First and foremost, it is important to seek the advice of the GP before taking any action. It is also vital to source a reputable, qualified hair loss expert who can provide careful assessment and facilitate transplant surgery via an experienced surgeon.
In order to be considered for transplant surgery, you must have a significant amount great quality existing or ‘donor’ hair. Hair thinning which occurs 1 area e.g. the crown is certainly going to be suitable for hair transplantation. Unfortunately large areas of total hair loss are not deemed suitable for transplantation as the rate of success of re-growth is minimal.
You must also be in general health and well-being. Hair transplant is major surgery, performed under local anaesthetic with an associated recovery period. To make sure that the surgery to be a success, you ought to fit and healthy and ideally you won’t suffer any other major medical sicknesses.
There are also age constraints related to hair transplant process. Candidates should be over 18 but many experienced surgeons won’t perform a hair transplant on young most people. This is because genetic or natural hairloss is yet to occur and will affect what transplanted hair. Even if you are in your late 20s or early 30s, hair loss can still transpire. This means if you undergo surgery, brand new hair could fallout and it’s a waste of your investment!
It’s worth noting that there are new surgical techniques involved in hair transplants. One option is FUE – Follicular Unit Extraction – which means that hairs are individually extracted from the back of the head and re-planted across the location. This is a lengthy, pain-staking process but the outcome is minimal scarring with a very natural-looking hairline. The other main technique employed in hair transplantation is FUT – Follicular Unit Transplantation. This technique involves taking a more substantial area or ‘strip’ of hair belonging to the back of the head, dividing it into smaller units and then re-planting those units each morning desired area of hair loss. Scarring can be a little more conspicuous at the back of the head like a larger area may be removed but an established surgeon will minimise incision marks make certain rapid healing.
Hair transplants do of course utilise your own natural hair and re-growth can be expected within 4 weeks of surgery. Great care must be taken during your recovery period to protect the newly-transplanted look of your hair. However, once it is deemed safe to resume normal activities, the results could be life-transforming. A successful hair transplant is permanent and can restore confidence and self-esteem.
International Hair Institute – Hair Transplant Chicago
50 E Washington St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 854-3899