Hair transplant: Myths, facts and guidelines | Fashion Trends

The growing popularity of hair transplants in India and the sudden rise in deaths including that of 30-year-old balding Indian television executive Athar Rasheed in Delhi has brought hair transplantation in news for all the erroneous rationale and complications associated with it like death, blindness etc. While hair transplant is a simple and safe procedure but like every surgery, the hair transplantation also requires expertise to perform the surgery and also to manage the complications if any.

The frequently asked question by a bald person over the internet is, “how does a hair transplant work?” In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Arika Bansal, MBBS, Diplomate of ABHRS (USA), Hair Transplant Surgeon and Co-Founder of Eugenix Hair Sciences, answered, “Your own hair is implanted to you. Yes, you read it right. When a person develops baldness, luckily, he retains hair at the back of the scalp. This area generally doesn’t get bald throughout one’s lifetime. This area is known as, the ‘donor area,’ by hair transplant surgeons. In a hair restoration procedure, grafts are extracted in such a manner that the aesthetics of the donor area remains unchanged. Then these extracted grafts are implanted in the balding area, known as the ‘recipient area’.”

She added, “You might wonder what would happen if someone’s donor area is limited or poor. Then don’t worry, even in such cases, science has found the solution. Body hair transplant is also now streaming in the hair transplant world. Grafts can also be extracted from the beard, chest, abdomen, or even from the pubic area but it is very crucial to choose the right surgeon for a body hair transplant. While choosing the clinic, make sure you don’t look for corrective hair transplant surgery in future. Now the next question that might bother you is which technique is the best for a hair transplant? A little research will give you the answer that FUT is the old technique and FUE is the new favorite of hair transplant surgeons but here is a catch – direct hair transplant is the modification of the FUE technique which must be preferred by every hair transplant aspirant. Unlike FUE, in this technique, transit time is less and graft survivability is maximum.”

Guidelines:

Dr Rashmi Sharma, Senior Consultant at Fortis Hospital in New Delhi’s Vasant Kunj, asserted, “This makes the need for some basic hair transplant guidelines of patient care. It should be done by a qualified dermatologist who is skillful in doing dermatosurgery and cutaneous surgery. Hair transplant can be done in outpatient day care facility. The day care facility should be inbuilt with handling any surgical complication and emergency handling. Hair is definitely important part of human body and contributes immensely to the general appurtenance of a person. In hair transplantation, hair follicles from one area of the body are removed and transplanted to the areas that lack it and for this, we have two options namely FUE and FUT. Hair transplant surgery done by an experienced surgeon can give you a very natural look.”

Talking about why the result varies, Dr Arika Bansal said, “Any hair transplant aspirant might wonder why the results of different clinics vary from one another. One thing is for sure if your search is for the best hair transplant in the world and cost is also an important factor, then you might not get the desired results. Rather consider a clinic that charges for the quality.” She highlighted that the results of any clinic are primarily based on the following factors –

• Skill: The skill set of doctors as well as the technicians involved in the surgery plays a pivotal role.
• Experience: It is rather needless to mention that your surgeon and technicians of surgery must be well experienced in the field.
• Passion: Be it any work, if it lacks the passion of the doer then the success rate will be low.
• Choose the clinic who have a comprehensive approach: Hunt for the best hair transplant in the world in 2022, will definitely give you countless commercial clinic Any commercial clinic will straight jump into surgery regardless of your age, grade of baldness and need for medication. A good clinic will follow the following approaches in handling the different cases of baldness –

i) Medical management: Few cases can only be treated with the use of medicines like finasteride and minoxidil.

ii) Medicines and surgery: When baldness is little more than the above, a good doctor will use this approach. Here he will put the patient on medication first. Medicines will help reduce the number of grafts required in the surgery. This will not only be beneficial for the patient’s pocket but the patient’s original hair will be restored to its place.

iii) Only surgery: Advance cases of baldness can also be cured with the help of surgery.

Thus, if you are looking for the best hair transplant clinic in India, then you must keenly observe the approach of the clinics.

• Inquire about instruments: If you are researching about best hair transplant clinic in the world and you are not inquiring about the instruments, then certainly there is something wrong with your research. Inquire about the following things at your clinic:

i) Whether a laser device is used for the symmetry of hairline

ii) Whether a vibrator is used at the time of giving local anaesthesia

iii) What kind of punches are used during the extraction

iv) Whether implanters are used for ensuring good handling of grafts

v) Must inquire about magnification system. The magnification system must be over 4X.

