Hair transplant surgery is a popular and effective solution for restoring hair growth in areas affected by baldness or thinning. In simple terms, a hair transplant is an ambulatory surgical procedure that relocates healthy hair follicles from one part of the body (the “donor” area) to a bald or thinning part (the “recipient” area). Unlike temporary treatments, a transplant offers a permanent hair restoration because it uses your own living hair follicles that will continue to grow hair in their new location.
This article will explain how hair transplants work step by step, discuss the different techniques (FUE, DHI), who makes a good candidate, and clear up common misconceptions in a reader-friendly way.
A hair transplant, also known as hair restoration, doesn’t create new hair – it redistributes your existing hair to cover bald areas. Most commonly, surgeons take hair follicles from the back or sides of your scalp (where hair is typically more resistant to balding) and implant them into the thinning areas such as the hairline or crown. The transplanted hair will then grow in its new place, blending in with your natural hair.
How It Works (Step-by-Step):
- Consultation: The process starts with a consultation and evaluation. A hair transplant surgeon examines your hair loss pattern, donor hair availability, and discusses your expectations, sometimes the specialist can also make a previous design so that the patient can see where the graft would be performed. They also recommend hair strengthening treatment (like finasteride – dutasteride or minoxidil) to stabilize hair loss before or after the surgery, depending on the case.
- Anesthesia and Donor Harvesting: On surgery day, the doctor will trim the donor-area hair very short for easy access and properly extract the follicular units. You receive local anesthesia to numb the scalp and this will be the only part of the procedure that may feel burning or mild pain, but it is only for 5 or 10 minutes, after this you will not feel any pain so you stay awake but feel no pain. In a Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) procedure, the surgeon extracts individual hair units follicles one by one using tiny punch tools. This leaves tiny dot scars that are barely visible once healed.
- Graft Preparation: In FUE, the unit follicles are already individual grafts when extracted. The surgical team counts, classifies and and preserves these grafts in a special solution to keep them healthy.
- Implanting the Grafts: One by one, the hair grafts are placed into the recipient area. At this stage the DHI technique is used, the surgeon uses a specialized pen-like tool (such as the Choi implanter) to insert grafts directly into the scalp without pre-made incisions During a single session, hundreds or often thousands of grafts may be transplanted to cover the desired area. This meticulous process can take several hours; patients often relax, listen to music, or even watch TV while the team works.
- Post-Surgery Bandaging: Once all grafts are placed, the surgeon gently cleans the scalp and may apply a light dressing or bandage to the donor area. You’ll receive instructions for care, then you can go home the same day since it’s an ambulatory procedure.
The transplanted follicles establish themselves in the new site over the next several days. Notably, the transplanted hairs will typically shed within the first few weeks – this is normal and called “shock loss.” The follicles then enter a resting phase before they start producing new hairs after a few months.
YOLANNY SALAS MD.
Specialised Hair Transplant surgeon
