Everything You Need to Know About Hair Transplants

Hair transplants are done to add more hair to an area on your head that may be thinning or balding. It’s done by taking hair from thicker parts of the scalp, or other parts of the body, and grafting it to the thinning or balding section of the scalp.

Worldwide, about 60 percent of men and 50 percent of women experience some form of hair loss. To address this, people often use over-the-counter products, including topical treatments like minoxidil (Rogaine).

Hair transplant is another restoration method. The first transplant was performed in 1939 in Japan with single scalp hairs. In the following decades, physicians developed the “plug” technique. This involves transplanting large tufts of hair.

Over time, surgeons began using mini- and micro-grafts to minimize the appearance of transplanted hair on the scalp.

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Do hair transplants work?

Hair transplants are typically more successful than over-the-counter hair restoration products. But there are some factors to consider:

• Anywhere from 10 to 80 percent of transplanted will fully grow back in an estimated three to four months.
• Like regular hair, transplanted hair will thin over time.
• People with dormant hair follicles (sacs that usually contain hair beneath the skin but no longer grow hair) may have less effective transplants, but a 2016 study suggests that plasma therapy can help up to 75 percent or more of the transplanted hairs fully grow back.

Hair transplants don’t work for everyone. They’re mainly used to restore hair if you’re balding or thinning naturally or have lost hair due to an injury.

Most transplants are done with your existing hair, so they’re not as effective for treating people with:

• widespread thinning and baldness
• hair loss due to chemotherapy or other medications
• thick scalp scars from injuries

How much do hair transplants cost?

Hair transplants can range from about $4,000 to $15,000 per session.

Final costs may depend on the:

• extent of the transplant procedure
• availability of surgeons in your area
• experience of the surgeon
• surgical technique chosen

Because hair transplants are cosmetic procedures, health insurance won’t pay for the procedure.

Aftercare medications may also add to the final cost.

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How does a hair transplant work?

Simply put, a hair transplant takes hair you have and transfers it to an area where you don’t have hair. It’s typically taken from the back of your head, but can also be taken from other parts of your body.

Before starting a transplant, your surgeon sterilizes the area where the hair will be removed and numbs it with a local anesthetic. You can also request sedation in order to stay asleep for the procedure.

Your surgeon then performs one of two transplant methods: FUT or FUE.

Follicular unit transplantation (FUT)

FUT is sometimes known as follicular unit strip surgery (FUSS). To perform a FUT procedure, your surgeon follows these steps:

1. Using a scalpel, the surgeon removes a piece of your scalp, usually from the back of your head. The strip size is typically about 6 to 10 inches long but can stretch from ear to ear.
2. They close the area where the scalp was removed with stitches.
3. Your surgeon and their assistants separate the scalp strip into smaller pieces with a scalpel. They may split the piece up into as many as 2,000 smaller fragments, called grafts. Some of these grafts may contain only one hair each.
4. Using a needle or blade, the surgeon makes small holes in your scalp where hair will be transplanted.
5. The surgeon inserts hairs from the removed piece of scalp into the puncture holes. This step is called grafting.
6. They then cover the surgical sites with bandages or gauze.

The specific number of grafts you receive depends on the:

• type of hair you have
• size of transplant site
• quality (including thickness) of hair
• hair color

Follicular unit extraction (FUE)

To perform a FUE procedure, your surgeon takes these steps:

1. They shave off hair on the back of your head.
2. The surgeon then takes individual follicles out of the scalp skin. You’ll see tiny marks where each follicle was removed.
3. As with the FUT procedure, the surgeon makes small holes in your scalp and grafts hair follicles into the holes.
4. They then cover the surgical site with bandages or gauze.

Recovery

FUT and FUE may each take several hours to several days to complete. In part, this depends on the amount of work performed by the surgeon. You will go home the same day of the procedure.

Once the surgery is done, your surgeon carefully removes any bandages. The area may be swollen, so your surgeon might inject triamcinolone into the area to keep the swelling down.

You’ll likely feel pain or soreness at the transplant site as well as in the area where hair was taken from. For the next few days, your surgeon may prescribe:

• pain medications, such as ibuprofen (Advil)
• antibiotics to prevent infections
• anti-inflammatories, such as an oral steroid, to relieve swelling
• medications such as finasteride (Propecia) or minoxidil (Rogaine) to help stimulate hair growth

Here are some aftercare tips for hair transplant surgery:

• Wait a few days after the surgery to wash your hair. Only use mild shampoos for the first few weeks.
• You should be able to return to work or normal activities in about 3 days.
• Don’t press a brush or comb down over the new grafts for about 3 weeks.
• Don’t wear any hats or pullover shirts and jackets until your doctor say it’s OK.
• Don’t exercise for about a week.

Don’t worry if some hairs fall out. This is part of the process. Transplanted hair may not grow much or seamlessly match the hair around it for a few months.

Hair transplant side effects

The most common side effect is scarring, and this cannot be avoided with any procedure.

Other potential side effects include:

• infections
• crust or pus drainage around the surgical sites
• scalp pain, itching, and swelling
• inflammation of hair follicles (folliculitis)
• bleeding
• losing sensation around the surgical sites
• visible areas of hair that don’t match the surrounding hair or are noticeably thinner
• continuing to lose hair if your hair is still balding

Minoxidil and Propecia can also have side effects, such as:

• irritated scalp
• dizziness
• chest pain
• headaches
• irregular heart rate
• hand, foot, or breast swelling
• sexual dysfunction