Do I Have to Shave My Head Before a Hair Transplant?
Q:
Hi Dr. Mohebi,
I am planning to undergo an FUE hair transplant to add greater density to my hair in the front and along the hairline. Do you always shave the patient’s hair before a hair transplant? Is there a way it can be performed with long hair?
A:
Thanks for the question.
It is usually not mandatory to shave a patient’s head before an FUE procedure. Both types of hair transplant (FUE or FUT/strip) can be performed with minimal or no shaving.
- In the strip method, shaving can be limited to the area of the strip that will be removed so the patient will have long hair on both sides of the wound so it will be covered. With the FUE method, the donor shaving can be done in layers which means the longer neighboring hair can cover easily cover the shaved area. Layer shaving in FUE transplant can only eliminate the appearance of a shaved head if you leave your hair longer on the back and sides. We recommend complete shaving whenever possible since it allows us to expand the donor area to the entire permanent zone. That increases the evenness of the hair on the donor area and avoids the minimal contrast between the extracted and neighboring areas with higher density.
Shaving the donor area in layers allows us to harvest up to 2000 grafts in one day. However, it might not be possible to harvest more than that amount. For larger sessions, we need to have access to the entire donor area so shaving in layers might not be possible.
- We offer Celebrity Hair Transplant (non-shaven FUE) so the patient doesn’t need to have any shaved areas on the donor or recipient area. This procedure is more labor intense so fewer grafts could be transplanted in each session and it is more expensive for the same reason.Celebrity Hair Transplant is popular among celebrities who do not want any evidence of a hair transplant (even in the first few days after the procedure). This hair restoration technique allows the surgical team to either excise the grafts with long hair or cut only the hair that needs to be harvested so there is no visible shaved area on the back of the head.
Do I need to shave my head for a hair transplant?
Non-Shaven FUE – FAQ With Dr. Mohebi.
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A Hair Raising Situation for the Donald?
One thing that has not changed over time is the fascination that the public has with the appearance of the hair of Donald Trump. The speculation about whether or not his hair is real has been a topic of interest throughout his public life. Back in 2015, his hair might have been a bigger topic of conversation than his projected policies and ideas about the best ways to run the government.
As we said back in 2015:
There are two things Donald Trump is best known for these days. He is currently running for the office of the President of the United States. He is also well known for his hairstyle.
Donald Trump Hairstyle Speculation
There are many who believe that Donald Trump is the victim of a plug surgery that did not go as planned years ago. During a “plug hair transplant” surgery, an area located in the back of the head was shaved as well as numbed. A punch tool, between 2-5-mm in diameter, was then used to “punch out” hair bearing skin in round groupings. A punch was also used to remove pieces of bald skin from the recipient area on the scalp. The round hair grafts were then “plugged” into the holes in the balding area.
Possible Reasons Donald Trump has kept the Same Hairstyle
Many “hair conspiracy” believers think Trump does not have an adequate donor supply to be able to undergo pluggy hair transplant repair. They also believe this is reason he has maintained the same hairstyle for so many years.
If the theory about an earlier plug hair transplant is true, there are multiple reasons that he (as well as others in his situation) has not undergone a hair transplant repair procedure:
- He is Unaware that Help is Available – The hair restoration procedure that caused his pluggy appearance was performed many years ago. Mr. Trump might be unaware of the latest advances in hair repairs that can make his appearance look more natural
- He Might be Traumatized – After undergoing his first unsuccessful hair transplant procedure, Trump might simply be unwilling to give it another try. The trauma caused by the older procedure might still be fresh in his memory.
- Lack of Quality Donor Hair – Without enough donor hair to help fill-in the balding area, doctors might have trouble in their mission of making Trump’s hair achieve a more natural appearance. This situation can be helped with a beard to scalp hair transplant.
If you’ve had a hair transplant in the past and have been unhappy with your final results, advances in hair transplant repair techniques can likely help you achieve the results you longed for in the past. Contact our experienced, skilled, board-certified medical doctors in order to learn more about the hair transplant revision options available to you.
MA
Is Beard to Scalp Hair Transplant the Future?
Beard to scalp hair transplants have become more common. Most of these are performed to correct male pattern baldness. Encouraged by our strategies and new findings on how to use facial hair, we have performed numerous beard to scalp hair transplants in the last two years with great results. But, the procedure may need to be performed more than once on many of these patients to ensure full coverage of the balding area. Luckily, a beard to scalp hair transplant can provide patients with a plentiful source of hair. This is especially important for men who don’t have sufficient donor hair due to low density or extensive balding areas that need coverage.
