My youngest brother longs for a bad-hair day. It would be a big improvement over his current no-hair life.

One of my three brothers has a full head of thick, curly hair. The others represent two stages of male hair loss, which were defined by a guy named Hamilton in the 1950s and updated by a guy named Norwood 20 years later. Tod is going bald but isn't quite there yet (classified as a Norwood type 5); Jason had lost his hair by age 20 (type 7, which is as bad as it gets).

Dr. James Harris has been there; he hit the Norwood low in his mid-30s. He's had three surgeries and 3,300 hair grafts implanted in his scalp. He couldn't like it more.

"For me, the biggest thing was, I was in great shape, running, working out," Harris says. "And when I looked in the mirror, I didn't see the person I wanted to be."

Neither do Harris' patients - until he's finished with them. A neck/facial plastic surgeon, Harris opened the Hair Sciences Center of Colorado (www.hsccolorado.com) to focus on putting hair back where it belongs. He now has the patent on the Harris SAFE (Surgically Advanced Follicular Extraction) System, which makes hair restoration less traumatic and more natural. When he's not using the surgery on his patients, he's teaching other surgeons how to use it on theirs.

I talked to him by phone at a conference in Orlando, Fla., where he is demonstrating his technology to fellow hair-obsessed surgeons, many of whom also are Norwood type 7s.

Question: What's the latest news in hair restoration?

Answer: We're going toward more minimally invasive techniques, like follicular unit extraction. Traditional surgery involves removing strips of skin from the back or sides of the scalp. Now, instead of removing the whole strip, we remove grafts one at a time in bundles of one to four hairs, which means less trauma, more rapid healing, less pain. Somebody who's totally bald can look great after one surgery and look even better after two.

Q:Why's hair so important to us?

A: It's such a visible part of who you are for so many years. When you lose it, you're left looking in the mirror and there's a real mismatch between how you feel on the inside and what you see on the outside. A bald head is measured in fractions of a square foot. It's like a neon sign. You can't exercise it away, and you can't diet it away.

Q:You recently did a survey about people's attitudes toward hair. What surprised you most?

A:As important as hair seems to be to a lot of people - they associate it with being more successful, smarter, getting better jobs - very few people who are losing their hair seek treatment. Less than 10 percent sought any advice.

The majority of patients are men, and men shouldn't be vain - that's the way we're brought up. People who are losing hair usually ask someone they trust or love about it, and they're told, 'I love you just the way you are.' I've had a 20 percent increase in the numbers of surgeries and consultations for men, but it's still a small percentage that seeks treatment. I focus on patient education - to let people know there are options out there.

Q:What factors should go into deciding on having surgery?

A: If they're doing it for themselves, that's a reasonable thing to do. But if they're doing it because they want to impress their girlfriend, that's the wrong thing to do. They have to be very clear about why they're doing it.

And they have to have realistic expectations. They can't have a head of hair like they had when they were 20. If you go totally bald, the bank of hair follicles is smaller. If they can't accept that, they really shouldn't have surgery.

I rarely let people decide about surgery the day of a consultation. I tell them to go home and really think about this.

Q:What's on the horizon?

A: The development of robots to do hair transplants. That will bring costs down, and more people will be able to afford to have surgery.

One of the more exciting possibilities is cell multiplication. With cell multiplication, you do a biopsy of 100 hairs, strip off some cells at the root of follicles. You grow it in a tissue culture, inject those into the scalp. They act almost like seeds.

That technology may be five to 10 years away, but it has the potential to let people have as much hair as they want.

Q:What's the best part of your job?

A:Hair loss strikes people on such an emotional, gut level - it digs down deep inside of you. I can take someone who's completely bald, and 10 months later, there's hair on their head. It's a transformation I love seeing, and I can't wait to take their "after" photos.

I've had people who have worn hats for 20 years, who finally get to go to restaurants where they couldn't wear a baseball cap.

