Top Lies Hair Transplant Doctors Are Telling You
All throughout the world, the hair transplant is a billion dollar industry, thanks to two thirds of men who will experience some degree of hair loss by age 35. Once men reach 50 years of age, about 85% will have experienced a significant amount of hair loss and thinning.
Due of the lack of regulation in the hair transplant industry, choosing the right doctor is very crucial. While the results of a good hair transplant can definitely be life changing, unfortunately so too can be the results of a poorly executed hair transplant. While there are many reputable and highly experienced hair transplant doctors all over the world who truly care about your well-being and hair, there are just as many bad hair transplant doctors who will do and say just about anything for financial gain. Many hair clinics have hard driving salesmen to push potential clients to do a hair transplant that might actually be dangerous or inappropriate. Within this article, I will explain some of the lies that hair transplant doctors might say to you which should raise some red flags.
One of the most common misconceptions about hair transplants is that it will not leave any scars. Currently, there are two different hair transplant methods that hair transplant doctors use: the FUE, commonly known as the follicular unit extraction, and the FUT, the follicular unit transplantation. The FUE is the more modern method of hair transplantation as it involves individually extracting each hair graft from the back of the scalp using either a manual or automated extraction device. This method will leave minimal scars throughout the scalp as the doctor strategically extracts hair grafts from different regions in the bald-resistant region. The FUT method involves the process where the hair transplant doctor excises a strip of hair from the back of the scalp, normally from ear to ear, and then closes the wound with sutures. No matter how much expertise and experience a hair transplant doctor has with either the FUE or FUT, both methods will leave scars 100%. If a hair transplant doctor tells you that either method will be scarless, he or she is LYING to you.
I myself opted for the FUE since I wanted to keep the possibility of shaving my head and not having much noticeable scars like the FUT, which will leave a linear scar from ear to ear. Although the FUE will leave scars, it will be more difficult to detect as they are smaller “punches” scattered all throughout the scalp. The price of an FUE hair transplant is obviously more costly as it involves more downtime to extract the grafts and requires the doctor to extract each hair graft one at a time.
Secondly, if you’re a Norwood V and suffering from extensive hair loss at a young age and your hair transplant doctor tells you that you are a great candidate, chances are that he is LYING to you again. A good hair transplant doctor will consider non-surgical means before proceeding with the possibility of a hair transplant. This is especially true if you are of younger age (late teens to early twenties). An ethical doctor will consider prescribing his or her patient Finasteride or minoxidil before considering a hair transplant if he or she is of young age. If a patient is suffering from hair loss at a young age, chances are that he will have more severe hair loss later in life. A good hair transplant doctor will realize this and push back a hair transplant until the patient has stabilized his hair loss after a few years. This way, the doctor can maximize use of the finite donor hair over the patient’s lifetime and not run out of donor hair later.
Another common concept that hair transplant doctors try lying to their patients is the transection rate. Transection refers to the potential damage that can occur to the hair follicles during a hair transplantation. Transection occurs when there is damage to the lower portion of the hair follicle, commonly the hair bulb, which can prevent it from generating new hair. Transection to the hair graft increases the risk of the hairs not growing once transplanted. Luckily, most hair clinics work hard to keep their transection as low as possible, but there are some shady hair clinics that will lie and tell their patients that they always achieve a 0% transection rate. As far as transection rates, an FUE procedure oftentimes has a higher rate of transection as the hair surgeon would have to harvest a single graft one at a time and can be extremely tedious and fatiguing the doctor as he/she would have to do it hundreds to thousands of times in a single hair transplant procedure. In addition, negotiating between punch sizes that can range from 0.6 to 1mm to perfectly extract grafts of various sizes can be challenging even under magnification and requires the steady hand of a highly experienced doctor. Transections can also happen when the technicians are implanting the hair grafts into the recipient area. Sometimes, the technicians or doctor can damage the hair grafts with forceps as they insert the grafts into the recipient area. There are many variables that can contribute to a transection in a hair transplant so no doctor would be able to fully achieve a 0% transection rate, ever.
There has been much debate on what an acceptable transection rate should be. The hair clinic I went to stated that their transection rate was under 5%, so I was somewhat relieved knowing that I was in good hands. Several of my close friends have also gone to the same clinic, so I knew that the people I would trust my hair with were trust-worthy. In addition, my hair clinic offered me a free touch-up after a year in case I had any areas on my head that I felt needed some additional hair grafts. However, every hair transplant clinic ultimately depends on the doctor’s training and skill. Even if they say that they can achieve a low transection rate, it is vital that you conduct your very own research to make sure that you are going to a reputable and experienced hair transplant clinic. It is important that donor hair is not wasted. No one has an unlimited donor supply and until technological advances somehow provides us with the tools to create an infinite number of hair grafts, one truly needs to use our donor hair sparingly.
The next time you visit a hair clinic for a consultation, please keep the above in mind so that you can equip yourself with the necessary knowledge to protect yourself from becoming a victim of a hair transplant scam. For more information, please check out my Youtube video highlighting some of the points discussed in this article.