All Posts Tagged: hair transplant scar

Is Hair Transplant Really a Good Idea

Is Hair Transplant Really a Good Idea?

Hair transplant has earned its place for being among those reliable treatment for hair restoration today. However, despite its promise, this procedure has its limitations that will serve as important considerations for potential patients.

So, is a hair transplant really a good idea with the kind of follicular dilemma you have right now? Let’s tackle the matter further.

Check your expectations

As much as your eligibility for this procedure rely on the physical factors, the psychological aspect is just as important. Your surgeon will see to it that you have realistic expectations on the outcome of the procedure. Otherwise, you would not be considered a good candidate for surgery.

For instance, it is important to keep in mind that in hair transplant you have to contend with a finite amount of donor hairs. Hence, there is an apparent need to ensure that the hairs are used in an efficient manner. Therefore, you cannot just expect to keep having small surgeries to keep up with your hair loss. Aside from being impractical, you must also consider of the donor hairs if you keep on exposing your scalp to trauma.

If you fully understand what the surgery entails, what it can or cannot do, and even how long you would wait for results then you are a good candidate for a hair transplant.

Got Donor Hair?

The condition of your donor hair is a significant determining factor on whether hair transplant is the appropriate procedure for you. Those with low hair densities doesn’t make good candidates for hair transplant.

Normally, the donor hairs (also called terminal hairs) come in a uniformed diameter, but the action of DHT (dihydrotestosterone) in androgenetic hair loss causes some of the terminal hairs to decrease in length and diameter too until they eventually succumb to miniaturization. These changes are first observed as thinning until it eventually leads to complete baldness. While this process may usually affect the front and top portions of the scalp, it can also wreak havoc on the donor areas. If these areas show thinning, particularly when a person is young, then a hair transplant may not be successful because the transplanted hair will continue to thin.

Men who are affected with diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA) also have an unhealthy donor supply, making them poor candidates for a hair transplant. Therefore, make sure that you ask help from a hair transplant doctor who makes the extra step to carefully assess your entire scalp. A densitometer or an equivalent instrument can help do the job since miniaturization is not easily visible to the naked eye.

Flexible Scalp

The flexibility of the scalp or looseness of the skin is called scalp laxity. This is a relatively simple requirement in determining if a hair transplant will be appropriate for you. The looser your scalp is the easier it is for the surgeon to insert the new hair follicles. Conversely, the tighter the scalp and the lower the density, the more difficult it is to harvest your donor hair or close the donor area after surgery particularly in an FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation) technique. If your scalp is exceptionally tight, them a hair transplant may not be a good option for you.

Looking for Instant Results?

No one can blame you if you want results now. However, the fact of the matter is that long-lasting results take time. If you want it to happen now, there are temporary solutions, but that’s also the catch – it won’t last you very long.

Depending on other factors, hair transplant surgery results will start to become apparent during the 4th to 8th month post-op. It is only around the 12th month, or sometimes 18th month, where you can already appreciate the final outcome. It may be a longer journey than most course of action, but it can give you natural-looking results that can last longer. This may not be the right treatment for those who are looking for quick fixes.

Got Funds?

Hair transplant is considered the last resort in hair restoration owing to the fact that it is an invasive procedure. The complexity of this surgery demands skills and meticulous effort from a trained, experienced and certified surgeon. This explains why it comes at a certain price too. So, if you are interested in undergoing surgery, be sure you have the funds to see it through.

Since hair transplant has gotten so popular, it is also hounded by substandard practitioners that will offer you remarkably low prices, but with not much to show for it. Some may even tempt you with package deals where you can get a certain number of hair grafts at a low price. With all these eye-catching offers that appeal to your pockets, it is always important for potential patients to know better.

It is never wise to spend your money on cheaper treatments or packages because hair transplant is not a cookie cutter procedure. If you want to commit to surgical hair restoration be sure that you have enough funds on stash to afford a reputable surgeon and good quality results. Otherwise, it would be for your own good if you go for other measures instead.

Hair transplant cost is no joke, but when done right, it is a smart investment. Remember that if you don’t have the luxury to spend on a good surgeon, you also don’t have the luxury of donor grafts. Therefore, you must to utilize resources wisely. It would be wiser that you wait it out until you can afford a good hair transplant rather than jumping right into cheap procedures that seems too good to be true.

On the question whether hair transplant is a good idea for you, it begs every hair loss sufferer to stop and reassess their situation. The question you can answer up front is whether you can afford a reputable surgeon. Your answer can already set you towards the next step. For the other considerations mentioned above, it helps that you get professional help so you can be guided accordingly.

While it is true that hair transplant is a treatment that has left many satisfied with their results, it is not always for everybody. What you must understand is that if you want to get your money’s worth, you need to know if you are a good candidate.

Book your consultation  with Dr. Daood of the Sydney Hair Transplant today to know if this is the hair loss solution that is right for you.

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5 Ways to Make Your Hair Transplant Scar Less Obvious

Both methods of surgical hair restoration (FUT or FUE) carry a risk of forming a hair transplant scar. While our aim is to create natural-looking results without any of the obvious signs of surgical intervention, is a reality that waits on you at the end. However, that is not a sentence because there are several ways to conceal the scars better. Here are five ways that can help you do it.

