Is Hair Transplant Worth It?

When it comes to hair loss treatments, the hair transplant is the big daddy of procedures, it has the best overall results, and it is almost guaranteed to be effective, however, it is also very costly and invasive. As with most things in life, there are trade-offs. If you want the best, sometimes you have to deal with the worst to get it. This can be the case when it comes to the hair transplant, as it can give you ideal results but it comes at a hefty cost both financially and physically. Additionally, after receiving a hair transplant it is recommended to receive PRP every 6 months after receiving a hair transplant to keep the hair healthy and continuing to grow, as PRP helps hair in the growing process and to be overall healthier and heartier. Hair treated with PRP is stronger and grows more than hair that has not been treated by it, so after getting new hair in a transplant you’d definitely want to take care of it and nurture it with PRP afterwards for optimal results and longevity.

What Is a Hair Transplant?

Before diving into the pros and cons of getting a hair transplant, let's go over what a hair transplant actually is first. Hair transplants should be done by medical professionals in a safe and sanitary environment, usually done by surgeons in a doctor's office. To begin with, the person operating will clean the scalp and inject a numbing formula into the needed areas of the head. From there a part of the treatment depends on whether you are getting an FUE (follicular unit extraction) or FUSS (follicular unit strip surgery) transplant.

FUSS: When it comes to FUSS first the operator will remove a 6-10 inch strip of skin from the back of the head where it has been numbed and then they close up the scalp and the incision is hidden by the hair surrounding it. Then they divide the strip of scalp into anywhere between 500-2000 tiny grafts that each have a few hairs on them, sometimes even just one. The number of grafts that are required varies from person to person.

FUE: If you’re getting the FUE procedure, the person operating will shave the back of your scalp and the doctor will remove the required hair follicles one at a time from the back of the scalp. The affected area will heal with small dots on it, however much like with FUSS that will be fully covered by existing hair.

At this point, both procedures are fairly similar. Once the grafts have been prepared the area where the new hair will go must be cleaned and then numbered, as the surgeon will create holes or slits with a surgical tool and gently put each graft into one of those little holes or slits.

After they prepare the grafts, the surgeon cleans and numbs the area where the hair will go, creates holes or slits with a scalpel or needle, and delicately places each graft in one of the holes. They’ll probably get help from other team members to plant the grafts, too. The treatment can take anywhere from 4-8 hours and another round of transplantation may be required depending on your condition.

Once that is all done, you will be bandaged up for a couple of days, there will often be pain and the area is tender, painkillers are often recommended for the first several days at least to help with discomfort and swelling. In addition to this, you may be prescribed an antibiotic to take to help with inflammation and then within about a week, most people can return to work.

There are numerous methods to achieve the hair of your dreams

Drawbacks

As there are with any type of procedure, there are positives and negatives that come with a hair transplant and these include the cost, downtime and invasive nature of the procedure. As you’ve learned above, a hair transplant is a very invasive procedure that requires cutting and grafting with surgical tools, this can cause pain and scarring to the scalp. In addition to this, you may need to take anti-pain, anti-inflammatory or antibiotic medications afterwards to protect your health and ease the healing process. Additionally, after this, you cannot wash your hair for some time, and you must be very very gentle with it, you cannot exercise vigorously or return to work for about a week. As a result, the downtime of a hair transplant is rather lengthy when compared to all other available treatments, including PRP which has no downtime. Not only this, but the procedure itself can take up to 8 hours to complete, and may even require another round of treatment after the first one. On top of this hair, transplants are very costly and can range in price from 4000 to 15,000 dollars, and afterwards, PRP treatment is recommended once every 6 months.  As can be seen, there are many good things about hair transplant but it does also have their limitations.

Recommendations

Understandably, some men need hair transplants when their follicles are no longer usable, and in this case treatments such as PRP or Mesotherapy will not be very effective. As such, if you are in the early stages of hair loss currently we would not recommend seeking a hair transplant but instead trying other less invasive and less costly methods first such as Inno-Caps hair vitamins, Mesotherapy and PRP. If you are past the point of having usable hair follicles then it is recommended to get a hair transplant and follow up with up-keep on it to ensure it's the highest quality it can be by getting PRP treatments once every 6 months afterwards. PRP keeps the new hair healthy, encourages new hair growth and helps to nourish the scalp.

Learn more about PRP available at CADMEN Clinic today!