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Basics of Hair Transplantation

Like good health and skin, we also need our hair to look and feel good. And with the changing times, increasing pollution, adverse environmental conditions and our lifestyle choices, our hair is undergoing a lot of changes too. Most of us these days face problems related to our hair, such as hair loss, dandruff and thinning of hair, among other issues.

For a lot of people, a hair transplant is what could help bring back their hair, or at the very least, give them the look of a fuller head of hair. A hair transplant in Delhi is a surgery that uses the hair you already have to fill an area of your head where you experience the thinning or loss of hair.

Primarily used to treat male pattern baldness, a hair transplant can also be used in the treatment of female pattern baldness, or for hair loss due to accidents, trauma, burns, surgery, etc.

Am I the right candidate for a hair transplant?

Anyone between the ages of 21 to 80 years of age can go for a hair transplant. However, the ideal age to get a hair transplant is between 25 to 65 years of age. A hair transplant takes into consideration quite a lot of factors, from your age to your overall health, scalp condition, hair texture, density and more. However, there are a few questions that you need to ask yourself before thinking of getting a transplant. These are:

  • How much baldness do I have?
  • Do I have a healthy donor hair area?
  • Do I understand the procedure of a hair transplant?
  • Are there any other non-surgical alternatives available for my condition?

You are the right candidate for a hair transplant if:

  • You have been diagnosed with androgenic alopecia or another hair condition which is compliant to hair transplant
  • You experience hair loss that affects your overall appearance
  • You have adequate donor hair for the transplant as well as future
  • Your donor area is stable

How is the area of baldness assessed?

Assessment of the baldness area is a preoperative step when going for a hair transplant. Since this is mostly done for male pattern baldness, the candidate should have some noticeable and significant hair loss on the front, with healthy hair growth at the back and sides of their head.

What are the assessment criteria for the donor area?

The donor area is the part of the head from where hair follicles are taken for the transplant. Various factors and criteria affect the quality of the donor area in a hair transplant. Therefore, an assessment is done before the surgery begins, where the following aspects are evaluated:

  • Donor scar
  • Position of the donor scar
  • Mobility of the scar
  • Gauging of the thickness of hair follicles
  • Quantity of hair follicles
  • Quality of hair follicles
  • Checking for the absence or presence of any retrograde alopecia (or previous scarring) of the donor area
  • This assessment helps to figure out the availability of the number of donor grafts. For example, for a:

  • Full head coverage: the candidate must have a minimum of 6000 donor grafts
  • Front and mid-front coverage: a minimum of 4000-5000 grafts
  • Front coverage only: a minimum of 3000 to 3500 grafts
  • Frontal forelock: a minimum of 1000 to 2000 grafts

What makes Graft, Follicular Unit and Follicle different from each other?

In a best hair transplant in Delhi, a graft is a piece of tissue that is obtained either from using an individual hair extraction technique called FUE or Follicular Unit Excision or by dissecting a strip from the donor area by FUT. In other words, a graft is a piece of tissue that contains hair follicles.

Every individual piece that is dissected is a graft, which can have anywhere between one to three hair follicles in it. Therefore, technically, a follicular unit is a graft. However, not every graft is necessarily a follicular unit.

A follicle, on the other hand, is a single hair from a graft or follicular unit. It is a single hair that grows from a follicular unit, which can produce as many as one to four follicles.

You can have a painless surgery using local anaesthesia:

While it is very common to experience a little pain and discomfort during a hair transplant, local anaesthesia is administered to every candidate to alleviate any discomfort during the procedure. By doing so, while your scalp will be insensitive to any pain, you may be aware of some pressure, tugging or stinging sensation. The most commonly used local anaesthesia for a hair transplant is an injection with a mixture of Epinephrine and Lidocaine.

How are holding solutions helpful?

In a hair transplant, follicular units or grafts that have been extracted from the donor area are placed in a liquid solution that protects them from drying out. This solution, also known as a Holding Solution, helps to maintain their viability for the transplant and also ensure maximum growth.

The holding solution consists of particular vitamins and nutrients which help to preserve the grafts while the transplant procedure is being initiated. HypoThermosol, used in conjunction with ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), is the most common holding solution for a hair transplant.

What can you expect before the surgery?

Before undergoing the hair transplant, the doctor will ask you to take care of a few things. These include:

  • Stopping medications, like aspirin, anti-inflammatory medicines, Vitamin B and E, blood thinners, Painkillers or herbal medication
  • No smoking and no alcohol consumption
  • Not applying any hair spray, gel or styling products

Additionally, it would be best if you were calm and unstressed before the transplant.

What can you expect after the surgery?

After the surgery, you may experience tenderness in your scalp, which is natural. Additionally, you might also require some pain medications for the next few days, which includes an antibiotic or anti-inflammatory medicine. While you may have to wear bandages over your scalp for a day or two, you are more likely to be able to return to work around 2 to 5 days after the transplant.

These are the result timelines after a hair transplant:

The actual results of the hair transplant will take anywhere between 9 to 12 months to show. Soon after the transplant, you may see hair growing very nicely for 10 to 20 days. [5] After that, around half of these hairs will fall out. However, this will only be the outer portion of the hair, since the roots will remain inside your scalp.

Ninety days after your transplant, only a few percent of the transplanted hairs will be growing, thereby showing only a fraction of the desired density. This will continue for the next nine months or more. Then, by the fourth month, more roots will start to grow, with the appearance of new hairs. Continuing with this, the complete growth of new hair will most likely start by the sixth month after your transplant. Therefore, one year after your transplant, you will have all your hair back.