Share

New surgery shortens forehead to combat baldness

accreditation
Image: Getty
Losing one’s hair is a traumatic experience for many. While male pattern baldness is perfectly natural, it's a sometimes undesirable, phenomenon that occurs in roughly 70% of men, female baldness does also occur. A lot of this is due to hairstyling, particularly braiding.

Normal hair loss is unavoidable, and is caused by any or a combination of the following: stress, trauma, genetic predisposition and various lifestyle choices. Alopecia is a type of hair loss that occurs the immune system attacks our hair follicles. According to Web MD, it is most common in people younger than 20 and is equally common in men and women.

According to a recent study issued by the Medical Hair Restoration Centre, nearly half of the black women interviewed suffered from hair loss, either from chemically or mechanically abused hair.

How can you minimise hair loss in women?

According to Cape Town-based medical hair loss specialists, Dr Larry Gershowitz and Dr Ryan Jankelowitz, things like not smoking and eating a balanced and nutritious diet are some of the ways to minimise hair loss. Gershowitz stresses that women should avoid too tight hairstyles and harsh treatments.

There are chemical treatments that claim to reduce hair loss, but the doctors have taken it a step further and pioneered Forehead Reduction Surgery.

Forehead Reduction Surgery (FRS) is a hairline lowering procedure or “scalp advancement”. According to the research done by the doctors, regular braiding or pulling weakens the hairs in front of our head and overtime our front hairs get pulled and thinned out. The FRS is a permanent procedure that takes up to 2 hours. They claim that it’s a painless procedure and that the results are instant.

We aren't sure how this would work or how it could possibly be painless.

Follow Women24 on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE