Are You a Candidate for Hair Transplant Surgery

written by: Kelly Makay; article published: year 2010, month 06;

In: Root » Health » Hair loss

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Hair Transplant Surgery

Surgery can be a daunting prospect even when it’s medically necessary, so it’s no surprise that undergoing elective surgery for a cosmetic procedure can be a little frightening. In this article, we cover all aspects of hair transplant surgery, starting with helping you to determine whether it’s a viable option for you.

We walk you through the requirements and costs as well as help you find the right surgeon. We prepare you to visit possible surgeons and make sure you go in as an informed patient. You find out what you’ll face before, during, and after surgery, and we help you be realistic about the possible post-op complications and results that may send you back for additional transplants.

Are You a Candidate for Hair Transplant Surgery?

Do you really need a hair transplant? At first glance, this may seem like a silly question. But hair transplantation shouldn’t be your first thought when you start losing your hair. Most candidates for hair transplantation are men with male pattern balding, which takes years to develop. Young men who have just started losing their hair don’t know how far their hair loss may progress or how fast. Finding an extra hair or two in the sink or in your comb doesn’t mean you need a hair transplant tomorrow or ever.

Not everyone who’s balding is a good candidate for hair transplantation. The best candidates for transplant are those who have the following:

  • Male pattern baldness
  • Enough donor hair to supply balding areas
  • Very little color contrast between the skin and hair color (such as blond hair on a light skin tone, white hair on fair skin, or brown hair on brown skin) if your donor hair supply is limited or you’re very bald
  • High-density concentrations of donor hair supply
  • A loose, flexible scalp
  • Hair shaft diameters with reasonable bulk (coarser hair makes for a better candidate than finer hair)
  • Realistic expectations and a good understanding of the process

In this section, we look more closely at who should consider a transplant, who shouldn’t, and why.

Those who don’t qualify for a hair transplant

Among the people who probably aren’t good candidates for hair transplantations are

  • Most women. Unlike men, who generally have a permanent donor supply of good, healthy hair on the sides and back of the head (fringe area), women tend to thin all over the scalp including that fringe area. Using a thin donor supply of hair for transplant greatly increases the likelihood of unsuccessful or poor results.
  • Men with the condition diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA). These men have an unhealthy donor supply, making them poor candidates for a hair transplant.
  • People with diseased donor supply for any reason. This is more common in women than in men and typical for some forms of genetic androgenetic alopecia in women.
  • Those with low hair densities.
  • Those with a tight or inelastic scalp. This rule does not apply to the ‘follicular unit extraction’ method of harvesting where the tightness of the scalp is not a factor for hair transplant candidacy.
  • Those with a lack of adequate funds to continue surgical hair restoration over time.

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