Who Should Get Hair Transplants?
Although very prevalent, hair loss can be an embarrassing, stressful ordeal for both men and women. In our society, thick, full heads of hair at every age are desired and expected. Thanks to the influences of television and social media, people are more self-conscious about their hair now as opposed to decades past. Luckily for most, plasma injections or medications initiated early can help stabilize hair loss, especially in the case of androgenic alopecia. But when hair has loses too much density or the progression is too advanced, hair transplant should be considered as an integral part of a patient’s hair restoration treatment plan.
A hair transplant is ideal for anyone who is prone to permanent and hereditary hair loss. This includes men and women with androgenetic, people who want to modify or restore their frontal hairline, people with scars after trauma, or those who want hair where there’s currently little or none. It offers effective, longer-lasting restoration of a person’s hair in bald or low density areas.
Hair transplants are ideal for anyone who is prone to permanent and hereditary hair loss. This includes men and women with androgenetic, people who want to modify or restore their frontal hairline, people with scars after trauma, or those who want hair where there’s currently little or none.
The whole process of determining whether you are a good candidate for a hair transplant starts with a consultation with one of our hair transplant physicians. Your doctor will consider your general health, the texture of hair, optical contrasts in natural hairline, your hair density, rate of hair loss and family history. Your doctor will also review your expectations of the transplant, the various methods used and discuss the importance of a long-term medical management strategies to protect your existing hair long after the transplant.
What are my Hair Transplant Options?
The two main methods for harvesting the hair for transplants are FUE (follicular unit excision) and the strip method (formerly known as FUT/follicular unit transplant). Each has its own advantages and disadvantages to consider. Again, your hair transplant physician will be there to guide you through the decision process.
The strip method (FUT) is the conventional hair transplant procedure that has been practiced for several decades now. It is considered a minor operation, requiring between 4-8 hours to be completed. In this method, the donor area requires the excision of a free-flap from the back of the head, which leaves a long linear scar of about 20-25 cm, which often heals very discretely. The follicular units are then dissected under a microscope by our experience team of nurses and technicians The donor area is then stapled shut. Incisions for the recipient area are made by your hair transplant physician and follicles are then placed by our team of experienced nurses and technicians. A local anesthesia and a mild sedative is used but the patient remains awake and relaxed during the whole procedure.
A small compression bandage is often used 1 day after the procedure, and the staples are removed 7 days post-procedure. Swelling and minor pain often last for a few days and is well tolerated with mild pain killers. We recommend for patients to take it easy for a week, although mild physical activity can be resumed after a few days. Strip method is best for patient who have a very low density in their donor area or for patients who do not wish to shave their donor area during the procedure and is often the method preferred by many women.
FUE techniques involve the removal of follicular units one by one by your hair transplant physician using a motorized punch. As in the strip method, the follicles are taken from the back of the patient’s head, where the hair is thicker and resilient to DHT (the hormone that causes hair loss). However FUE does not leave a linear scar but rather harmoniously reduces the density at the back of the head by 10-40% depending on the original density and the amount needed for transplant. The hair units are then individually inserted into slits at the recipient regions of the scalp. The main advantages of FUE are quicker recovery and avoidance of the classic long scar that results from the strip method, thus leaving the patient with more hair style options.
In both FUE or strip method options, regrowth in the recipient area of begins around 3-6 months and is maximal at about 1 year following the surgery.
What About Beards and Eyebrows?
Both beards and eyebrows can be treated with FUE or FUT hair transplants too! Patients who feel that they overplucked their eyebrow hairs too much or have especially thin or uneven beards can enjoy a treatment that will rejuvenate their brows and beards beautifully. This procedure requires meticulous, professional work, as the angle and direction of the hairs must be considered thoughtfully to give a natural appearance.
How Effective Are Hair Transplants?
In both FUE or strip method options, regrowth in the recipient area of begins around 3-6 months and is maximal at about 1 year following the surgery. Our procedure are often combined with plasma injection at 1-3-6 months following patients surgery to accelerate healing and regrowth of hair.
This procedure however has an 85-105% success rate. Although your transplanted follicles will likely last a lifetime, the hair surrounding the transplant is at risk of thinning. The need for a second and third transplant is not unusual after several years but much less so in patients choosing to combine their hair transplant with medical management of alopecia.
Hair transplants Hair transplants are done under local anesthesia and mild sedation. Most patients are surprised at how comfortable they were during the procedure. Minor swelling and small scabs around grafts are common in the days following an FUE procedure. Temporary decreased sensitivity, redness or an occasional ingrown hair in the transplant area during the regrowth phase are possible but often just minor inconvenience. Bleeding or infection in the post-operative period are also possible but very rare. When done by experts, there should be no serious complications to worry about.
For more information or to book your consultation, don’t hesitate to contact our clinic. Hair loss and hair, brow, beard transplant are not just our expertise, it’s our passion!