Hair graft: Frequently Asked Questions

It is normal for anyone, before going through surgery, to be full of doubts about what the operation, preoperative, postoperative or recovery process will look like, among other issues.

The same goes for people who are thinking of undergoing a hair graft to recover hair wherever it has stopped growing. That’s why we’ve decided to make this post by answering some of the questions you ask us the most that are most common among hair transplant candidates.

Let’s see what they are and provide detailed answers on each of those points that seem most interesting to future transplanters.

At what age do a hair graft?

Anyone older may undergo a hair graft intervention. However, hair transplantation experts recommend waiting to overcome thirty years to carry out the operation, as that is when you can see exactly what the magnitude of the problem is and offer a personalized and lifelong solution for every patient.

How much does a hair graft cost?

The price of hair grafts will vary depending on several factors. The first of the patient’s situation, since it will not be the same to have to transplant the hair that is required to repopulate a bald spot to cover the entire scalp. The second of the technique that is used, the usual being that the use of the latest techniques that provide more natural and lifelong results will be more expensive than less sophisticated techniques. The third, is the place where the hair transplant intervention is going to be performed, being much cheaper to undergo a hair graft in Turkey than in Spain thanks to state subsidies, private investment in the medical sector in the country and the large number of patients who go to their clinics every year and allow to reduce the margins to offer top quality treatments at much cheaper prices.

That said, if you’re waiting for concrete figures, we go there. According to the different studies carried out in recent months in this regard, the average of a complete hair transplant, following the FUE technique that is the most advanced currently has a cost from 4,500-5,000 euros in the best clinics in Spain and of just over 2,000 euros at the world’s best clinics in Istanbul.

How to calculate the extent of hair graft?

Since the amounts are often misunderstood out of context, it is important to note that a healthy person in their twenties can count on four million hair follicles. A huge amount of hair that covers every last corner of the scalp and begins to wane in the thirties until it is placed, already in adulthood, in an average of about 150,000 hairs that, coming to be, about 250 units per square or, which is the same, about 120 follicular units.

Another thing that is important to know is that hair it is not the same as follicular units, since most follicular units contain one, two or three follicles, with an average of 2.2, which means that an adult with alopecia problems needs an average 10,000 to 12,500 follicular units.

And we talk on average because the number of hair follicles in each follicular unit changes depending on the breed and color of the hair. For example, people with light hair have a higher density of hair (about 150,000 hairs), brunettes or brown hair have a medium density (approximately 115,000 hairs) and redheads a lower density (about 90,000 hairs).

By race, Asians have less populated heads, with just over one hair per follicular unit, the Africans with two hairs per follicular unit and the light-haired Caucasians the most with three to four hairs per follicular unit.

So, how many follicular units are needed in a hair graft?

The number of follicular units each patient needs will vary depending on different factors such as the age, sex and race of the person, the extent of the unpopulated area, the type of hair they have, the density of the donor area, the quality of the hair in the donated area, the number of hairs contained in each follicular unit of the patient, hair color, skin quality and technique used to repopulate the hair of the person concerned.

In this sense it is worth noting that the micrografts made using the Sapphire FUE technique, the most advanced technique that exists today, allow the transplantation of more than 5,000 follicular units per session, which means that in a single session it is possible implant hair in all bald spots in patients with more severe alopecia.

How is a hair graft made?

Again, the response varies depending on the technique used by the surgeon who is adept at performing hair transplants. Here we find two main techniques that are carried out in almost all specialized hair graft centers: FUSS and FUE.

In the case of the first, in which strips of skin containing the follicular units to be transplanted into the bald ones are removed, the procedure involves undergoing an anesthesia that will almost certainly be local to proceed to remove those strips from the donor area that traditionally is the lower back area of the head to subsequently transplant those hairs into the receiving area where there is no absence of hair.

In the case of the second, the one that offers more accurate and natural results, the extraction of follicular units is carried out individually after subjecting the patient to local anesthesia. That is, the follicular units are taken out one by one of the donor area and then placed, also one by one, in the areas where the hair has stopped growing. This technique, much less invasive than the previous one, allows, in addition to shorter post-ops, the possibility of achieving much more detailed finishes, delineating the growth marks and being able to graft hair precisely in small spaces. For all this is the most used in the world today.

