Hair transplants, also called hair restoration or hair grafting, is a procedure that involves taking donor hairs from one or more areas of your body (most commonly the back or sides of the scalp or even from the beard, back or chest area) and transferring it to areas of hair loss where they can continue to go. Hair transplant used to be commonly done to add more hair to an area on the head that may be thinning or balding. However, now we are doing eyebrow and beard hair transplants as well.

When the hair is properly transplanted, it continues to grow for the rest of your life. The hair that is transferred is your own tissue, so it is natural and your body will not reject it. Hair transplants will look natural when they are done well. 

Hair transplant candidates ideally should be in their late 20s, or when they start to show signs of male- or female- pattern balding. Hair transplant surgery is more commonly performed on men. 

Hair transplants are mainly used to restore hair if you’re balding, have hair that's thinning naturally or have lost hair due to an injury. If you have very thin hair or significant balding, you may not have sufficient donor hair for an effective transplant.

Moreover, as most transplants are done with your existing hair, they would not be as effective for treating people with hair loss due to chemotherapy, effects from medications or people with thick scalp scars from injuries. Treament of underlying conditions is necessary as these may affect the survival of the transplanted hair.

There are two transplant methods: Follicular unit transplantation (FUT) or Follicular unit extraction (FUE).

A thin strip of your hair-bearing scalp, usually from the back of your head, is removed and the area stitched up finely. Smaller fragments, called grafts, are created from this piece, which is then transplanted onto the head where needed. The incision is planned so that the scar can be hidden within the hairline.

With FUE, the hair grafts are moved one at a time, rather than created from a strip of skin. Hence there is no linear scar and the procedure is less painful with a faster recovery. Individual follicles are removed, then grafted onto other parts of the scalp where needed. For FUE, we will need to shave the donor area before extracting the hair, so you will need to plan around the procedure. A “no-shave” FUE is an option but this is more time-consuming and demanding. 

Before the procedure is performed, you are sedated by an anaesthetist. The donor grafts are obtained either by FUT or FUE, and tiny holes are made in the recipient area where we plan to graft. The hairs are then carefully grafted one-by-one. As many as 2000 grafts can be transplanted during this meticulous process so a hair-transplant can take up to eight hours.

You’ll be able to go home on the day of the procedure itself. You’ll likely to feel soreness at the transplant sites, and medication such as painkillers or antibiotics may be prescribed. If FUE was performed, you will notice that the donor area over the back of the head will essentially be healed and not noticeable within 7-10days. Care needs to be taken when washing your hair – avoid doing so for the first few days; thereafter, try to use a mild shampoo for the next few weeks. You should be able to return to normal activity after a few days. 

The transplant hairs will fall out 2-3 weeks after the transplantation. This is a normal process so do not be alarmed. They will grow back. The new hair will start to grow out about 3-4 months later and once it is engrafted, it will continue to grow for a lifetime. You shoul see 90% of the results at 10-12 months.

There are minimal safety risks with hair transplants. However, there is a risk that you will be disappointed with the hair appearance. If not done properly, the hair harvest or transplant can potentially damage surround hair. Scarring is also a possible complication.