a group of 3-5 hair shafts that are growing from the same bulb area. It takes many hundreds or thousand of these grafts to fill a large bald area but a good surgeon can make the hair placement look very natural.

We will try to answer any questions you may have about hair plugs and new hair implant procedures. If you have any questions just ask.