Why has beard to scalp transplant been on the rise?
One reason is because our improved understanding of the anatomy of the hair follicular units has furthered the dynamics involved in removing grafts individually. The other reason is that our techniques for extracting follicular units has developed, allowing us to refine the extraction methods from different parts of the body. Previously, extracting hair from the face and implanting it into the scalp was a daunting task that frequently ended with poor results. Now, because of the change in tactics and FUE devices, it is much less demanding to harvest hair from the skin of different parts of the body. Comparing those hairs from different parts of the body like the face, limbs, genitalia, and torso, has taught us that the facial hair is most like the hairs on the scalp. Beard hair has a life cycle, shaft thickness, and length of growth that is very similar to the scalp hair.
Our expanding knowledge of the tools used and the advanced strategies has also made it possible to use facial hair to restore balding regions on the scalp more efficient. In the past, the use of bigger punch sizes made for a bigger wound surface area that prompted healing problems such as, scar development and hypopigmentation of the skin. A deeper insertion of the punches used by older methods led to low-level transections of beard follicles. Low-level transection resulted in a higher number of ingrown hairs in the donor area of the face. Development of ingrown hairs is an extremely undesirable complication of a beard to scalp hair transplant, which previously restricted the utilization of facial hair for restoration of the balding region. Incision depth control and utilization of smaller punch sizes have lessened such complications, making beard hair an extraordinary source for hair restoration for many men.
Beard hair to scalp transplantation has its own limitations
There are men who can’t grow facial hair or have a very sparse beard. Some men are not allowed to shave or trim their facial hair due to social or religious reasons. Many men would like to keep the option to grow beard in the future. Extraction of facial hair for these individuals is still a possibility but, the donor area would be limited to the neck and beneath the mandibular line. Despite of the limited donor area in these individuals, extraction of hair from these zones can provide a decent number of suitable hairs that can restore a good portion of the balding area furthering weapons used in the restoration of hair on those suffering from hair loss.
Join us for our First Open House Event
Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration is hosting its first open house for prospective and current patients. This meet and greet is designed as a thank you for current recipients of our care and as an opportunity for future prospect to become familiar with our team, hear story of our previous patients and learn more about our state of the art hair restoration procedures.
Participants are encouraged to bring their spouses to enjoy a free demonstration of the ARTAS Robotic Hair Restoration System and refreshments. The participants will receive a gift certificate towards an ARTAS hair transplant procedure. Dr. Mohebi’s previous patients, and representatives of the Robotic Hair Restoration will also be present to answer any and all of the guest’s questions, as they pertain to hair transplant procedure or the robotic system.
This is an exceptional opportunity for all guests to get to know Dr. Mohebi, as well as our entire team. The open house event is designed to forge a long lasting relationship with patients in a collective effort by the staff of Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration to make you look and feel better about your hairline.
Come join us! It will be a great time!
RSVP through info@parsamohebi.com
When: March 14, 2015 from 11am to 2pm
Where: 16661 Ventura Blvd. #313 Encino, CA 91436
*All gift certificates presented during our open house event are valid for a limited time only.
Introduction of ARTAS to Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration
In the last few years, we at Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration have monitored the evolution of one of the newest hair restoration technologies available, Robotic Hair Restoration. The ARTAS system offers a machinery that facilitates the extraction of hair follicles individually and with accuracy from the patient’s scalp.”
ARTAS has made the extraction of FUE grafts automated, but up until recently the speed of which the device extracted these grafts could not match the speed of our manual extractions. Furthermore, the ARTAS was handicapped by the larger diameter of its punches when compared to manual methods. However, in keeping its promise to advance FUE extraction technology, ARTAS has recently updated their software and hardware, and multiplied their rotation speed from 800 RPMs to 3000 RPMs, improving the speed and efficiency of the procedure. They have also successfully reduced the size of the punches to 19 Gauge, which is close to the punches that we use in our manual FUE procedures.
