Hair transplantation: indications, contraindications, preparation

Beautiful thick hair is a source of pride not only for women, but also for men, who are looked at with great envy by their early bald peers. And this is not surprising, because light "glades" on the head with thin vegetation are unlikely to be an adornment that attracts the attention of the opposite sex. The problem of baldness is especially sensitive at a young age, when everyone wants to be attractive and loved, but not everyone can boast of a beautiful hairstyle. Thin hair is only half the problem, the solution to which is quite accessible with medication and folk remedies, but alopecia (baldness) is much more difficult to treat with such therapy, and for many, the only way out of this situation is a hair transplant.

It must be said that people treat the problem of baldness differently. Of course, everyone who has encountered bald spots on their head suffers to a greater or lesser extent, but they solve the problem differently. Some try to cover up the external defect with internal qualities, and those around them simply stop noticing this shortcoming, admiring the beauty of the person's soul.

Others resort to changing their image, starting the procedure with a hairstyle that allows them to hide the lack of hair on the frontal part of the head and the crown. For a time, many succeed in this. Women are especially successful in disguising themselves by throwing their hair to one side, and men with long hair. Alas, this method does not help everyone for a long time, and over time, you have to look for other ways to solve the problem if it really prevents a person from feeling complete and confident.

There are also those (this is more typical for the stronger sex) who change their hairstyle radically, guided by the principle: if there is no hair on the forehead and the back of the head, there is no reason for it to be on the rest of the head. A buzz cut is also one of the options for solving the problem, as is wearing a wig that hides the gaps in the hair.

There are many ways to hide such a defect as the absence of hair where it should be. But masking the problem cannot be called its solution, and a person can continue to feel inferior until he comes to an understanding of the need for serious medical and physical therapy treatment or decides to have a hair transplant.

It is impossible to give a clear answer to the question of whether hair transplantation will help. Everything depends on the goal and the cause of baldness. If we are talking about masking the problem, then the procedure is relevant for any type of baldness and gives very attractive and long-lasting results. But as for treatment, hair transplantation is considered the method to be resorted to as a last resort when traditional treatment does not help.

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Indications for the procedure

Hair transplantation is a truly effective method of hair restoration. And to perform the procedure, the patient's desire and patience are usually enough, since the transplantation session lasts quite a long time. Another thing is that the choice of hair transplantation methods for different types of baldness will differ somewhat.

In addition to the fact that baldness can be complete or partial, there are three main types of alopecia:

• Androgenetic alopecia (the most common type, accounting for up to 95% of all cases of baldness in men; in women, the picture is more vague, but it is believed that such baldness is less common for them). In this pathology, the hereditary sensitivity of hair follicles to the active form of the male hormone - dihydrotestosterone - comes to the fore, which in the vast majority of cases is transmitted through the female line.

The disease manifests itself gradually and not so much by hair loss as by thinning of the hair as a result of hair follicle dystrophy caused by dihydrotestosterone. In men, the forehead and parietal area are usually affected, while in women, the parting area becomes thinner.

This type of baldness can be treated with medications and various methods of physical impact, but in advanced forms, when the hair follicles become unable to produce new hair to replace the hair that falls out (and the process of hair exchange is a normal physiological process, the disruption of which leads to the appearance of bald spots), only a hair transplant can help. And the choice of methods for performing the procedure in this case is not limited.

• Diffuse alopecia has slightly different roots, although it can also be caused by hormonal reasons, but in this case it is not so much about the sensitivity of hair follicles to androgens, but about the imbalance of hormones in the body. This type of baldness is more typical for the fair sex.

Hormonal imbalances are just one of the internal factors that can cause hair follicles to go into a dormant state, when they stop producing new hair. Other factors may include frequent stressful situations, severe stress, depression, long-term medication use, acute infections, severe chronic pathologies, deficiency conditions, strict diets in which the body does not receive the vitamins and microelements it needs (sometimes the fight for a beautiful body can turn into a disaster for the head). External causes that have a soporific effect on hair follicles can be considered surgical operations, or rather their consequences, and negative environmental conditions.

There is another variant of diffuse alopecia, where external causes come to the fore (anagen form): poisoning with toxic substances, increased radiation background, chemotherapy and radiation sessions, head injuries with damage to the skin. In this case, the bulbs simply do not have time to fall asleep under the influence of damaging factors, and hair loss is observed in the growth phase. In case of injuries, subsequent hair growth will be hindered by the formation of scar tissue (scarring alopecia).

