Is Hair Restoration Just a Job?

Like anything in life, don’t pursue something if you are not passionate about it.  Many of my facial plastic surgery colleagues are intrigued why I love hair transplant so much.  They see hair transplants as a tedious, boring job where thousands of grafts are meticulously placed into the head.  I see it as an amazing artistic expression where I can select the right sized grafts with the right distribution, angles, and pattern to make the best results for a patient.  I find it truly a challenge for both left and right brains:  my left brain working with the number allocation of grafts and my right brain deciding how aesthetically to allocate those grafts.  In short, it is a fun, exciting, and rewarding challenge about which I am very passionate.

Am I the only one who is passionate about it?  No, my entire team loves their job too.  It is important that your team loves their job as much as you do so that they can also deliver excellence.  Without superior graft dissection and graft placement which is the team’s contribution, your hair transplant result will fall far short of its aesthetic mark.  I like when a patient says, “Man, I see that all of you get along so well together and really love your job!”  He is right.  Passion starts from the top and it should suffuse everyone there.  You can tell it when you look into your surgeon’s eyes.  Is he or she excited to see you?  Is the team enthused about seeing you too?  Do they care or are they punching the clock?

This article strives to go beyond picking a surgeon based on just his or before and after photos (which is perhaps the most critical expression of one’s work and should not be downplayed) but to get into why someone consistently achieves excellence.  If someone cares that his or her work is excellent and takes pride and passion in the work, then the only option is to have a great result.  When you find the right surgeon for you, use both sides of your brain:  your left brain should tell you analytically why that surgeon is better based on photos, testimonials, experience, etc. and your right brain should seal the deal based on rapport and understanding the above concept of deep-seated passion.

Dr Samuel Lam is a board certified hair transplant surgeon in Dallas, TX. To schedule a consultation please call 1-888-866-3388, or visit Dr Lam’s hair transplant forum to ask him a questions.

Thinking of Visual Walls When Building Up the Frontal Region of the Scalp

The goal of hair restoration is to build up enough hair density that one does not have much see-through effect. Put another way, rows upon rows of hair grafts must be placed so that each row adds to the visual effect of blocking one’s view of the bald scalp behind it. This brief article will explore some of the ways that I use various graft sizes and density patterns effectively to create a visual wall with less see-through effect to the back of the head.

Unfortunately, many prospective patients who come to me ask me a very simplistic question:  “How many grafts will I get?”  Although a sufficient number is clearly important, this question falls far short of understanding the rigors of what are important for a quality, natural, and dense hair transplant.  All of these blog articles are intended to go beyond the number count and to understand what goes on with quality work in hair restoration.

Artistically designed hair transplant to create optimal visual hair density

This article will focus on how I decide to create optimal visual hair density by using the concept of creating a layered visual wall going from front of the head to the back.  Remember that finer hairs must go along the hairline and the densest result is typically the most critical in the area known as the central forelock.  That being said, you do not want to create a result in which the central forelock dominates to the point that the fronto-temporal area looks weak, especially in someone who already is very bald in that area.  Accordingly, if I use strong 4-hair grafts or di-follicular unit (DFU) grafts in the central forelock I will try to balance it with stronger 3-hair grafts more densely packed on the sides of the central forelock.  Conversely, if the person already has a relatively strong central forelock, I may use stronger grafts in the fronto-temporal area to reduce the see-through effect overall.  With the many sized paintbrushes that I use to design my work, I can creatively select the best sizes and distribution to overall fashion the densest results that are also natural in appearance.

Dr Samuel Lam is a board certified hair transplant surgeon in Dallas, TX. To schedule a consultation please call 1-888-866-3388, or visit Dr Lam’s hair transplant forum to ask him a question regarding hair loss or hair transplant procedures.

The Concept of the Extended Central Forelock in Hair Restoration

The central forelock is one of the most important concepts that exist for hair restoration. If the central forelock, that lies immediately behind the hairline looks empty, the person will remain looking bald. Every graft that is situated in the central forelock also blocks light from the front and the two 45-degree side angles as well.

The concept of the extended central forelock is a newer one. The problem with the central forelock is that it does not block light passage to the rear of the head as illustrated. Therefore, the extension of the central forelock all the way to the beginning of the crown not only thickens the central forelock by putting more grafts behind it but now the light passage is blocked from all frontal view angles, making the person appear less bald. Using these concepts by an experienced hair-transplant surgeon when appropriate can help to create optimal visual hair density in the right person.

Central Forelock and Extended Central Forelock in Hair Restoration

Dr Samuel Lam is a board certified hair transplant surgeon in Dallas, Texas. To schedule a consultation please call 1-888-866-3388, or visit Dr Lam’s hair transplant forum to ask him a question.

The Picket Fence Effect from Bad Recipient Angles in Hair Restoration

One of the most important concepts when designing recipient sites, i.e., the “holes” into which the hair grafts will be placed, is to make very low angled sites, especially near and at the hairline.  What I like to call the “picket-fence” look is due to the fact that recipient sites are made almost 90 degrees to the scalp.  This simply looks unnatural.  In addition, you lose the ability to shingle the grafts like shingles on a roof when you make them too perpendicularly.  Low angled sites cast a shadow effect on the bald scalp making baldness less visible.  For all of these reasons, an experienced hair transplant surgeon should truly focus on keeping his angles for his recipient sites as low as possible when designing sites that go in the front of the scalp like the hairline and central forelock.

Picket fence bad hair transplant (from Dr. Lam's textbook, Hair Transplant 360)

Dr Samuel Lam is a hair transplant surgeon in Dallas, Texas. To schedule a consultation please call 1-888-866-3388, or visit Dr Lam’s hair transplant forum to ask him a question.

Hair Loss Products: Do They Work?

I just finished a phone consultation with a gentleman from North Carolina that prompted me to write this blog article.  He saw a hair clinic chain that sold him a special product that contained minoxidil (Rogaine) along with other vitamins for several hundred dollars.  He was also sold a shampoo service for $2000 for which he had to come in monthly.  Are you kidding me?

The practice of hair restoration is a multi-billion dollar business but what disturbs me is the charlatans out there trying to hoodwink a prospective individual with overly expensive Voodoo treatments that have no scientific backing.  The reason that the product with the minoxidil works is the fact that it has minoxidil in it, which you can buy at Costco for a few dollars.

Am I saying that no products other than the two FDA-approved medications, finasteride (Propecia) and minoxidil (Rogaine) work for hair loss?  No, not at all.  In fact, my mother tried a product, some kind of Chinese remedy, that she swears has thickened her hair.  We sell a product in our salon that is a pro-thickening shampoo for like $15.  So I am not opposed to things that could help in addition to FDA medications, which have been proven to help.  However, I am opposed to people charging hundreds if not thousands of dollars on hair-loss solutions that are unproven and do very little other than rip a customer off.  Ok, I shall get off my soap box now.

Dr Samuel Lam is a certified hair transplant surgeon in Dallas, Texas. To schedule a consultation please call 1-888-866-3388, or visit Dr Lam’s hair loss products forum to ask him a question.