What Are Hair Plugs?

Conventional hair plugs were the only permanent hair loss treatment from the 1950s until the early part of the 2000s. Knowing about this treatment can help you understand your modern hair replacement procedure. Here are the details if you want to know more about hair plugs.

An overview of hair plugs vs. hair transplants

Hair plugs are obsolete hair replacements. Hair doctors do not perform them anymore. In this invasive procedure, the hair doctor would punch out the large areas of hair and skin from the back of the patient’s scalp. Every plug contained at least 20 individual follicles. The hair doctor would then transplant them to the hairless areas.

Even though hair plugs were real hair collected from the patient’s own hair, they looked fake because of the size of the plugs and the gaps between them. Hair plugs would sometimes end up looking like lines of crops in a garden or like the hair one would find on a doll.

As decades passed, hair grafts became smaller and smaller, resulting in a more natural appearance. When the 2000s arrived, hair plugs became unfashionable, and the FUT technique (which stands for follicular unit transplantation) replaced them. This newer method takes a strip of hair from the back of the scalp. The hair doctor takes hair follicles and transplants them to the areas of the scalp experiencing hair loss. Later on, the more modern FUE method came about.

The known side effects of hair plugs

Hair plugs did not produce natural results at all. This old style of hair transplantation also carried more risks, complications, and side effects. Below are some of the side effects of these older hair transplant methods:

• Swelling
• Scarring
• Ingrown hairs
• Temporary hair loss
• Pain
• Infection
• Scalp numbness
• Bleeding

Switching from hair plugs to modern hair transplants

Hair plugs and new hair transplant techniques harvest hair from the donor areas of the scalp. Then, the hair doctor implants them in parts of the scalp that are in need of more hair. Where traditional hair plugs looked crude, the modern hair transplants have become finer and more natural-looking. These hair plugs became modern hair transplants in the form of FUT and FUE.

Types of modern hair transplants

Permanent treatment for hair loss is now more natural. Modern medicine has made hair transplantation more pleasant. Now, the process takes hair from the side or the back of the head. The hair doctor then transplants them into the front part of the scalp. Below are the modern hair transplant techniques to consider:

• FUT (follicular unit transplantation), also known as a strip procedure. This technique can harvest and transplant hair follicles in one procedure. The narrow segments go from the back of the head. The hair doctor then divides the strips into one to four units. The doctor will then transplant them into the areas of the scalp that need it. Using larger strips of hair is more economical. It is a faster way to move the hair follicles. Even so, it may still result in scarring. The method results in visible scars.
• FUE (follicular unit excision) is a modern hair transplant procedure involving the harvest of hair follicles using micro tools. The fine blades focus on tiny parts of the scalp that shift one hair follicle at a time from the sides or back of the head. The hair doctor will then place them in the hairline or crown. The scarring is almost invisible. This single-follicle harvest tends to be time-consuming, but the results are worth it.

The advantages of FUE transplant over hair plugs

Conventional hair plugs look unnatural because they are round and big. These hair replacements also leave gaps between the hairs. In addition, these old-school hair restorations need a high amount of attention and care. The patient may experience excessive bleeding and scarring.

The FUE method produces much more natural results. The transplanted hair blends well with the patient’s natural hair. The FUE technique uses a microsurgical punching tool for harvesting and transplanting. It is effective in restoring many types of hair loss, including male pattern baldness. This results in minor side effects, and it also has little recovery time.

The bottom line

These older forms of hair transplants were crude and obvious. Modern technology made it better by bringing forth FUT and FUE hair transplant techniques. Many people still refer to these modern transplants as hair plugs until now. Because of this, you can say that these modern methods are the modern hair plugs.

Get more information about Dillon Hair Restoration in Schaumburg at http://dillonhair.com.

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