What else can provoke diffuse hair loss? Bad habits (this can be seen in smokers and active fans of alcoholic drinks), skin diseases, improper hair care, and sometimes even a decrease in immunity.

In most cases, treatment of diffuse alopecia comes down to isolating the negative factor that provokes hair loss. But sometimes additional medication and physiotherapy treatment, a diet high in essential vitamins (vitamins B, C, A, PP) and minerals (emphasis on zinc) and taking vitamin-mineral complexes are required.

And even such treatment does not always give good results, and baldness continues to progress. In this case, doctors usually offer such a radical procedure as hair transplantation. And the choice of transplantation methods is left to the patient.

• Alopecia areata is a serious problem that has an internal cause, which is a malfunction of the immune system. This type of baldness can be considered a serious autoimmune disease, which, as we know, is very difficult to treat with medication. It is difficult to fight your own immune system, which for some unknown reason begins to perceive your own hair as foreign substances and fights them.

Alopecia is called focal or nesting because it is characterized not by complete hair loss, but by the appearance of limited empty areas on the scalp, including eyebrows, beard, and moustache. Bald spots can also be observed in the pubic area and on other parts of the body that are usually covered with hair. New hair does not appear in place of the lost hair, because the cells of the immune system destroy the hair follicles.

A variant of this type of baldness is universal alopecia, in which gradual hair loss occurs not only over the entire head, but also over the entire body. In this case, even vellus hair is absent.

Baldness due to a specific malfunction of the immune system, when it is activated unnecessarily, is the most severe type of alopecia. Given the characteristics of the disease, the approach to its treatment will differ from the therapy of other types of alopecia. At the same time, any intervention in the body's functioning can only aggravate the situation, so the choice of treatment methods should be treated with special caution, especially when it comes to radical methods of treating baldness, which include hair transplantation.

It should be said that the choice of radical methods in this case is very limited. Surgical hair transplantation can negatively affect the functioning of the immune system, so it is not prescribed in this situation. The only thing that a specialist doctor (and this is a trichologist) can offer is a non-surgical technique.

It is important to understand that all types of alopecia are interconnected. So, diffuse alopecia can occur both in a focal form and be total. And there is no such type of pathology that would affect only people of one age or gender, it is just that for each type of alopecia, the statistics may differ slightly. Androgenetic alopecia is a "privilege" of middle-aged and older people with a bias towards the male population of the country, and since the pathology is considered the most common, hair transplantation is prescribed to men more often than to women. Considering that the stronger sex is usually in no hurry to be treated and waits until the last minute, when only radical measures help.

Diffuse alopecia, most often associated with stress and hormones, most often affects middle-aged women in the pre-menopausal and menopausal periods, although it is possible during pregnancy. But since there are other effective treatments that doctors consider more appropriate in this situation, hair transplantation in women is considered a rather rare phenomenon, prescribed only in difficult situations.

In this case, hair implantation can be prescribed both for alopecia, the absence of hair on a part of the head or another part of the body, and for noticeable thinning of hair, which looks very unattractive and even frightening, or too high hairline. Alopecia caused by burns and skin diseases is especially difficult to treat, since dense scar tissue forms on the skin, which prevents hair growth. In this case, hair transplantation is also the best way out of the situation.

Focal alopecia as an autoimmune disease occurs in people of both sexes. This disease can be called youthful, since its occurrence is often diagnosed at the age of 18-25 years, although sometimes it can be detected even in childhood in children over 3 years old. However, not every clinic undertakes to do hair transplantation in children and in rare cases, when baldness causes serious psychological problems, which makes it necessary to prescribe a hair implantation operation. The reason for frequent refusals in transplantation is the growth of the child's head. It is clear that this causes stretching of the skin, and the transplanted hair will subsequently be rare.

Another reason is that it is difficult for a small child to endure a long operation, usually performed under local anesthesia. Therefore, even in serious cases, doctors undertake hair transplantation only for children over 5 years old.

Hair transplantation helps almost all patients in one way or another, except for cases of complete baldness, when there is simply nowhere to take hair from, because we are talking about transplanting one's own hair follicles. Hair transplantation from another person is usually not carried out, because experiments show that someone else's hair, even the material of close relatives, is usually perceived by the immune system as foreign, they will simply be rejected by the body.

