Losing your hair for a young man in his early twenties can
be very emotionally and psychologically devastating.
Declan, who began
losing his hair as a 19-year-old while still living in Ireland . Declan, good looking, athletic, and also the then captain of his local
rugby team, was socially confident and had always found it relatively easy to meet people.
But when Declan's hair began to thin rapidly he became
increasingly introverted, stopped socialising and playing sports. Trying to conceal his ‘desperation for a cure’ from those
close to him, he attended appointments to obtain medication and undergo a
series of laser treatments in to rectify his sudden hair loss. Each Saturday morning, he pretended to his parents that he
was going to work rather than admit he was actually having laser treatment to treat hair
loss.
Determined to find a permanent solution for his hair loss he
travelled to England
to have treatment at a hair restoration clinic. He paid ‘heftily’ to have 500 grafts transplanted from the
back of his head to a donor site, suffered considerable pain during the
procedure as well as scarring afterwards.
Disheartened by the experience he then found a spray on
fibre hair solution which gave the illusion of thickened hair, but this too had drawbacks. “I was afraid to go swimming because I couldn’t get the
fibre wet and when my girlfriend stayed over I would sleep on my arm to prevent
the ‘hair fibre’ from falling all over the pillow,” Declan said.
Things changed for the better for Declan after accepting an invitation from his sister to move to Australia. He then made an appointment to see renowned hair loss specialist Dr Jennifer Martinick.
His sister suggested he use his fresh start to shave his
head to liberate himself from concealing his thinning hair. However, shaving his head would have exposed the ugly
scarring that had occurred as a result of the ‘unsuccessful hair transplant procedure’
undertaken in England .
After a consultation with Dr Martinick he learned that along
with providing the latest in natural looking hair transplantation she could
successfully treat his scarring from the previous procedures. A procedure known as a trichophytic closure which is used
routinely at Martinick Hair Restoration. The result, excellent camouflage in the
donor areas of patients.
Declan said the hair restoration surgery and treatment of
his former scarring has changed his life. "In my early twenties hair loss stopped me from doing a lot
of things, now I am completely back to my old outgoing self. I am
swimming, playing football again, dating and enjoying a social life".
“I’m sharing my story because I want to help other young
men. I’d hate to think of anyone else missing out on the best years of their
lives because they feel bad about their hair loss.”
Dr Jennifer Martinick, is immediate past President of the
International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, (ISHRS) said she hoped young
men would share their concerns about hair loss with a medically trained hair
loss specialist.
She advised young men with hair loss and hair thinning to seek
treatment as early as possible to prevent further hair loss and, in the event
that they eventually chose to have a hair transplant, ensure they preserved precious
donor follicles.
For more information of available hair loss treatments and solutions go to www.martinickhair.com.au
