What Is Hair Transplant?

Most of us take our locks for granted, just like we do our health and youth, until they are gone. For many people, a hair transplant can help restore what appears to be a full head of hair, or at least one that is fuller.

One method to feel more secure about your appearance is to have the surgery if losing your hair or thinning on top genuinely worries you. However, first discuss with your doctor what to anticipate during and following the procedure.

What is Hair Transplant?

It's a kind of surgery where the hair that you already have is moved to cover bald or sparse areas. In the United States, doctors have been performing these transplants since the 1950s, but methods have significantly changed recently. The procedure is often performed in the doctor's office. The surgeon will first clean your scalp and provide anesthesia to numb the back of your skull. In order to do the transplant, your doctor will either use follicular unit strip surgery (FUSS) or follicular unit extraction (FUE).

A 6- to 10-inch strip of skin from the back of your head is removed by the surgeon during FUSS. The scalp was closed by sewing, and it was laid aside. The hair around it rapidly conceals this spot.

 The surgical team then separates the strip of scalp that was removed into 500 to 2,000 microscopic grafts, each containing one or a few hairs. The quantity and type of grafts you receive are determined by your hair's type, quality, and color as well as the size of the area being transplanted. The surgical staff will shave the back of your scalp if you are having FUE done. Then the physician will remove each hair follicle from that location individually. Your natural hair will hide the little specks of healing skin. After then, both processes are identical. The surgeon cleans and numbs the area where the hair will grow, makes holes or slits with a scalpel or needle, and carefully inserts each transplant into one of the holes when they have been prepared. To plant the grafts, they'll probably have assistance from other team members as well. The procedure will take between 4 and 8 hours, depending on the size of the transplant you are having. If you keep losing hair or decide you want thicker hair in the future, you might require another operation.

Resilience and Expectations

Your scalp could be extremely tender after the procedure. You might need to take painkillers for a few days. For a minimum of a day or two, your surgeon will order you to wear bandages over your scalp. They can also advise you to take an antibiotic or an anti-inflammatory medication for a few days. Most patients can go back to work 2 to 5 days after the procedure. The transplanted hair will fall out 2 to 3 weeks following surgery, but you should start to see new growth in 3 to 6 months. After 6 to 9 months, the majority of people will notice 60% of new hair growth. Although its effectiveness is unknown, some surgeons recommend the hair-growing medication minoxidil (Rogaine) to boost hair growth following transplantation.

How Painful is a Hair Transplant?

Does getting a hair transplant hurt? This is a typical query from someone thinking about getting a FUE hair transplant.

Some people might think the process is excruciatingly painful. However, many people who receive hair transplants report feeling nothing during the actual process. A patient shouldn't experience any discomfort following the injection of a local anaesthetic into the desired scalp location.

You typically won't experience a lot of pain when recovering. In order to recover properly, you should try to take enough time off (often 4-5 days) and adhere to your aftercare and recovery guidelines. The recovery process for a patient should be largely pain-free, with any discomfort easily treated with Ibuprofen or paracetamol.

Antibiotics will help prevent infection, and if you do get post-operative edema, you will be given treatment for it.

For Whom are Hair Transplants Appropriate?

Let's discuss whether or not someone is a good candidate for a hair transplant now. Generally speaking, candidates for a hair transplant should be in good health and have healthy hair follicles that will continue to grow following the procedure. Male pattern baldness patients who have stabilized their hair loss either through medication or naturally with age can benefit from the treatment. For both men and women whose hair loss is brought on by burns, trauma, or other uncommon conditions, a hair transplant may also be an option.

Baldness on the Male Pattern

More than half of all men over the age of 50 experience male pattern baldness, also known as androgenic alopecia. It is among the most popular justifications for getting a hair transplant.

Men who have male pattern baldness may experience a thinning crown and receding hairline. Male pattern baldness most frequently manifests as; hair loss in the temple and top of the head, which may finally leave a "horseshoe" of residual hair. Hair falling out of the front of the hairline and moving the hairline back over time

Male Pattern Baldness Causes

Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a derivative of testosterone, is the culprit behind male pattern baldness. DHT has the potential to diminish sensitive hair follicles over time. The life span of the hair is shortened as a result of the afflicted hair follicles becoming smaller. This keeps happening until the damaged follicles stop creating hair. According to research, male pattern baldness is frequently inherited; more than 80% of men who experienced substantial hair loss also had balding fathers.

Stages of Hair Loss (Norwood Scale)

Always have a licensed hair transplant doctor analyze your hair loss. They can assess your hair loss and suggest the best course of action, whether it be surgical or non-surgical.

The Norwood Scale, which offers visual depictions of the various balding stages, is used to categorize male hair loss. Be aware that some physicians and surgeons might employ a different classification system.

The seven steps of the Norwood Scale are described as follows:

Stage 1: There is no noticeable hair loss or hairline regression

Stage 2: The hairline around the temples is slightly receding. Another name for this is an adult or mature hairline.

Stage 3: The onset of baldness that is clinically significant. At both temples, the hairline gets sharply receded and resembles an M, U, or V. The recessed areas have no hair at all or very little hair.

Third-stage vertex The hairline remains at stage 2, but the top of the scalp experiences substantial hair loss (the vertex)

Stage 4: The hairline recession is more pronounced than in stage 2, and the vertex has little to no hair. A strip of hair that connects to the hair still present on the sides of the scalp divides the two areas of hair loss.

Stage 5: Compared to stage 4, the two areas of hair loss are greater. They are still apart, but there is a smaller, sparser strip of hair between them.

Stage 6: The bald spots at the vertex and the bald spots at the temples merge. There is no more or only a thin strip of hair over the top of the head.

Stage 7: The most advanced stage of hair loss, where just a band of hair encircling the head's sides is left. Typically thin and fine, this hair is usually not dense.

The Norwood Scale can be used as a standard to identify the degree of baldness, offer the best course of therapy, and assess the efficacy of that course of treatment. The scale is also used to estimate how many grafts a patient could need to have their hair covered after surgery.

The Process of Rehabilitation and Aftercare

The final phase of your hair transplant adventure, which starts when you leave the clinic and concludes with a full head of healthy hair, is covered in this section.

After a hair transplant, it is crucial to properly care for the hair grafts so they can become secure and the follicles can grow healthily. In order to minimize scarring, you must refrain from exercise for the first few weeks after the treatment.

You should refrain from washing your hair until approximately day 5 when you can gently lather it with shampoo, as a bandage is commonly worn for 24 hours (have a read of our hair washing tips post-surgery article for more information). If non-dissolvable stitches were used following a FUT hair transplant, they may often be taken out after two weeks.

Here are a few brief aftercare suggestions:

DO

After day five, wash your hair to promote healing.

the use of painkillers as necessary

Wear a cap when outside.

DON'T

Scratch your scalp

Rub your hair with a cloth towel after washing it;

Engage in any strenuous physical activity for 14 days following the operation.