8 Common Myths and Facts About Hair Transplant that you should know

Cosmetic surgeries and procedures benefit millions of individuals globally who want to preserve or enhance their looks and personality. While some gravitate towards these procedures to look better than they already are, others choose them to hide flaws that may otherwise hinder their appearance. One such flaw that people try to hide via cosmetic procedures is hair fall or hair loss. And the cosmetic procedure that helps these people is hair transplant, which sadly is mired in many myths. Let’s bust some of them to understand how this procedure can be helpful for you if you are suffering from hair loss.

What is Hair Transplant?

Hair transplant is a cosmetic surgery designed for an area of the body with little or no hair. The surgical process removes healthy hair follicles from another body site, which already has a lot of hair, and then transplants these hair follicles in the body area that needs to be covered.

Hair transplant surgeries have been carried on for many years now, with doctors usually suggesting the surgery as a remedy for hair fall. Two of the more common methods chosen for the procedure include follicular unit extraction (FUE) and follicular unit strip surgery (FUSS or FUT). The procedure usually takes between 4 to 8 hours, depending on the amount of hair that needs to be transplanted. Subsequent transplants are carried out if the individual continues losing hair or wants thicker hair.

Myth-busting Facts about Hair Fall

One must understand the various reasons for hair fall before opting for hair transplant procedures. Hair loss is a common issue and can, in most cases, be treated with proper diagnosis and treatment.

Accordingly, some of the most common reasons for hair fall include:

1. Age: Hair thinning is common with age.
2. Genetics: Hereditary conditions like alopecia can cause hair loss.
3. Hormonal Changes: Hormonal changes in the body have been attributed to hair loss, mostly women.
4. Response to stress or trauma: A stressful event can trigger an immune system response characterised by hair fall.
5. Nutritional deficiencies: Chronic deficiencies can lead to drastic hair loss.
6. Autoimmune diseases: Alopecia can trigger the immune system to attack healthy hair follicles by mistake.
7. Infections: Bacteria, fungi, or yeast overgrowth in the scalp can cause hair fall.
8. Medications: Medications for existing conditions like cholesterol, blood pressure, acid reflux, gout, and acne can trigger hair fall.
9. Excessive hairstyling can cause stress to the hair follicles.
10. Radiation and chemotherapy treatments can cause hair fall.

Common Myths and Facts about Hair Transplants

Now that we have a brief overview of the many reasons one may suffer from hair loss, let’s look at some of the most common myths about hair transplants.

Myth 1: It is unbearably painful

Fact: A hair transplant procedure is carried out under local anaesthesia. This means the individual getting the procedure done will not experience any pain during the procedure. Mild pain can be expected after the anaesthesia wears off, but nothing that the doctor prescribed pain medications can’t take care of. However, newer hair transplant techniques have reduced the need for pain killers by reducing the healing time to just 2-3 days.

Myth 2: Only men can opt for a hair transplant

Fact: Hair transplant has been associated with male baldness since forever. However, the truth is that the procedure is suitable for anyone who experiences hair fall. Hair transplant surgery can be performed on any individual irrespective of gender, with the procedure's results being more visible in women who prefer to keep their hair long.

Myth 3: Only young people can opt for a hair transplant

Fact: Hair transplant, as a surgical procedure, is medically approved for anyone falling in the age bracket of 27 to 70 years. Age has got no say on whether an individual needs to opt for a hair transplant or not. Many studies have also observed that hair transplant is not recommended for people in their 20s due to the simple reason that the cause for hair fall cannot be determined at such an early age.

Myth 4: Expect instant results with hair transplant

Fact: This is one of the most common myths about Hair Transplants. The fact is, to see the complete results of a Hair Transplant procedure, one has to wait for at least 4-6 months. Consistent results are usually visible only after six months, with some individuals waiting for almost 12 months after the procedure to notice positive results. While some shedding may be common during the initial months, with time, the transplanted hair follicles will anchor properly and start growing, blending in with the existing hair.

Myth 5: Further treatment for hair loss is not required after hair transplantation

Fact: One of the many facts about hair transplants that people need to understand is that hair transplant alone cannot eliminate hair fall on its own. To minimise hair loss over time, it needs to work in conjunction with many post-operative medications and treatments, including ointments, creams, oral tablets, and PRP injections.

Myth 6: Hair transplant results are only temporary

Fact: One of the greatest benefits of hair transplant procedures is that the results of these procedures are almost permanent and long-lasting. To reiterate an important point, the transplanted hair will usually fall out after a few weeks while the roots remain anchored to the scalp. New hair will start growing after about a month or so.

Myth 7: Hair transplant results look artificial

Fact: Most if not all hair transplant procedures aim to provide natural-looking results, provided qualified and experienced hair transplant surgeons perform them. The transplanted hair follicles are aligned with the natural hairs and grafts in the area to offer a realistic look. This allows the individual to cut, wash, and style their hair without worrying about looking artificial afterward. There is no need to worry about the transplanted hair looking out of place.

Myth 8: Hair is transplanted from someone else’s hair

Fact: A silly but important myth about hair transplant! Unlike organ transplants, which can happen from one person to another, hair transplantation can only be done with hair taken from the same person. The body will not accept hair from another person and consider it a foreign contaminant. To sum it up, hair transplantation can be performed only with hair taken from the person's body and not from someone else.

Conclusion

Considering all these points, it has become clear that there are several myths and facts about Hair Transplant one needs to know about before deciding to opt for the procedure. The best person to debunk the myths and clarify the facts would be a qualified and reputed hair transplant surgeon at Advanced Hair Studio. A surgeon or Hair Transplant specialist would be the right person to discuss the procedure in detail and make an informed decision.