Do you know everything there is to know about hair replacement surgery and the costs involved? Take the following True or False quiz and see if you understand all there is to know about hair replacement costs and the procedures involved for obtaining a full head of hair.

True or False

(1) Baldness can be caused by vitamin deficiencies or poor circulation to the scalp.

Answer: False. Common baldness or male pattern baldness (MPB) results from family history, aging and the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) which is found at the temples, at the crown and on top of the scalp.

(2) Surgery for hair replacement requires that a patient has a good growth of hair on the sides and at the back of the head in order to qualify for transplantation.

Answer: True.

(3) There are a number of methods used in transplanting hair. Sometimes several techniques are used to achieve a desirable outcome.

Answer: True. Different types of grafting techniques as well as plastic surgery can be incorporated into a transplant procedure.

(4) Scalp reduction, a technique used in hair replacement surgery, is also known as advancement flap surgery.

Answer: True. This technique involves advancing the portion of scalp with hair forward to fill in a bald area.

(5) Hair replacement surgery can’t give you the same coverage you had when you had hair.

Answer: True. Hair replacement systems can furnish more fullness and fill in thin areas but you won’t have the same head of hair you once had.

(6) Broad scars known as “stretch-back” scars can result from some scalp reduction techniques.

Answer: True. As with any surgery, there are a certain number of risks when undergoing hair transplantation, such as scarring, bleeding and infection.

(7) Surgical hair replacement cost is determined by the techniques employed, the number of grafts needed and the condition, color and texture of a candidate’s existing hair.

Answer: True. All the aforementioned factors are taken into consideration when determining hair replacement costs.

(8) Among the hair replacement systems that are currently available, flap surgery is one of the newest techniques used in surgery.

Answer: False. This type of plastic surgery has been performed now for over twenty years.

(9) It can take as long as two years before you complete all your sessions of transplants.

Answer: True. Of course, much depends on the nature of your existing hair and the amount of baldness.

(10) Hair transplant surgery typically requires a hospital stay.

Answer: False. Surgery normally takes place in a physician’s office at a hair treatment facility or at an outpatient surgery center.

(11) Total surgical hair replacement cost can be broken down in payments or financed on a monthly basis.

Answer: True.

(12) The cost of non surgical treatments for hair replacement such as medications or hair replacement systems, over time, can exceed the cost of surgery.

Answer: True.

(13) The average cost of hair grafts is $5 to $6 per graft.

Answer: True. Grafts can range from $3 to $8 per graft depending on the procedure but the average price is about $5 to $6 per graft.

(14) The charge assessed for each hair graft increases if the client must undergo several sessions.

Answer: False. The price for each hair graft generally decreases if the patient must undergo several sessions.

(15) The cost for a custom hair piece for men is, on average, $500.

Answer: False. The average price tag for a custom hair replacement is around $1200. In addition, this type of hair replacement must be replaced yearly and reattached and styled about every month which adds to the cost.

How’d you fare? Did the quiz cause you to lose a few more hairs?

An Overview of MPB

Primarily MPB or male pattern baldness is a result of family history, aging and the hormone dihydrotestosterone or DHT. This hormone is concentrated on the crown of the head, the top of the scalp and at the temples. The hair at the lower sides and on back is unaffected by the hormone; therefore, if one chooses hair transplantation, hair is normally grafted from these areas and transplanted to the areas where hair loss has occurred. Once transplanted, the hair in these areas will remain as it is resistant to the DHT hormone.

Permanent Results

Besides MPB, hair loss can be attributed to disease, such as diabetes, any trauma or stress, certain medicines as well as hormonal changes. There are a number of topical treatments and shampoos that block DHT in the case of male pattern baldness. Two treatments, minoxidil and finasteride, have FDA approval. These products are effective in stopping the progression of MPB; however, for permanent, long-lasting results, hair transplantation is still the best option for individuals who still have a good amount of hair growth at the back of the head.

Opting for Surgery

Although, as stated, there are several topical treatments available, if you have enough growth at the back of your head to substantiate a transplant, this is a preferable option to consider. The best way to find out if hair replacement surgery is right for you is to set up a consultation. Still, it’s helpful to be armed with a bit of knowledge about the process before you take such a step.

