Laser hair transplant is the rather new-ish hair restoration procedure that has been sparking debate between the hair loss surgeons, patients and potential patients! Why...Because of its use of lasers on the scalp. In typical surgical hair restoration procedures, incisions are made in the scalp using "cold steel" to create a hair transplant site to insert the grafts. Now, with laser hair restoration, these incisions are instead created using a high beam laser.

Laser hair restoration procedures uses lasers that are so powerful that they pretty much vaporize the tissue, causing an incision in a second. Because the laser penetrates the scalp so quickly, there is no risk or damage or heat transfer caused to the surrounding scalp tissue. Traditionally, incisions are made using a slit or punch graft, but with the laser, you effectively get the best of both worlds. A slit is created that looks so much more natural, and still able to host the same amount of hair follicles.

Like all best hair transplant surgeries, this procedure has been hailed as a relatively pain free procedure...but do not be disillusioned. It is pain free because you are dosed up on local anesthetic, which - trust me - you need! The amount of heat generated from the laser beam is extremely dangerous, and like with any sort of heat that is too hot for our skin, it can cause scarring.

In this case, the scarring could be detrimental to the successful growth of the implanted hair grafts. The lasers can decrease the elasticity of the surrounding skin, destroying dermal collagen and elastic fibers. As a result, hair grafts have been known to fall out, therefore forcing you to the question success rate of those that mange to stay intact.

A laser hair transplant is a relatively bloodless surgery. One may look at this as a positive advantage, but a critical eye may view this as another negative. You can argue that a bloodless procedure reduces a good supply of oxygenated blood needed for the implanted follicles to survive. Shouldn't you be trying to maximize the blood flow to the follicles instead of minimizing it?

I am on the fence here folks. There are many more studies that need to be carried out before I am convinced that this is a surgery worth considering. So far it seems that every advantage can be counter-argued, but I am hopeful that as laser technology improves, this procedure could undoubtedly become "cutting-edge".