9 things that you need to know before getting a hair transplant

Have you ever seen the Bosley commercials where the uber masculine voice tells us that we don’t have to look like our dads? Well, there is some truth to that. Hair transplantation has come a long way. There are lots of talented surgeons out there who can finesse a very natural-looking hairline for you, but to ensure the best outcomes, you need to be proactive and take part in the process. 

 

Here is your pre-transplant checklist.

1. Establish a hair loss prevention routine.

Get used to using minoxidil and/or other topicals 2 times per day: You will be fighting hair loss for the rest of your life. It never ceases to amaze me how many people consider this a dealbreaker. My response to them is, “Well, it takes about 4-5 times longer to brush your teeth than to apply some Rogaine and take a pill, so you should definitely stop doing that too.” Get used to a daily routine; otherwise, there isn’t much point in getting a transplant or wasting your breath complaining about your hair loss.

Take finasteride 1mg orally for at least a year leading up to the surgery: While many guys wait until the last minute to start taking this 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, it really is better to have much of the DHT cleared before surgery. This will increase the likelihood of transplant survival and protect other DHT sensitive papillae which have not yet been affected. Also, any possible side effects of this drug have usually come and gone by the time you enter your second year of taking it. (This is not medical advice but personal experience.)

2. Get into a preventative mindset:

Everything takes time. It is very difficult to stick to a regimen if you are doing it for your current self because the now-you isn’t experiencing any benefits from it, only annoyance. Do it for your future self?

3. Research

Before you start talking to doctors, you need to know a bit about the process so that you aren’t overwhelmed with information, and you can ask the right questions during your consultation process. Arm yourself with knowledge so that you can ensure the best outcomes. I am not here to do this research for you, but I can point you in the right direction.

Familiarize yourself with:

-The 2 types of transplantation surgeries: Make yourself a pros and cons list for each.

1. FUT (follicular unit transplantation)
2. FUE (follicular unit extraction)

-The surgical process

-Immediate aftercare

-Recovery process

4. Take photos

Take well-lit photos and/or videos. If you are consulting in person, they will take the photos in-office, but it never hurts to have more than the minimum.

1. Find the best light possible and put your phone or, better yet, a camera on a tripod. You are going to need the highest resolution possible, and your head needs to fill the image. They are going to need to see:
2. Your handsome face - using the Fibonacci rule of thirds is how a surgeon determines the best place to begin the hairline. Look directly at a camera that is at eye level.
3. A frontal hairline pic - Move in close so that the top of your brow, forehead, and frontal hairline fill the image.
4. Side recession - Turn 90 degrees and get a close-up of your frontal hairline from one side, then the other.
5. Side full - This is your side profile neck up. Again, do both sides. If you are opting for an FUE procedure, your sides, below your parietal ridge, may be contributing donor hair, so they need to see how dense it is.
6. Vertex and crown overhead - Maneuver yourself however you need to so that the top of your head fills the screen. Make sure the shot is not blurry and is well lit. Use a flash if necessary.
7. Vertex, occipital, and nape - You guessed it. This is a picture of the back of your head. This is the donor region for both FUT and FUE procedures, so they need excellent photos and/or videos.

5. Schedule at least three consultations.

When you talk to the office about scheduling a consultation, ask them for an email address to send your pictures to so that the physician can look them over before your consultation appointment. Do this whether or not you are seeing them in person. More information is better, and they will be impressed if you give them good pics.

6. Have your consultations.

If you are consulting remotely, they will request that you Facetime them. If they do not, this is a red flag. During the first video call, ask them to give you a little tour of the facility and ask to meet some of the staff. Overseas doctors who have nothing to hide understand that they have to go the extra mile to gain patient trust and will be perfectly willing to grant these requests.

On your face-to-face call or in-office consult, ask the doctor these questions:

1. How many FUT or FUE surgeries have they performed?

The specific number that the doctor mentions to you is not important. Look for body language. If you get a direct eye-to-eye response like: “That’s a good question, I’ll look that up for you,” you're likely speaking with someone who has a bit of experience. Or if you hear “I have done 3 FUE’s and 5 FUT’s, look at these amazing before and after’s!” You are talking to someone who is new to the industry. Again, WHAT THEY SAY is less important than HOW THEY SAY IT. You can get amazing results from either of these physicians because they are both forthcoming and passionate about what they do.

1. Do they include immediate aftercare services?

After transplantation, the following three days are crucial. It is important that they perform any bandage changing and/or washing of your head so as not to disturb the transplants while they find and tap into a blood supply. If they tell you that they will give you a pamphlet and send you home, then this is a red flag. You don’t need to stay overnight, but they should be asking you to come back into the office at least once in the following days after the surgery.

7. Set your expectations:

Until follicular cloning is a thing, there are a finite number of donor follicle units that can be transplanted before the donor area begins to look thin. This is usually around 5000-6500 depending on the individual. Considering the fact that someone with a full head of hair carries around 12,000 follicle units per zone, you will never see the density in the transplanted region that you once had. Despite this fact, most people who undergo the procedure are happy with it because it always leads to visual improvement.

Understand that in order to optimize the results from your procedure, you will need to invest some time in a daily routine. Having the surgery does not, in any way, free you from performing your routine.

8. Figure out what to tell people:

Unless you can take 3 months off to go and lounge on a beach somewhere or are already in the habit of wearing a hat every day, people are going to find out that you had the surgery. This realization is usually the thing that stops a guy from going through with this procedure. Get over yourself! It’s only 3 months!

9. Pre-surgery optimization:Set yourself up for success by gathering the right supplies and taking the right supplements.

For one week before and after surgery, stop taking:

1. Ibuprofen
2. Aspirin
3. Alcohol
4. Fish oil.
5. Omegas or flax oil
6. If you are on prescription blood thinners, tell them and consult with your own doctor. It won’t be a dealbreaker; it will just need to be known.

Start taking:

1. Arnica 10x pellets. Go through these like tic-tacs. You will have much less swelling.
2. Peptides like BPC 157, TB 500, and GHK-Cu. These will support the healing process in a way that our bodies are not normally capable of. Dosing and method of delivery varies from peptide to peptide and person to person, so find yourself a physician that specializes in more progressive life extension medicine.

Go have yourself some surgery! You’ll be running your hands through your hair in no time!

Have a quality day!

 

MBM