If you’re looking for a permanent solution to your hair loss, you may want to consider a hair transplant

Today, it’s possible to have natural-looking results thanks to one key advance. Most surgeons now transplant the healthy hairs a few at a time. This eliminates the unnatural doll-like hair that patients saw in the 70s and 80s. Back then, sections of hair called hair plugs were placed in the thinning area. In time, the hair plugs became quite noticeable.  

Improvements in creating the hairline and placing the hairs in the thinning areas also help create natural-looking results. 

Thanks to these advances, the results can look so natural that a barber or stylist cannot tell you’ve had anything done

 Good candidate for a hair transplant

Men and women of all races can be good candidates for a hair transplant.

To be considered for a hair transplant, you need two things:

1. Enough healthy hair on your scalp that can be transplanted to the area that needs hair
2. The ability to grow hair on the thinning area of your scalp

During a consultation with a dermatologist, you can find out if you have both. A dermatologist will give you a thorough scalp exam.

To find out why you have hair loss, you may also need a blood test. This can check for things going on in your body that may be causing your hair loss. Some patients need a procedure called a scalp biopsy. Your dermatologist can quickly and easily take what is needed for the scalp biopsy during the consultation. 

If the exam and tests show that you are a good candidate for a hair transplant, your dermatologist can tell you what results you can expect. A full head of hair may be unrealistic, but a fuller head of hair can be the goal.

During a hair transplant

You can expect a hair transplant to take between four and eight hours. If you are having a large amount of hair transplanted, you may need to return for a few hours the next day. 

Most patients remain awake during the entire surgery and need only an anesthesia that makes the scalp numb. Some patients also take a mild sedative to help them relax. 

Hair transplant surgery usually lasts between 4 and 8 hours. The surgery begins with your dermatologist removing the healthy hairs. To give you natural-looking results, your dermatologist may remove the healthy hairs by either cutting a strip of skin with healthy hairs from your scalp or removing individual hairs. 

The second option takes a lot more time, but avoids leaving a long, narrow scar on your scalp. This can be beneficial if you prefer close-shaven haircuts like buzz cuts.  

Before the surgeon can transplant the hairs, technicians need to prep the removed hairs and the surgeon must get your scalp ready for the transplant. 

Depending on the number of hairs to be transplanted, two to three members of the hair transplant team may help place the healthy hairs into the area that needs hair. Once all the hairs have been transplanted, your scalp will be bandaged and you will be given instructions for at-home care

patients see results from a hair transplant

Most patients see results between six and nine months after surgery. For some patients, it takes 12 months. 

It’s important to know that between two and eight weeks after the surgery, the transplanted hair will fall out. This is normal. By the third month, the hair may look thinner than before you had the transplant. Again, this is normal

Like good health and youth, most of us take our locks for granted — that is, until they’re gone. For many people, a hair transplant can help bring back what looks like a full — or at least a fuller — head of hair.

If thinning up top or going bald really bothers you, the procedure can be one way to feel more confident about your looks. But first talk with your doctor about what you can expect during and after the surgery

Hair Transplant

It’s a type of surgery that moves hair you already have to fill an area with thin or no hair. Doctors have been doing these transplants in the U.S. since the 1950s, but techniques have changed a lot in recent years.

You usually have the procedure in the doctor’s office. First, the surgeon cleans your scalp and injects medicine to numb the back of your head. Your doctor will choose one of two methods for the transplant: follicular unit strip surgery (FUSS) or follicular unit extraction (FUE).

With FUSS, the surgeon removes a 6- to 10-inch strip of skin from the back of your head. They set it aside and sews the scalp closed. This area is immediately hidden by the hair around it.

Next, the surgeon’s team divides the strip of removed scalp into 500 to 2,000 tiny grafts, each with an individual hair or just a few hairs. The number and type of graft you get depends on your hair type, quality, color, and the size of the area where you’re getting the transplant.

If you’re getting the FUE procedure, the surgeon’s team will shave the back of your scalp. Then, the doctor will remove hair follicles one by one from there. The area heals with small dots, which your existing hair will cover.

After that point, both procedures are the same. After they prepare the grafts, the surgeon cleans and numbs the area where the hair will go, creates holes or slits with a scalpel or needle, and delicately places each graft in one of the holes. They’ll probably get help from other team members to plant the grafts, too.

Depending on the size of the transplant you’re getting, the process will take about 4 to 8 hours. You might need another procedure later on if you continue to lose hair or decide you want thicker hair.

Expectations and Recovery

After the surgery, your scalp may be very tender. You may need to take pain medications for several days. Your surgeon will have you wear bandages over your scalp for at least a day or two. They may also prescribe an antibiotic or an anti-inflammatory drug for you to take for several days. Most people are able to return to work 2 to 5 days after the operation.

Within 2 to 3 weeks after surgery, the transplanted hair will fall out, but you should start to notice new growth within a few months. Most people will see 60% of new hair growth after 6 to 9 months. Some surgeons prescribe the hair-growing drug minoxidil (Rogaine) to improve hair growth after transplantation, but it’s not clear how well it works.

Hair Transplant

A hair transplant is a procedure in which a plastic or dermatological surgeon moves hair to a bald area of the head. The surgeon usually moves hair from the back or side of the head to the front or top of the head.

different types of hair transplants

There are two types of transplant procedures: slit grafts and micrografts.

Slit grafts contain 4 to 10 hairs per graft. Micrografts contain 1 to 2 hairs per graft, depending on the amount of coverage needed.

During a hair transplant

After thoroughly cleaning your scalp, a surgeon uses a small needle to numb an area of your head with local anesthesia.

Two main techniques are used to obtain follicles for transplantation: FUT and FUE.

In follicular unit transplantation (FUT):

1. The surgeon will use a scalpel to cut out a strip of scalp skin from the back of the head. The incision is typically several inches long.
2. This is then closed with stitches.
3. The surgeon next separates the removed portion of scalp into small sections using a magnifying lens and sharp surgical knife. When implanted, these sections will help achieve natural-looking hair growth.

In follicular unit extraction (FUE) the hair follicles are cut out directly from the back of the head through hundreds to thousands of tiny punch incisions.

1. The surgeon makes tiny holes with a blade or needle in the area of your scalp that’s receiving the hair transplant. They gently place hairs in these holes.
2. During one treatment session, a surgeon may transplant hundreds or even thousands of hairs.
3. After, the graft, gauze, or bandages will cover your scalp for a few days.

A hair transplant session can take four hours or more. Your stitches will be removed about 10 days after surgery.

You may require up to three or four sessions to achieve the full head of hair you desire. Sessions occur several months apart to allow each transplant to fully heal.

long-term outlook

Typically, people who’ve had a hair transplant will continue to grow hair in the transplanted areas of the scalp.

The new hair may appear more or less dense depending on:

• scalp laxity, or how loose your scalp skin is
• density of follicles in the transplanted zone
• hair caliber or quality
• hair curl

Conclusion

A full head of hair for women of all ages is the cultural norm. Recent techniques for efficient donor hair harvest and meticulous preparation of hair grafts have allowed many women to be candidates for hair restoration surgery. The artistic creation of grafts of different size and the meticulous handling of these fragile transplants have enabled treatment of some women who might not have been candidates for surgery a few years ago. Still, careful patient selection for hair restoration surgery is essential