For the same reason, artificial hair transplants are rarely performed, which is relevant only if there is nowhere to take hair for implantation, i.e. there is none on the body at all. If hair loss is noted only on the head, you can try to transplant hair from other parts of the body or, as a last resort, use donor bulbs. However, the result of such operations does not always bring good results.

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Preparation

Hair transplantation is in most cases a serious operation that involves intervention in the body and the use of anesthesia. It is clear that even a minimally invasive intervention, which is hair follicle transplantation, cannot be done without preliminary preparation, on which the result of the procedure, whether there will be complications during it and how long the recovery period will last largely depend. So, hygienic procedures alone will not suffice here, although they are also included in the list of necessary preparatory measures.

In principle, preparation already begins from the moment the patient is received by a trichologist, who, if necessary, will prescribe the operation and offer the most effective methods of its implementation depending on the diagnosis and characteristics of the patient's body. In addition, a consultation is held with a plastic surgeon who will perform the hair transplant operation, the area of the operation, the exchange of transplant and donor zones, the number of stages of the operation (usually 2-3 stages with an interval of about six months) and the date of the first procedure are discussed. The doctor will also tell you how to properly prepare for the upcoming procedure, taking into account that the preparatory period can last up to 2 weeks.

Those who are addicted to cigarettes will probably have to prepare the longest. Doctors believe that giving up smoking for a certain period is a small price to pay for beauty and health. But you will have to endure no less than 2 weeks. But such a “sacrifice” will confirm a person’s readiness for a radical solution to the baldness issue.

Quitting smoking before any hair transplant procedure is considered mandatory, as nicotine increases the likelihood of complications during surgery and has a negative effect on hair survival and tissue recovery in the postoperative period.

It will be a little easier for alcohol fans. They need to completely give up their favorite drink 1 week before the upcoming operation, the time of which is agreed upon in advance.

A special point is taking medications. Ideally, you should stop taking any medications 10 days before the operation. Doctors pay special attention to medications that affect blood clotting (hair transplantation is a minimally invasive operation, but not bloodless), for example, acetylsalicylic acid and drugs based on it. If taking medications is vital for a person, as, for example, with some heart diseases, the doctor must obtain a full list of medications taken from the patient in order to assess possible side effects and contraindications.

If we are talking about hair transplantation in women, the time of the operation is chosen so that it does not coincide with menstruation plus or minus 4 days. That is, 4 days before menstruation and 4 days after its end, hair transplantation is considered acceptable.

You can eat and drink until 6 hours before the operation. After that, you will have to fast for a while. If a person has problems with the stomach or metabolism and long-term fasting is considered unacceptable, you must inform the doctor about this during the consultation.

It is clear that you cannot go to a hair transplant operation with a dirty head. This is not only unaesthetic and indicates a person's disrespect for themselves and others, but also unhygienic. You need to wash your hair in the morning before the procedure. There are no restrictions on detergents, but it is prohibited to apply hair styling products.

If a person has any diseases, a consultation with medical specialists may be required, who can assess the degree of risk of hair transplant manipulations. In addition, before the operation, it will be necessary to pass a series of tests. We are talking about a blood test for STIs, which allows you to identify HIV infection, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, as well as a general blood test, which allows you to assess the condition of the body.

This is a standard set of tests, but each clinic, depending on the operations performed and the patient's medical history, may prescribe additional tests to protect the person from possible complications. For example, before the operation, the patient may be diagnosed with an acute infectious disease, in which case any surgical intervention is considered undesirable, since it will contribute to the spread of infection with blood. The disease may proceed latent for some time, so additional tests may be needed to confirm or exclude a diagnosis that prevents hair transplantation.

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Technique hair transplants

The technique of performing a hair transplant procedure may vary slightly depending on the chosen treatment method. But the essence of the operation remains the same: to transfer stable viable bulbs from an area with thick hair to one where hair has been lost and no longer grows.

Contraindications to the procedure

We have previously said for good reason that hair transplantation, even with minimally invasive methods FUE and HFE, still remains a serious, not bloodless procedure. It is clear that such a procedure may not be suitable for everyone, since it, like other operations, has its own contraindications.

