Hair Pieces, Wigs, Systems & Implants

Hair pieces, wigs, systems & implants

These are non living devices, that are worn on the head, to give the illusion of hair replacement. Obviously, these are not new, reaching both the peak of fashion and literal height, in the 17th century. However, these wigs were used to make a statement, not as a natural alternative to hair loss. Hairpieces can be very effective if qood quality, real hair is used and the hair piece is regularly maintained and replaced. The alternative types of hair pieces are listed below.

Synthetic, nylon like fibres are the very cheapest but also the most long lasting. The coloured fibres are very artifical in feel and colouration but require very little maintenance. Often provided by the NHS, they are not popular – itchy and “hat like.”

The real human hair designs are a clear step above. More expensive and fragile, they still vary in quality, depending on the source of the hair – Eastern European, Asian, North European. They can be woven into wigs, integrated into nets or embedded into clear silicone membranes. The techniques of attachment include weaving them into your own hair, tied or glued into your hair, taped or glued onto your scalp.

If the patient is happy with using hairpieces and has stable hair loss, then a transgraft procedure may be useful. This is a dense hairline zone transplanted in front of an existing hair piece (gallery pic). This gives the ability to comb your hair up and back, which can’t normally be done by hairlpiece wearers, as the rim of the wig becomes visible. The transgraft transplants camouflage the rim and gives the natural random variation of a normal hair line with the hairliece giving density over a large bald scalp. Disadvantages of hair pieces include damaging the hair underneath or surrounding donor areas, sometimes limiting the ability to perform hair transplants later.

Hair implants

These are synthetic fibres, a bit like non dissolvable stitches, which are coloured to match your hair and then looped and tied into your skin. Examples include the Biofibre brand. They do cause many problems though. The side effects include infection and scarring of the scalp and the fibres do fall out and need replacing every year.

Hair implants in the uk are offered by by very few clinics and in some countries, such as the USA, they are banned.

Sometimes when people say hair implants, they actually mean hair transplants.