Finding hair on your pillow, covering the shower drain and filling your hairbrush can be daunting, but don’t panic yet. Yes, you are losing hair, but how much is normal?
Most of us are born with about 100,000 hairs and 90% of those hairs are in a constant growth mode. Some follicles will go into a resting or dormant phase and shedding hair simply allows new hair to take its place, so its fair to say losing 50 to 100 hairs is considered normal.
Folic acid, one of the vitamin B complexes has been shown to play a role in keeping skin and hair healthy and thanks to a veterinary study, noted that folic acid was instrumental in improvement of the calf with significant hair loss. A three week old Charolais calf presented with hair loss was given a daily oral dose of 1mg/kg. The results were substantial, starting with a gradual decrease in tiny crusts that had formed on the skin. And his hair back to a normal state within 8 weeks of treatment.
Deficiency in folic acid has the potential of causing hair loss and/or slow regrowth due to lack of oxygen and blood flow to the cells responsible for growth. We can derive that taking folic acid may eliminate the deficiency of hair loss, although it has not been demonstrated in humans, we have Mr. Calf to thank.
Studies show that folic acid in the B vitamin family is essential for the generation of new cells and the recommended dose for humans is 400 micrograms per day. Prefer to get your vitamins via food groups, try dark leafy vegetables, spinach and greens. Asparagus and broccoli are also rich in folic acid and citrus fruits, especially oranges, papaya, grapefruit, bananas and strawberries are rich in this needed acid.
Since hair growth relies on frequent cell regeneration as well as a consistent supply of folic acid, a supplement and or food sources are excellent options. A physician may prescribe folic acid in addition to your diet, however, if you choose a route like a vitamin shop or herbal store, do your research on the purity of the product as all products are not created equal.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR HAIR LOSS SERVICES, PLEASE CONTACT US (817) 473-2120 OR EMAIL [email protected] TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT.
Natural cure for Alopecia Areata
There is a lot of buzz surrounding Korean red ginseng and hair growth, but does it work? The family of ginseng roots have been used for 1000’s of years and the benefits are so popular, Korean red ginseng has been coined the “king of herbs.”
Six year red ginseng has 40x the the healthy content of its siblings and has the capability of boosting your immune system, increase energy levels, blood flow and memory functions.
There are 3 main types of ginseng; Oriental, Siberian and American.
American ginseng is probably the least popular and least used of the three types available, due to the American population never being huge users of the herb.
Oriental ginseng or panax has been used for thousands of years, contains the favored ginsenoside properties and has some proven efficacy for hair regrowth.
Lastly, Siberian ginseng is not the same herb as American and Panax ginseng, so buyer beware. The Russians wanted to offer a supplement to provide to athletes, but most studies have only been done in Russia.
Studies correlating hair regrowth with ginseng:
Recent studies have been done to evaluate the efficacy of ginseng in the treatment of alopecia areata. But does the research show that it really works?
Ginseng may promote hair grow because its believed to increase the number of dermal papilla cells in the scalp and preventing natural cell death. It may also stimulate the scalp with improved blood flow to the area.Ginseng is even found in hair products such as shampoo and conditioners, but the efficacy has not been evaluated.
Clinical Study
Sang-Wook Son professor at Korea University College of Medicine had a study that included 131 subjects with Alopecia Areata. One group was given the typical corticosteroid as a treatment and the second group was given corticosteroids and ginseng. The studies proved to be more promising for those in the ginseng group, although not statistically significant.
But like its topical counterpart minoxidil, both minoxidil and Korean red ginseng are known to reduce blood pressure, so it is assumed that their efficacy is about the same. Korean red ginseng has a huge appeal for its drug free components. Another player in the market is Vivisical an amino acid used to promote hair growth and density. This product is noted to effectively promote hair growth.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HAIR LOSS SOLUTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT US (817) 473-2120 OR EMAIL [email protected] TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT.
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
As we may all know there are many ways to help with hair loss. Have you heard of PRP? or Platelet Rich Plasma? You may have heard of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) used to promote the healing of injured tendons, ligaments, joints and most musculoskeletal problems. Well now you can get a PRP treatment to help with hair loss and hair thinning! How cool is that! Whats more exciting is that you can get it done at Dr. Mark A. Bishara’s office, The Paragon Plastic Surgery and Med Spa.
