Hair loss (alopecia) is a very common condition. Although it is more common in older adults, it can occur in anyone, including children. There are approximately 100,000 hairs on our scalp. In general, 50 to 100 hairs are lost per day. New hair normally replaces the lost hair, but this does not always happen. Hair loss can develop gradually over many years or it can occur suddenly. Sudden hair loss is temporary. It is due to stress, illness, side effects of medication or radiotherapy.
Depending on the underlying cause, hair loss may be temporary or permanent. Male and female pattern baldness is permanent. This type of hair loss is usually familial. Familial hair loss, which is most common in men, starts in the 20s. Temporary hair loss may be seen during pregnancy, menopause, hormonal disorders like thyroid diseases, stress, cancer treatment, radiotherapy, rapid weight loss, some mineral deficiencies such as iron deficiency and may be due to side effects of some medications. Another type of temporary hair loss is seasonal hair loss. This condition is a part of the life cycle of the hair and is seen in seasonal transitions.
The process of transplanting healthy hair follicles by microinvasive surgical methods from the nape, beard or chest to the scalp where the hair is permanently lost, the hair follicle is not active, and it is no longer possible for hair to grow is called ‘Hair Transplantation’. The hair follicles transplanted are called ‘grafts’. Healthy hair taken from the nape, beard or chest is called ‘donor’.
Hair transplantation is the only permanent treatment against baldness. After the healing process is over, if it is transplanted with a good technique and by an experienced team, it is unrecognisable that the hair has been transplanted.
Hair transplantation is a permanent and natural method. Because it is taken from one’s own hair, there are no problems such as incompatibility, allergy and rejection of the tissue. Hair transplantation is the only solution against baldness when hair is lost permanently and it is impossible to regrow with other methods. Once transplanted, hair grows and adapts in the same way as the original hair.
Hair transplantation is a personally designed procedure. The objective is to provide a natural looking, permanent scalp appearance so that it is not obvious that hair is transplanted.
Today, there are two most commonly used methods in hair transplantation: the FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) method and the DHI (Direct Hair Implantation) method. The second is an improved version of the first one. FUE and DHI can be used separately or together. In the FUE technique, 1-2 mm long channels are opened with diamond or steel-tipped scalpels in the places where the hair follicles will be transplanted and hair follicles are then placed in these channels with forceps. In the DHI technique, the hair roots are placed in special pens called ‘choi’ and then planted directly in the planned transplantation area without opening any channels. The most important factor for successful hair transplantation is for it to be performed by an experienced team under the control of an experienced physician.
What is a hair transplant?
Hair transplantation is the transplant of healthy hair follicles from the neck, beard or chest with microinvasive surgical techniques to the scalp where hair is permanently lost and hair growth is no longer possible. It is a permanent and natural method, since it is performed by using the person’s own hair. here are no problems such as incompatibility, allergy and rejection of the tissue.
What does hair transplant do?
Hair transplantation is the only permanent solution against baldness when the hair is permanently lost and is impossible to regrow with other methods. Once hair transplantation is performed, the transplanted hair grows and adapts in the same way as the original hair. After the healing process is over, if the procedure is performed with a good technique and by an experienced team, it is unrecognisable that the hair has been transplanted.
Am I a suitable candidate for a hair transplant?
If you send your photos of the front, top, back and both sides of your head to our specialists, we can give you satisfactory information as soon as possible. In addition, factors such as your age, your expectations from hair transplantation, the presence of a disease on your skin, your chronic diseases, your hair loss type, the presence of a sufficient number of hair follicles in the donor area are effective in decision making.
What are the factors affecting the success of hair transplant?
The most important factor for hair transplantation is that the transplantation is performed by an experienced team under the control of an experienced physician. Endocrine and systemic diseases such as seborrhoeic dermatitis, fungal infections, diabetes, thyroid disease both cause hair loss and reduce the success of hair transplantation. An unhealthy diet based on carbohydrates, excessive smoking and alcohol consumption, and negative psychological state affect the success of hair transplantation. Proper wound care for the first 10 days and protection of the scalp from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun and other harmful factors in the following days are also very important. It is recommended that the person should act in accordance with the recommendations of the transplant specialist for 6-12 months.
What are hair transplant techniques?
Today, two methods are most commonly used in hair transplants: the FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) method and the DHI (Direct Hair Implantation) method, The second is an improved version of the first method. DHI technique is also known as ‘unshaven hair transplantation’. FUE and DHI can be used separately or together. In the FUE technique, 1-2 mm long channels are opened with diamond or steel-tipped scalpels in the places where hair follicles will be transplanted and hair follicles are placed in these channels with forceps. In the DHI technique, on the other hand, the channels are not opened; the roots are placed in special pens called ‘choi’ and transplanted directly into the transplantation area.
