Hair transplant
A hair transplant is a procedure to move hair to an area that's thin or bald.
A hair transplant is a permanent solution for hair loss, involving the transfer of healthy hair follicles from one part of the scalp (donor area) to areas with thinning or baldness (recipient area). This procedure restores natural hair growth and enhances your overall appearance.
Who can have a hair transplan
A hair transplant is suitable for people with permanent baldness, the type that runs in families.
It's not usually suitable for people with other types of hair loss, such as the type that causes bald patches (alopecia areata).
What a hair transplant involves
A hair transplant is usually carried out under local anaesthetic and sedation, which means you'll be awake but will not feel any pain.
Hair transplants usually take a day, but you should not need to stay overnight.
If a large area is being treated, you may need to have 2 or more sessions on different days.
There are 2 types of hair transplant.
Follicular unit transplantation (FUT, or strip method)
● A thin strip of skin with hair is removed from the back of your head and divided into pieces, each containing 1 to 4 hairs (hair grafts).
● The grafts are placed into tiny cuts made in the scalp.
● The site where the hairs are taken is closed with stitches.
● You'll have a scar on the back of your head, but it should not be visible unless you have very short hair.
The head does not need to be shaved – only the area where the skin is removed is trimmed.
Follicular unit extraction (FUE)
● The back of the head is shaved.
● Individual hairs are removed 1 by 1 (grafts).
● The grafts are placed into tiny cuts made in the scalp.
● You'll have lots of tiny scars, but they will not be very noticeable.
Recovery
Your surgeon will tell you how to look after your graft. You should be given a spray to use to help recovery and hair growth.
You may need 1 to 2 weeks off work after having a hair transplant.
You need to be very careful with your transplanted hair for the first 2 weeks after your operation. The grafts will not be secure.
You may be told to cut down on exercise in the first month to reduce scarring.
◆ After 2 to 5 days: any bandages can usually be removed, but you should not touch the grafts.
◆ Day 6: you should be able to wash your hair gently by hand.
◆After 10 to 14 days: any non-dissolvable stitches can usua lly be removed.
◆ After a few weeks: the transplanted hair will often fall out, and later start to grow back.
◆ After 4 months: new hair will usually start to appear.
◆ After 10 to 18 months: the full results should be seen.
