Hair Transplant - Know Forms Of It!

Look around you and you will certainly notice some of your friends already sporting bald patches or thinning hair even before they reach an age of 40. Until few years back, balding was seen as a sign of age or hereditary baldness but today, there are a number of factors such as stress, environmental pollution or hormonal changes that trigger hair loss or baldness. For all those suffering from this problem, the good news is that science has found a way to cover these bald patches and thicken thin hair through a surgical procedure known as hair transplant surgery.

Hair transplant surgery is of two types; follicular unit strip surgery (FUSS or FUT) and follicular unit extraction (FUE). The former involves removing a strip of the scalp from the back of the head and dividing it into thousands of grafts each with a few hair follicles. On the other hand, follicular unit extraction involves plucking the hair follicles out individually to be made into grafts. These grafts are then inserted into tiny incisions on the bald areas of the scalp. Depending on the size of an area to be covered, this procedure could take 4-8 hours.

Post surgery, the patient is prescribed some medication to relieve the pain and itching sensation. You should be able to return to work within a week. After 2 to 3 weeks of the process, the transplanted hair begins to fall out in order to make way from the new growth which may take up to few months. This is normal so do not stress yourself about this. Most people will notice 60% of new hair growth in 6 to 7 months. Full growth occurs in one year. In some cases, patients may be prescribed a hair growing drug such as minoxidil to improve the quality and speed of hair growth.

A hair transplant surgery does not address the cause for hair fall and hence in some cases, a repeat procedure becomes necessary.