Hair Restoration: History and Evolution of Techniques
November 2008
in “
Facial Plastic Surgery
”
TLDR Hair restoration techniques have evolved from large punch grafts to microfollicular unit transplants, with future advancements potentially including hair cloning.
The document from 2008 discussed the history and evolution of hair restoration techniques. Hair, being a significant aspect of human beauty and vitality, has led to a multibillion-dollar industry worldwide. Hair transplantation was first introduced by Okuda in Japan in 1939 and popularized by Orentreich in 1959. The donor dominant principle of hair growth, which allows the transfer of hair from the occipital scalp to the frontal scalp, provided a surgical solution to many forms of alopecia. Techniques evolved from large punch grafts, to scalp flaps and scalp advancement, and finally to microfollicular unit hair transplants. These techniques were continually refined to achieve natural results. The document also expressed anticipation for future advancements in hair restoration, such as the potential to clone a single follicle into an unlimited supply of transplantable hairs.