A hair transplant is a surgical procedure that restores hair growth in areas of the scalp that have become thin or thinning. It can take up to nine months before the hair takes root and begins to fill in.

The process involves removing a strip of tissue from the donor site (usually the back of your head) and cutting it into tiny pieces. These pieces are then grafted into the recipient area.

The Donor Site

A hair transplant at Hair Transplant Center of Boca Raton requires the removal of healthy hair follicles from one area of the scalp and then transplanting them into another. The donor site plays a crucial role in ensuring natural-looking results.

The most suitable donor area for a hair transplant is the back of the head, where follicles tend to be thicker and more robust. This area also produces the best results when restoring a full head of hair.

However, the donor area can only be suitable if there are enough balding or healthy hair follicles to provide delicate grafts. In this case, alternative donor areas, such as beard and body hair, can be used.

Your surgeon will be careful not to over-harvest the donor area, avoiding potential unnatural-looking results. In addition, the doctor will consider the degree of hair loss and its possible progression to plan for future re-growth from the donor site.

The Recipient Site

The recipient site is the area of the scalp where follicles are transplanted to replace hair that has been lost due to alopecia or genetic conditions. Grafts are harvested from donor sites, areas of the scalp at the back and sides of the head where follicles are not affected by the gene(s) responsible for male or female pattern baldness.

Recipient-site creation is a critical and highly technical process involving several techniques, including dermabrasion, mechanical dermabrasion, suction blister grafting, psoralen plus ultraviolet A (PUVA), and CO2 and Er: YAG lasers. These techniques ensure the recipient sites are created with the optimal depth and width to achieve each patient’s best density and natural appearance.

The Grafts

The grafts used in hair transplant surgery come from your scalp or another area of your body. The surgeon may use follicular unit transplantation (FUT) or follicular unit extraction (FUE).

A tube-like instrument punches round grafts from the donor site to be placed where hair replacement is desired. This method is the most common type of hair transplant surgery.

Micro-grafts, which contain one to two hairs, leave virtually no scarring. They also conserve a significant amount of the hair needed for future transplants.

Full-thickness skin grafts require the entire thickness of skin from the donor site, usually from the abdomen, groin, forearm, or above the collarbone. Unlike split-thickness grafts, full-thickness grafts blend in with the surrounding skin and have a better cosmetic outcome.

After the grafts are transplanted, your doctor will cover them to keep them from drying out and shrinking. They may be held in place by staples or stitches. This is a normal part of the recovery process.

The Procedure

Hair transplants and beard transplants are surgical procedures that involve the removal of hair follicles from a donor site (usually the back of the head) and transplanting them into a recipient site. The process is a technical and artistic challenge that requires excellent skill and balance, foresight into future hair loss and careful design of the grafts to produce a natural appearance.

The surgery is usually performed under local anesthetic and sedation, so you won’t feel any pain. Depending on the size of the hair grafts needed, the procedure can take several hours to perform.

The size and number of grafts vary depending on the technique used for the surgery, from micrografts (one or two hairs) to slit grafts (4-10) to old-school punch grafts (10-15). These grafts are often oriented to splay across the balding area to give better coverage.