How Does a Hair Transplant Work?
More and more men and women are expressing interest in hair transplants as they meet people who have experienced fantastic results. Gone are the days of artificial-looking hair plugs, and welcome to a world where people with baldness and receding hairlines can restore their head’s appearance and end up looking better than ever.
What Is a Hair Transplant?
The concept of how hair transplants work may evoke strange images to those, who are, who are unaware of how straightforward the procedure is. Really, a hair restoration procedure is a simple procedure where an experienced surgeon takes transplanted hair from one part of your scalp and inserts it into balding or receding areas to restore a full, natural look.
Specifically, there are two common types of hair restoration surgery, a FUT and a FUE.
Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)
FUT procedures are the most common type of hair transplant procedure. This procedure, also referred to as a “Follicular Unit Strip Surgery,” involves taking a strip of skin from a donor area or donor site on the scalp (commonly the back of your head) where the donor hair is growing with a scalpel and surgically grafting it into bald or receding areas.
There are many benefits to FUT, including:
Quick Recovery Time: The time it takes to get back to your life post-FUT is incredibly minor. Most people require no stitches, although they may need a few staples, and can get back to normal the next day. If your hair is medium to long in length, your surgery will not even be noticeable from the back from the donor area.
Natural: FUT results in a truly natural look. Why? Because the hair you grow is actually your hair! So FUT hair not only looks natural, it actually is!
Simple: FUTs are simple outpatient procedures that nonetheless have a significant aesthetic result. There are few things better when it comes to improving your appearance than a hair transplant. The fact is that our hair is one of the first things that people notice about us. Being bald or having a dramatically receding hairline can not only not only people’s perception of you but also your personal confidence and success. You rarely need to worry about complications or problems common to other types of surgeries when doing a hair transplant.
How does FUT work?
Specifically, here is how a Follicular Unit Transplant works.
First, your doctor will examine your scalp and review your options with you. It is vital that you know the importance of having experienced surgeons facilitate your procedure. You want your doctor to have a proven track record of positive results. Why? Because there is a lot of artistry involved in transplanting real, natural-looking hair in the most attractive way possible.
Sometimes during a hair loss treatment, parts of the back or side of your hair will need to be shaved. This is only sometimes the case with FUT procedures.
Next, your hair transplant surgeon will remove individual follicular “units” from the donor area of your scalp. Then the “graft” tissue is removed from your scalp before each individual Follicular unit and graft is examined by qualified technicians using advanced tools
Your doctor will then arrange the grafts into the ideal pattern for your scalp and make small incisions on the bald or receding area of your scalp. These incisions will match the pattern of your natural hair growth.
Finally, the grafts are planted into the bald or receding area on your scalp.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
A Follicular Unit Excision (FUE) is another type of hair transplantation that involves harvesting individual hair follicle units,resulting in little to no scarring. This type of procedure is perfect for those who wear their hair short and are concerned about the linear scar that comes along with FUT hair transplant surgery.
Unlike the traditional FUT (Follicular Unit Transplant) procedure, FUE involves the transplanting of individual hairs. It is not, therefore, necessary to remove tissue to create grafts. As you can imagine, though, taking individual hairs from one part of your head and planting them into another takes a good deal of time and skill, which is why FUE methods are typically more expensive.
How Does a Follicular Unit Excision Work?
“The procedure starts with shaving the donor area,” said Dr. Pak of NHI Medical. “Some people are bothered by having to shave. But really, it’s only a minor short-term sacrifice for a significant long-term reward.”
If shaving part of your head is something you are simply unwilling to do, you can consider the FUT method, which can usually be done without any shaving.
The individual follicular units are extracted from the shaved donor area of the scalp and inserted into the bald or receding area using tiny dot-like incisions.
Benefits of the FUE Method:
Local Anesthetic: FUE procedures are very safe procedures that result in little-to-no post-op pain. In fact, the procedure is usually done with only local anesthetic. FUEs do take a long time. Anywhere from 10-hours or more—since most doctors will not go longer than seven hours-at-a-time, multiple appointments may be needed to complete your FUE.
Permanent: As with the FUT-method, the results of an FUE procedure are permanent.
Looks Great: While the ultimate look of your hair transplant depends largely on your doctor, if done well, an FUE can result in hair that is as good looking and healthy as the type you had when you were a teenager. You will certainly love your long-term results.
No Linear Scar: Some people who wear their hair short are bothered by the fact that the FUT method of hair transplants will leave them with a linear scar. This is not a problem with FUE, as there is no scarring visible to anyone without a microscope.
There you have it, the two hair transplant methods: Follicular Unit Excision and Follicular Unit Transplant. When done properly, both procedures can create fantastic results that will last you a lifetime. Remember when choosing a hair doctor, that you are going for quality and a track-record of specific success with hair transplants. The results of many patients from the NHI Medical, speak for themselves.