Hair Transplant
- Who is suitable for a hair transplant?
- Almost anyone can be a recipient of a hair transplant as long as there is sufficient donor hair to use to transplant onto a thinning or bald area.
- How does hair transplantation work?
- Hair transplantation works on the basis that a naturally occurring bald area can be replenished with hairs which have come from a part of the head that has shown resistance to baldness. These newly transplanted hair follicles will always continue to grow as they have those characteristics. Its success is based on microsurgical techniques that are careful to harvest units of hair from the donor area which are meticulously transplanted into the recipient area.
- Do hair transplants look natural?
- Hair transplantation using Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) can reproduce the natural appearance of your hair to such an extent that no one will be able to distinguish the transplanted hair from the naturally occurring hair on your head. Of course, the final outcome will depend on the skills and techniques used by the chosen hair transplantation surgeon. There are always some who are better than others.
- How long does a hair transplant take?
- A hair transplant that could involve between 1,500 and 3,000 grafts usually takes a complete day as an outpatient. If there is enough donor hair available more transplants can be carried out at other times.
- Is a hair transplant procedure likely to hurt?
- Even though a hair transplant procedure is minimally invasive a little pain and discomfort could occur once the local anaesthetic has worn off in both the donor and recipient areas. Some numbness and soreness may be experienced but most patients think that the pain is not distractive.
- What does a hair transplant cost?
- Consultations with a hair transplant surgeon are normally free but once surgery commences a count of the number of grafts usually determines the cost of the procedure. UK clinics charge from £2 to £5 for each graft using the FUT method and from £4 to £10 for the FUE method. 3,000 grafts will produce anything from 6,000 to 9,000 hairs.
- How many grafts are normally required?
- This is totally dependent on the amount of hair loss and how thick the recipient would like his or her hair to be and the quality and quantity of hairs on the donor sites.
- Will people know I had a hair transplant?
- Following the hair transplant the patient’s transplanted area is usually pink and scabs form around the tiny incisions. It will take 7 to 10 days for the healing to take place. If there is neighbouring hair to conceal the transplanted area, then the area will not be so noticeable.When the transplanted hair starts to emerge the hair should look completely natural even close up.
- When does the newly transplanted hair begin to grow?
- It takes between three and five months after surgery before the hair follicles that have been transplanted start to grow hair. Initially, the transplanted hair is thin initially and slowly grows fuller and thicker. After a year the transplanted hair will have fully matured and will grow continuously for the life time of the recipient.
