A New Outlook With a New Head of Hair
One man invests in a new head of hair.
Dec. 31, 2009— -- Not every man opts to go under the knife to resolve hair loss, since it can be expensive and not covered by health insurance. But it's the route selected by Adam Khoudja, who chronicled his hair restoration procedure for ABC News.com in this three-part video diary.
You'll hear from Khoudja -- and his wife -- in the days and weeks before his follicular unit hair transplant. You'll see him undergo the procedure and meet his surgeon, dermatologist Dr. Robert Bernstein of Bernstein Medical - Center for Hair Restoration in New York City. And then you'll be privy to his recovery process as he heals afterwards.
According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, some 10,700 hair transplant procedures were done on men in 2008, while nearly 15,000 took place a year earlier. But a new head of hair does not come cheap: It can cost nearly $5,000. For some men, that's money well spent and a good investment in themselves.
In Adam's case, a single strip of his hair was removed from the back of his scalp. The hair follicles from this skin graft were then dissected into individual units and transplanted to the balding areas.
Going into the procedure, Khoudja worried about the size of the scar the surgery might leave and how noticeable it may be.
Afterwards, he had some swelling in his face and some itching in his scalp, which eased quickly. It will take about eight months for his new hair to fully come in.
But in the meantime, Khoudja explained, "It was a difficult decision this hair transplant. I weighed my options: the cost of it, the perceived notion that maybe people were going to look at me a little different because of it, what my family or friends might say.
"So I weighed by options, but really what it came down to was I felt as though I'm going to be happier. I'm going to have more self-confidence. And that's important to me."
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