A bald head can be attractive, but if you still prefer a head full of hair, implants are an option to consider. Regardless of how you lost your hair, a trained physician can help restore your look and maybe even your confidence too.
How Do Hair Implants Work?
Although techniques differ, hair implantation is when hair follicles are taken from one part of your body and implanted in another. The area where hair is sourced is called the donor site. The area where you need hair implanted is known as the recipient site. This is a surgical procedure that should only be performed by a certified surgeon.
Does the Cause of Hair Loss Matter?
Not particularly, but it helps to disclose the cause to your practitioner. Nonetheless, hair implants can be used to treat hair loss caused by inherited male pattern baldness, injuries, and burns on the scalp. Hair loss can also be the result of illness, hormonal imbalance, medications, stress, or an unhealthy diet.
What Are the Types of Hair Implant Treatments?
The biggest difference in hair implants is how the follicles are harvested from the donor site. A physician can use the FUSS method, strip harvesting, FUE, or Robot Hair Restoration.
Follicular Unit Strip Surgery (FUSS)
With the FUSS method, a strip of tissue with hair is taken from the back of the head. This strip should contain numerous hair follicles, which are then carefully separated, refrigerated, and later implanted on the treated site.
Strip Harvesting
This technique is like an old-school version of FUSS. It also takes a strip of hair tissue from a donor site but separates it into grafts instead of individual hair units. The harvested grafts are then prepared and inserted into areas where hair is needed.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
FUE implantation is overtaking both FUSS and strip harvesting in popularity. In this technique, physicians make small, round incisions to extract grafts. Before inserting them into the recipient site, they are inspected and treated to ensure they are of good quality.
Patients tend to prefer this method because the scars after surgery are less visible. Recovery from this treatment is also takes less time than other techniques.
Robotic Hair Restoration
This is not so much a surgical technique but refers to the technology used to source, pick, and treat hair follicles. Robotic Hair Restoration uses digital imaging to select the best hair for implanting and can separate hair-bearing tissue further into micro-grafts. The result is regrowth that looks more natural.
Results and Recovery Time of Hair Implants
As one of the older methods of implantation, strip harvesting has a recovery time of two weeks compared to two to five days with other methods. Results are relatively even in quality for all techniques, except for Robotic Hair Restoration, which might improve the appearance and regrowth of your newly implanted hair.
Important: Bear in mind that hair follicles need time to grow so it may be months before you see the full result.
How Much Do Hair Implants Cost?
Patients are typically charged per graft, and the total cost can be from $3,000 to $15,000 for the complete treatment. It goes without saying that the practitioner’s level of skill, the type of technique used, the amount of hair you want, and the price range typical of your city will determine the ultimate cost.
In addition to treatment, please consider costs for after-care medications. The best way to determine how much hair implants will cost is to book a consultation with a professional. Depending on your area, some may offer the first consultation for free.
Are There Side Effects to Hair Implants?
As with any surgical procedure, it’s possible for the treated area to be swollen, itchy, red, and/or painful for some time. You may lose sensation on the operated site, experience bleeding, crusting, or pus. It is common — and realistic — for the treated area to look different from the other patches of hair while regrowth takes place.
Tips for Choosing the Best Hair Implant Treatment
Invest time in searching for a skilled physician. Qualifications and experience may mean higher prices, but they also ensure you get quality results. Once you have a pool of certified surgeons or medical professionals to choose from, you can then narrow it down by price.
Many questions can only be adequately answered by a consultation with the practitioner. It is difficult (if not impossible) to calculate how much the procedure will be without the physician first prescribing the best solution for you. So book an appointment with as many surgeons as you are willing to see to compare prices.
Use the consultation to find out if your goals or needs can be met. In other words, is the result you are expecting realistic? If yes, will it cost more? Do not be afraid of being honest and open about your expectations.
In the same breath, be wary of practitioners who oversell their service or promise results that sound too good to be true. As a general rule, avoid practitioners who underplay side effects and oversell results. Skilled physicians usually present the good and the bad with equal level-headedness.
And finally, ask to see pictures of former patients as well as reviews. A practiced physician should have more than two successfully treated patients. If you can, reverse-search photos used on the website to make sure they are not stock images or stolen from another site.
Hair implants have made it possible to regrow hair where previously not possible. Whether you lost hair because of an illness or hereditary balding, a trained physician can use one of several advanced techniques to restore your appearance. Speak to a licensed practitioner to choose the best procedure for your needs.