Hair transplants have been increasingly popular every year since Wimpole Clinic was founded in 1975. Despite this, there are still misconceptions about the procedure, particularly the origin of donor hair required for a hair transplant. This article aims to clarify this aspect of the procedure.
One of the most frequently asked questions in our patients’ initial consultation is ‘where does the hair come from for hair transplants?’ When many of us think of a hair transplant we think of a surgeon stitching in some (at best) ‘similar-looking’ hair among the residing locks and then prescribing a styling routine to finish. But hair donation from another person doesn’t usually work for hair transplants.
The truth is that for either a Follicular Unit Excision (FUE) or a Follicular Unit Transplant Technique (FUT) hair transplant, the donor hair comes directly from another area on the same head.
So it is not just natural-looking, it is completely natural, authentic and individual hair.
The location of the donor area is chosen to have long-term stability. A circular incision is made in the skin around the upper part of the follicle. This is then extracted from the scalp, leaving a small open hole. When all the grafts have been extracted, the donor area is then dressed with a hair transplant bandage.
The hair tissue is then grafted finely under a microscope and placed into the destination area, which is the final step in the hair transplant process.
A high skill-level in this step is crucial as poor placing can lead to cell trauma and poor graft survival. This process is repeated to create as many grafts as are needed to restore hair to the bald area.
For some patients (usually male), where complete pattern baldness has occurred, donor hair transplant may not be possible since there are no longer any functioning donor sites.
This is why patients are limited by the number of hair transplants they can have, and why donor management is so important.
If an excessive number of donor follicles are harvested, it can give you a bad hair transplant result, and potentially hinder the possibility of undergoing further transplants in the future due to overharvesting.
In these cases, you may be able to have a body hair transplant, where grafts are harvested from the beard, chest, abdomen, or other areas of the body and transplanted to the scalp.
There is also another option for those who have suffered total hair loss (alopecia totalis). If you’re generally happy with a short-haired look or a ‘buzz-cut,’ there is a procedure which can create the appearance of a shaved hair look.
This procedure is called scalp micropigmentation (SMP) and is easily administered by a trained specialist. This may also be used on clients who have only suffered partial hair loss or to conceal the scar from an FUT transplant.
The procedure is essentially very similar to having a tattoo. The pigment, known as a stable chromophore, is tattooed into the dermal layer. This is the second layer of the skin which does not shed like the first layer.
Your surgeon will use a multi-needled pigment device to create the tattoo. This makes tiny incisions in the scalp through which pigment is distributed carefully, dot by dot, over the area affected by hair loss.
Following a short recovery period, Scalp Micropigmentation creates the look of a shaved head. Learn more about SMP hair transplants.
The Wimpole Clinic specialises in FUE donor hair transplants. Our clients are both men and women of a wide range of ages, ethnicities and hair types. FUE hair transplants are the most effective and natural-looking hair restoration procedure. They’ve helped thousands of clients enjoy restored hair growth.
If you would like to talk to us about hair transplant, SMP or you have any concerns about your hair loss, get in touch with us now for a free, no-obligation consultation.
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