What You Don't Know About Hair Transplants
According to the dictionary, a hair transplant is as follows:
“A surgical procedure that involves moving skin on the scalp that still contains hair follicles to a bald or balding part of the scalp, so that hair will grow there”.
Most of us have a rough idea of what a hair transplant entails, given that the procedure has become much more popular in modern society.
A hair transplant doctor will painstakingly remove what’s known as ‘follicular units’ (tiny pieces of tissue containing hair follicles and hairs) from the back and sides of the scalp known as the ‘donor area’ where hair growth is plentiful. They will then prepare them and transplant them into tiny holes created in the ‘recipient area’ of the top and front of the scalp where the hair is thinning.
So far, so accurate. But what about the aspects of a hair transplant that the dictionary doesn’t tell you?
4 Hair Raising Surprises of Having a Hair Transplant
Here’s some surprising consequences of having a hair transplant…
1. You’ll spend an awfully long time sitting down
You may be having a hair transplant that will transform your scalp with thousands of follicular unit grafts. It may even be that you have your hair transplant over more than one session. Or, if all you need treating is the very front of your scalp at the hair line, to fill in the fringe area, you may need considerably fewer grafts.
Everyone’s needs, wants and reality is different. But either way, you’re going to spend a long time in a surgical chair. Generally, patients begin their procedure in the morning, and don’t finish until the late afternoon.
The procedure is a delicate one, and not one that can be rushed. But rest assured, both you and the DK Hair Klinik team looking after you will be able to take regular breaks. You’ll be able to take a breather, use the bathroom and eat and drink at regular intervals and your care team will be able to advise you when these breaks will be.
2. Your hair will fall out before it starts to grow back
All hair grows to a timetable of four distinct growth stages:
• The growth, or ‘anagen’ phase
• The transition, or ‘catagen’ phase
• The resting, or ‘telogen’ phase
• The shedding, or ‘exogen’ phase
Hairs remain in the anagen phase for up to seven years, then they move into the catagen phase for around ten days. They will then remain resting in the telogen phase for three or four months before heading into the exogen phase, where they will shed.
The follicles removed from the donor area will just carry on where they left off once they’re transplanted into the recipient area. If they were in the shedding phase, then they will continue to shed once they’re settled in their new home. This will result in them falling out, which is perfectly natural.
Even if the transplanted follicles were in the growing stage however, they’re still likely to fall out in the early weeks and months after a hair transplant. This is perfectly normal too, and is caused by the new hair shaft growing underneath the transplant, pushing the transplanted hairs out, ready for the new ones to grow.
It might feel disheartening to see hair falling out, but trust us, your new hair growth isn’t far behind! After about a year, you’ll be sporting a fabulous new head of hair.
3. Hair growth feels super tingly!
Here’s more on the biology of your scalp. When the body experiences a cut or scrape, the immune system goes into overdrive, to stop the bleeding and form a clump of platelets (a form of blood cell) to block the wound, which we see as a scab. This healing process cause the skin to itch , which means that since a hair transplant involves thousands of tiny incisions, as they heal, your scalp will begin to itch.
Also, as the newly transplanted follicles begin to settle into their new home, your scalp will begin to tingle. And this is a good sign! This tingling tells you that things up there are alive and kicking, getting ready for exciting hair growth action – which is the whole point, right?
(However, burning, bleeding, oozing and heat are not good signs and could indicate an infection. Always get these symptoms checked out as soon as possible.)
4. Your confidence will go through the roof
Hold onto your hat. Or get rid of your hat forever, for your new hairline is simply begging to be on show! When all the healing is over, and your hair line is back where it should be, loud and proud, you’ll be doing all you can to show it off. Time and time again, we hear that everything was completely worth it.
Having a Hair Transplant
If you’re interested in having a hair transplant, here at the DK Hair Klinik in Antalya, we want you to be 100% prepared. Which is why we’ve shared these observations with you.
The best way to get a feel for what to expect from a hair transplant procedure is obviously to talk to a qualified doctor or another hair loss expert. But whilst our experts are on hand, with experience and wisdom, it’s also important to hear the experiences of other patients. From one patient, to another, so to speak.
Now you realise that it’s all completely worth it, why not book your free online consultation today?
You’ve got nothing to lose…
