Are you one of the approximately 320 million people in the United States living with hair loss? If so, you may be considering a hair transplant as a possible solution.
There are different types of hair transplant processes available, so it’s important to do your research and make sure you understand what type will work best for you. Here’s what you should know about the most common hair transplant types, what to expect afterward, and whether or not you should go back to using normal shampoo.
Types of Hair Transplants
There are two primary types of hair transplant processes: Follicular Unit Extraction and Follicular Unit Transplant.
FUE involves removing hair follicles from one area (typically the back of the head) and transplanting them to another area that’s affected by hair loss. The goal of this procedure is to restore the hairline and create a fuller, more natural look. During this procedure, hair follicles are individually removed and inserted into small incisions at the desired site. The process is painstaking and can take a long time, but it is associated with less complications and a shorter downtime than FUT.
Like FUE, FUT involves transplanting hair from one area to another. However, instead of removing individual hair follicles, the FUT process takes strips of skin (with the hair follicles attached) from a donor site (usually the back of the head). Once the strips are removed, they are separated into smaller groups of tissue. The small groups of tissue are then transplanted to the balding area. While this method has been used for decades and provides good results in many cases, the healing and recovery time is longer than it is with FUE.
How To Tell if a Transplant Is the Right Choice
It can be hard to decide if a hair transplant is the best decision for your situation. Since it’s intensely personal, only you can make the final choice. If you have had hair loss for a while and haven’t been able to manage it with non-invasive methods, a transplant may be the next logical step. It is most frequently recommended for progressed hair loss. Women with thinning hair, men with male pattern baldness and anyone with hair loss from an injury or burn may be good candidates for a hair transplant.
If you have a widespread hair loss pattern across your scalp or if you don’t have sufficient hair at the donor site for transplantation, a hair transplant may not work for you. To find out if you’re an ideal candidate, talk to a skilled hair transplant surgeon. He or she will let you know if the procedure is likely to work in your case.
Possible Complications
All surgical procedures come with some degree of risk, and a hair transplant is no exception. Complications associated with this procedure include:
- Itching
- Swelling of the scalp and surrounding tissue
- Bleeding
- Bruising around the eyes
- Infection
- Numbness in treated areas
- Crusty scab formations where hair was implanted and/or removed
- Unnatural-looking bunches of hair growth
- Folliculitis
- Shock loss, which is usually a temporary loss of transplanted hair
In the long-term, most people who receive hair transplants continue to grow hair in the transplanted areas. However, hair loss medication is recommended to prevent future hair loss in nontreated areas.
After-Transplant Hair Care Guidelines
After your transplant, you should spend at least one week avoiding exercise and physical exertion. You should also stay away from steam and saunas for at least three weeks and up to a month after your procedure.
You should sleep with your head elevated for a few nights after your transplant to minimize swelling. You can also apply an ice pack to your forehead for a few minutes every couple of hours to manage swelling.
Your doctor will give you specific instructions for washing your hair after your transplant procedure. You should not wash your hair until at least three days afterward. Carefully follow your doctor’s instructions to make sure the first wash is done correctly and does not damage the transplanted hair follicles.
The Role of Hair-Stimulating Products
After your transplant, you’ll want to use hair-stimulating products to obtain optimal results. Returning to your regular shampoo and conditioner after your scabs are gone will not cause any harm, but it won’t help you maintain your hair growth results either. Hair-stimulating products will not only help you get the best possible hair growth from the newly transplanted follicles, but will also help you avoid hair loss in non-treated areas.
Ingredients in Revita® Hair Stimulating Shampoo
Revita® Hair Stimulating Shampoo is a wise choice for after-transplant care. It stimulates existing and transplanted follicles for optimum hair growth. It contains 12 highly effective compounds for hair growth, including:
- Emu oil
- Procyanidin B2 (apple extract)
- Niacinamide
- Taurine
- Ketoconazole
- Caffeine
- Copper peptides
- Rooibos tea
- L-arginine
- Ornithine
- Cysteine
- Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)
- Biotin
Clinical studies show that 92% people who use Revita® Hair Stimulating Shampoo report a decrease in hair loss. Of those men and women studied, 85% also experienced an improvement in the overall appearance of their hair.
Non-Surgical Hair Loss Treatments
While transplants have long been used to combat baldness, there are non-surgical hair loss treatments available. They work topically, and although they don’t provide instant results, most people experience notable benefits after 3-6 months of use.
There are multiple options available to you when it comes to non-surgical hair growth products. Minoxidil and Nanoxidil are two of the most common. You can use Minoxidil, but keep in mind that there are many side effects associated with this ingredient, including:
- Dizziness or light-headedness
- Chest pain
- Rapid heart beat
- Severe scalp irritation and itchiness
- Inflammation and flushing
- Swelling in the feet or hands
Nanoxidil, on the other hand, does not have any known side effects. It’s also effective for stimulating hair growth across the entire scalp, while Minoxidil is limited to stimulating growth in areas frequently affected by male pattern baldness.
Find the Right Shampoo for Your Hair Loss
No two people are exactly the same, and one product may work better for you than another. To find the right shampoo and other haircare products for your needs, browse through the selection of hair growth products available from D.S. Laboratories.