Hair transplant is a surgical procedure, wherein your own natural hair is taken from the back of your head and transplanted in the bald areas. The hair at the back of your head do not go bald, as they do not have receptors for DHT hormone that causes hair loss. Hence all hair transplant techniques utilise those hair to cover the existing bald patches.
What is FUE Hair Transplant?
FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) hair transplants take hair follicles from the back of the scalp where your hair is thick and robust, and then graft those follicles into the balding area while they are still alive and healthy.
The follicles take root and new hair starts growing within 3 months, and it continues to grow and thicken over the next 6-9 months, restoring your hairline with a full head of hair that grows naturally and resiliently.
Traditionally, hair transplants extracted hair follicles by surgically removing a strip of your scalp from the back of your head. This invasive surgical procedure required lengthy recovery times and left a long, easily detectable, linear scar.
Advantage of FUE over the traditional strip method
FUE procedure does not require an incision anywhere on the scalp saving the patient from any kind of inevitable scar that used to be produced while doing older hair treatments. This technique is associated with a faster healing time and its less invasive nature makes it one of the most popular hair treatments nowadays.
Some More Questions
Yes. For people who have a smaller donor area (from where the hair are taken) or less density in the donor site, body hair from the chest, beard can be used effectively
Myth 1: When I do hair transplant, I walk out with full head of hair.
Fact: This is not at all the case. Hair transplant is a surgical procedure where your own hair is transplanted from the back of the head to the front hairline and /or the crown area.
These transplanted hair due to the inevitable trauma of relocation, fall off within first 2 weeks. However, the follicles take root and new hair starts growing within 3 months, and it continues to grow and thicken over the next 6-9 months provided the right nutrients and other care is taken.
So the final result of hair transplant is visible after 6 months.
Also, as hair transplant is the process of transplanting existing hair, it cannot create new hair. The amount of hair transplanted is dependent of the amount of hair available in the donor area. This is usually not adequate to provide full head coverage in very advanced cases of balding.
Myth 2: Hair Transplant is the final recourse for anyone suffering from hair loss.
Fact: Despite the hype about the hair transplants, it is important to remember that hair transplant is a surgical procedure and not a hair regrowth treatment. Like any surgery, hair transplant too is associated with its own risks including bleeding and infection. Common side effects of hair transplant include temporary swelling, transient phase of hair loss – also called ‘shock loss’.
As a rule of thumb, if you are at a stage, where your new hair can naturally regrow, hair transplant is not for you. You should go in for hair regrowth treatments.