
While it is apparent that hair loss makes many men self-conscious, at the age of 35, almost two-thirds of guys will experience some hair thinning. However, several options help people regain or minimize their loss, especially for men who do not want to go the shaved route.
A hair transplant procedure is one of these options. High-profile celebrities who have embraced hair transplants have made it even more popular and, of course, more expensive.
I will be using this article to discuss hair transplant, its methods, and factors contributing to the cost.
allows them to harvest donor follicles from the part of your scalp that is genetically resistant to balding, usually the back of your head. Then they will move them to the recipient side, where you have hair loss. A hair transplant is an outpatient procedure that does not require you to go to a hospital.
Some patients may need multiple sessions, which depends on their needs. In most cases, each hair transplant section takes several hours as 1,000 to 4000 hair follicles are transplanted. Not all men experiencing hair loss can have a hair transplant treatment. Men whose hair loss is extensive with very few donor hairs might not get their desired results from a hair transplant procedure. During your medical assessment, the doctor will determine which category you fall into using the Norwood scale.
Punch Graft
This is where a cylinder of hair-bearing skin is removed from the donor site using a 4mm punch. The cylinder content plate into the recipient’s site usually contains 12 to 30 individual strands of hair. For over 20 years, the punch graft was the most popular method of hair transplant. The term hair plug originated from punch graft as it has an unnatural and plunge look. In recent times with more advancement and technological development majority of surgeons no longer use this method.
Mini/Micro
This hair transplant method involves removing tiny strips of hair-bearing skin from the donor site, leaving behind a thin scar created by the stitching. To place the graft during the transplant, a scalpel is used to make small slits in the recipient area, leaving behind an unnatural look. The long scar is a deterrent for many patients, and as such, the mini and micrograft is rarely used in hair transplants though some surgeons still use it for particular cases.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
This is a modern hair transplant method with many benefits, including minimizing scarring and quick recovery time. In this procedure, the follicular units of hair are removed one by one, and then they are placed within the recipient area, which takes a lot of time, delivers the most results, and the most expensive hair transplant method in recent time.
Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)
This is a modern hair transplant method that is a bit similar to the mini and micro methods. In this method of hair transplants, 1.5 cm to 30 cm of a hair strip length is removed from the donor area, leaving the site glued or sutured. Then the surgeon places the strip under a microscope and works on the graft to extract the individual follicular units. Then they put the individual follicular units on the recipient area. In this method, splits are unnecessary for the recipient area, unlike the mini and micrograft. Instead of slits, the surgeon makes small punctures where the individual graft are placed.
The Number Of Sections Required
In most cases, a hair transplant is performed in a single session which could take 5 to 8 hours. in other cases where the patient has a large level of baldness, more grafting would be required. For example, if a patient requires 5000 grafts, the patient would have to come the next day for the next session as a single session with around 3,000 to 4,000 grafts.
The Method Of Hair Transplant
As we have stated earlier, the FUE technique, a modern way of extracting the individual graft, is more expensive. So if this is your surgeon’s choice, then it would cost you more.
Availability Of Donor Grafts
Some patients do not have enough healthy follicles at the back of their scalp. This would require another procedure involving extracting his hair from other body parts like chest and beards. This procedure requires more expertise and skills where another surgeon would be included. All of this would further increase the total cost of the transplant.
The Surgeon’s Experience
A surgeon that is highly qualified with a lot of experience and skill is going to be more expensive. This is because the more experienced a surgeon has, the most successful results he would also have.
Hair Transplant Cost
In 2021, the cost of a hair transplant ranges from $5000 to $20,000, and if you must know, a hair transplant is one of the procedures that many insurance companies do not cover.