The Transplant Procedure

Since patients are given a local anesthetic and typically a medicine to relieve any anxiety, the experience can be facilitated without any type of undue discomfort. No hospital admittance is involved because most of these procedures only require an office visit to the center where hair transplants are performed. Most of the sessions take only a couple hours.

Post Surgical Care

After a hair transplant, you will probably experience some swelling although it’s hardly noticeable. Generally, you can shampoo about 24 hours after undergoing a transplant operation. Sutures for the transplant can be removed by your doctor in about two weeks’ time.

What to Expect

After a transplant, you can return to normal activities although you should not pursue any type of activity, such as any intense exercise, that may harm the grafts. During the next couple weeks, the new hairs will grow rather speedily. Thereafter, the new follicles will become dormant for up to six months. This is known as the “shedding” phase after which time the “new” hair will resume growing. You can see results generally after about a half year from the date of the procedure. After a year, the area of the transplant will have realized almost 100% of its overall growth.

Hair Replacement without Surgery

If you’re not the right candidate for a transplant, then there are a number of non surgical hair replacement options you can consider. Many of these of these methods involve attaching a hair piece made of natural or synthetic hair to the hair already in place or using adhesive to affix the hair piece to the scalp. Whichever hair replacement system you choose, you must feel comfortable with the method and the cost for hair replacement.

Stay within your Budget

Survey your options online. There are several hair loss treatment centers that can offer you the type of hair replacement system that will accommodate your lifestyle at a hair replacement cost that will fit into your budgetary plans.

Need For Hair Restoration

So why does a person need to visit a hair growth clinic to have a hair restoration procedure performed anyway? The answer is quite simple once you know what causes the hair loss and how ineffective other methods are.

The cause of the vast majority of hair loss in the US is male pattern baldness also known as androgenic alopecia which is a genetic condition that predisposes some men to patchy balding. Men who have these genes will have receptors on their hair follicles, or hair roots, that a hormone, DHT, can bond to. Interestingly enough not all of the hair usually is susceptible to this hormone. Thus the name pattern baldness. For men the hair follicles at the brow hair line, the vertex, and the crown of the head are usually the ones that will be susceptible to DHT reception.

The problem with the DHT is it causes the hair follicles to shrink over the course of a few growth phases which causes the hair shaft to shrink in size. Eventually the follicle has decreased to such a size that it can not support hair growth at all. When this happens the hair follicle will become encased in fibrotic material which will stop any chance of further growth. This is why hair loss remedies won’t do anything to reverse balding and start hair growing again.

Hair Restoration Procedure

The theory behind hair transplantation is really quite simple. The surgeon will remove hair follicles from the area of the scalp that still has good hair growth. For men this area is usually the back of the head which is not susceptible to DHT problems. First a strip of hair is removed from the back of the head and then remove the hair follicles in natural groups of one to three. These are prepared for implantation while the cosmetic surgeon maps out on the bald area the placement and direction of the transplanted follicles. Once every thing is ready the doctor starts to insert the hair units into tiny holes or slits that were made in the scalp.

After Hair Restoration surgery

After the surgery you don’t end up with a magical head of hair. Instead, it usually takes about six months for the growth of the newly transplanted hairs to be noticeable. During this time the patient usually is taking or applying hair growth drugs to help with the establishment of the hair follicles. Usually within a year the patient has very good growth in the hair loss area.

The really great thing about hair restoration is the hair will continue to grow for years at a time once the follicles are established. Hair transplant surgery is a very good way to get hair growing once again.

Cost Of Hair Restoration Surgery

The cost of hair restoration is not cheap. Each hair unit will cost about $3 to $7 to transplant from the donor area to the bald spot. Usually a few hundred to a few thousand individual hair units are needed to get good coverage of a bald area. As you can see the cost of the restoration could run in to the twenty thousands for a very large area but usually it is not this much.

Hair restoration surgery is a very effective method for getting hair to grow on a bald spot once it has fallen out.