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The Number 1 Thing People Get Wrong About Hair Transplants

Find out which hair transplant treatment suits your needs the best.

It's a major decision to choose the best hair transplant for you. The correct surgeon or specialist for your needs, any necessary recovery time, the cost of the treatment, and its potential outcomes are all things that need to be taken into account, just like with any type of surgery. Continue reading to learn about the benefits and drawbacks of the two basic hair transplant procedures:

How do hair transplants work?

Hair follicles are transplanted from one place of the body (often referred to as the "donor site") and then implanted into the area that is experiencing hair loss during a hair transplant operation. A dermatologist or a surgeon performs this treatment. Follicular unit transplantation (FUT) or follicular unit extraction (FUE), both of which involve grafting to address hair loss, are frequently used to do this.

In the entire world, 50% of women and 60% of men will experience hair loss. While some people might switch to a nutrient-rich diet and utilize customized supplements to encourage hair growth, others might decide to get a hair transplant, which can be a speedier and more dramatic treatment in certain ways.

Both men and women are eligible for hair transplants, but each will have a unique treatment. Male Pattern Baldness (MPB), in which the hair thins along the hairline, the sides, and the back, is the main cause of hair loss in men. Women can have hair loss for a variety of reasons, and many of them will develop bald patches or regions of thinning all over their scalps.

Which hair transplant technique is the best?

Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) are the two distinct hair transplant techniques. FUT, often known as "strip surgery," is a treatment where micrografts are inserted into the balding spots. Specifically, a doctor removes a strip of donor skin and grafts it to the bald site. The actual individual follicles are inserted (grafted) into the bald patches via FUE, on the other hand.

Compared to FUE, which occasionally has the challenge of having a more constrained supply of donor's hair, the FUT is well known to provide a better lifetime donor hair output. Nevertheless, younger patients who require fewer grafts or those treating smaller regions are typically better suited for FUE.

The extent of the male receding hairline, the accessibility of the donor locations, and the degree of covering all effect which treatment is used. Due to the numerous factors at play, it is difficult to determine which method is best: Only after consulting with a specialist who is qualified to discuss which surgical option is most appropriate for the individual can the best hair transplant treatment for a patient be decided.

Care following a hair transplant

The scalp will be tender following the treatment, and a bandage will be applied to the area. For a few days following the procedure, patients could feel sore and in pain. The doctor may advise taking an over-the-counter painkiller like ibuprofen or may prescribe a moderate painkiller together with antibiotics to stop an infection, stimulants like minoxidil, or a natural hair supplement like Nutrafol to encourage hair growth.

After the procedure, patients should be able to go back to work two to five days later. Both operations are done with local anesthesia and are essentially painless, however, FUT takes less time (4–12 hours), whereas FUE might take up to 10 hours or even require more than one session. Doctors advise patients not to wash their hair for the first few weeks and to only use light shampoos when they are allowed to.