Hair transplants are a serious commitment. After all, it’s not just some casual cosmetic surgery we’re talking about here – your skin is a tender, sensitive organ. As such, the skin on your scalp is a prime target for potential issues. Luckily, when done right – and by licensed medical practitioners – hair transplants are risk-free.
Of course, even with that in mind, you should still inform yourself of the process’ various ins and outs and what pre- and post-op phases it involves. In addition to this, there are tons of external factors that should be kept in mind, such as your age and the quality of your donor area’s hair follicles.
With all that said, we’ve gathered these factors in one place for your convenience, as we’re dedicated to informing potential hair transplant patients of the facets involved in the process.
Regarding the Patient’s Age
Hair transplants presuppose some level of assessment. This includes the viability of the patient’s donor follicles, as the medical procedure’s aim implies max-benefit, minimum-risk results.
If you’re too young – say, under twenty-five years of age – your hair-thinning process is not finalized, which means that you should wait until the appropriate time for any hair transplant procedure.
On the flip side, if you’re at the age where you’re noticing gray hairs across your body, then that most likely means that the hair follicles are weaker and, therefore, not optimal.
Expert surgeons and medical advisers can gauge how much grafting is required within the context of the individual patient.
Follicle Quality is a Factor
Since both FUT and FUE hair transplant methods entail the use of a donor area, it’s only natural to assume that the finalized process (and look) will depend heavily on what the donor area can offer in terms of stability and strength regarding the roots.
Assuming that the hair from the donor area is weak and sparse, as opposed to stable and dense, then the resulting transplant won’t have a high success yield. In addition to this factor, fewer grafts need to be used if the donor area is of higher quality.
There’s Variety to the Procedure
Since hair transplants entail the uprooting of hair follicles with their roots intact, there’s nothing dictating that their use is only limited to the head. Nobody is going to stop you from requesting a hair transplant for your brows, eyelashes, facial area, and so on.
Hair transplant procedures, along with their various sub-methods, are versatile and relatively risk-free. Since places with healthier hair growth are prioritized, as previously mentioned, medical practitioners ensure that the process and its subsequent results are the best when it comes to achieving that “natural” final look.
The process itself is also very non-invasive, so whatever works for your bald scalp will work on other areas as well. After all, it’s not like there are any major cuts or stitching involved – then again, that doesn’t mean that the healing phase isn’t as important like it is with other procedures.
You Must Treat the Hair With Care
Newly grafted hair follicles need some time to settle in, which means you should focus on letting your scalp rest. If you follow the recommended course of action – using shampoo for sensitive scalps, avoiding exercise, sleeping on a specialized pillow – then you most likely have nothing to worry about.
As long as an adequate length of time has passed – say, a month or so, depending on your practitioner’s advice – you can start treating and styling your hair however you want.
Hair transplants vary from person to person since some folks may require more than one session to ensure the stability of the implanted follicles. Assuming the patient is free of ailments, the hair transplant is expected to last a lifetime, or at least as long as the donor area allows it to.
Keep in mind that while both FUT and FUE methods are fairly risk-free, there may be some amount of scarring with FUT procedures in the form of a linear pattern, whereas FUE leaves small dotted scars on the surgical area.
We hope you found this article informative. Hair transplants can be a fantastic solution to an otherwise problematic scenario. As long as you’re under the care of an expert hair transplant practitioner, your pre- and post-op phases are expected to go smoothly.