Hair transplants are a top solution if one wants to have a full head of hair again. Such transplants are mainly used to restore balding, thinning hair or hair that has been lost due to an injury. Around 60% of men and 50% of women worldwide experience some type of hair loss. People often use over-the-counter products, including topical treatments, for example- minoxidil (Rogaine).
Hair transplant is an alternate hair restoration solution. Hair transplants basically add more hair to the area of the head that may be thinning or balding. It involves taking hair from thicker parts of the scalp or other parts of the body, and subsequently grafting it to the balding section of the head. The first transplant was performed in Japan in 1939 with single hairs. Later, the “plug” technique was developed, which involves transplanting large tufts of hair. Over time, surgeons began using mini and micro-grafts to minimize the appearance of transplanted hair on the scalp1.
Types Of Hair Implants
There are two types of hair transplants:
– Follicular unit extraction (FUE). Here the surgeon will use a tiny punch tool to remove follicles from the donor area. Although this procedure will lead to some scarring, it may be less noticeable, and the person will not usually require stitches2.
– Follicular unit strip surgery (FUSS). The surgeon will remove a strip of skin from the donor area and close the incision with stitches. Then a microscope is used to separate the donor skin into tiny follicular units that contain one or several hair follicles and insert these units into the desired area.
Important Information About Hair Transplants
The transplanted hair behaves as natural hair and sheds between two to four weeks of transplant. The roots thereafter start sprouting hair naturally and continue to do so for a lifetime.
– Hair transplant is different from non-surgical hair restoration in which a pre-chosen base is put on the scalp.
– Use of local anesthesia makes it a painless procedure and usually patients can go home within the day.
– Hair transplant results vary from person to person and is related to a person’s natural hair quality.
– Each baldness case does not have a solution in hair transplants. It entirely depends on the particular case.
– The more the number of grafts that are required, the higher the price of the procedure3.
Risks And Expenses
The price of a hair transplant will depend largely on the amount of hair transplanted, but it generally ranges from around $4,000 to $15,000.
Also as with any kind of surgery, transplants also have some risks, including bleeding, infection, scarring and unnatural-looking new hair growth.
Around the time new hair grows, some might have inflammation or an infection of the hair follicles called folliculitis. This can be treated with antibiotics and compresses. It’s also possible to have shock loss- a sudden loss of some of the original hair in the area. But most of the time, this is not permanent4.
The Success Rate Of Such Procedures
Hair transplants are usually more successful than over-the-counter products. But there are other factors to consider:
– About 10-80% of transplanted hair will grow back in three to four months. As regular hair, transplanted hair will also thin over time.
– People with dormant hair follicles- sacs that usually contain hair beneath the skin but no longer grow hair- may have less effective transplants, but a study suggests that plasma therapy can help up to 75% of the transplanted hairs fully grow back.
Moreover, it is important to remember that hair transplants don’t work for all. Transplants are mainly used to restore hair if one is balding or thinning naturally or has lost hair due to an injury.
Conclusion
It is essential to take good care of one’s hair. Make sure that the diet is healthy, according to what the doctor has suggested and contains less sugar. One also needs to be active and exercise regularly.
Talk with a medical professional about these risks and whether this could be a good solution for balding or thinning.
[1] Jewell, Tim. “Everything You Need To Know About Hair Transplants.” Healthline. 4 January, 2019.
[2] Berry, Jennifer. “How effective are different hair transplant methods.” Medical News Today. 5 December, 2019.
[3] TNN. “Decoded: Hair Transplant.” Times of India. 6 August 2019.
[4] “Hair Transplants: What to Expect.” WebMD.