Everything About Hair Transplantation

The beginning of hair transplantation dates back to the end of the 19th century. Throughout history, people have sought permanent solutions to hair loss. Unfortunately, today, the only permanent solution to hair loss is hair transplantation. In this article, we will provide you with a roadmap that provides you with summary information about hair transplantation. We believe that if you follow this roadmap meticulously, you will achieve a successful result. Remember that this is a summary article. Those who want to have a hair transplant can access more detailed information from the links we provide in our article.

What is Hair Transplantation?

Hair loss creates a serious psychological problem in men and women. People are interested in permanent solutions to hair loss in order to feel happier. Especially men believe that it is necessary to have hair in order to look attractive to the opposite sex. In this case, the desire for hair transplantation comes to the fore. The transfer of hair taken from non-shedding and strong donor areas to hairless areas is called hair transplantation. The area where the hair follicles are transplanted can be completely bald or thinned areas. We will examine the reasons that cause hair loss in detail in another article.

What are the Hair Transplant Methods?

There are 2 basic methods for hair transplant surgery. These are FUT and FUE techniques. This classification is made according to the way the roots are taken from the donor areas. The process of taking the hair roots has nothing to do with the transplant process.

FUT Method (Follicular Unit Transplantation): A strip-shaped piece of scalp is cut and removed from the area between the ears. This piece is called a flap. The area where the flap is removed is stitched and closed by bringing it end to end. This flap piece is divided into micrografts. Then these micrografts are placed one by one on the hairless area. We can say that the FUT method has been abandoned in our country except for very rare cases. It is still a widely used method in the United States.

FUE Method: Hair follicles are collected one by one from the donor area with special collection tools. There is no cutting or stitching process as in the FUT method. It is the most commonly used hair transplant method.

What are the Stages of Hair Transplantation?

The first thing a person who is considering a hair transplant does is the research phase. In order to make this research easier, we have grouped the hair transplant stages into 3 hierarchical stages. These 3 stages also have hierarchical subgroups.

1. Pre-October Period
2. Hair Transplantation Stage
3. The Process After Hair Transplant

The goal of a person who will have a hair transplant is a successful and natural result. All 3 stages have separate importance for this goal to be achieved. Now let’s briefly examine the 3 stages.

1- Pre-Hair Transplant Period

You have decided to have a hair transplant, but you are still at the very beginning of the road. Let’s not forget this. Almost all of those who consider having a hair transplant do not have a hair transplant due to a physical illness. The majority of women and men want a hair transplant to feel happier. A very small group wants to have this procedure due to a traumatic disorder such as burns or traffic accidents. Therefore, you should first draw a road map for yourself. We explained the first stage in detail in our article pre-hair transplant period. In the list below, you can see the period before hair transplantation as a summary.

1. Pre-Transplant Research Stage
   • Friend Recommendation
   • Barbers and Hairdressers
   • Internet and Forum Sites
2. Examination and Deciding on Hair Transplant Stage
   • Contact Information and General Information (Age, Gender, Profession, Blood Group etc.)
   • Physical Examination (General examination to detect a condition that prevents hair transplantation)
   • Hair Examination (Type of hair loss, Hair structure, Hair shape, Hair color Donor structure, Graft capacity)
   • Have You Had a Previous Transplant?
   • Previously Used Medications for Hair Loss ( Finasteride, Minoxidil, Prp, Biotin etc )
   • Queries (personal history of hair loss, chronic disease, family history of hair loss, allergies, medications)
   • Laboratory Tests (Hemogram, T3, T4, TSH, Hepatitis B C and HIV Tests if necessary)
   • What is the Person’s Expectation?
   • Examination Result Doctor’s Opinion (Am I suitable for hair transplantation or not? )
   • Number of Grafts and Planning
3. Time After Decision Until Hair Transplantation
   • Criteria Effective in Decision Making (Prices, Clinical Results, Transplantation Technique, Advertisements, Is There a Doctor in the Operation, Post-Transplantation Support, Place Where Transplantation is Performed)
   • Attention Before Hair Transplantation Things to Do (Do’s and Don’ts, Recommendations)

Now you need to find answers to these questions in your mind. What do you want? Can a hair transplant meet your expectations? Will you be happy at the end of this procedure?

