Is Getting A Hair Transplant Painful?
This procedure is carried out with a local anesthetic. At no point will you experience any pain, although you may at times feel as if someone is tugging at your hair which is somewhat uncomfortable. You will be awake the entire time and there is no need for you to be sedated.
Does It Leave A Scar?
With an FUE hair transplant (Follicular Unit Extraction) a micro-punch with a 0.7 mm diameter is used during the extraction phase. The punctures in the scalp are minimal and cure completely within three days leaving minuscule scars that are unnoticeable. You'd have to know exactly where to look and use a magnifying glass to be able to see them.
How Long Does It Take?
This depends on the quantity of follicular units that need to be extracted as well as the characteristics of the hair in the donor zone. Most people should expect the entire procedure to last somewhere between 6 and 8 hours (this includes the break times).
How Long Does It Take For The Transplanted Hair To grow?
After having been transplanted, the follicles go into a "resting phase" that lasts at least 2 months but may last up to 4 months. During this period there will not be any growth. After the "resting phase" growth begins gradually, and the final results are seen anywhere from 8 months to a year after the procedure.
Everybody's hair is different and each case is unique. If at any time after your operation you have doubts as to how things are progressing, you are welcome to come back to the Ailesbury Hair Clinic to speak to your hair transplant professional. At that time it will be easier to more fully explain why your transplanted follicles may be taking longer to grow based on your particular hair type.
How Long Do I Have To Wait Before I Can Go Back To Work?
What we're talking about here is a minimally invasive surgical procedure. There are many men who have had this type of procedure who are back at work the day after their transplants, although most opt to wait 3 days in order for the scabs at the rear donor zone to heal completely. The areas that receive the transplanted follicles take a little longer (about seven days), so If you want to wait until you are absolutely, completely, and unequivocally healed you should make arrangements to take a week off of work.
Can I Play Sports Or Workout After
You should wait at least 7 days until the scabs are gone at which point you can resume your workout routine or play individual sports such as tennis. If you play team sports, you should wait at least a month before resuming this activity as you do not want to risk having the still sensitive tissues to be damaged as a result of contact with other players. If swimming is your exercise of choice, you should wait at least 6 weeks before getting back into the pool (the same goes for the sauna).
Is It Expensive?
FUE is a manual procedure that is carried out by trained medical professionals. It is a procedure that takes time. There is never really such a thing as "a great bargain" when we're talking about medicine. At AilesburyHair Clinic, our prices are competitive considering the high level of care and service that we provide. The final cost caries depending on an individual patient's needs, and it is going to be necessary to first have a thorough consultation.
Are There Other Techniques Other Than FUE?
Another hair transplant method is the so-called "strip method" in which an entire strip of the scalp is taken from a donor area and then divided in order to obtain follicles that can then be implanted in the desired, bald area of the head. This technique leaves significant permanent scarring in the rear area of the head that serves as the donor area—this area has to be closed with sutures. Furthermore, the strip method requires that the patient be heavily anesthetized and sedated during the operation. You can also expect a much longer and much more difficult recovery time with the strip method.
Basically, if the FUE method is a precision attack with the most state-of-the-art drone targeting one specific target, the strip method is a bombing run in World War II. So yes, there are other hair transplant methods, but none is as effective or sophisticated as the FUE method.
Furthermore, the AHI (Aesthetic Hair Integration) variant that we practice here at Ailesbury Hair Clinic is the most advanced application of FUE that has yet to be developed.