How to sleep after a hair graft?

The first night after undergoing a hair graft operation is the most complicated. Especially since after an intense day in the operating room, the patient must sleep on his back and on a surface that collects the head without touching either the donor area or the receiving area. That is why the patient should use a special bed and a special pillow with the aim of not damaging the follicles, in addition to favoring the work of anesthesia in the most uncomfortable moment at the level of pain for the patient.

As doctors usually repeat to patients after the first night, once passed, the following nights will be better, even if care must continue to be extreme during the first days after the operation.

How to wash hair after a hair graft?

It is important to know that, in the event that you opt for Capilclinic to perform the hair transplant, the first wash will be carried out by the team of doctors who has served you. The team will explain you carefully and the times that you need how to wash your hair the first few days after the hair graft operation, since it is essential to do it as they will tell you so that the transplanted hair can settle and start to sprout as soon as possible strong and healthy.

However, we’ll bring you ahead, we will tell you what the medical team will tell you in relation to the first post-transplant washes:

The first thing the transplant should do moisten the head with more or less cold water, which does not frost, making sure the potential of the faucet is soft. As not everyone has the same concept of soft, we will nuance that with the tap taking out not much water, but enough to moisten the hair. The first three or five days, it’s best to use a jug or a bottle to make sure the power is minimal.

The shampoo you’ll use in the first washes will be a special shampoo for freshly transplanted patients that will make it easier for you at the clinic. To use it, you only have to put it in the palms of your hands and rub them until you get foam, since you won’t be able to make contact with either the new hair or scalp. Once we have foam on our hands, we’ll apply it all over our heads with little touches.

To wash the receiving area, we will place it as like leaving tips of soap on top. Like so, until you complete the receiving area where you will still notice some pain or sleep on, so it is essential not to squeeze or make contact with it. As for the donor area, we can massage it slightly, always feeling comfortable during this process.

To remove the shampoo, again, we will not apply any pressure with the water using warm or minimally cold water, but never hot. If we can resort to a jug or a bottle in the first five washes it would be better.

To dry it we will avoid rubbing it or using a towel. It is best to resort to good quality absorbent cellulose paper to remove excess moisture and leave it more or less dry.

How does hair grow after hair graft?

If the hair transplant has gone well, which is how the entire grafts are usually completed in the most experienced clinics, the hair will begin to grow perfectly from the first few hours after being repositioned. However, it is important that you know that the growth process is a slow process. At first you’ll see a few scabs appear on your scalp, then you’ll start to see the transplanted hair follicles start to fall to make way for the new hairs and, as of the third month, you will begin to see how these new hairs begin to sprout, even if they still do so in a weak and slow way.

And it will not be until the sixth month after the operation when you start to see how those thin and unresistant hairs begin to become much more vigorous and with a normal density until in the twelfth month, that is, year after the intervention, you can finally see the final result of the operation by looking at the mirror your new image and the one that will accompany you for life if the transplant has been performed at a center like Capilclinic.

How to remove scabs after a hair graft?

A few days after the intervention you will see how your head fills with scabs, both in the receiving area, where you will appreciate something smaller and darker, and in the donor areas, where you will see something bigger and reddish.

In a matter of two days, the receiving scabs will turn yellow. The color change will coincide with the fall of those in the donor area. Their presence will therefore be testimonial, since they will barely be for a few hours on our scalp as a result of the intervention carried out.

After a couple of days with them, they will start to fall quickly and, with them, much of the transplanted hair. Something we shouldn’t worry about at all as it is part of the hair regeneration process.

After all hair falls, in addition to significantly improving our physical appearance, the scalp will be in good condition, as long as we follow all the indications made by the medical team that has attended us, to start to see how the new hair follicles sprout from the seed that has left that first hair extracted from the donor area and that will gradually be pushed by the medication that has been given to you.