You should definitely decide whether to have a hair transplant after learning the answers to these questions. Otherwise, you may be disappointed. In our opinion, the most important criterion for a hair transplant operation is whether you are suitable for the operation. I recommend you to read the 11 criteria that determine a successful hair transplant result.

2- Hair Transplant Stages (Operation Process)

If you have decided on a hair transplant, you have come to the most exciting stage of the operation. We can divide the hair transplant operation into 4 sub-stages.

1. Pre-Operation Preparation:
2. Front Hairline Drawing
3. Donor Area Anesthesia and Graft Removal:
4. Hair Root Transplantation

2-1) Pre-Operation Preparation:

These are routine procedures such as consent form, shaving the hair, taking photographs, and opening intravenous access. These should be done before starting hair transplantation.

2-2) Front Hairline design :

Front hairline is very important in terms of natural appearance. Hairline; should be planned considering factors such as the planned number of grafts, the person’s age, and the rate of shedding.

2-3) Donor Area Anesthesia and Hair Follicles Collection

1. Donor Area Anesthesia
   • Local Anesthesia: The most commonly preferred type of anesthesia.
   • Sedation: It is appropriate to do it in those with a very low pain threshold.
   • General Anesthesia: It can be done in very rare cases. It is definitely not applied in routine hair transplants. For example, if a person who has a nose surgery will have an eyebrow transplant at the same time, it can be considered.
2. Collection of Hair Follicles from the Donor Area
   • FUT Method
   • FUE Method
     • Manual Fue
     • Micromotor FUE
     • Robotic Fue

2-4) Hair Transplantation Stage

1. Anesthesia (October Zone For)
2. Channel Opening and Hair Root Placement
   • Channel Method (Classic FUE)
   • Stick and Place (percutaneous hair transplantation): Channel opening and root placement are done simultaneously.
   • DHİ Method – Pen Technique : It is actually a more advanced version of percutaneous hair transplantation. It is also our preferred method.
   • KEEP : Typically similar to percutaneous and DHI methods, but the channels are opened in advance. Hair follicles are placed in the opened channels with the help of an implanter called KEEEP.

We have summarized the stages of a hair transplant operation above.

3- Post-Hair Transplant Process

The period after hair transplantation is a difficult period that requires patience. We have summarized the situations you may encounter during this period in the list below.

1. Development Stages of Transplanted Hair: It takes 1 year for the results to be fully seen. During this period, you should be informed about the hair transplantation stages month by month.
2. Normal Conditions Expected After Transplantation: After Transplantation; shock shedding, swelling, itching, redness, washing after transplantation and shedding of crusts are normal expected situations. What can you do against these situations? You should have an idea about such issues and their solutions.
3. Post-Transplantation Things to Consider Recommendations : After hair transplantation, you will be faced with some actions that are in line with the normal flow of life. There may be some things that should be done and some things that should not be done. You can find solutions to these situations with simple recommendations. To give examples of these:
   • Using alcohol, tea, coffee, cigarettes after transplantation,
   • Recommended nutrition and diet regimen
   • Sports fitness, going to the sea or sauna
   • How to shave your hair after transplantation
   • How to use hats, berets, etc.
   • Post-transplantation issues such as sexuality etc.
4. Complications That Should Not Happen : Infection, necrosis after transplantation, unexpected images in the donor area, complications that should not happen and solutions
5. Unsuccessful Resultilar
   • Hair not growing or insufficient growth
   • Grass man shaped unnatural appearance
   • Unwanted images in the donor area
6. Successful Results If your expectations are met and you are happy with the hair transplant, the process is complete.

You can find the details of the list we have summarized above in our article process after hair transplantation .

How is FUE Hair Transplantation Done

As we mentioned above, hair transplantation can be done in two ways: FUT and FUE. Since we do not use the FUT method, we will not explain it here. FUE technique is characterized by the collection of grafts from donor areas one by one without cutting or stitching. After local anesthesia is applied to the donor area, grafts are removed with the help of special tools. FUE is only the part up to the removal of grafts. We explained the transplantation part of the taken hair in detail in the article how to do hair transplantation .

