Hair Transplantation Methods

One hair transplant method is called "strip" method, or "follicular unit" hair transplant. This transplant method is least expensive method.  Using this method the hair transplant surgeon removes a strip piece of skin from the donor area with hair, most likely the back of the head.  Local anesthetic is used to numb the areas. This strip of skin will be dissected by a technician who carefully separate the hair roots. The strip is divided into follicular units, which are small individual hair groupings of the hair & its root. In the bald area, hundreds to thousands of small slits are cut and the individual hair groupings are placed in them.  The slits made by the doctor under magnification are under .9mm made with proper depth and angle for best hair growth.  The donor area is then closed up with sutures, which are removed about 10 days later.  With this hair transplant expect to have a thin linear scar on the back of the head, which is covered by surrounding hair.  Using the Strip method, the average size is about 2.500 to 3.000 of hair grafts is transplanted in one sitting.  

Another hair transplant method is called "follicular unit extraction" FUE in short.   Here the hair transplant doctor makes tiny incisions of 1mm or less in the donor area of the scalp from which the follicular units of hair are extracted and then implanted in balding areas.  No sutures are needed.  With this hair transplant method expect to have a multiple very small scars at the donor area, back of the head or sides. Most virtually disappear.  FUE differs from strip hair transplantation since no strip of skin is used and no use of sutures are needed.  Hair roots are directly moved from one area to another.  In average, only about 500 - 700 grafts are implanted in one sitting using FUE method.

With today’s hair transplant surgery you can expect natural looking results and fuller hair density.  A hair transplant should look natural after the healing period so that even a hair stylist should not detect it.

The key to hair transplantation is the concept of donor area dominance.  For most people it is the back and sides of their heads where they still have plenty of hair. 

Where the grafts are placed, how they are angled, and in what size combinations are the critical elements to obtaining a good result. This is where the training and experience of the doctor comes into play. Careful attention to the shape of the patients face, the results the patient wants to achieve, and even future hair loss are other factors a good doctor considers when designing a custom surgical plan for the graft placement.  Coarse, gray or light-colored hair make better coverage than fine, dark-colored hair.