He insisted that the other things to be kept in mind while researching the best hair transplant hospital in the world include:

• Give thorough research to the results of the clinic. They must not copy-paste the temple points. Instead, individual care is given to different skull shapes, hair colour, hair thickness and hair growth.
• See how the clinic is getting patients. If they are getting patients from massive advertisements, then certainly they are not the right choice. However, if they are referred by a happy patient, then they must be considered.
• If a clinic is giving too many references to old patients, then they are good to go. A better result-producing clinic will allow you to talk with old happy patients.
• Check if they are endorsed by international forums like hair transplant mentor, hair restoration network, the International alliance of hair restoration surgeons, American hair loss association, etc.
• If a clinic is into only hair restoration services then it must be preferred over the clinic which is into entire cosmetic services. This is because focusing on one thing produces better results.
• Make sure you choose the right clinic first and that you do not need any corrective surgery.
• Clinics who have results of corrective surgeries as well evidently are better than others. One who can correct the past mistake of the inexperienced surgeon is himself an experienced surgeon and will not let you down.
• Do not look just for celebrity hair transplant clinics, even celebrities have often faced failure in hair transplant surgeries. Instead, do your own research and then choose the right clinic. Also, there are countless celebrities who undergo hair transplant surgery but do not give media consent to the clinics. Thus, your own research can fetch you the right clinic and evidently the desired result.

Myths and facts about hair transplant:

Dr Rashmi Sharma listed some of the common myths and debunked them as –

Myth 1 – Hair transplant can cause cancer and lead to eye damage or can damage some part of the brain is false.

Fact: This is incorrect

Myth 2 – Hair transplant is not a very painful procedure.

Fact: It’s very safe and simple treatment.

Myth 3 – Hair transplant looks very artificial

Fact: Not true it looks very natural

Myth 4 – Hair transplant doesn’t last

Fact: It is permanent and long lasting

Myth 5 – Only males can do transplant

Fact: False even females can undergo HT

Bringing her expertise to the same, Dr Arika Bansal said, “The era of the twenty-first century is witnessing countless cosmetic surgeries. With the advancement of science and broadened perspective of people, the stigma of cosmetic surgeries is being eliminated from society at a rapid pace. Hair transplants are also welcomed by society for both men and women but still, it is associated with many myths.” She revealed a few myths and facts about hair transplants –

• Painful: You can say that this is the most popular myth associated with hair transplants. Most people are reluctant for a hair transplant because of the assumption that it is very painful. However, if you can endure the pain of injection of anesthesia, then the procedure is very smooth. Also, pain endurance varies from person to person. Thus, this myth also varies from person to person. The fact in most cases is that people only experience pain during the injection of anesthesia.
• Only for men: Yes, even today it is a belief among people. This is another misconception that a hair transplant is only for men. However, the hair transplant industry is very much open for women as well. Even facial transplants are also for women. Women can increase the density of their eyebrows and eyelashes and men can also do the same. Beard transplant is as popular as scalp hair transplant as the demand of the era is guys sporting and flaunting a dense beard.
• Demands ample of dollars: Most people believe that only the rich can afford this cosmetic procedure. However, this is not true. In European and western countries, it might be costly, but in Asian countries, it is very much affordable. However, one must never compromise quality with price.
• Temporary results: This myth revolves a lot around hair transplant aspirants. However, this is not true. Hair transplant results are long-lasting and permanent if one commits to medications and these are taken religiously.
• Only for young people: The saying never goes old that age is just a number and when age is just a number, then why think before getting a hair transplant? Smile, as the donor area, the back of your scalp generally doesn’t see baldness throughout life. Thus, at any point of time, you can see a hair transplant surgeon and you can enjoy long-lasting results. Being a hair transplant surgeon, we can say that anyone who is above 25 years of age can go for a hair transplant. Our suggestion is to take time. The desired area of transplant should be 70-100% bald, then only you will be the ideal candidate.
• Unnatural results: To make sure you receive the utmost natural results from a hair transplant, you must do the research properly and then try to zero down to the best clinic. Research is the key. Do not rush into the process. Do not choose an inexperienced clinic. If you are able to choose the right clinic, then be assured no one could tell if you have gone through any hair job.
• Cancer: It is clear and bold, NO, that a hair transplant doesn’t invite skin or any other cancer.
• Instant result: Do not have unrealistic expectations of instant results from a hair transplant. Be well aware that a hair transplant will give results in good 10-12 months. Also, keep in mind that no hair transplant can give you the density that you had naturally. A hair transplant is an illusion of density to maintain the aesthetics of your looks.