If a man with male pattern hair loss has been going bald and it has been bothering him he might seek medical treatment from a dermatologist. Options that may be offered can include oral medications, lotions and laser therapy.

Sometimes this might slow down the process, but it may not produce enough hair regrowth to make him feel comfortable. Hair transplantation is a highly personal decision, and not all people experiencing baldness decide to undertake surgery in order to treat their hair loss.

However, we have made leaps and bounds in recent years with Australian surgeons being some of the early pioneers in hair transplantation surgery.The procedure takes a full day and results are gradual, with the hair transplants slowly emerging over the course of about 12 months.

The gradual regrowth is in fact a bonus for most men as it avoids all those conversations that you don't want to have, like answering, "Oh, what have you done to your hair?".

Hair transplantation is available to both men and women with hair loss. It involves redistributing the hairs from the back of the scalp where there are plenty, to the top and front of the scalp where there are few. We only take some of the follicles from the back of the scalp so there is no visible hair loss there.The reimplanted hairs grow like a normal hair.

Hair placement is critical to produce a natural hair line. The transplanted follicles are spaced randomly so that they give the appropriate density, angle, wave or curl for a natural look.

We are doing hundreds more hair transplants in Australia than were done 20 or 30 years ago, but as you walk down the street you don't tend to notice people who've had hair transplants. That is because the hair transplants done today look natural. The only transplants you see are the bad ones.

Is the procedure right for me?

Hair loss affects every man and woman progressively as they get older. For many, it's no big deal and they just get on with life. However some people like to do something about it. If the hair loss is relatively mild, and is caught early, then there are medical treatments you can use. But if the hair loss is a little more advanced, then hair transplantation is going to be the most effective treatment.

A dermatologist can assess your hair make sure that you have the right diagnosis, and ensure that you're not treating the wrong condition.They can give you advice about whether you are suitable for hair transplant.