F.A.Q.

The only way to know if you are a candidate for a hair transplant is to attend a confidential consultation. Dr Andrew Kim can educate you on hair loss and treatment options under your personal situation. From this, the determination will be made as to your candidacy. For determining your candidacy, we consider age, number of grafts required to meet your expectation, density of donor hair, colour of hair, skin complexion, texture of hair, and future hair loss projections.

Hair transplant originally developed in the 1930’s. It has come a long way since its conception. When it became popular in the 60’s and 70’s, the hair transplant surgery was unrefined and the technique was utilized with large hair grafts produced by round punches. This often resulted in the sparse plugged look associated with the hair transplantation. That was until modern breakthroughs. Today’s hair transplant surgeons apply micro-grafts and follicular unit transplantations that are virtually indistinguishable even by professional hairdressers.

A hair transplant surgery always begins with your healthy donor hair. It’s simple: if you don’t have the donor hair then you don’t have the hair that can be transplanted. This donor hair is located on the sides and back of the head and is resistant to balding, allowing it to continue to grow throughout your lifetime. Most men suffering from the standard male pattern baldness will have a healthy donor area. However, if your hair loss is not hereditary and is caused by other conditions such as medications, you should see a dermatologist first before attending a hair transplant consultation.

In follicular unit hair transplantations, a small section of tissue is removed from the donor area at the back of the head and is divided into follicular units under magnifications. This is where modern hair transplant surgeons show their true artistry. Follicular units grow in groups of 1-4 hairs. By keeping this composition intact during implantation, your hair transplant can contribute to a natural result. Each hair is different and an experienced hair transplantation surgeon can make a decision where each hair can be best suited. For example, certain hair groupings belong at the hairline, while others belong at the crown area of the head.

Different hair transplant clinics use different methods and technologies to achieve results. For your hair transplantation, you will want to keep in mind that you are maximizing hair growth, ensuring naturalness, and minimizing trauma to the scalp. With any hair transplant surgery, there will be scars, but a good surgeon can keep the scars to minimal sizes, and more importantly, undetectable. When a hair transplant is correctly done by an experienced doctor and technicians, you can style your hair like you would have before your hair loss.

How do I know a hair transplantation surgery will work? Hair transplantation has actually been around for quite a while. For over the 40 years, balding men and women turned to variations of this procedure with successful results. However, science and procedure are now even better than ever. Heightened understanding of growth patterns and advancements in follicular unit grafting techniques have helped to produce remarkably natural results. Because the newly transplanted hair is taken from a healthy patch on your own head, it will continue to grow with its natural and healthy traits for the rest of your life.

Since hair loss does not place age restrictions on who it hits, there is no limit on when you can begin treating it. Our patients actually range from 21-80 years old. If you are noticing a hair loss at a young age, you are encouraged to address it sooner than later. For getting a head start, while you still have quite a bit of naturally growing hair, your surgeon more successfully cover the area with newly transplanted hair that gradually fits in. There is no reason to wait to treat your hair loss, since it is not a condition that just stops at any certain age. It is an ongoing process around which your surgical restoration can be customised.

While Finasteride and Minoxidil have been proven to regrow hair, they will not grow all your hair back. Unfortunately, they tend to fall short of many patients’ expectations. Their greatest benefit can be slowing down the hair loss. It becomes repeatedly apparent that the best route for Finasteride and Minoxidil is as a combination with a hair transplant. They provide an ideal enhancement for the results of hair transplantation. 

No! The elasticity of the scalp helps us ensure that it won’t. After the donor strip is removed, the skin around it is easily pulled back together and sutured. Any minor scarring that results is naturally hidden underneath the hair on the back of the head. All signs of hair transplant surgery are camouflaged.