September 4 2009, 3:35 pm PT | Posted in: Hair Transplantation
I was talking to a 40 year old patient the other day who reported that he connected up with an old high school friend via Facebook who commented that he hadn’t changed in the 20 years since they last met. We started to talk about what he might’ve looked like with a Norwood Class 4 pattern hair loss had he not gotten his hairline restored, and then he wondered why any man would let himself go bald when the techniques are available to allow you to look your best.
I came to the following conclusions:
- Fear. Men are fearful of change of any type, particularly when it comes to their looks. Or perhaps it is the fear of surgery itself. What if something goes wrong? What if I’m worse off than before? What if the surgery hurts? These are huge concern and researching the doctor will likely alleviate some of that. It’s completely natural to have these fears, as you’re putting a lot of trust in someone you barely know. Build a relationship with the doctor beforehand, meet patients, know what you’re getting into and what to expect.
- Finances. Money is a problem, particularly in these trying economic times, but if you consider that this is a once-in-a-lifetime investment, it really is quite minimal. And you need to consider how much your confidence is worth. Some men are fine with their hair loss, and others simply don’t feel complete without their hair. And that takes me to point #3…
- Control. Having surgery is an admission that their vanity is in control, not them. That’s one way to look at it, anyway. I look at it as someone taking charge of their life and wanting to be the best they can. Confidence goes a long way in life, and if you’re not feeling 100% confident some people will pick up on that.
Considering the changes in what a patient looks like, the naturalness of the results today, and the need to cling on to our youth, everyone should be lining up to get surgery, right? Interestingly, the ISHRS has just released some statistics about hair transplant surgeries and it turns out that there was a 26% increase since 2006, so maybe the fear factor is shrinking and more men are actually addressing their physical appearance.
Come visit us at one of the Open House events that we hold every month and meet men who have had hair transplants. If they hadn’t told you, you’d likely never know that they had hair restoration. Most important, they are normal, youthful focused men, even those in their 70s who come to these events.
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Balding Forum
Thanks for addressing these issues. These are definitely important concerns for someone considering this procedure.
I believe that for many it is also the fact that the coverage and density you get from a hair transplant is not considered sufficient.
If you look at photos/videos of men having hair transplants, the density is at times not great - i.e. very much see through.
If density + coverage was good (cloning?!), then I believe alot more men would go and get it done even though the price would be fairly high.
Another big factor is down time from work. A lot of men who are in a position to afford it have jobs that don’t allow them to take the time off for a cosmetic procedure.
I’ve always been scared of hair transplants because I love the shaved look… I’m always afraid of scarring. For now I decided to maintain my hair with products and actually I’ve been growing some new ones too. When hair cloning comes out (whenever that is), I think I’ll jump on that bandwagon.
I’d like to add one more conclusion:
4. Ignorance. It works in two mutually contradictory ways. One is: “Ok, so I’m losing hair, I can live with this for now, but when it gets to a certain point I’ll do something about it”. The other is: “hair loss is unstoppable and inevitable, so I’ll learn to live with it”.
A comment also on #3. The older a hairloss sufferer is, the more likely he will be influenced by the “vanity” factor. I’d actually term it the “embarrassment” factor. There’s this social expectation, especially in cultures like mine (Asian Indian), that men getting on in their years (40+) have no business wanting to look young. An older guy into hair loss treatment could become a target of amusement or even ridicule. Hair transplant? That’s for those philandering celebrities — not for a married, settled, white-collar corporate type like you.
I should add though that this attitude is slowly changing.