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Journey

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Journey

To help you make a more informed decision, we have compiled a step-by-step guide to an FUE Hair Transplant journey.

Step 1 – Your Consultation

Your first step to getting an FUE Hair Transplant is your consultation. Your consultation may initially occur with one of our patient advisers, who are experienced in the procedure and can answer most of your questions.
Next, you consult with one of our hair transplant specialist surgeons before booking your procedure. First, this allows you to discuss your hair loss and your medical history. Once your hair is examined and analysed can the doctor advise your suitability for the hair transplant? Your hair follicles must be in the best condition that they can be to ensure a successful hair transplant. Hence, your surgeon may suggest a course of hair loss medication before your surgery.
As you will spend a significant amount of time in the surgical room during the procedure, we provide you with personalised music, TV entertainment, and aromatherapy options that suit your preferences. This helps you feel more relaxed and comfortable when you enter the room.

Step 2 – Preparing The Scalp

As your procedure day approaches, you may want to shorten your hair gradually rather than shave it altogether. On the day of your operation, your surgeon will design your hairline, and show this to you for your approval. At this stage, unshaved hair will be an important indicator for comparison with your proposed new hairline. If you want your hairline to be lower or higher than the proposed one, you will be told the pros and cons of these options. Once the hairline is agreed upon, the doctor will explain the approximate numbers to implant in each section of your scalp and get your approval. Afterwards, the photos are taken, and kept with your records. Your hair is shaved.
Having a shaved head allows your hair transplant surgeon to mimic the natural angle and direction of native hairs during FUE, and minimise the transection rates. Again, in implanting stage, this will be a guide for the placement angle of the implants for natural-looking hair. This is very important for the outcome. However, in some cases, performing a partially shaven or unshaven hair transplant is possible, which can be discussed and decided in your consultation.

Step 3 – Preoperative Checks

Upon arrival at the clinic, you will be required to read the consent form if you still need to. You can ask your surgeon any questions that you may have and sign the consent form.   The nurses and assistants will all be there to guide you through the procedure, and will be supported you throughout. Your surgeon will then run through the procedure steps again with you, mark out where the treatment areas are and answer any questions you have. You may have some blood tests.

Step 4 – Local Anaesthesia

Painless operation is possible. For this, local anaesthetics are injected into the scalp to numb the operation site in preparation for FUE, harvesting, and later for hair canals and implantation. Initially, further injections can cause stinging, but this is short lasting, and the local anaesthetics quickly take effect. Throughout the procedure, it is topped up for a painless procedure. You will be conscious during the entire procedure, so if you feel any pain or discomfort at any time, you will be able to communicate this, and further injections will be given to stop this.

Step 5 – Excision of Follicular Units

An FUE Hair Transplant procedure starts with the removal of hair follicles, which involves using a specialised punch device, ranging in diameter from 0.6mm – 0.9mm, to puncture the skin around the follicle 2-3 millimetres from the surface, and the hair follicle bulb is then removed using fine forceps with the aid of a powerful magnifying glass to ensure precision.  Once the hair follicle bulb has been removed, it is placed into a glass tray and kept in a solution to keep them at a perfect range of hydration, temperature and humidity until the implantation. In our clinic, a technologically superior U-graft device is used, which is proven to prevent hair transection during the graft removal stage. This is very important as less hair follicle wastage will increase the number of hair grafts implanted.

Step 6 – Harvesting the Grafts

Once the hair follicle removal process is complete, you are usually given a lunch break to stretch your legs and have something to eat. Our clinic will provide patients with lunch, snacks and drinks throughout the procedure, so do let the team know of any dietary preferences ahead of the procedure.
During this time, the surgical team will examine the extracted hair grafts and group them into single, two, three, and four follicle units for strategic placement at the implantation stage. Again, this is important for a natural look of hair.

Step 7 – Hair recipient area creation

This is another crucial stage of the hair transplant procedure. The graft site has to be created in the bald areas for the hair follicles to be implanted. Therefore, the number, depth, and angle of these canals on the scalp are of utmostparamounting natural-looking hair. In our clinic, special sapphire blades for this purpose are used to improve healing time and scar formation.

Step 8- Implantation of the grafts

Once your surgical team have selected all the grafts, you will then be ready for the implantation stage of the FUE Hair Transplant procedure. You may need to have your local anaesthetic topped up at this stage to ensure the procedure is still pain-free and comfortable. Each follicle is then manually implanted into the recipient area of the scalp by your hair transplant surgeon. The implanter tool will first penetrate the skin before the hair follicle bulb is placed 2-3mm below the surface into the intradermal layer of the scalp. The number of hair grafts being inserted will vary between patients, and in very big cases, this stage of the procedure may take place over two days.