What are the risks of hair transplant?
If it is performed under the supervision of a specialised physician and in a hospital environment, there is almost no risk. However, many risks are possible in hair transplants performed by people who are not physicians and do not have sufficient medical knowledge. These include necrosis, infection, bleeding, headaches, prolonged itching, acne, inappropriate or no hair growth.
What should I do and what should I pay attention to before hair transplant?
You should share all your personal medical information with your physician before the procedure. Inform your physician about your medications, diseases or allergies. If you are using blood thinners and painkillers, especially aspirin, you should stop taking them under the supervision of your physician. In order for the transplantation process to be successful, it would be good to quit alcohol and smoking one week before. A balanced and healthy diet before and after hair transplantation positively affects hair health and transplantation. A diet deficient in certain minerals and vitamins negatively affects hair transplantation as well as general health. It is not necessary to shave the hair in DHI procedure. If FUE procedure will be applied, hair should be shaved. When coming to the transplantation procedure, you should wear clothes such as shirts and tracksuits that are not closed in front, because during the first three days of dressing, the clothes touching the transplanted hair may damage the roots.
What are the stages of hair transplant?
Hair transplantation includes planning the procedure, local anaesthesia, sedation anaesthesia if necessary, removal of the roots from the donor area, preparation of the grafts, anaesthesia of the transplantation area, transplantation of the roots and dressing stages. These procedures take 6-9 hours.
What should I expect after hair transplant?
A hair transplant is ultimately a minor surgery and tissue transplantation. Therefore, the principles of a normal surgical operation also apply to hair transplantation. In order to prevent infection and similar complications after hair transplantation, medications recommended by your physician should be used, rest should be taken and general hygiene should be observed. In order to prevent facial oedema, you should lie on your back and be careful not to lean forward. If an unexpected situation develops, your physician should be informed immediately.
A very big change should not be expected for the first 6 months. On the 10th day, after the crust scabs are shed, the new hair that will grow after transplantation becomes visible. However, during the course of a month, these hairs start to fall out, or even fall out completely in some people. This situation is normal. While the hair that is not shed continues to grow, the hairis shed may remain in a dormant, resting phase for up to 3 months. It can take almost a year to pass for 90% of the roots to grow. However, there is still more hair to grow.
What should I pay attention to after hair transplant?
We recommend absolute rest for the first 24 hours to prevent infection, necrosis, oedema on the face and neck. You should use the medication recommended by your physician. Care should be taken to lie on your back to prevent oedema, swelling and bruising on the face and bleeding in the nape area. Even if you are going to sit, you should sit facing backwards. Bending forwards for a long time should be avoided.
After the 3rd day, light work such as office work can be done. However, activities such as heavy work, bath, sauna, heavy sports should be avoided. Since the wounds are not fully healed, care should be taken not to hit the transplantation area and activities that will damage the transplanted roots should be avoided. Sexual intercourse is not recommended for the first two weeks. It is important to wash your hair with the recommended shampoo every day starting from the third day until the 10th day when crust scab are shed completely.
After the 10th day, you can return to normal life. From this stage onwards, you should protect your hair, which is still like a baby’s hair, especially from the ultraviolet rays of the sun, and you should not scratch and scrape the itching areas that may occur.
When will I see results from a hair transplant?
In the first month after transplantation, the transplanted hair and some untransplanted hair will fall out. Regrowth of the lost hair starts after three months. It is unlogical to expect a satisfactory result or to have a great expectation before 5-6 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Anyone who has familial hair loss or hair loss due to hormonal disorders, environmental factors, drug use, etc.; is over 24 years of age; has no general health problems; the number of grafts to be transplanted and the donor area is sufficient, can have hair transplantation regardless of gender.
Those who are congenitally bald; those whose hair loss starts before the age of 24; those with serious diseases such as heart, hypertension, diabetes, liver or kidney failure, blood clotting disorder; hepatitis B and HIV carriers cannot have hair transplantation.
Under 24 years of age, hair transplantation is not recommended. However, people who have experienced hair loss before the age of 24 due to accidents and burns can undergo hair transplantation.
Yes. Hair transplantation can be applied to the eyebrows both in men and women, as well as to the beard and temples in men.
The most commonly used and ideal donor area is the neck. If sufficient grafts cannot be obtained from here, grafts can also be taken from the beard, chest, back and leg regions.
No. Another person’s hair cannot be used in hair transplantation, because tissue rejection occurs and everyone’s hair structure is different.
