Hair Transplants 101

Hair loss is a chronic condition that many men and women suffer from. Luckily, there are many hair restoration and hair replacement techniques available to get your full head of hair back. One popular method is going through a hair transplant.

Hair transplantation is when a hair loss specialist moves hair follicles from one part of the body to the one experiencing hair loss. This technique is typically used to treat male pattern baldness, but can also be used to repair eyelashes, eyebrows, beard hair, and chest hair. Additionally, it can be used to fix hair loss on scars due to surgeries.

There are a few steps to the procedure.

Pre-operative assessment

Before you go in for surgery, your doctor will examine you and decide what method and techniques are best for your current situation. They may find that you only need one session, or you may require multiple. They may also establish the density of your hair so they can assess how successful the transplant will be.

Harvesting

The doctor will harvest hair from a donor site,and this operation is done on an outpatient basis with mild sedation. As hair grows from an angle, the by-sections will be removed at the corresponding angle. There are two techniques, strip harvesting and follicle unit extraction (FUE).

Strip harvesting is the most common technique and it involves harvesting a section of hair from the base of the skull in an area with sufficient hair growth. Strips of tissue with hair is taken from the skin, the doctor removes excessive fatty tissues from the follicles and then places these grafts in a predetermined location. For this method, a patient can expect a two week recovery period.

FUE is when a doctor harvests individual hair follicles rather than a strip. Units containing one to four strips are harvested and then re-positioned to give the allusion of a more realistic hair pattern. This method is more time consuming than strip harvesting, so each patient will heal differently. FUE is a great hair transplant method for scars.

Following through with a hair transplant can be life changing. If you suffer from hair loss or unsightly scars, contact a hair loss specialist today to figure out what treatment is best for you!