Hair Transplant Questions Answered

What is the difference between a follicular unit and a graft?

A follicular unit would be what is commonly referred to as a hair. The follicular unit is made of the visible hair, t he follicle, and associated glands. When a transplant is performed, the hair may fall out because of ‘shock’ but the follicle stays behind. In about 4-6 months, the follicle will reenter the growth cycle and a new hair will grow. A graft may be made up of between 1 to 6 follicular units. When performing follicular unit grafting, individual follicles will often be transplanted along the edge of the hairline with 2-4 unit grafts used to create the density inside of the edge of the hairline. Be careful when comparing different physicians as some will charge by the follicle and some will charge by the graft. Physicians who charge by the graft will give you more transplant for the buck.

What is the down time after a hair transplant?

Down time is usually pretty minimal. Some physicians will allow patients to wear baseball caps immediately after the transplant when leaving the office. There will be some swelling and the transplanted area may be red for a time period. Small scabs do form but these generally dissolve or can be removed in one week. Depending on your occupation, you may be able to return to work in just 1-2 days.

Will my hair look like a doll’s head after a hair transplant?

Using the state of the art technology – follicular unit grafting, the days of the punched doll’s head look are gone. Current hair replacement surgery will produce a very natural appearing hairline that even your barber will be hard pressed to find.

Will you notice the donor area?

While there is the possibility of a widened scar at the donor area after the procedure, even a widened scar is usually not seen as the donor area is in the back of the scalp where hair naturally grows down over the incision. In most cases though, even looking for the scar is difficult to actually see it. In some cases, hair will even grow back through the incision line creating a perfectly camaflouged incision.

How long do the hairs last?

If the cause of your baldness is typical male pattern baldness or female pattern baldness, the transplanted hair will be permanent and will not fall out. In some other cases, transplanted hair may be susceptible to the original process which caused the hair loss. It is important to remember that you can still lose hair from the original area and it is important to take steps to try to preserve the hair you have and choose a physician who will create a hairline which takes into account the possibility of continued loss.