What exactly is Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
So what exactly is PRP? PRP is a very natural, non surgical alternative for the treatment of hair loss or hair thinning. PRP is an injectable treatment which uses the patients own blood. Our own blood (PRP) contains active growth factors which can promote hair growth. PRP can be used as a treatment itself or it can be injected during a hair transplant/restoration surgery. PRP needs to be done 2-3 times a year to maintain any benefit, it is well worth it. Because who wouldn’t want their hair looking fuller and healthier? Dr. Mark A. Bishara and the staff at The Paragon Plastic Surgery and Med Spa highly recommend it!
Lets Get It Done
The first thing to do is come in to The Paragon Plastic Surgery and Med Spa and have a consultation with Dr. Mark A. Bishara. If a candidate you can get your PRP done as soon as the day of your consultation. So how exactly does it work? The Paragon Plastic Surgery and Med Spa, staff draws a couple of tubes of the patients own blood. After the collection the staff sets into the centrifuge for ten minutes as the centrifuge creates your PRP. Once PRP is ready the staff at The Paragon Plastic Surgery and Med Spa uses a very thin needle to inject your very own PRP into your scalp. The PRP is injected all over. I know, I know, you?re thinking Ouch! Needles in my head? Don’t freak out! Local anesthetic is used to help with any discomfort. The PRP treatment itself can take anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes. There is nothing to worry about, the treatment is simple, safe and has reliable results. Recovery time is fairly quick and in no time you will have beautiful results!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PLATELET RICH PLASA (PRP), PLEASE CONTACT US AT (817) 473-2120 TODAY TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT.
No Stitches, No Linear Scar
As popular as hair transplants are getting, nobody likes stitches or the scars that are left after the hair transplant. When it comes to hair transplant surgery ARTAS is the way to go. Who ever thought, a robot performing hair surgery. With the ARTAS you don’t have to worry about stitches, and better yet NO linear SCAR!!
ARTAS Who?
The ARTAS Robotic System was created by Restoration Robotics in 2002 for the treatment of hair loss. Great news, the ARTAS Robotic System is FDA cleared! It only gets better, Dr. Mark A. Bishara at The Paragon Plastic Surgery and Med Spa has performed hundreds of hair restoration surgeries using the ARTAS Robotic System. The ARTAS Robotic System utilizes follicular unit extraction (FUE). Not only dissection, The ARTAS has the ability to make recipient sites. The ARTAS Robotic System has the ability of identifying and selecting your best hair for harvesting. With digital mapping it has the ability to provide a consistent graft dissection. Scarring is very minimal, unnoticeable at that. The recovery period with ARTAS Robotic System is fast making it easier for you to get back to your normal activities quicker.
ARTAS Animation
Behind the scenes of The ARTAS Robotic System
The day of surgery here at The Paragon Plastic Surgery and Med Spa we bring the patient in and start off with consents and paperwork. The day prior to surgery Dr. Mark A. Bishara will have some medications called and the patient will bring them along the morning of surgery. Dr. Mark A. Bishara’s staff will then begin to prep the patient beginning with trimming the patient hair so that it is easier for the ARTAS Robotic System to identify and extract. The patient’s donor area is numbed using local anesthesia. The patient will then be seated in prone positon as we prepare the ARTAS Robotic System. A tensioner is placed on the patient scalp to help with dissection and depth. Dr. Mark A. Bishara then begins to maneuver the ARTAS Robotic System. The ARTAS Robotic System will start capturing images of the patient’s donor area in order to identify the different angles and density of the patient’s hair. The dissection begins, as the ARTAS Robotic System is dissection Dr. Mark A. Bishara’s tech will go behind and manually extract the the follicular units as the ARTAS Robotic System disects. Once all follicular units are dissected and extracted, Dr. Mark A. Bishara’s techs will begin to manually transplant the new hair in to the patient’s recipient area. Before you know it, you’ll be walking out with a new hair set!
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR ARTAS Robotic Services SERVICES, PLEASE CONTACT US (817) 473-2120 OR EMAIL [email protected]
What are stem cells?
