If you are a man with bald skin on your head and you are wondering whether hair transplants work for people with the same issue, then we have a perfect article for you. Kick back as we uncover the ins and outs of hair restoration surgery and see whether you can end your hair loss issues.
Is a Hair Transplant Possible for Bald Individuals?
The short answer is a resounding yes. However, the overall success of the procedure depends on your remaining hair.
If you are not completely bald but are experiencing early or even late stages of male pattern baldness, and you have hair left on the back of your scalp, surgeons will use that as the donor site, and they will transplant hair follicles from that area to bald or thinning areas on your head.
The success of the surgery depends on how healthy your donor hair is. But what happens if you are completely bald?
Can You Get a Hair Transplant If You Are Completely Bald?
In this scenario, we need to say right off the bat that the situation is far more complicated, but again, the answer is yes. Even if you don’t have any healthy band of hair on your head, you can explore alternative types of hair transplant, like body hair transplantation, which includes transferring hair from your chest or beard (more on that later).
Let’s dive a bit deeper into the bald hair transplant conundrum and talk about some limitations.
Limitations of Hair Transplants for Bald Patients
If you have reached stage seven on the Hamilton-Norwood scale, meaning that you have only a thin layer of hair or none at all, you need to keep your expectations in check. Suppose you decide to have hair transplant surgery. In that case, you need to be aware of the top two limitations.
- Donor Area Limitations: Finding the perfect donor area will be next to impossible if you are fully bald. There will not be enough viable hair grafts on your head to use in the procedure. In these instances, surgeons can consider alternative donor sites.
- Graft Density Constraints: Men who are completely bald have very low or even non-existent hair graft density. This makes it very difficult to find a donor area on the head that will be viable to help promote healthy hair growth after the surgery.
After discussing the limitations, it’s time to determine whether you are a good candidate for this type of procedure.
What Makes Someone a Good Candidate for a Bald Hair Transplant?
The perfect candidate will have relatively healthy hair on the back of their head. Hair follicles here are generally resistant to balding. They can be extracted and transplanted to bald areas to facilitate hair growth. How good and dense these follicles are will determine the overall success of the operation.
Another thing to consider is that you need to have realistic expectations about the procedure and the final results. Your transplanted hair will not be the same as it used to be in terms of quality and density, but it will certainly be a significant improvement from being completely bald.
Finally, it is preferable that you are of good overall health, with a healthy scalp and no underlying medical conditions.
Alternative Donor Sites for Hair Transplants
We mentioned that we would talk a bit more about alternative donor sites, and in this section, we will present the two most common areas where a surgeon can extract hair follicles and transplant them to your head.
Beard Hair
Beard follicles are very similar to hair follicles. They are usually thick, which makes them suitable for getting good volume in your transplanted hair.
However, you need to prepare for your type of hair to change, as beard hair does not have the same texture, curl, and growth pattern as regular hair. But, it’s safe to say that if no scalp hair follicles are available, this is the next best thing.
Chest and Body Hair
If you cannot use your beard hair, the only option is to try to extract follicles from other parts of your body, like your chest, abdomen, arms, and legs. These hair follicles are very different from those on the scalp.
They are usually thinner and have varying textures, and because of this, the results of this procedure can be unpredictable. Also, this type of procedure is far more complicated.
You might also want to consider scalp reduction surgery, which basically eliminates your bald scalp and stretches the area of the scalp that has healthy hair, but this is advised for patients who are in the early stages of male pattern baldness.
Is a Hair Transplant Worth It If You’re Bald?
With the right surgeon and the right price, yes, bald hair transplant surgery is more than worth it. Today, you can consider a hair transplant in Turkey, as the price for a plane ticket, hotel stay, the procedure, and post-op care combined is way cheaper than any hair transplant procedure you can find in the US.
With advanced Follicular Unit Extraction techniques, paired with modern DHI procedures, you will achieve excellent results in Turkey, so research and find the best option for you.
FAQs
How Many Grafts Do You Need for a Completely Bald Head?
Depending on the size of the bald area, you may need anywhere between 6,000 and 8,000 grafts in total, but there are instances where patients need more than 10,000.
Which Hair Transplant Method is Best for a Completely Bald Patient?
The best surgeons combine two methods: Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) to extract hair follicles and Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) to transplant hair follicles from the donor to the target area.
Can You Still Lose Hair After a Transplant?
The transplanted hair uses follicles that are resistant to balding, so that part of your hair will be permanent, but you might continue to lose non-transplanted hair after the surgery.