What Type of Hair Transplant Scarring Should You Expect?


The type and extent of scarring will depend on the hair transplant method you choose.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUT), which is also called the “strip method” is the more invasive approach in donor hair removal. It involves a linear scar at the back of the head from which a piece of scalp, containing the donor hairs, is removed. Meanwhile, in a Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), multiple dot-shaped scars are left from which donor grafts are removed using a punch-like instrument.

The type of hairstyle a patient prefers will determine the approach that will be most suitable for them. For example, if a client prefers to wear their hair very short, he might choose FUE because the small circular scars are spread out across the donor area and are smaller in size making them less visible – or they are less likely to be noticed.

Since a hair transplant scar is possible with any surgical intervention to address hair loss, here are 5 ways to make the problem less visible.

1. Make Your Aesthetic Preferences Clear with Your Surgeon

A hair transplant procedure is largely done for cosmetic purposes. It is for this reason that you should express to your surgeon what your aesthetic preferences are. Realistically, scars will be inevitable, but there are different methods a surgeon can do to make the outcome suitable for you.

One way to minimize scarring is the tricophytic closure. It is an advanced surgical method that allows the scalp to heal tightly leaving it with the thinnest linear scar possible. Once the flaps of the scalp are closed, the two sides are held together with surgical staples for 14 days while it heals. After the staples are removed, what is left is a thin white line which will be barely perceptible. A tricophytic closure attempts to allow the hairs to grow directly through the scar line.

If you are serious about keeping your hair transplant surgery a secret, this will be a good method to discuss with your surgeon during your consultation.

2. Follow Proper Post-Operative Care for the Surgical Site

Patients can do several things after the surgery to optimize the appearance of scars. One of the basic, but most important, reminder is to keep the incisions clean. This is a cardinal rule in proper wound care which can save you from several potential problems that might worsen the appearance of a hair transplant scar. One of these problems that you should be wary about is infection. Prolonged wound closure due to an infected surgical site will most likely result in poor wound healing. Therefore follow proper wound care and ensure that you take the entire course of antibiotic that was prescribed to you.

You should also avoid exposing the surgical area to tension/pressure. This may cause the flaps to heal poorly or uniformly. Therefore, avoid bending over or carrying a heavy load to avoid disrupting the integrity of the skin any further.

It is also wise to minimize sun exposure while the incisions heal. Since the skin in these areas will be more delicate as it heals, premature and prolonged exposure to the sun will make the scars more prone to darkening.

3. Be More Flexible in Choosing Hairstyles

Since the donor hairs are often found at the back portion of the head, specifically at the lower area of the scalp, the scar will be easily visible for those who will wear their hair short. The easiest way to conceal a scar would be to grow your hair just a few centimeters longer. Even with the more inconspicuous FUE scars, the tiny dot-like remnants will still be visible if you buzz all your hair off. Your efforts to make surgical scars less obvious may call on some minor hairstyle adjustments, only if you are open to it. It will be the fastest, easiest, and less expensive way that will do the trick.

4. Scalp Micropigmentation

If you have the extra buck to spare, scalp mircropigmentation (SMP) is a reliable method to camouflage hair transplant scars. It can disguise both linear strip scars as well as FUE scars. This procedure is appropriate only in scars that are flat. If the scars are raised (particularly in FUT scar repair) and are looking like they are forming to be keloid scars, additional treatment is needed to flatten it before SMP can be done.

SMP has been lauded by many to do a terrific job in concealing scars. But, there are very few practitioners that can provide you with quality service. Some may leave it looking like a black blotchy mark that only makes the appearance of the scar worse.

If you are thinking of getting it at a much cheaper price at a tattoo parlor, then you better think twice because this is a permanent process that you must get right the first time.

5. Steroid Injections

As mentioned earlier, raised scars can be flattened with additional treatment, and this is through steroid injections. Doctors use steroid injections to induce shrinking, flattening, and fading of hypertrophic (raised or keloid-type) scars. There are clinical studies that has proven the efficacy of steroid injections for this type of scar. It works mainly by decreasing collagen synthesis and reducing the inflammatory phase of wound healing. As a structural protein, collagen is formed at the site of the wound to mend or seal it. The problem is when the body produce too much collagen which results in a raised and discolored scar. Steroid injections inhibit collagen synthesis thereby preventing raised scar formation.

This treatment scalp scar revision, however, should be taken with a grain of salt. It is not faultless because it also comes with side effects and complications. The efficacy of steroid injections can also be unpredictable, and it is not known to work on older scars. This treatment should also be discussed thoroughly with your surgeon during the consultation.

Surgeons have their own approach to hair transplant or even scar treatment, and the best way to know if fits perfectly with your goals is to go for a personal consultation.

Get advised today and learn how you can best prepare against scarring beforehand. For more information about the procedure, the hair transplant price in Sydney, or how to improve your chances for surgical success book your consultation at the Sydney Hair Transplant clinic today.

Book Your Private Consultation Today

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