It should be said to the delight of those who dream of returning their hair to its former attractiveness using such methods that there are not so many restrictions in carrying out hair transplantation. The main thing is to approach such an opportunity in a timely manner, without bringing yourself to complete hair loss, when the choice of donors is limited, and wisely, understanding that the donor zone has its limitations, which means that it is impossible to achieve ideal density in all areas of the head.

Who is not eligible for hair transplantation? These are people with mental disorders and blood clotting disorders. Hair transplantation is also not performed in areas where there are acute skin diseases.

The possibility of the procedure in other dermatological pathologies occurring in an acute form, especially infectious or allergic ones, also remains in question. The fact is that the trial procedure may not show negative reactions of the immune system, but if a person has a tendency to dermatoses, troubles may arise somewhat later.

As for mental disorders, the refusal mostly concerns the following pathologies:

• trichotillomania, when the patient pulls out his own hair (due to the danger of a repeat attack),
• dysmorphophobia (the patient will still be dissatisfied with the result and will demand new operations with the ensuing consequences),
• obsessive-compulsive disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (insufficient behavior will prevent the operation from being performed, which also lasts several hours).

Patients with diabetes (their wounds take a long time to heal, so there is a high risk of infection) and cardiovascular diseases, such as high blood pressure, should approach the possibility of hair transplantation with caution. If your health is poor, but you have an irresistible desire to have a beautiful hairstyle, in this case it is more advisable to choose the safest and least painful procedure, which is the innovative HFE method. However, not all clinics have the necessary equipment and qualified specialists to perform such a precise procedure.

If we are talking about artificial hair transplantation, then here is added another important contraindication. Such a procedure is not advisable for people with increased sweating ( hyperhidrosis ), because biofiber will only aggravate the situation.

When a person decides to have a hair transplant, he or she should be aware of the disadvantages of this technology for restoring hair on the head, beard, eyebrows and other parts of the body. Yes, transplantation has its disadvantages compared to other traditional treatment methods.

The disadvantages of hair transplantation include the following:

• The procedure has a cosmetic rather than a therapeutic effect. If hair loss was caused by some disorders in the body, it is wiser to treat them, rather than masking the problem by moving the head covering from one place to another. It makes sense to resort to transplantation when other treatment methods are ineffective, rather than as a replacement for therapy.
• It is important to understand that the area from which you can take strong, dihydrotestosterone-resistant hair for transplantation to a bald area is not unlimited. And baldness, in the absence of serious treatment, can progress, which will require new operations. But where to get so much hair?
• In cases of severe baldness, doctors are faced with the problem that there is often not enough hair from the donor area to “patch up” the bald area. After an operation using an insufficient number of griffs or follicular units, the affected area may remain visible, since the hair density there will be less than in other areas.
• Patients are not always satisfied with the results of the operation, because everyone expects to restore their previous hair. In reality, it often turns out that there is not enough hair for such an effect, it does not grow as desired or in the wrong direction (in this regard, the HFE method has an advantage).
• If the patient agrees to strip methods, he must be prepared for the fact that a rather noticeable scar will remain on the back of his head, which can only be hidden by long hair, i.e. the possibilities for changing his hairstyle will be limited.
• The hair transplant procedure lasts from 3 to 8 hours, which presents certain difficulties to endure such torment. A person must initially prepare himself to endure.
• You will have to endure after the operation as well. Painful sensations, swelling of tissues on the head, the need to care for surgical sutures after strip surgery and small punctures to avoid complications.
• Many people also have to deal with such a nuisance as hair loss in the area of the operation, especially if the hair "extension" was carried out not on an empty area, but on an area with thinning hair. Not only transplanted hair can fall out, but also natural hair, which turns out to be weaker.

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Consequences after the procedure

Read about the consequences and complications of hair transplantation in this article.

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Is the result of hair transplant worth the money spent?

It should be said right away that since we are talking about transplantation and plastic surgery, it is usually impossible to talk about the cheapness of the procedure. Of course, different clinics and surgeons may evaluate their work differently, so those who want to have a luxurious head of hair or at least more or less decently disguise the lack of good hair thickness still have a choice. The only thing that can be advised is not to chase cheapness, because in this case there is usually always some kind of catch. Low prices may simply hide the unprofessionalism of the surgeon, who, for obvious reasons, has few clients, and the prices serve as a kind of bait.