The maximum number of grafts that can be collected from a person throughout his/her life is 8-10 thousand. It is ideal to apply 20-30 grafts per cm2 in the area to be transplanted. It is not recommended to transplant more than 3500-4500 grafts in one session. Of course, the decision is made after the patient is evaluated by a specialist.
It is not recommended to transplant more than 3500-4500 grafts in one session. Therefore, if the person needs more, additional sessions may be required.
Yes. A second session can be performed for those who need more than 3500-4500 grafts in hair transplantation. The maximum hair transplantation session is three times.
If hair transplantation is to be performed for the second time in the same area, it is recommended 8 months after the first hair transplantation, and if it is to be performed in another area, it is recommended 6 months after the first hair transplantation.
New hair does not grow in place of the hair taken from the donor area. However, since there are many follicles in the donor area, there is no noticeable thinning in this area.
Hair transplantation methods used today are FUE and DHI. They may be applied separately or together. In the FUE technique, 1-2 mm long channels are opened with diamond or steel-tipped scalpels and hair follicles are placed in these channels with forceps. In the DHI technique, the hair roots are placed in thespecial pens called ‘choi’ and directly transplanted to the transplantation area without opening any channels. In DHI, unshaven transplantation is also possible.
In the DHI technique, the survival rate of hair follicles is high. The risk of bleeding in the operation area is less. The healing is better afterwards. Transplantation can be performed without shaving the hair. However, the training process of the team is long for them to do it efficiently, the cost of the procedure is higher, and its application requires high concentration.
If you want to have natural and permanent hair of your own, the only way to do this is hair transplantation; because the transplanted hair is obtained from your own body with the same color and characteristics of your original hair. You will get a result that is completely your own natural hair with its growth, color and shape.
The transplanted hair will be the colour of the hair in the donor area.
Hair transplantation is completely painless. Before hair transplantation, the graft and transplantation areas are numbed with anaesthetic substances. During this anaesthesia, there is a slight pain while the anaesthetic is administered. No pain is felt afterwards. In order to make anaesthesia more comfortable, a needle-free device called ‘anaesthesia gun’ is used. We also make the transplantation process completely painless and comfortable by applying sedation. There may be pain for the first 5 days after the procedure. For this, painkillers recommended by your physician are used.
Bleeding is not expected after hair transplantation. However, it may occur in people with blood clotting problems. Luckily, this risky concition is already detected in the pre-procedure evaluation of the patient if present.
Redness after hair transplantation is a condition experienced by everyone. It is a natural process due to the procedure. In the area to be transplanted, as many channels are opened as the number of grafts collected. During this process, small bleeding occurs at the bottom of the channels opened. The reason for the redness seen in hair transplantation is these small bleedings.
After the first wash, the redness disappears to a great extent. Sometimes redness may continue for up to 2 weeks. In white-skinned people, redness can be seen for an average of 2 months. As a precaution, if you wear a hat and do not directly expose to the sun, the redness that occurs after hair transplantation is overcome in a short time. In addition, the application of creams and lotions recommended by your physician also plays an important role in the relief of these rashes.
Crusting is seen in almost everyone after hair transplantation. Small-scale bleeding occurs at the bottom of the openned channels where the collected hair follicles will be placed and in the donor area. With clotting of these small-scale bleeding, the blood coagulates and crusting occurs after hair transplantation. This is a natural part of the post-operative healing process. If the crust scabs do not fall off naturally after hair transplantation, the hair follicles will be damaged along with the scabs. Therefore, never pluck your scabs!
In order for the crust scabs to fall off after hair transplantation, the healing process must first be completed. The crusts that start to fall off within 5-6 days after hair transplantation are completely separated from the hair follicles and disappear between the 10th and 12th day after hair transplantation.
One of the most common complaints after hair transplantation is itching. The most common cause of this is crusting, which develops in everyone after hair transplantation. It may also develop due to allergy and infection.
Allergy after hair transplantation often occurs as a result of not following the physician’s recommendations. In addition to not using the recommended shampoo, washing your hair before the specified day or using cosmetic hair care products are also causes of allergy.
Infection after hair transplantation occurs due to reasons such as being in dusty environments or not following the instructions for medication use. The most important symptom of infection is unbearable itching in the hair transplantation area.
First of all, the itchy area should not be touched. Itching usually passes between 1-2 weeks. In order to overcome this process as soon as possible and comfortably, the hair should be washed with the shampoos recommended by your physician and and this area should not be exposed to direct sunlight.
Transplanted hair may shedt within a month. For the next 3 months, these shed hairs enter a resting period, which we can call a kind of sleep. Although the hair starts to grow afterwards, you should not expect too much before 5-6 months after the procedure. In the 6th month, the transplanted hair becomes combable. When one year is over, more than 90% of the transplanted follicles have grown. In most people, it is possible to have a natural hair so that it is not obvious that the hair has been transplanted.
