10 Things You Have To Know Before You Undergo A Hair Transplant

It’s easy to understand why hair transplants have become so popular. The amount of time and money ladies spend having their hair done is just one sign of how essential a good head of hair is to their self-esteem. Men are also very concerned to appear with a full head of hair. The continued appeal of fake cures for baldness plays on male feelings of embarrassment over hair loss. Unlike all those miracle cure hair transplants offer a genuine way to improve your looks if they are done in a professional way. Nevertheless, they are not effective in every case and can be very expensive. Before starting a costly hair transplant procedure ask a qualified medical practitioner if dietary or other lifestyle issues could be causing this hair loss.

When is a hair transplant the best option?

This answer to this question depends on the reason for your hair loss. You can reverse some kinds of hair loss with medications. In other situations a change in diet or lifestyle is all it takes to stop the hair loss. Some people start to lose their hair because of a hereditary condition. In a case of hereditary baldness a hair transplant offers you the best prospects of saving your hair. If your father and grandfather lost their hair at a young age you have grounds to suspect the condition is inherited but sometimes one sibling becomes bald and the other is fine.

What is the FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation) Method?

The surgeon performs a FUT operation by taking a strip of skin and hair from one part of your scalp. They divide up the removed strip into sections and transplant them into areas of hair loss. Although this strip method is tried and tested it has some major disadvantages. First of all the surgery leaves an unsightly scar on the part of the scalp where the hair is removed. This scar can eventually be concealed by hair growth. Secondly, a FUT procedure needs to be followed by a long period of aftercare to avoid infection and other health issues.

What is the Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) Method?

The damage to the scalp and post-operation care issues associated with FUT hair transplants encourage interest in the newer FEU transplant alternative. Instead of removing a strip of scalp and hair the surgeon who performs an FEU only removes hair follicles from areas of the scalp where the patient’s hair is still thick and healthy. They transplant these hair follicles into the bald patches. FUE avoids the scarring problems and the aftercare demands of FUT but it works best when the patient only needs a minor hair transplant.

Not all Hair Types are Equal

Politicians rightly work to reduce the differences between races and ethnicities but hair transplants are one area where these issues really are relevant. The best transplant surgery takes account of the patient’s particular skin coloring and hair type. If you take a surgeon who lacks experience doing hair transplants for people from your ethnic origin it reduces the chances of avoiding scaring. So although it may not seem politically correct to raise this issue with the surgeon, it is not only legitimate to do so but highly advisable.

How to Choose a Hair Transplant Clinic

Since hair transplants are surgical procedures with a certain risk element, anyone who thinks of getting one needs to carefully investigate the options. The internet provides a vast amount of information but it needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. Negative posts about a clinic maybe the result of some business dispute, and many positive posts could be hype. Not every good surgeon wants to advertise their services online. Recommendations from friends are far more valuable than social media. Another good idea is to ask your doctor to recommend a professional clinic.

More Thorough Clinic Investigations

Suppose you at last find a clinic that seems to be the best choice for your hair transplant. Now it’s time to proceed to the next investigatory stage. Pay a visit to the clinic to find out about their surgeons’ experience and qualifications. For example, if relevant ask if they have treated people from your ethnic group. They should be able to show you before and after hair transplant pictures and explain exactly how they operate. You might ask for the references of patients who have used their services over recent years.

Find out the hair transplant clinic’s follow up procedure

The transplant clinic team is unlikely to be keen to discuss what happens if complications occur, but you need to clarify these details. Important questions to ask include what special measures they take to reduce risks. The clinic you select should take full responsibility for any problems that arise, including any additional treatment requirements and the costs these might involve. This is another area where patients lose out if they choose a cheap clinic without any provisions to handle unexpected problems that come up, and bear the costs.

Learn what measures you need to take before and after a hair transplant

Ask the clinic about what you need to do before and after your hair transplant. This is particularly relevant to anyone about to undergo a FUT hair transplant because of its invasive nature. For example, the surgeon might suggest you apply medications against hair loss both before and after surgery. Common post-surgery precautions include avoiding alcoholic drinks, not smoking and not eating any spicy foods. The surgeon could also recommend that you do not engage in any physical activities that make you sweat. In contrast a FUE hair transplant requires little in the way of post-surgery care.

Don’t Rush into Making a Decision

Hair transplant procedures are not normally undertaken under any time pressures. This gives potential patients the chance to take their time over their research into finding the best clinic and surgeon. No good clinic puts clients under pressure to make a quick decision. You should certainly take advantage of this opportunity to explore treatment options. The clinic normally offers you the services of a patient adviser to answer you questions and address your concerns. People understandably worry over any procedures that involve surgery and need reassuring about the risks involved.

The Cost of Hair Transplants

There is no avoiding the fact that hair transplants are not cheap. If you get a FUE treatment the extra time involved makes it more expensive than a FUT treatment. Hair transplants are a type of cosmetic surgery so nobody is compelled to pay for one. It is theoretically possible that some of the lower price clinics are actually quite good but as a rule the best clinics and surgeons expect to get paid more. Sometimes what you save on a cheaper clinic you end up losing if you have to pay to correct the damage.