How much does a hair transplant cost on average? The total cost of a hair transplant procedure will necessarily depend on the number of transplanted grafts or follicular units. That is, it is not so much the area of work that matters, but the desired density of the future hair. In the price lists of clinics, you can find prices not for the entire operation, but for 1 graft or FU (follicular unit).

On average, if we take the dollar exchange rate of 27.6, the average cost of one transplanted graft will fluctuate within 3-4 dollars. However, there are clinics where the cost of a graft will be lower (1.5-2 dollars) or higher (up to 7 dollars per graft).

But it is important to understand that 1000-2000 grafts will look decent when transplanting to the forehead (correction of the forehead line and treatment of bald spots) or when increasing the density of hair mixed with natural hair. If the bald spot is large, the same number of grafts or follicular units distributed over it will look simply ridiculous (normal hair density on the head is at least 80 hairs per 1 square centimeter).

True, there is one advantage to transplanting a large number of grafts. The price for one graft in this case will be somewhat lower than when transplanting only 1000 grafts.

To cover your head with 1000 grafts of hair, you will have to pay at least 1.5 thousand dollars, and to get thick hair on a decent bald spot, you will have to pay all 15 thousand. So often, everything depends not only on the patient's desire, but also on his capabilities. Fortunately, some methods allow you to achieve the desired hair density in several transplants, and in the interval between them, you can save up money for the next procedure.

Transplantation of follicular units in many clinics is priced higher than transplantation of grafts with several bulbs. But here too the price range can be large. Quite well-known clinics in Georgia can offer prices even lower than $1.5, so you can have a hair transplant inexpensively and with good specialists. True, you will have to spend money on such a trip.

But on average, a non-surgical hair transplant will cost patients $1,300-9,000 for 1,000 grafts. And again, it all depends on the desired hair thickness. If you want thick hair, you'll have to fork out a pretty penny.

But the result of the non-surgical method will be a beautiful hairstyle without scars and marks, so that after a while no one will even suspect that you had problems with your hair before. But again, this is provided that the required number of follicular units will be transplanted, the operation will be performed by a specialist who is well versed in this method, and subsequently the transplanted hair will be given the necessary care.

What do we have?

Hair transplant surgery is quite an expensive pleasure.

So it's only logical that patients would want to see the results of such a procedure on living people. But you wouldn't stop people on the street and ask them if they've had a hair transplant that gave them such a gorgeous head of hair. Of course, some information on these issues can be found on advertising sites and in the archives of a particular doctor's patients, but how can you trust it if you don't know the people in the photo?

Another thing is popular people, whose lives are like on the palm of their hands, because reporters cover information about their every step with special zeal. And many celebrities who have had hair transplants do not even hide it, because the main thing is the result, and how it was achieved is a secondary issue.

Some famous Hollywood actors have resorted to hair transplantation. John Travolta, Juge Lowe, Brendan Fraser, Jon Cryer do not even hide their rather successful attempt to return their former attractiveness in this way. Other famous actors (Kevin Costner, George Clooney, Mel Gibson, Nicolas Cage and some others) prefer to keep silent about the origins of their beautiful hairstyle. But is it possible to hide anything from journalists? Having once seen a telling scar on the back of Hollywood actor Jeremy Piven's head, which was subsequently covered by a luxurious head of hair, they made their conclusion and told us about it.

There is information that famous British singer Elton John and Italian statesman Silvio Berlusconi resorted to hair transplantation. American actor and film director Matthew McConaughey had his forehead line corrected, where early bald spots appeared. American actor Billy Bob Thornton also owes his gorgeous hairstyle to hair transplantation. Hollywood actor and musician Nick Lachey can boast of a gorgeous thick head of hair thanks to transplantation.

It is clear that female celebrities could have resorted to such a procedure at one time. But it is not typical for the weaker sex to boast about such a way of getting a beautiful hairstyle, and journalists are unlikely to see scars under long hair. Nevertheless, such information about one woman leaked to the press.

We are talking about the American TV star and track and field champion Jenner Caitlin, who in the past, by the way, was a man. In 2015, 65-year-old William Bruce Jenner decided not only to change his name and gender (documented), but also, according to the statement of Dr. Richard Chaff, underwent several hair transplant procedures, which made his/her hairstyle almost perfect.

There are suspicions that Donald Trump also resorted to a hair transplant procedure, who claims that his hair is his own hair, not a wig. Some journalists, based on the fact that the hair implanted during autotransplantation is also his own, concluded that this is a hair transplant.

