If you are considering a hair transplant or other hair restoration procedure, there are a few questions you should certainly ask yourself while deciding, not the least of which is does your hair loss bother you enough. Reason would suggest it does since you are taking the time to read this article, but there may be some who are not bothered by hair loss as much as they are bothered by external pressures. Maybe your friends tease you a lot, or maybe you feel less attractive. Whatever the reason, a hair transplant is a big decision, and you need to be sure it’s for you and not someone else.

Now, if you’ve decided that your hair loss bothers you, a hair transplant can be one way to feel more confident about your appearance, so let’s look at we could expect.

What Is a Hair Transplant?

It’s a surgery that moves active hair follicles from one part of your scalp, usually the back, to fill areas with little or no hair. While doctors have been doing transplants since the 1950s, techniques have changed a lot over the years.

There are two main methods for the transplant. The first is called follicular unit transplantation (FUT) also referred to as follicular unit strip surgery (FUSS). The second method is called follicular unit extraction (FUE). Here is a great video that explains both procedures, but I will explain them also.

With FUS, the surgeon takes a 6- to 10-inch strip of the scalp with active follicles from the back of your head and stitches the scalp closed. The scar that forms will be hidden by the hair around it. The strip will be divided under a microscope into 500 to 2,000 tiny grafts, some with only an individual hair and some with just a few hairs.

The FUE procedure requires the back of your head to be shaved. This makes it easier for the doctor to remove individual hair follicles one at a time with a small punch tool. Only every second hair follicle will be taken, and the procedure heals with small dots, which will be hidden by the surrounding hair.

The second part of both procedures is the same. The doctor will numb the portion of your scalp that will accept the transplants and then creates holes or slits with either a scalpel or needle and then inserts the transplanted follicles into the holes.

While you recover, you can expect your scalp to be tender, and you will have to wear bandages on your head for a day or two, after which you can return to work.

The cost of these procedures can range from $4,000 – $15,000 depending mostly on how much hair you are moving. There is also the small risk of inflammation or infection that comes with all surgeries.