Hair Transplantation Basics

For men, baldness can be taken as a sign of old age, unattractiveness, and infertility. Although none of these signs may be true, clinical studies have shown that hair loss is a cause of low self-esteem and low self-confidence in men. About 70% of men and 50% of women experience some degree of hair loss in their lifetime. Causes of hair loss come from several factors, but mostly from these three — genes, hormones, and age.

In the past, men have gone to desperate measures in trying to cover up their hair loss. Hair restoration has vastly improved in recent years. Among the several options used for hair restoration now, hair transplantation is emerging as the most effective treatment for baldness.

On average, a person sheds and regrows about 50 - 100 hairs a day. A mix of emotional turmoil, medication, poor nutrition, and illness may cause excessive daily shedding. However, these factors are often temporary, and hair growth should continue once these factors have ended. Around 70% of American men and 50% of American woman will experience some sort of hair loss during their lifetime. Researchers have shown that around 80% of bald men are preoccupied about their hair loss, and men who begin to lose their hair in their early twenties are more likely to suffer from extremely low self-esteem. Permanent hair loss comes from hair follicles that become thinner and weaker. Male patterned baldness is scientifically called Androgenetic Alopecia, which is caused by genes, hormones, and age.

Hair transplantation is a minor outpatient surgery that simply relocates existing hair follicles from the donor site to the balding area. The procedure first begins with the surgeon removing a donor strip from the donor site, which is often located on the back or side of the scalp. During the procedure, local anesthesia is administered to relieve any discomfort. Our doctor will remove a strip of skin from the donor area and close the opening with self-absorbable sutures. The donor strip is further cut into 3 sizes of grafts — the micro graft, the single follicular unit, and the modified follicular unit. The single hair follicular unit has 1 hair; single follicular unit has about 2 hairs; and the modified follicular unit has 2 to 4 hairs. The surgical technicians then isolate individual hair follicles from the donor strip, and implant them to the graft region. The grafts are inserted into pre-cut micro and mini slits that are strategically designed to aesthetically improve the density of your existing hair, lower the hairline, and fill in balding areas. For more information about the hair transplant procedure, please go to our Online Consultation.

Hair transplantation has a high success rate as long as you have enough donor hair. This procedure does not have any long term or major side effects. Taking the medication that we provide after the procedure can prevent possible complications such as infection and swelling.

The procedure generally takes about 3 to 5 hours depending on the number of grafts. There will be a fine scar on the donor area that you can easily cover up with the surrounding hair. Patients usually feel little or no pain, and can return to work the very next day. There is no additional care needed on the transplanted hair; just treat it like your ordinary hair, because it is your own hair! The transplanted hair will start to grow in 3 to 6 months, and will have the same strength, color, texture, length, and life span as your hair from your donor area.

Within 6 months of the procedure, the transplanted hair can be groomed and combed in any fashion you like. By doing a hair transplant now, you can replace your hair as it begins to thin and bald.