As we can see, there are not so many examples of successful operations among celebrities, however, the results speak for themselves. In this case, it is not the quantity of examples that is important, but their quality, so that a person, paying for the procedure, understands what he is paying for and what the possible result is.

Alternative methods for treating baldness

As we have already said, hair transplantation is a radical method of solving the problem of baldness, which is used when other treatment methods have proven powerless or have not brought the desired result. That is, you need to understand that there is an alternative to hair transplantation, and you need to first look for such methods of restoring natural hair thickness. It is never too late to go under the surgeon's knife.

The beginning of the solution to the problem of baldness is the moment of seeking advice from a specialist trichologist. It is this doctor who will be able to assess the degree of neglect of the problem, the condition of the hair and offer various options for solving the issue of restoring the splendor of the hair. And at first, this will be an offer of traditional treatment, implying the intake of various bio-additives for strengthening and hair growth, medications for stimulating hair growth and normalizing hormonal levels, as well as conducting physiotherapy sessions.

Physiotherapy methods for hair treatment are classified as salon procedures that will have to be done in cosmetology rooms or clinics. But such procedures should be prescribed by a qualified trichologist, who, due to his professionalism, is able to determine the most effective procedure in each specific case.

Let's list the most popular procedures for solving the problem of baldness:

• ozone therapy, which stimulates blood circulation in the vessels of the head and thereby improves breathing and nutrition of the hair follicles,
• cryotherapy (treatment with liquid ozone) – a procedure identical in therapeutic effect to the previous one, but less painful,
• mesotherapy – the introduction of medicinal complexes consisting of vitamins, microelements, amino acids and other components that improve metabolism in the scalp into the scalp at the site of hair loss (injections are done using a syringe or a special device),
• Plasmolifting (treatment with modified, i.e. purified and enriched with useful substances and oxygen blood plasma) is one of the most effective procedures in the fight against alopecia, practiced in some hair transplant clinics in addition to the main procedure,
• iontophoresis is the same local administration of medicinal forms using a low-power galvanic current, which allows the medicines to penetrate to the required depth,
• myostimulation is one of the effective methods for solving the problem of alopecia, which occurs due to hormonal imbalance. The pulsed currents used in the procedure help improve blood circulation and metabolism in the scalp and stabilize hormone production.

In addition to physical therapy, doctors recommend that balding patients use the hair growth stimulating drug " Minoxidil ", which is one of two officially patented drugs in this area.

The history of this unusual medicine is also interesting. At first, it was successfully used to treat stomach ulcers, then the drug was noted to be able to effectively normalize high blood pressure. It was in these areas that the drug was used until an interesting side effect was noticed - stimulation of hair growth. This property of the drug turned out to be very useful for the treatment of androgenic alopecia, so trichologists actively offer it to their patients.

For the treatment of alopecia, the drug is used in the form of a solution, foam or spray, applying it locally to the affected area. The drug is used in adult patients under 65 years of age who do not have hypersensitivity to the components of the drug, skin diseases in the scalp, pheochromocytoma, hypertension. Do not use to treat pregnant women and nursing mothers. Do not apply simultaneously with other external agents.

For 1 procedure of applying the medicine, which is carried out at intervals of 12 hours, the patient must use 1 ml of the solution. The drug in the solution is equipped with a special cap, pressing on which helps to release 0.1 ml of the medicine, i.e. it is necessary to press the cap 10 times.

The medicine is applied to the central part of the bald spot, distributing it along the perimeter. The scalp should be dry and clean during the use of the drug. The duration of treatment depends on the degree of alopecia and the use of other antiandrogenic drugs that prevent hair loss, while Minoxidine promotes the growth of new hair.

It is clear that the results of treatment may vary. For some, the drug helped stop hair loss, but no new hair appeared in its place. Others are happy to see hair growing on their heads, appearing in place of the lost hair. And still others were lucky enough not only to restore lost hair, but even to increase the thickness of their hair. However, one can only hope for a lasting result in androgenic alopecia by taking antiandrogenic drugs.

Treatment of baldness involves long-term complex therapy that improves the condition of the scalp and nutrition of the hair follicles hidden inside the skin, as well as normalizing the internal environment of the body and the metabolic processes occurring in it. Hair transplantation in this queue will be the last step to the intended goal, when other stages of a long and difficult path have not brought the desired result.