Follicle facts

87,987 The number of U.S. hair restoration procedures performed by members of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery in 2005

35 million The estimated number of U.S. men with male pattern baldness, aka androgenetic alopecia

140,000 The average number of hairs on a blond's head, the most of any hair color. But blond hair strands are the thinnest - about half as thick as red hairs, which are the heftiest

100 The number of hairs most people shed daily

Sources: Ishrs, Ishrs.Org; American Academy Of Dermatology, Aad.OrgReplacement therapies

Hair today, gone tomorrow? Here are some ways to fight the loss of locks.

• SPRAY-ON HAIR

Cost: $7 to $30

How it works: Conceals balding spots or thinning areas with spray-on color

Pro: Cheap

Con: Looks cheap

Results: Cheesy

• ROGAINE (MINOXIDIL)

Cost: $60 for four-month supply of Men's Rogaine Foam at rogainedirect.com

How it works: Unknown

Pro: Also works for women; can be bought OTC. Applied topically.

Con: Results lose effectiveness over time. Side effects can include dry, itchy scalp and irritation. Rare cases of unwanted facial hair have been reported in women.

Results: A study showed that 85 percent of men regrew hair with twice-daily application of 5% Men's Rogaine Foam for 16 weeks. Works best for men when combined with Propecia.

• PROPECIA (FINASTERIDE)

Cost: $70 for one-month supply

How it works: Inhibits the formation of DHT, a substance in the body that can shrink the hair follicle until it no longer produces visible hair

Pro: Potential to work anywhere on the head where there are fine hairs

Con: Available only by prescription; cannot be used by women. Benefits disappear once drug is stopped. Allergic reactions can include rash, itching, hives and swelling of the lips and face; sexual dysfunction; breast tenderness and enlargement; and testicular pain.

Results: In a five-year study, a majority of men reported smaller bald spots, slowed hair loss and improved hair appearance.

• SAW PALMETTO

Cost: $6 to $20 a month for a dosage of 160 mg twice daily

How it works: Mainly used for the treatment of enlarged prostate, it may help block the conversion of testosterone to DHT in a way similar to Propecia.

Pro: An herbal substance with few side effects

Con: Unproven

Results: Anecdotal

• HAIR TRANSPLANTS/ FOLLICULAR UNIT EXTRACTION

Cost: $3,500 to $15,000

How it works: Small bundles of hair - one to four strands each - are removed from one area and transplanted to another.

Pro: Natural results; less surgery required; less pain, shorter healing time

Con: Pricey; may require multiple sessions; can cause shock loss, in which trauma and tissue reaction to surgery cause shedding of existing hair

Results: Permanent

• SCALP REDUCTION

Cost: $2,000 to $10,000

How it works: Stretches hair- bearing scalp upward to replace bald scalp that has been surgically removed; often combined with hair transplants

Pro: Reduces the total area of baldness that needs hair transplantation

Con: Moves hair to the crown, thinning hair at the sides and back of the scalp; may interfere with efforts to harvest hair for a transplant; can cause scarring, a thin scalp, altered hair direction

Results: Lasts five to 10 years

• NONSURGICAL HAIR REPLACEMENT

Cost: $100 to $1,800

How it works: Human and synthetic hair can be woven, extended or fused into existing hair; wigs, hairpieces and hair prostheses can be bought off the shelf or custom-made.

Pro: Offers a choice for people with inadequate hair for transplants or for people considering hair transplantation but not ready to commit

Con: High-maintenance; needs to be replaced after about 18 months; custom work is pricey, but off-the-shelf can look fake.

• LASER THERAPY

Cost: $3,000 to $4,000 annually; one or two 30-minute treatments a week for six months, followed by two treatments a month for maintenance

How it works: Stimulates hair follicles

Pro: Noninvasive; no side effects

Con: Requires regular treatment

Results: Comparable to Propecia

Locked inFrom Samson and Delila to Hair to Hairspray, stage and screen have celebrated the powerful appeal of cgreat locks.

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