Hair loss treatments come in many varieties, but only a few work. Possibly the most reliable and permanent solution to this problem is hair transplantation - a minor surgical procedure done under local anesthesia.
Regardless of a man's age or amount of baldness, the latest techniques in hair transplantation can provide what hair loss sufferers want the most - a confident, more youthful appearance.
Bill Wellington, an 83-year-old retired CIA economist and Army Air Force Pilot originally from Detroit, first started noticing his hair loss at 14 or 15. In college, he secretly studied hair loss on his own and even talked to a hair consultant, hoping to find a remedy. Despite these attempts, he continued to lose his hair.
One college hockey teammate remarked that Wellington refused to wet his hair in the shower for fear of losing it.
" I always carried that element of personal insecurity that surfaced when I prepared for work or showered after hockey. It was the receding hair line," Wellington said.
When he fought in World War II, he used his helmet and cap to conceal his problem, but it stayed on his mind. Years later, after he left the Army and had a successful career and a loving family, his hair loss continued to bother him.
The biggest problem, he says, was his loss of self confidence which stemmed from his baldness. For instance, while taking a family photo, his children commented, "Hey Dad, you're really getting bald."
"The old comic reply, 'hair today, gone tomorrow' got a chuckle but did little to bolster my ego," Wellington said.
After attending a free seminar on hair transplantation, he decided to get treatment from the doctors at Elliott & True, a medical practice specializing in hair transplantation, and he has been satisfied ever since. He still plays organized hockey for a Maryland seniors team called the Geri-Hatricks, which he named. He says younger players always compliment his healthy-looking hair.
At the office of doctors Robert H. True and Robert J. Dorin, patients from 25 to 80 get their own natural, growing hair back thanks to the latest hair transplant technology.
"The results are quite impressive nowadays, and they seem to have the same positive effect on a patient's well-being, regardless of his age," True said .