Hair Transplant - How Long Does It Last?

Hair fall and baldness were once associated mainly with signs of aging. However, increased exposure to chemicals, pollutants, and UV radiation has made hair fall a common problem faced by people of all ages. The good news is that this condition can be addressed and your self image does not need to take a fall. In a hair transplant procedure, the doctor will harvest hair from one part of the scalp and transplant it to the bald or thinning sections while you are under local anesthesia.

This can be done in two ways; follicular unit extraction and follicular unit transplant. The difference between the two lies in how the hair follicles are extracted. In the follicular unit extraction procedure, hair follicles are individually plucked from all over the scalp. On the other hand, the follicular unit transplant procedure involves cutting out a section of tissue with hair follicles on it from one part of the scalp, usually the back of the head, and then dividing it into individual grafts. In both types of hair transplant procedures, these harvested grafts are then individually transplanted into the bald areas. To do this, tiny incisions or slits are created in the scalp into which individual hair follicles are placed. As the new hair follicles get settled in, a few of them may fall out. This is nothing to worry about and new hair follicles will soon take their place. Some hair may also fall from the donor site. This is known as shock loss and is a temporary condition.

A typical hair transplant procedure can take up to 8 hours, but the results are well worth it. Its results are visible within a few weeks and depending on your hair’s growth rate, the new hair follicles will soon merge with the rest of your hair. Transplanted hair rarely falls off and hence this is a permanent solution to bald spots and thinning hair. These hair follicles grow in the same way as the rest of your hair and in time, there is no visible difference between the transplanted hair and the existing hair. Till date, there is no other procedure that can offer a permanent solution to bald spots and thinning hair. However, you should also know that a hair transplant procedure is not a cure for complete baldness. It also does not stop hair fall from other parts of the scalp. Hence, in some cases, follow-up procedures and touch ups may be required from time to time. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can ask a free question.