Some men consider baldness to be a sign of manhood and as making them look handsome. Actor Yul Brynner, for example, was bald, yet looked great in the eyes of his fans. His baldness made him seem very distinguished. But this condition embarrasses some men, who look for a cure. These men, and women suffering from thinning hair, want an effective solution to this social problem. Dr Wael Ghanem, a consultant in plastic surgery at Ain Shams University, says that hair loss in both males and females is due to hereditary factors. “In men, baldness is a condition that develops gradually," he explains, adding that the hair dyes, shampoos and oils of dubious provenance, advertised on satellite channels, also contribute to the problem. Not eating certain fruits and vegetables can also lead to baldness, as can liver and kidney diseases, not to mention the treatment for tumours. Dr Ghanem says that mesotherapy is an effective way to cure hair loss. This involves having injections in the scalp, rather than using tablets. “Mesotherapy injections are given to the patient over 12 to 16 sessions, starting weekly then becoming monthly. These injections give the hair the opportunity to grow naturally," he explains. Meanwhile, many surgeons today are happy to perform hair transplants. Hair actually grows in groupings of one, two, three and four hairs. These naturally occurring hair groupings grow in irregular patterns on the scalp. Natural hair transplants mean copying nature, hair for hair. By relocating these carefully prepared bald-resistant follicular units from the back of the scalp, the doctor recreates a natural pattern of hair in the balding areas, “Dr Ghanem continues, adding that the patient can end up with as many as 4,000 hairs. “Anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 can have a hair transplant. The patient, who is given a local anaesthetic, is discharged after the operation, on the same day. He must then spend ten days at home, convalescing. “It takes from three to six months after surgery for the hair to start to grow again. The success rate is 90 per cent, while 10 per cent of cases reject the transplanted hair," he explains. Dr Ghanem noted that using state-of-the-art robatic equipment and techniques has become available in the west . That has contributed to accelerating the implementation of the surgical processes, in addition to increasing accuracy. Dr Ghanem says that, in order to avoid baldness, people should only wash their hair once or twice a week, while women should use head covers made of cotton, not synthetic materials. “Some patients may also need mesotherapy after the hair transplants," he stresses.
