When Should Seriously Consider A Hair Transplant - Expert Advice
Simply because you are losing hair, seeing hair on your towel or noticing bald spots,
does not make you an eligible candidate for a hair transplant. A transplant is
not a decision that you can take in an instant – it is a decision that you need
to take after a lot of consideration and you will need expert advice from a
surgeon too. For a hair transplant, you need to have a certain extent of hair
loss, your hair loss should have stabilised and you should have a clear
recipient as well as donor area.
Here are some of the questions that you need to ask first and foremost:
- The
first thing that you need to ask yourself is when you started losing hair –
balding is not age specific; it can happen at any age. For some people,
especially if there are the genetics running in the family, balding could start
as soon as the 20s. However, before you can become an ideal candidate for a
transplant, you will need to meet a doctor, who will have to ensure that your
hair loss has stabilised.
- For
people who have a profession where looks are important, losing hair could be
quite tough, as this could have a direct influence on your job. You need to ask
whether the hair loss is starting to affect your job or your chances of getting
a job.
- Similarly,
you also need to ask whether this hair loss is affecting your personal life –
are people making fun of you or are your marriage prospects dwindling because
of this condition?
- When
the hair loss would have first started, you would have probably tried out some
other methods of hair regeneration, which could vary from oils to medications.
In case, none of them seemed to have worked for you, you could consider a
transplant.
- Perhaps
the most important question that you need to ask yourself is whether you are
mentally and financially prepared for a hair
transplant surgery, because it will need investments of time and money.
- Your
age will be the first matter of consideration – if you are still in your teens,
chances are that your hair loss has not stabilised. The median age for
transplants is often considered to be around 25 years, but normally, most
surgeons will prefer patients who are in the mid-thirties, because in such
cases, the hair loss would have stabilised, leaving clear donor and recipient
areas.
- Your
expectations are essential – you need to have realistic expectations. If you
have extensive hair loss, then the chances of you getting a full head of hair
in the very first sitting are next to impossible. You need to understand that
the first step should be getting full coverage on your head and then you can
look for density.
- If
you are genetically predisposed to hair loss (most people in your family have
hair loss) chances are that you will have hair loss too, and this is something
that you need to keep in mind while considering a transplant.
- The
severity and the speed at which you are losing hair will also determine whether
you are an ideal candidate for a transplant – if hair loss has just started,
one sitting might be enough, but for severe loss, you might need anywhere
between three to five sittings. This is something that you will need to talk to
with the surgeon and he or she will be the best person to advice you on the
same.
- Perhaps
the most important factors that will help determine whether you are an ideal
candidate for a transplant or not, will be your donor area. When you first meet
with the transplant surgeon, one of the first things that they will do is check
your donor area, because if there is not sufficient hair in the donor area, a
transplant might be a tough ask. There has to be a sufficient amount of
density, the texture needs to be right and of course, there needs to be
sufficient flexibility on the scalp.
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