The transplanted hair may fall out within a month. For the next 3 months, these hairs enter a resting period, which we can call a kind of sleep.
One month after hair transplantation, the hair that falls out starts to grow again after a 3-month rest period. Although the hair starts to grow afterwards, you should not expect too much before 5-6 months after the procedure.
It takes 3 months for the hair that falls out in the 1st month after hair transplantation to grow back. In other words, you may look bald up to 4 months after transplantation.
After hair transplantation, consuming foods rich in biotin and iron will increase the quality of the hair that will grow. It is recommended to consume eggs, walnuts, spinach, milk, yoghurt and oily fish frequently.
Blood thinners should not be used after hair transplantation. Avoid alcohol and smoking for at least 1 week. For 2 weeks, exposure to direct sunlight and sexual intercourse are not recommended. Heavy sports and swimming is not advised for a month; sunbathing, sauna, Turkish bath and solarium are not recommended for 3 months.
Hair clippers are not used after hair transplantation as they may damage the transplanted hair follicles.
The first wash after hair transplantation is done in the clinic on the 3rd day. After hair transplantation, crusting occurs on the hair follicles. In order to remove these crusts, they need to be softened by washing with a lotion. However, care should be taken to ensure that the first washing is done in such a way that the newly transplanted hair follicles are not damaged.
Since the transplanted hair follicles are still very new, their settlement in the transplanted area is not complete. Therefore, with a wrong movement during this process, the roots move from their places and it is not possible for them to hold on to the scalp. In addition, the crusts on the scalp after hair transplantation are separated from the hair follicles by washing. Therefore, if washing is done in a hurry or in the wrong way, both the relevant area and the hair follicles will be damaged. Washing should be done with the same technique within 1 month after hair transplantation.
After the 3rd day of transplantation, hair is washed once a day for the first 10 days. Hair washing should last 30 minutes. The following should be considered while washing the hair:
Firstly, the lotion recommended by your physician should be applied to the crusted areas with slow movements.
The lotion should be waited for 30-40 minutes so that it covers the entire scalp. These areas should never be rubbed.
After the waiting time is over, the lotion should be washed off with warm and non-pressurised water.
Then shampoo is applied and the hair is lathered. However, care should be taken not to damage the hair follicles.
The washing process after hair transplantation should be done by applying the foamed shampoo to the hair with slow touches, waiting for a short time and then rinsing the hair.
It is very important not to damage the hair follicles for the first 10 days. On the first day, you should sleep on your back at a 45 degree angle. After the first day, a travel pillow can be used and you should continue to sleep this way for a week. After the first week, you can sleep on your back.
You should rest at home for the first 3 days. Then, if you go out, you should use a hat to protect the crusting and redness from environmental factors such as the sun. Helmets can be worn 3 weeks after the procedure.
You can go to the sea, Turkish bath and sauna 2 months after hair transplantation.
Although the healing process varies from person to person, it is in general 15 days. Sometimes redness and numbness of the skin may continue for a while. The permanent normal appearance of the transplanted hair can only be achieved after 1 year.
You should wait at least 2 months for a haircut. Scissors should be preferred instead of a machine.
It may take 6 months for the hair to cover the transplanted area and up to 1 year for permanent results.
Hair transplantation is performed in all seasons. However, the most suitable period is spring. It is recommended not to be exposed to extreme heat or cold after hair transplantation.
In a suitable hair transplant candidate, the success rate of hair transplantation performed by an experienced team is up to 95%. The success rate of FUE method is between 95-100%.
The most important factor affecting the success of hair transplantation is that the procedure is performed by an experienced team. Thus, the preliminary evaluation of the patient is done correctly and the post-procedure process is managed correctly. Endocrine and systemic diseases such as seborrhoeic dermatitis, fungal infections, diabetes, thyroid disease, which cause hair loss, reduce the success of hair transplantation. In addition, unhealthy carbohydrate-based diet, excessive smoking and alcohol consumption, and negative psychological state affect the success of hair transplantation. Proper wound care for the first 10 days and protecting the hair from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun and other harmful factors in the following days are also very important. It is very crucial for you to act in accordance with the recommendations of your physician for 6-12 months.
Since the donor areas are not areas where hair tends to fall out, the grafts taken from these areas do not permanently fall out and cause baldness again.
If the transplantation is not performed correctly, the hair may grow in the wrong direction. Also, loss of sensation may occur in the donor area.
Hair transplantation is an application that concerns only the scalp. It has absolutely no effect on the brain.
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