Stems cells are the foundation of every organ and tissue in our body. Throughout our lives stem cells replace injured tissues and cells that are lost every day, such as those in our skin, hair, blood and the lining of our organs. Stem cells have the ability to change into other types of cells, making them essentially unprogrammed cells or “shape shifters”. Since stem cells can become bone, muscle, cartilage and other specialized types of cells, they are at the center of a new field of science called regenerative medicine. Stem cells harvested from a patient have the potential to replace countless cells of the body and are capable of treating diseases including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Diabetes, Autoimmune Diseases and more. They may heal the body by replacing cells plagued with disease or the inability to produce a healthy immune system response by regenerating healthy new cells that can.
Simple Example of stem cells
When we have a paper cut on our finger, the damaged cells that were cut release chemicals on their own called growth factors. These growth factors activate dormant stem cells in the surrounding tissue which produce new skin cells and heal the wound. Once it is healed, the stem cells again become dormant. Stem cell therapy works essentially in the same way to heal injuries and diseases.
Two simple things define stem cells:
• They can “self renew” – Meaning they can multiply and produce greater numbers of themselves.
• They can “differentiate” – Meaning they can develop and change into at least two different types of specialist cells that carry out a specific function.
4 Known Types of Stem Cells
• Adult Stem Cells – Derived from an adult human body.
Most commonly used stem cell for treatments and widely accepted. In instances where adult stem cells are obtained from the intended recipient, the risk of rejection is essentially non-existent. Consequently, more US government funding is being provided for adult stem cell research.
• Embryonic Stem Cells – Derived from embryos.
These cells require specific signals to differentiate to the desired cell type. If they are simply injected directly, they will differentiate into many different types of cells, resulting in a tumor derived from this abnormal pluripotent cell development. The directed differentiation of ES cells and avoidance of transplant rejection are just two of the hurdles that ES cell researchers still face.
• Fetal Stem Cells – Derived from aborted fetuses.
These have developed further than embryonic stem cells and are a little more specialized – their options are limited. However, they can still produce most types of cell in the body.
• Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) – From some parts of the human body.
These stem cells are engineered from older, fully specialized cells. Scientists encourage these limited cells to act like embryonic stem cells again, with the ability to become any type of human cell. This is a complex technique that has only recently been developed and is the subject of much ongoing research.
How is stem cell therapy administered?
Stem cell therapies are injected into the vein (intravenous treatment). There are two types of intravenous methods which are discussed below.
•Direct Injections – Injections administered directly into the site that needs repair such as muscles and tendons.
•Intranasal – Administered to a highly vascular pathway of the nose to encourage more stem cells to travel past the blood brain barrier.
what this means for Alopecia areata
Alopecia Areata is an auto immune disease where the immune system attacks hair follicles. It usually does not threaten health, but it can greatly affect the way a person looks. A patient that receives adult stem cell treatment injections (Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Treatment) will find that it will stimulate his / her immune system, promote cellular regeneration and improve symptoms associated with Alopecia. Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) uses the patients’ own blood and processes it with a concentration of the body’s own cells which contain healing and growth factors.
alopecia areata Research
A blog published in Bernstein Medical Center for Hair Restoration detailed the success of a method that used hair cloning therapy to treat alopecia areata. The study was conducted by Marwa Fawzi, a dermatologist at the University Of Cairo Faculty Of Medicine, who used stem cells from the scalps of eight children with alopecia areata to regenerate their own hair.
Six months after the hair cloning treatment, the results showed a 50% increase in hair in more than half of the subjects. One of them, an 8-year-old boy, grew nearly a full head of hair after being almost completely bald before treatment.
After being convinced of the results, Dr. Fawzi analyzed the new skin samples on the head and examined the hair follicles themselves and found that the injected stem cells had migrated into the follicles. The stem cells stimulated the follicles to transition from a dormant phase to a hair-generating phase (just like our above paper cut example).
[calltoaction]To learn more about our Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), please contact us at (817) 473-2120 today or email [email protected] to schedule an appointment.[/calltoaction]
Cosmetic Surgeon Dr. Mark A. Bishara, M.D., serving Fort Worth, Arlington, and the surrounding area.
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