Step 9 – The Aftercare and Recovery process

This is another important stage for the outcome. You will be given detailed instructions about aftercare.
Hair grafts must be looked after correctly following a hair transplant so that they can become secure and the follicles are given the best chance to grow normally. The first hair is particularly important, which will be done in the clinic. You must avoid exercise for the first few weeks following the procedure.
A bandage is typically worn for 24 hours, and you are usually advised to avoid washing your hair until around day 5, when you can gently lather up using shampoo.

Here are some quick aftercare tips:

Do

  • Wash your hair after day 5 to help to heal
  • Use painkiller tablets when you need it
  • Wear a hat outdoors

Don't

  • Rub your hair with a fabric towel after washing (just let it air dry)
  • Scratch your scalp
  • Do any intense physical activity in the 14 days after the procedure
Once the process is complete, your surgical team will bandage your head up and go through an entire aftercare routine which you will need to follow. You must avoid touching your new hair grafts for the first three days, including wearing a bucket hat.
Next, you will need to spray the new follicles every half hour, preventing the formation of scabs and keeping your new hair follicles well hydrated. You will also be given medication you must take as your surgeon prescribes. The initial healing of the donor area will take 5-7 days, and at this point, any redness or swelling should have subsided. Your surgeon may request to see you at this stage to check that everything is healing correctly.  Taking proper care of your newly transplanted hair for the next 12 months is an important part of your FUE Hair Transplant procedure to ensure you achieve the best results. You will be given a series of post-op appointments throughout this time, where your surgeon can check your results and provide additional information on how to care for your new hair follicles.

Step 10 – Final Results

After 12 -15 months your FUE Hair Transplant journey should be near enough complete. You will have noticed a difference in your hairline or hair density in the areas treated. A hair transplant is designed to last for decades as the hair taken from your donor area is known to be resistant to male pattern baldness. However, it is important to remember that other untreated areas of your scalp may still be prone to male-pattern baldness. Over time, thinning and baldness may occur in these areas, which could result in an additional hair transplant procedure being needed. Our surgeons are highly experienced and will advise you about this.
After obtaining your consent for the procedure, the next step is to prepare you for the hair transplant by preparing you for the extraction and implantation zones.

Numbing Your Scalp And Follicle Extraction

Next, we provide medication to help you relax and administer local anaesthetic injections to numb the area where follicles will be extracted from the back of your head.
Once you are comfortable and the back of your head is numb, the extraction process for your hair follicles begins. It is essential to extract your hair follicles carefully, a crucial step for a successful hair transplant.
We strategically plan the extraction of hair follicles to minimise the chance of visible FUE scarring or bald patches on your scalp. You can view pictures of the recovery process below to see your results.
After extraction, your hair follicles are carefully examined in cooled petri dishes to preserve vitality. Then, we separate the desired density and hairstyle into bundles and plan accordingly to achieve the desired thickness and hairstyle. We also provide you with a personalised lunch during this time.
We accommodate any dietary restrictions or preferences you may have, whether it be a keto diet, veganism, pescetarianism, Halal, or any other specific dietary requirement.

Implantation

After rest, we start the implantation phase by preparing you and turning on the TV for your entertainment. Then, we begin by outlining the area where you want your hair to be implanted, ensuring that we understand your desired hairline and style. This is a critical process, as we want to achieve a result you will be happy with.
We then use local numbing injections to ensure a comfortable scalp area where the hair will be implanted. Next, we start the implantation process, carefully placing each follicle to match your natural hair direction and density. This ensures that your eventual hair growth is unique to you and looks as natural as possible.

Finishing The Surgery

After the hair implantation is complete, we move on to the crucial step of aftercare preparation. This involves bandaging the extraction area for your comfort during the journey back home and for a good night’s sleep. We also provide a cap to protect your newly implanted hairs for the next few days.
Additionally, we offer a personalised “aftercare doggy bag” that includes all the necessary medications and materials you require to take care of your hair after the transplant. This package is tailored to your home aftercare requirements and includes detailed instructions if you need to remember any of the information provided at the clinic.

Need help ?

If you require any additional information regarding your hair transplant procedure please leave us your details below and a friendly fully trained telephone representative will give you a call back as soon as possible. All calls are completely confidential.