Best Hair Transplant Results

If you decide to restore your hair one important consideration is how natural the result looks. If you are going to invest your time and money into restoring your hair. To make you look more youthful. You need to ensure whoever you choose can produce the best hair transplants result for you.

What makes the best hair transplant results?

A good Doctor and Clinic will be looking to achieve the best hair restoration result for you. They need to focus on specific criteria.  The criteria need to filter between who will be a good, bad or average hair transplant candidate.

Baldness is a medical condition. That affects some 25% of men in their 20´s and an astounding 2/3 of all men after the age of 60. Hair loss is progressive. Although can be slow, once it starts it will generally continue. Normally following the genetic patterning within the family.

On average there are 100,000 – 150,000 follicles on the scalp. If there are fewer than 90,000 hairs on the scalp, the hair density is considered thin.

Doctor´s Appraisal

The hair transplant diagnostic will be looking to measure the patients´suitability to achieve a natural result. Quantifying aspects such:

Donor hair density
Donor Surface Area Size
Hair Characteristics
Scalp Laxity
The best technique to use, either the FUE or FUT hair transplant technique

With all this information the hairline can then be designed. Taking into consideration the age of the individual, current hair loss stage, potential hair loss stage. The assessment of graft numbers available now and overall in the future.

Agreeing on the hairline is give and take

The hairline design is subjective. It must be in accordance with nature and facial bone structure. Rather than a “designer” style made to a template. Where one design suits all theory. The hairline is probably the most important aspect of the hair transplant. It frames our face and creates a more youthful appearance. It is also the area of a hair transplant that can create the biggest difference of opinion between Doctors.

Obviously, doctors are going to have their own opinion on what is best. That is human nature. The same with a hair transplant patient having their own ideas. What they are looking to achieve, their expectations. Some will choose their doctor solely on his hairline design protocols. As it falls into line with their goals. Which can be good or bad depending on the protocols of the Doctor.

Same, same or just very similar? 

First, it must be understood that the face is not the same on either side. They are not mirrored images of each other. So it probably does not make sense to make the hairline design a mirror image. As it will not reflect the contours of the person’s facial features.

Great care should be taken when designing your hairline. It is an area that is not easily changed in the future. If a wrong decision, it could be something you regret for the rest of your life.

Trade-off? Coverage vs Hair density

As we can´t replace like for like hair lost. A hair transplant works because we can make less hair appear like more hair. It is a skill to cover an area that required more hair look perfectly natural. So, is there a trade-off between the hair coverage and the hair density?

The goal of a hair transplant is to cover the scalp with a natural looking hair density. A density that can mimic nature. On lower hair loss stages it´s easy.  To blend hair with the surrounding hair and create the illusion of no hair loss. For example a hairline reconstruction. But as the surface area increases, it becomes harder to create this illusion.

Creating the illusion of hair density

The art of creating the appearance of fullness. To eliminate the appearance of hair loss enough hair must be placed per cm². This is to block the light penetrating the hair and reflecting off the scalp. The loss of hair density does not become obvious until approximately 40% is lost. It is possible to place a lower than natural hair density but give the look of fullness. If a low hair density is placed this illusion is not created. The scalp is still visible and an unnatural coverage of hair is created. Never looking pleasing to the eye.

On higher hair loss stages planning is vital. It may not be possible to give a natural looking density and full hair coverage. In this case, two options are available:

1. Design the hairline to be more conservative. This will reduce the surface area to treat. Find a balance between the surface area and the graft numbers available.

2. If a lower hairline is preferred or cosmetically more appealing. Better to start from the agreed hairline and work back. Slowly lowering the hair density as you go. Rather than spread the hair to cover the area at a lower hair density.

Better to treat each area, hairline, frontal third, mid-scalp, independently. With the required amount of grafts and density and then move back. By lowering the gradually a natural looking growth pattern of hair growth is created.

With low hair loss stages it is impossible to assess how far hair loss will progress. Even with minimal hair loss in the family. Especially with younger individuals. Even if there is not a strong pattern of hair loss in the family this can only be used as a guide. Permanent hair restoration should be treated with caution to ensure the best hair transplant result is achieved.