Am I eligible for a hair transplant?
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Hair transplants are an extremely effective procedure to counteract hair loss.
It consists of extracting hair follicles from the back of the head, that are resistant to the hormone that produces hair loss. The follicles are then transplanted to areas with bald patches or low density.
Unlike other transplants, in this case, the patient is their own donor; this way, there is no way that the scalp will reject the transplanted follicles. There are currently no effective methods for transplants that use follicles from other donors, but there has been great progress with capillary cloning.
Being eligible for a hair transplant depends on a variety of factors. Here are some of the most important facts to bear in mind:
Viable donor area
The donor site is located on the back and the side of the head. Because of this, we need to perform a trichological analysis that allows us to determine how many follicles per square centimeter there are; whether we can extract them without damaging the area; and how many we could extract.
Alopecia type
The type of alopecia you have matters. Sometimes, hair loss is linked to other factors, such as stress or autoimmune disease (alopecia areata), so it is only a temporary problem. This means that the hair follicles remain in place, so, with the right treatment, your hair will grow again.
This also applies to areas with scarring. It is important to see if the area receives enough blood flow for the follicles to be transplanted successfully (cicatricial alopecia).
Hair follicles may only be transplanted so that new hair grows again if the patient has permanent hair loss (follicles are no longer in place). For instance, people diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia (also called male-pattern baldness) could be eligible for a hair transplant.
Age
We recommend getting a hair transplant only after the age of 25 because, before this age, alopecia can progress over the years. It is preferable that you wait a little longer in order to get a better picture of the problem and find a more suitable solution.
Hair type
Your hair type is also an important factor. The thicker it is, the larger the surface area it will cover; the same amount of fine hair would cover a smaller surface area. Hair type and amount are very important.
Medical history
It is important to know the patient’s medical history in order to determine whether or not they are eligible for a hair transplant. There are all kinds of health conditions that could end up being counter indicative of a hair transplant, if untreated. For example, active inflammatory or infectious diseases on the scalp.
We know that restoring your hair is very important to you, but you should keep in mind that your treatment will depend on a variety of factors. For this reason, getting a professional evaluation is crucial, so that hair transplant experts can guide you along in this process.
Here are more details
Hair transplants can be performed only when the donor and the recipient are the same person. If we were to try to perform a hair transplant with someone else’s follicles, the chances of rejection would increase dramatically.
Still, scientific research keeps making great strides with regard to capillary cloning. This process consists of modifying stem cells in order to create new cells that can grow hair once transplanted onto the patient.
Similarly, some cosmetological companies are working on developing 3D prints (“bioprinting”) of functional hair follicles. However, this technology is still in the experimental phase.