My girlfriends and I don’t think that they have hair loss problems (at least not yet), but we would LOVE to have fuller hair so that we wouldn’t need to use hair extensions (which I assume all the celebs use because no one has hair like that!). Could transplants do this for us too?
It is important to understand that many of the accoutrements that adorn our bodies arose from our more primitive, less sophisticated past. The use of wigs date back to the Egyptians in the years between 4000-300 BC. They were used extensively by men and women. The Greeks were the first to popularize wigs and braids and they began the long torturous route to hair styles that cycled in popularity for the next few thousand years. In the middle ages (1200-1400 AD), single women showed their health and vitality by demonstrating full heads of hair, much of it coming from animals. Once married, only the husband could see the head uncovered, so it was the young single, female that had to appear healthy and capable of producing healthy children. As the populations started to concentrate more and more, the disease tuberculosis, took its course on the malnourished females whose heads were uncovered, so advertising ones health required hiding (1) a thinning head of hair with a wig or with braids and (2) the absence of significant body fat with clothing. Sexual attractiveness and a healthy appearance were inextricably linked. Paintings since the late renaissance, show women with much abundant body fat and full heads of hair. As tuberculosis is blind to socioeconomic conditions, the successful artisans were engaged by wealthier clients to create the illusion of health with abundant hair and lots of braids. As the hair became thicker, it hid elements of the face that may have reflected the signs of illness or malnutrition. Braids became common place and the use of wigs and other hair extensions remain part of our cultural heritage.
Now to directly answer your question, no, hair transplantation should not be used to increase the fullness of a normal head of hair, but the use of hair extensions and other such devices come with a price. That cost can be hair loss caused by the continuous pulling that these devices produce on the hair as they are attached. Hair loss from such attachments (Traction Alopecia) can be permanent. My advice to you is to respect your hair and watch carefully for any signs of Traction Alopecia.