We can divide FUE hair transplantation into 3 groups according to the shaving method.

1. Full Shaved Transplantation: The donor transplantation area is completely shaved
2. Half Shaved: The donor area is partially shaved, the transplant area is not shaved. In transplants performed on women is frequently used.
3. Unshaved FUE

Where are the Grafts Taken from in Hair Transplantation?

The donor areas used in the FUE method are as follows.

1. Haired Area : Strong hair grafts in the area determined as the safe area between the ears are targeted
2. Beard Hair : Beard hair should be considered as the second choice. You will find very detailed information on this subject in our article Hair transplantation from beard.
3. Other Body Hair : Other body hair such as chest and abdomen can be considered as donor areas. The suitability percentage of other body hair for hair transplantation is unfortunately low. Chest and other body hair, should be considered third choice after hair and beard.

How are Grafts Taken in FUE Hair Transplantation?

Hair follicles can be removed from the donor area in 3 ways. These

• Manual graft collection
• Micromotor method
• Robotic FUE

First of all, the donor area hair must be resistant to shedding and strong. In donor area selection, the first choice is the hairy area donor hair. If the number of hair grafts is insufficient, beard and other body hair can be used as donor areas.

What is the difference between FUE hair transplantation and DHI?

This is like comparing apples and pears. FUE is the method of graft extraction. DHI is one of the methods of transplanting the grafts. Grafts obtained with the FUE or FUT method can be transplanted with the DHI technique.

What is Fiber FUE hair transplantation?

There is no such hair transplantation method. Those who want to have hair transplants are set up as traps by adding some fake words after or before the word FUE. These are word games played by those who want to show themselves different from other centers in order to attract customers. Be sure to trust scientific and logical explanations.

What are the advantages of the FUE method?

Since there is no cutting or stitching of the scalp, the vast majority of those who want to have a hair transplant prefer the FUE method. In addition, it can also benefit from other body hair such as beard and chest in addition to the scalp.

What Procedures Are Performed in Hair Transplant Centers?

When it comes to hair transplant centers, only hair transplant should not be considered. Each center can perform different procedures within its own organization. To summarize these procedures briefly;

1. Hair Transplantation
   • FUE or rarely FUT transplantation
   • Dhi transplantation
   • Beard and other body hair transplantation
   • Hair Transplantation for Women
   • Scar transplantation (such as transplantation on wounds, burns, surgery scars, etc.)
   • Hair thickening transplantation
   • Repair of poorly transplanted hair
2. Beard and Moustache Transplantation
3. Eyebrow Transplantation and Eyelash Transplantation
4. Medical Treatments for Hair Loss ( PRP, mesotherapy, ozone therapy, laser therapy, etc. medical applications)
5. Cosmetic Applications
   • Medical Cosmetics (Laser epilation, botox, filling, weight loss, etc. applications)
   • Surgical Applications (surgical interventions such as nose, eyelid aesthetics, etc.)

Hair transplantation centers You can find more detailed information about the centers in our article about them.

Information About Hair Transplant Prices

You have decided to have a hair transplant, but your budget is an important factor in the center you will decide on. Hair transplant prices vary greatly. There are many factors that determine prices. We explained this in detail in our topic hair transplant prices. Average prices are given based on the number of grafts in some clinics, and per operation in some clinics. Do not use price alone as a criterion when doing hair transplant research. We recommend that you choose from the places that seem most suitable to you according to your budget.

This article was prepared by Dr. Hakan Doğanay to provide accurate information to those who want to have a hair transplant without commercial concerns. Up to this point, we have summarized a hair transplant and its roadmap from beginning to end hierarchically and schematically. As can be seen, a hair transplant operation is not a simple procedure. A difficult and patient period awaits you in order to achieve success. In addition, the comments and recommendations of those who have had hair transplants will also help you. For this, you can apply to forum sites. If you aim to achieve a successful result, we recommend that you act in accordance with the information in our article and its links. We wish you all healthy and hairy days.