Hair Transplant Reviews

Judging by how actively people of both sexes are interested in other options for treating baldness, we can conclude that traditional treatment with medications and physiotherapy methods does not always give positive results. Otherwise, why would a person spend a lot of money on hair transplantation if there are more affordable and less traumatic treatment methods. After all, even if we take the method of performing an operation using HFE technology, which for some reason is usually called non-surgical, the scalp experiences multiple injuries as a result of needle punctures, so this is also far from a bloodless method.

Yes, fewer people search for information on hair transplantation than information on relieving headaches or fighting PMS. However, this information is relevant, and therefore needed, if it will help at least one person become happy.

But as long-term practice of plastic surgeons specializing in hair transplantation shows, there are already millions of such lucky people in the world. Moreover, reviews of all the well-known clinics listed in our article are full of words of gratitude. Hair transplantation helped someone to stay on the pedestal of fame, and someone became more optimistic about the future of their family, because concern about their appearance affected the relationship between spouses.

Former patients of hair transplant clinics note that despite the significant duration of the operation, carried out under local anesthesia, they did not experience any particular discomfort either because of this or in connection with the manipulations performed. During the rehabilitation period, few experienced any noticeable pain at the site of the operation. The only thing that was disconcerting was the need to wear a special headdress for 7-10 days, but men and women understood perfectly well that this was necessary for their own benefit. In addition, the hat helped to hide temporary defects on the skin (redness of the implantation zone, red dots in the donor area, unsightly crusts in short hair, a fresh scar on the back of the head, etc.).

But what a person will not endure to achieve his goal, especially when it comes to external attractiveness. And the hair transplant procedure is not the biggest test. Although, of course, there is a certain risk, because not all operations are successful, fortunately there is always the opportunity to undergo correction in a prestigious clinic.

It is clear that not all patients are satisfied with the results of hair transplantation. Not everyone can afford to pay for a large number of grafts, so the hair is not thick enough. But with severe baldness, to get a luxurious hairstyle, you need not one thousand grafts, but tens of thousands.

Another problem is connected with the strip-method operation, or rather with its main consequence – a scar, which, although it does not cause physical discomfort after a while, still limits the possibilities of a short haircut. Some patients, even many years later, feel that the scar hints to everyone around them about a previously performed operation, which for some reason they consider shameful. But can organ transplantation (and hair is also a human organ) be considered something shameful if it preserves health or “only” a person’s self-esteem and gives the opportunity to continue living a happy life?

Of course, there are other problems. For example, crusts on the head do not fall off for a long time, which does not allow a person to return to their previous life in a timely manner, or a scar on the back of the head becomes infected. But in each such complication, it is necessary to look for both external and internal factors that caused the recovery after the procedure to go wrong. And in each specific case, they will be different. Someone was “lucky” enough to run into an amateur who promised beautiful hair for little money. Others did not adhere to the requirements for care after the procedure. And someone may have an overly sensitive immune system that does not allow this kind of intervention.

By the way, the initial diagnosis with the identification of the causes of alopecia also plays a significant role. If we are talking about autoimmune diseases or increased sensitivity of hair to male hormones, then without eliminating the cause of baldness, no operation will help restore the hair on the head.

It is also worth noting that almost all positive reviews and gratitude can be found on the websites of clinics that perform hair transplant operations. In practice, people return to the clinic again either for a new procedure or with complaints in case of complications, and negative reviews are expressed verbally.

As for the forums, people there mostly discuss various treatment options and addresses of clinics dealing with baldness problems. And after reading the posts carefully, you realize that not all of those who put in their two cents are actually in the know and have undergone this procedure. Women rarely participate in such discussions, so you can only judge the results of their transplantation by the hairstyle of Caitlin Jenner, whose gender is still debatable.

Of course, hardly anyone would openly say that “I, Vasily Vasilyevich Vasyukin or Elena Panfilovna Nyashkina (the names have nothing to do with specific people), had a hair transplant operation and am happy with the results, because my bald head is now covered with a luxurious head of hair,” especially to the whole world. Therefore, it is very difficult to judge the truth of various reviews on the Internet.

Real conclusions about whether hair transplantation is really an effective procedure for combating alopecia can only be made based on statistics, which state that autotransplantation is in demand and is actively developing in various regions of our large and densely populated planet.

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