The secret of Donald Trump's hair ... or why hair transplant surgery is outdated
Update January 8, 2017: Fire and Fury, the explosive book on Donald Trump's first days at the White House is widely talked about and reveals the secrets of hairdressing and Trump's hair. We learn that his daughter Ivanka Trump even makes fun of the yellow-orange mop so characteristic of her father and which would be due to a supposedly dark coloring but that Trump, too impatient, never leaves posed for long enough. Besides, the current President of the United States is, in fact, bald under that lock of hair "slicked back" and "held with a strong hairspray." He would have undergone tonsure reduction, not scalp expansion as his unauthorized biography suggested.
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Do not worry ! We are not going to talk about politics ... but hair! Of those of Donald Trump in particular. A puzzling, puzzling, frothy mop of hair pulled forward and rough in color, her hairstyle is - and rightly - a lot of talk. His secret? Donald would use a special spray whose name leaves one dreaming, “Helmet Head” or “helmet hairstyle” in French. Everything we love ! In the late 1980s, he was also said to have been a pioneer in hair surgery by trying out a procedure called "hair flap" (or "skin gain technique" or "scalp expansion", put developed by a French doctor, Doctor Frechet). It consisted of swelling the scalp by sliding a stent under the skin at the level of the tonsure, then cutting and closing this skin in a swirl to recreate a vertex. Traumatic, isn't it ?! The rumor also has its source in an unauthorized biography dating from 1993 where Donald accuses his wife of being ruined because of the surgeon she recommended to him. Obviously, Trump has always denied. And since then, professionals in the hair world have been trying to explain his haircut. Hair implants? Reduction of tonsure? Bad taste ? Opinions differ.
If today the "hair flap" is nothing more than a distant (and bad) memory, hair surgery is still performed with the FUT, or "the strip" technique.
Originally developed in the 1970s, this hair transplant technique involves removing a strip of scalp from the back of the head under local anesthesia. It will then be cut into follicular units (under a microscope), which will be implanted on the bald area. On the menu ? Relatively heavy consequences, post-intervention pain that can last for months and above all, a scar, which remains visible, especially on short hair - unlike the DHI Method-.
But that's not all :
- There is a risk of depletion of the capillary capital (in addition to the skin flap already removed): the closing of the scar creates tension in the scalp which weakens the follicles on the periphery of the scar.
- Usually, a doctor manages the extraction phase as well as the creation of the holes or slits for the follicular units. Then, "technicians" are responsible for placing the grafts in these reception sites using tweezers (or forceps).
- Pulling the strip may cause the scalp to retract backwards, giving the impression of receding hairline. A phenomenon that is likely to be accentuated when multiple interventions are necessary.
- The receiving holes (or slits) made in the implantation area are made with sharp tools that create micro-scars leaving the scalp with an "orange peel" appearance. Another drawback: these holes require a gap between each graft. It then becomes more difficult to create density: this is the dreaded "doll hair" effect ...
- This method does not allow precise control of the angle, depth and direction of stakeout, which is essential to create natural movement.
- Handled during cutting of the strip and then during implantation with aggressive instruments (forceps), the grafts undergo trauma which considerably affects the rate of regrowth, which is around 60% -70%.
