Crash Course in Hair Transplant Procedures

• How Are Hair Transplants Performed?

Clients are brought in to our clinic, given partial sedation and then the procedure is started. The first half of the day is extraction of the follicles. Our surgical team analyzes the health of grafts from the donor area (sides and back of the head) then those hair grafts are extracted and placed in a holding solution to keep them healthy. After extraction, the client has lunch and then the balance of the day is spent placing the hair grafts.

• How Many Hours Does the Procedure Take?

Most clients can expect to be in the clinic for about 7-9 hours. Some clients a bit shorter and some a bit longer.

• Different Techniques; FUE vs. FUT

FUE is the process where each grafts is extracted individually compared to FUT where a ‘strip’ is removed. FUT transplants are associated with linear scars. FUT, in the past, was preferred for larger transplants but technological advancement has propelled FUE as the favored and most popular choice. FUE when performed by competent teams results in the yields with the least amount of scarring, much less discomfort and a better result. FUT procedures are being performed less and less.

• Is There One Country That ‘Specializes’ in Hair-Transplants

Turkey has grabbed the worlds attention as the hair transplant capital but in reality great hair transplants are the results of great surgical teams. There is no secret sauce or advantage to doing the procedure in one country versus the other. Cost outside of the US is generally the deciding factor to ‘go abroad’. From that point it’s finding a team, doctors and a clinic you can communicate with and trust. There are amazing surgeons in every corner of the globe… that is the key.

• If it is Not the Country Then What Makes a Great Hair Transplant

Many people see low prices on IG or FB and a couple of nice before/afters and make their decisions based solely on those. When guiding your clients to make a smart decision, again, this is a surgical procedure that will effect their looks for the long term, the clients focus, while budget is important, should be focused on ‘who’ is performing the procedure. Many of the low cost clinics advertising on social media are ‘hair mills’ performing between 15-30 procedures in a single day. With 3-4 doctors on staff, the vast majority of these procedures are performed by minimally trained med-techs or assistants. This is where more issues or bad results come from. At Encore, we have made the ethical and foundational commitment that ALL of our procedures are performed by Board Certified Plastic Surgeons… we never waiver from this. Experience, training, professionalism and accountability. Even in the US it is common for assistants, or techs, to perform these procedures, even as the client is paying top dollar, up to $9 per graft.

Another critical factor in a successful hair transplant is the hair-line. We often see results that shout ‘hair transplant’. Straight lines, 90 degree angles and other poor designs make it easy to identify poor hair transplants. The most famous of the recent, completely botched hair transplants, unfortunately, is that of 6 time Mr Olympia Chris Bumstead. He did his procedure at one of the instafamous clinics in Turkey… They literally drew a straight line across his forehead. They didn’t design around his Frontalis muscles in his forehead, which should never be ‘covered’ in hair. Design, following natural lines and giving the client an appropriate hair line is critical. His result now, google or look on social media, isn’t what someone paying good should expect.

• Managing Client Expectations: What’s Really Possible

One of the most important duties of our team is to communicate honestly with clients during the assessment. Many clinics, especially in Turkey, will give false hope and misguide clients on what is possible. No, not ever client can have 5,000 grafts in their procedure (even if that is how many they need). Many clients are limited by the size of their donor area and ‘over-reaching’ to attain an unrealistic result on the top of the head can lead to over-harvesting from the donor area which leads to areas of baldness(cheetah spots) in the donor area. Balance is the key and making sure the donor area is not over-harvested just to get a full top is not acceptable. Another dirty secret in this industry is clinics ‘claiming’ an inaccurate number. We see many clients who previously had hair transplants and tell us they had 3500 grafts in their previous transplant but we can clearly see the procedure was closer to 2000 grafts. No integrity or accountability.

• When is Your Client Ready? When are They Too Early and Too Late

In reality, most clients don’t recognize how severe their thinning is. Using the old metaphor, they are ‘the frog in a pot of water’ and they honestly don’t see their thinning as it’s taken place over 5-15 years. Using the Norwood Scale, we strongly push clients to act before they reach Stage 4. Stages 2, 3 and early into 4, clients can almost always get back to what they want but dragging into Stages 4 and 5 will reduce the final result. The improvements from procedures in Stages 4 or 5 are always impressive but might not give the clients the ‘full head’ of hair they have in mind. This is where honest and open communication is key.

• How Long Do Hair Transplants Last?

The transplanted hairs are the best hairs on the clients head. These are fresh grafts transplanted from areas of the head that aren’t as susceptible to ‘dying’. That said, the client will need to take care of their scalp to maintain the rest of their ‘natural’ hair on the top of their heads and also to preserve for maximum time that the transplanted hairs will survive. Fighting DHT on the scalp is something all men, not just men getting hair-transplants , need to embrace. This is like getting fit… you can’t just get into shape once and then chill, it’s an active experience. It’s a minimal effort activity, using a morning and/or evening spray once day, 5-10 seconds, but it is crucial for long term success.

• Medication and Social Media ‘Miracle Cures’

Social media is amazing for some things and dangerous for others. It seems like every week we see a new ‘cure’ for baldness using someones proprietary formula or mix but these are just untrue. While some of these formulas are good and slowing down current thinning and hopefully improving current hair-graft health ( some products help the graft improve in health leading to the existing hairs thickening) none of these products will bring back dead hair-follicles. Once a follicle is dead, only a transplanted graft will bring hair back to this ‘dead-zone’. We have seen clients say they are going this route then return a year later in a much worse situation.

• How Do You as the Barber or Stylist ‘Care’ For Your Client Post-Operation?

Your client will look good from about day 8-30, give or take one week. Around day 30 though, your clients newly implanted hairs will start to shed. This is normal and their is no need for alarm. The implanted hairs are now going to start their growth cycles in their new home. This process takes between 4 months, very fortunate and up to 12 months. Most clients are in their regular growth cycles by months 6-8 but again, so are sooner and some are longer. For your taking care of them your rules are simple; Scissors only from weeks 4-8. Before week 8 we suggest delicate contact with the graft. Week 8 on you can use clippers directly. We still suggest gentle but the grafts at this point are anchored. For coloring/dye clients are good to resume between weeks 6-8.

• Why Choose Encore and Why Trust Your Clients With US? What Makes Us Different

Going thru the process to get a hair transplant I found a hole in the market. Whether getting quotes from a doctor in the US or abroad, the process was always the same. I would have brief discussions with office managers in the US or communicate thru DM’s or Whatsapp with clinics abroad. It was never personalized and follow up questions were either ignored or seen as distracting. Dealing with clinics overseas, I was always communicating with someone that I had no real contact with and just being direct, they spoke English but didn’t speak my language.. They didn’t know what I, as an American, was actually asking or what my expectations were. They couldn’t. At Encore, we have combined an experience that Americans will find comfortable and enjoy with top flight surgeons. We are here before, during and after the procedure. When your clients are concerned, we will be here to answer their questions and make sure they understand the process. We recognize your clients are what put food on your table and we respect that relationship. If we take care of your clients you will send us more, we want this to be a long term relationship built on trust and communication. Call, text or email, we will respond and answer your questions and deal with your concerns.