MANILA, Philippines--?Whatever hair you can grow, we can replicate in our office,? says Dr. Frank Manzanares with a confident smile. It?s easy to believe him: He has a full head of thick, healthy hair on his own head. But Dr. Manzanares, founder of the Manzanares Hair Restoration Center, is not merely referring to the usual balding problems that men are often besieged with when they hit middle age.

In fact, he considers himself a hair restoration expert for other less obvious areas, particularly for women. ?The hair restoration I do is purely surgical. I don?t do lotions or dermatological solutions,? says Manzanares. ?We give results that are permanent?done properly, you?re never going to have to worry about balding spots again.?

He explains, ?What we do at the Manzanares Hair Restoration Center is to get follicles from other areas?the back of your head, for instance?and transplant them to other areas that need them, such as the crown of your head or eyelashes.?

Thus, it is impossible for completely bald men to have a chance at growing their hair again, as the transplants are dependent on the abundance of hair growing elsewhere on their scalp. But if, for instance, you merely have a bald spot on top and plenty of hair elsewhere, you can restore your crowning glory. Manzanares says, ?As long as you have enough donor follicles [from other regions of your head], you will have hair again.?

Of course, even with transplants, a lot of other factors figure in the bid to reclaim your hair. ?I am first and foremost a doctor, so I have to see the family history first,? he points out. ?Now, if you?re coming to me to have your bald spot fixed and I see your dad is completely bald, I?m not going to do it?you?re going to end up with a tuft of hair on top of your head and that will look a lot worse.?

?In cases like that, I would just recommend getting a five-peso razor so they could shave off all their hair,? he says candidly. ?In my line of work, if I make a mistake, it?s very visible?especially since my work is seen primarily in the face.?

Eyelash repair

Even if you have a full head of hair, don?t be overconfident about never needing hair transplants just yet. Manzanares, who spent 20 years in the United States and trained with Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeons (he was part of a group that did pioneering work in hair transplants in the US) before working with the Belo Medical Group and striking out on his own, admits that eyelashes and eyebrows are actually his forte. ?A good number of the patients who come in to see me are there to repair damage caused by hair-related procedures, such as eyelash extensions and weaves.?

However, Manzanares hastens to clarify that the damage incurred by eyelash extensions is not immediate, and is usually seen in people who wear them for extended periods of time. ?I work on a lot of ramp models whose lashes fall out from the use of extensions,? he says. ?And they love it that they can still use false lashes afterwards, because they actually adhere better to their newer, thicker, longer lashes.?

Plus, he adds, unlike extensions, you don?t have to worry about taking obsessive care of your new lashes. He points out that you can shower, take a swim, and rub your eyes?things you can?t do with glued-on synthetic hair. (And, you can actually get away with lying about your lashes because even if someone peers at them closely, they won?t look fake).

Manzanares makes full use of technology in order to get his message across to a greater number of people. His website, www.manzanareshairrestoration.com, attracts a sizeable number of medical tourists who come for the demanding procedure, which is admittedly cheaper here than it is in other countries. ?My stand is, if the situation affects your psyche and your well-being, get a transplant,? he says. ?It doesn?t matter where that hair is. But keep in mind, once you do a hair transplant, you?re committing yourself to it. That said, my patients have been very happy?a lot of them have been given new lives, just by the addition of a few strands of hair.?

E-mail the author at biancaconsunji@yahoo.com.