These changes have tipped the balance on the scale between ARTAS and non-automated FUEs, making the ARTAS system competitive in comparison to our current, manual techniques. ARTAS can produce higher quality grafts in some areas of the scalp when compared to other methods of follicular unit extraction. That is why we have decided to add this innovative device to our arsenal here, at Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration. We will be working on utilizing the ARTAS system and Robotic Hair Restoration techniques to add to the quality and efficiency of our FUE treatments. We will also be collaborating with ARTAS and other centers to fine-tune the process, making robotic hair transplant even more efficient in the future.
We believe that ARTAS will continue to make progress in the field of hair restoration and make hair transplant surgeries safer and more dynamic in the future.
Q & A: Hair Transplants for Younger Patients
Q:
Hey Doc.
Can I get your official thoughts on younger guys (Ages 19-26, but particularly guys in the 20s age range) getting hair transplants? That’s a question that comes up quite a bit and the general consensus seems to be to not get a hair transplant that young—that they should wait until they are at least in their late 20s or early 30s and their hairline has matured and the hair loss has stabilized. They also seem to recommend starting the prescription medication for hair loss at that age to hopefully help halt the hair loss. Is this something you agree with? What is your stance on a 20-year-old getting a hair transplant? Or does it really depend on many other variables?
A:
It was the standard of care among hair transplant surgeons to wait until age 24 for a hair transplant. Before that, doctors could not be sure where their patients’ final stages of hair loss would end up. Today, we don’t follow such a restrictive guideline for a couple reasons:
1. We have better diagnostic tools today. We do microscopic evaluation (miniaturization study) that can tell us where people will be heading in the future and what their final stage of hair loss will be. As a result, we don’t have to wait until they look completely bald in order to know what their final hair loss stage will be.
2. We have better hair loss medications that can slow a patient’s receding hairline, even at an advanced age. The age limitation for hair restoration that we had 20 years ago no longer applies today.
We have performed studies on the psychology of hair loss and hair transplant, and, as a result, we know the worst age for being hit by the negative psychosocial effects of hair loss is in the early 20s. It doesn’t make much sense to wait until the person become obviously bald to treat his or her condition.
It is important for the surgeon to consider different aspects before committing to giving a hair transplant to a young patient. It is also crucial that, if there is any doubt about the future class of hair loss, the doctor should assume that the patient is going toward class VII and plan accordingly. This will prevent giving a very low hairline to someone who will be a class VII at some point during his life.
CONTEST: Win a Free Hair Transplant!
Every day, we talk to many different men and women suffering from hair loss—and every day, we hear the same thing: that they were terrified to come in for their transplant. But what were they so afraid of? Many cited the stigma associated with getting “work” done; others were simply struggling with misinformation. In talking to these patients, we at Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration realized that there are so many people out there suffering from hair loss and not knowing that they can be helped. We’ve decided to do something about this.
We are offering a free hair transplant to a patient in need. The only requirement? That he or she lets us document the transplant experience on video. You will be a part of the definitive hair restoration video, demonstrating the procedure and its effects, and bringing the patient’s journey to light. We want to show not only how easy a hair transplant is, but how extraordinary the results can be. We’ve got an amazing film crew, an incredible staff, and a dream—all we need is you!
If interested in this amazing opportunity, please upload a video (no longer than five minutes) of yourself telling us why you think you are a good candidate for the free hair transplant, and what this procedure would mean to you. Video submissions will be accepted via our Facebook page until January 16, 2015, and the winner will be announced on January 23, 2015. We can’t wait to hear your stories.
Have you got a story you want us to hear? Submit your video now for the chance to win a free hair transplant!
Hair for the Holidays: Enjoy 10% Off at Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration!
Patients looking to treat themselves this holiday season are in luck—Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration is offering an incredible deal: 10% off of all FUE procedures scheduled by December 31! This limited-time offer is great for anyone interested in a thicker, fuller hairline—at a thinner price.
FUE—which stands for “Follicular Unit Extraction”—is an advanced type of hair restoration surgery that offers many advantages over traditional “strip” Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT). Unlike FUT, FUE does not leave a linear scar on the scalp, meaning patients will be able to wear their hair short without worrying about any unsightly scarring showing through. Additionally, FUE does not distort the growth angle of hair follicles, and is a less invasive procedure, so patients will need less time for recovery following the surgery. FUE creates a natural-looking hairline and attractive results.
To redeem this offer, mention it to our front desk staff when scheduling your appointment. This offer cannot be combined with other offers. This offer is valid until December 31, 2014. For more information about our holiday special or FUE itself, please call Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration at 888-302-8747 or email us at info@ParsaMohebi.com.