Living in a world of cutthroat competition, fast-paced lives, and a constant race against the clock often leads to a build-up of stress that can have drastic consequences on our health. While stress affects all superficial attributes of a person’s appearance, it shows its most prominent signs in the form of hair loss. Hair loss is becoming increasingly common in both men and women, and can subsequently lead to baldness if left unattended for an extended period. While baldness is most commonly attributed to men, hair loss is common in women as well.
While the world we live in has contributed to hair loss, it has also provided a permanent solution in the form of hair transplant treatments. Before you go for a hair transplant in Pune or any other city, here are ten facts that you should know about the procedure:
1. Permanent Procedure:
Among the many options that can help you treat hair loss, hair transplant offers a permanent solution. A hair transplant procedure cannot be reversed once it is performed. So, it is essential for patients to discuss any queries and doubts with the concerned doctor, and take an informed decision about getting the procedure.
2. Surgical Procedure:
The hair transplant procedure is a surgical procedure that is carried out with the patient’s own hair. The hair follicles are transplanted from the donor areas of the patient’s scalp to the areas that show signs of balding. After the procedure, the transplanted hairs grow naturally without the need for any medical care or maintenance.
3. Two kinds of transplant procedure:
Hair transplant procedure is primarily done by two methods—Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT), and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). While the FUT method involves a strip of the scalp to be cut and dissected into individual grafts, FUE method, on the other hand, requires hair transplantation from individual grafts. These grafts are harvested one by one by cutting around them through a small specialised apparatus. Further, there are some more variations of the FUE Techniques which include Robotic Hair Restoration and Aesthetic Hair Implantation. Unlike the FUE procedure, these two techniques are minimally invasive and are relatively less painful.
4. Results in natural hair growth:
The hair grafts used in hair transplant procedure are genetically resistant to balding. Since the hair follicles are transplanted from the roots, the resultant transplants in the balding areas are also resistant to balding, thus resulting in a typical lifecycle of hair growth.
5. Cost:
The cost of a hair transplant procedure is mostly dependent on the number of hair follicle grafts that are transplanted. A single graft of hair can usually contain one to five hair strands. Therefore, the greater the number of grafts, the greater is the cost of the transplant procedure.
6. Scarring:
While the FUT is cost-effective and is widely practised, it leaves a linear scar which is a cause of concern for who like to wear their hair short. FUE on the other hand, is a non-scalpel and non-suture technique and thus causes minimum or zero scarring. Other variations of FUE, like the AHI and Robotic Hair Transplant, also forego the use of scalpel and sutures and do not cause any scarring.
7. Hair transplant can be performed on both men and women:
Since more men suffer from baldness as compared to women, it is a common notion that hair transplant procedures are only meant for men. However, contrary to this popular myth, a hair restoration procedure can be performed on both men and women. Thus, not only is it a viable option for men with baldness, but women with thinning hair can also benefit from it.
8. Hair transplant does not treat all hair loss conditions:
While hair transplant offers a permanent solution to bald patches and thinning hair, it is also important to note that there are some exceptions to this procedure as well. The method will prove ineffective for women with wide-spread hair loss patterns through the scalp, for people who don’t have enough donor hair sites to harvest hair grafts for the transplant, people who have thick, fibrous scars post injury or surgery (keloid scars), and people in whom hair loss is caused due to medication and chemotherapy.
9. Hair transplant takes a year to show results:
The hairs transplanted initially in the procedure fall off two to three weeks after the surgery. This is called shock loss and is typical among patients. The real effects of the procedure start developing after three to four months and may take up to a year to completely mature. However, the transplanted hair hereafter will follow the regular growth cycle.
10. Requires stringent post-operative care:
If you need to get the best out of your hair restoration procedure, it is also essential that you take good care of the scalp post the transplant operation. This includes completing the entire course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications prescribed by the doctor, moistening the scalp, and taking a regular head wash. Post the surgery; patients are also advised to avoid direct sun exposure, heavy exercises (including swimming), and the usage of chemical products like hair gel/hair softener, etc.
Hair loss can be a stressful journey for most of the people; however, permanent solutions are available for the same. If you’re experiencing hair loss and thinking of getting a hair transplant in Pune or any other city, it is best to discuss your options with a doctor first.
About The Author
Anchal Sethi
Anchal Sethi is a professional blogger and content marketer. She has 4+ years of experience in the same domain and handled 100+ clients from USA, Canada & Australia. Moreover, she also provides consultancy to small and medium scale businesses to increase their online traffic and sales.
