Hair transplant guide – methods, risks and costs

Head hair falls out and new ones grow - this is part of the usual, constantly repeating cycle. Losing around 70 to 100 hairs per day is considered normal. Because of the asynchronous growth, there are no bald spots. However, if the hair on your head becomes thin or bald over time, various reasons such as stress, genetic predispositions, medications or illnesses can be responsible. TheHair losscan affect both men and women of different ages. How everyone deals with it is entirely individual: from elaborate blow-dry hairstyles and short haircuts to toupees and natural semi-baldness. A professional hair transplant can permanently restore hair splendor. You can find out everything about treatment techniques, options and services in the following hair transplant guide.

Hair loss can have many reasons, but most often it is genetic. The hair falls out along with the hair roots and unfortunately no new hair can grow back in these areas. Light, bald patches form on the scalp. In such cases one speaks of pathological,irreversible hair loss. First, the so-called receding hairline forms and the hairline recedes further and further away from the forehead. Cosmetic treatments, on the other hand, cannot achieve a significant effect and stop hair loss. Hormone therapies, on the other hand, have a temporary effect, but also have many side effects. A modern and permanent solution is the transplantation of your own hair.

Hair loss in men and women

In 80% of men, the hair on their heads becomes thinner over the years. The density of the hair follicles from which hair can still grow decreases and this can actually begin in the teenage years. The male sex hormone testosterone is most often to blame for this and is referred to as the so-calledandrogenetic alopecia. It affects both sexes and is hereditary. In around 40% of women, especially after menopause, the hair thins over the entire head.

Artificial or foreign hair is not suitable for a hair transplant because the body rejects it. The procedure is done only with your own hair. To do this, hair roots are removed from the back of the head and broken down by the doctor into smaller units, called grafts, which contain a maximum of five hair roots. These are then used in the areas where the hair should become thicker again. The hair transplant takes several hours and is carried out under local anesthesia. After about 3 to 12 months you can enjoy lush hair again.

Hair transplant methods

The hair transplant methods differ primarily according to the size of the transplants - whether an entire area of ​​hairy skin is transferred to a bald area or each hair is transplanted individually. Depending on the desired result, one method or the other is more suitable. What is optimal for the patient must be decided individually. This also includes a qualified, trained surgeon with many years of experience.

In the event of an accident or burn injury, a cosmetically pleasing overall appearance is hardly possible because a larger area of ​​skin is transferred to a bald area - the so-called flap technique. Conspicuous transitions or scars arise, and the flap can die if it is very large.

For aesthetic and cosmetic goals, it is best to transplant each hair individually. The gold standard is the FUT method (Follicular Unit Transplantation). First, a narrow strip of skin is taken from the back of the head. Every two to three hairs that sprout directly next to each other from the scalp are then dissected under the microscope. The surgeon inserts these into the tiny puncture channels in the bald area. All that remains is a narrow scar on the back of the head, which is barely visible under the remaining hair.

Alternatively, there is the FUE method. The main difference is that only individual hair root units are removed and there is no longer a scar, just tiny point scars. However, this method takes much longer and can even take several days, which is stressful for the patient. In addition, with each removal, one or another hair root can be damaged, which will not grow back later. This process is also significantly more expensive.

Hair transplant guide: risks

Hair transplantation is a surgical procedure and as such complications can occur. Immediately after the operation, swelling and a feeling of numbness around the wound are possible. Since the scalp has a very good blood supply, inflammation rarely occurs. However, bleeding, infections or scars cannot be ruled out. However, there is no guarantee whether the transplanted hair roots will ultimately grow, because the damaged hair roots will not grow when they are removed. The result is very different for each patient.

Hair Transplant Guide – Durability

In order for the hair transplant to take place, it is particularly important that there are sufficiently strong donor hairs on the back of the head. In addition, the hair loss in the affected areas must have stopped so that the person treated can look forward to a beautiful head of hair on their head in the long term and the transplanted hair does not fall out just like the “real” hair. If the remaining hair is too thin or the bald area is too large, the transplanted hair will end up looking like an ill-fitting toupee.
In fact, every hair has a certain lifespan, which varies from hair section to hair section. The hair on the crown of the hair lives much longer than the hair on the top of the head and has a total lifespan of up to a hundred years. This benefit remains even if they are moved. The hair for transplantation is taken from the area at the back of the head between the ears and has the genetic peculiarity that it does not fall out.

Hair transplant costs

Hair is a skin appendage and therefore dermatologists, especially skin surgeons, are responsible for hair transplantation. The price varies depending on how much hair is transplanted and by which method. The final price is calculated based on the number of so-called transplants. Depending on this, the procedure can take between two and four hours. The newly planted head hair costs from 2,000 euros and you have to expect a total of around 8,000 for further treatments. In addition, the naturalness of the end result is expensive.

Hair transplant guide – experiences and results

A hair transplant is considered successful not only when it takes place, but also when the new strands appear natural. The audience laughs at Berlusconi's artificial hairline, while the fresh hair of football coach Jürgen Klopp or FDP chairman Christian Lindner looks completely natural. In order to achieve a natural-looking result, experience is definitely required. If an inexperienced surgeon does not pay attention to the direction of growth of the follicles, the hairs that have been planted will sprout in a crisscross pattern in all directions and grow in clumps. In the end, you don't get the look you want.

Is hair transplantation painful?

Although the patient is under anesthesia during the surgical procedure and does not feel any pain, he must mentally prepare for it. Only local administration of the painkiller to the scalp is painful, but the pain goes away after 2 - 3 minutes. Numbness and redness in the treated areas is completely normal in the first few weeks. Pain medications and creams can be helpful during the healing phase.

Hair Transplant Guide – After Hair Transplant

Just two days after the hair transplant, you can carefully go about your normal everyday activities. Stress and physical work that cause greater blood pressure in the head prevent the transplanted follicles from growing into the scalp. From the second day onwards you can wash your scalp gently. In the first 10 days you have to protect your head from excessive heat and UV radiation. Direct contact with hats and rainwater should also be avoided. Swelling is possible in the first two weeks, after which the redness should have decreased significantly. New hair grows in the early healing phase, but it is normal for it to fall out within the first three months. The optimal end result can be seen after about a year.

Beard transplantation is based on hair transplantation

The main reason for a hair transplant is to naturally and aesthetically fill bald areas with hair again, and this doesn't just apply to the head. Many men lose their self-confidence because their beard grows little to irregularly. Similar to head hair, additional beard hair can be implanted. These are taken from the normal hairline, from the body or from other hairy areas of the beard and, as with normal hair transplantation, are transplanted into the sparse or hairless areas of the face using the FUE method. Within two weeks, the new hair falls out and grows much faster than the hair transplanted to the top of the head.

Hair Transplant Guide: Conclusion

Before you decide on a hair transplant, the cause of the hair loss must be determined. Because there are some physical illnesses that cause hair loss. The doctor should first examine the remaining hair on the patient's entire body as well as fingernails and toenails and assess individually what the reasons for the alopecia are. There is actually no uniform standard for hair density. Many dermatology clinics have dermatologists who specialize in androgenetic alopecia and hair loss. The Association of German Hair Surgeons has listed some of the best in Germany.

Hair transplant guide – list of specialized clinics in Germany:

Hair transplant Berlin – My Perfect Hair Clinic, KÖ-HAIR
Hair transplant Munich – Clinic for Aesthetics, Medical One Hair Clinic
Hair transplant Hamburg – Alster Clinic Hamburg, ESTETICA Clinic
Hair transplant Cologne – hair transplant clinic – S-thetic Hair Cologne, Beethoven Clinic
Hair transplant Düsseldorf – Hairdoc – specialist in surgery
Hair transplant Frankfurt – Prohair Frankfurt
Hair transplant Stuttgart – Medical One Hair Clinic Stuttgart
Hair transplant Hanover – Medical One, Hair Clinic Med
Hair transplant Nuremberg – Medical One Hair Center
Hair transplant Augsburg – Moser Clinics
Hair transplant Bremen – Medicalhaircenter, KÖ-HAIR
Hair transplant Leipzig – Klinik am Rosental
Hair transplant Dresden – LANUWA AESTHETIK, Medical Well Clinic Dresden
Hair transplant Freiburg – Hair Competence Center Freiburg
Hair transplant Heidelberg – Heidelberg clinic for plastic and cosmetic surgery proaesthetic