How to plan Hair Transplant

Are you taking quotations from various doctors and Hair clinics for your hair transplant?

This article is the most popular article on our website and has saved many patients from getting cheated by hair transplant clinics. Take the help of this article to select the best hair clinic in your country.

The patient remains confused about why there is such a cost difference among the numbers. Today, we will discuss how to plan a hair transplant for yourself.

Before Hair Transplant Planning

Before you are ready to do a hair transplant, you have to be sure about a few things.

1. Smoking – If you are a smoker, then quit smoking about 2 weeks prior to the hair transplant

2. Condition of hair loss – If you are getting severe hair loss at present, then you have to control this hair loss before getting a hair transplant. This hair fall control generally takes about one to three months with the help of medicines. Kindly note that in any normal male, 50 – 100 hairs are shed every day, and this much new hair is grown every day. All our scalp hair has a life of 3 – 5 years. Every hair on our scalp sheds after 3–5 years, and new hair grows in its place. But as this process is going on every day, we don’t realize it. You need to worry only when there is significant hair loss every day.

3. Pre-Existing Disease – If there is any pre-existing disease like Diabetes, Thyroid, Blood pressure, etc, then they should be in control even if you are on medicines.

4. Age – Not a factor in front area hair transplant. Possible from the age of 21 to the age of 80 years. Crown areas are generally not done before the age of  28 – 30 years.

5. Number of grafts and density – It’s always better to plan a limited number of grafts in one session, but few patients are deficient in time, so we plan as many as 5000 grafts in a single stage. Good doctors are not those who give maximum density, but good doctors give you the right density at the right places to cover the maximum area in one stage of hair transplant.

6. Choose your technique wisely – Technique may impact the hair transplant result significantly

7. Choose a good doctor rather than a good hair transplant company – See the previous results photo gallery, patients operated by the surgeon, see the doctor’s YouTube channel of the clinic, and check reviews on multiple platforms to choose a good doctor. Good doctors deliver you nice, natural hairlines. They give you hair angles that are just perfect. They keep good densities in the hairline, Forelock areas, and partition lines. And in other areas, they use an average density to cover the maximum area in one session of hair transplant. They don’t waste grafts by putting them in high-density areas that are not vital. Because keeping high density everywhere requires a very high number of grafts in a small area. So it is always better to keep high densities only in selective areas so that the doctor can cover large areas with the same number of grafts.

8. Leaves from office – Generally, 4 – 5 days leave from office is recommended for any hair transplant upto 3000 grafts. For above that, we recommend one week in hand. The leaves are required so that you can give adequate care to your newly implanted hair and give adequate time to any possible swelling on your forehead or face after hair transplant.

9. Book a hair transplant date with the clinic – Hair transplant is a very long surgery. Every clinic or doctor has fixed slots on fixed dates. All good doctors have a lot of hair transplant cases. You may not have an appointment on Thursday, but you can get the date of the next day with a good doctor. So it’s wiser to book your procedure date at least 15 – 30 days prior to your plan.

10. Book Flights / Trains in advance – Generally, we recommend you arrive one day prior to your surgery so that you can have a good sleep before surgery. You can leave delhi after 48 hours of your Hair transplant. So generally we recommend a 3 – 4 day stay in Delhi, India, for your hair transplant.

11. Book hotels in advance –   Kindly book your stay in nearby hotels . You can book hotels in EAST DELHI near PREET VIHAR or near CONNAUGHT PLACE in New Delhi, India. Few suggestions are Hotel JPS Residency,  Hotel Woodapple Residency, Maharaja Residency, Hotel Clarks, Hotel Radisson Blu (Kaushambi or Patparganj), Hotel Park Plaza (Shahdara), Hotel Lalit. If you want cheaper hotels, then book hotels in Paharganj, New Delhi. Please don’t book any hotel in West Delhi, South Delhi, North Delhi, Gurgaon, or Noida.

12. Payment mode at AKESO – The most preferred mode for final payment is Net banking (NEFT / RTGS Transfer ) at our clinic. To enable that, kindly add our Bank account in your net banking beneficiary list about 5 days prior, as some banks have limits to transfer money for 3 – 4 days. We do accept cheques, but they must be cleared before the morning of the hair transplant. If your cheque is not cleared, then you have to pay by cash or card. We will refund you the amount when your cheque payments are deposited into our account. We accept credit cards with Mastercard or Visa cards, but there may be any limit on international spending on your credit card when you visit India. Kindly check that before relying on credit card payments.

Main Instructions before Surgery

1. Stop Smoking or using nicotine products 2 weeks prior to surgery.
2. Stop Alcohol 2 days prior to surgery.
3. Stop Aspirin 3 days prior to surgery.
4. Stop multivitamins 1 week prior to surgery.
5. Continue antihypertensive drugs and drugs for diabetes or thyroid.
6. Do not wear T shirt or other on day of surgery.
7. Do not drive yourself on the day of surgery.
8. If dandruff or other skin problems are present, then consult a dermatologist at least 15 days prior to surgery to take medical treatment for it.
9. Discuss any other disease or medical condition with your doctor at least 15 days prior.

Hair Transplant Surgery

1. Pain – usually of only 5 – 10 minutes of pain, occurs when we inject local anaesthesia to numb your scalp skin. After that, everything is painless. At AKESO, we use buffered anaesthesia solutions, so pain is about one-third in comparison to normal hair transplant clinics, as buffered solutions have a very short shelf life, so they are not sold in the market by any company. We prepare a fresh solution just 15 minutes prior to the hair transplant to give you a smooth feel. You can listen to music during your hair transplant.
2. Hospital admission – Not required in any case of hair transplant. You are completely conscious and can talk with the doctor during your hair transplant. You can leave within 15 minutes for your hotel or home after the completion of the hair transplant.
3. Duration of hair transplant – Depends on the number of grafts, technique, doctors, and staff expertise.

Course of hair transplant

1. Hair transplant done
2. First shampoo – minimum 24 hours after surgery. We call you on the 3rd day for the first shampoo.
3. Daily shampoo for the first 15 days
4. Scabs start shedding after day 7 and continue shedding until day 14. If scabs do not fall, then you can wash it on day 15.
5. Transplanted hair starts shedding after 2 weeks. Around 50 – 90 % transplanted hair sheds in the first 2.5 months
6. Hair growth starts again after 3 months.
7. Initially, hair is thin, and it gradually increases in thickness and length.
8. Expect 50 – 60 % result in the first 6 – 7 months.
9. Full result in 9 – 12 months

After hair transplant Instructions

1. A dressing is done on the back areas or the donor area from where we have taken grafts. This dressing is removed after 2 days of the Hair transplant.
2. No dressing is done on the bald area where new grafts are implanted.
3. You have to keep the newly implanted hair moist with the help of saline spray for the initial 4 -5 days.
4. There is a possibility of swelling on your forehead area and face just after hair transplant which can take 3 – 5 days to subside. Position, Massage, and Ice Packing are recommended for faster recovery from any kind of swelling.
5. You can join the office after 3  – 7 days ( depends on the number of grafts and the duration of the hair transplant), when swelling has subsided.
6. Shampoo is started after 2 days of hair transplant.
7. You can bathe normally every day.
8. You can wear a normal cap after 3 days of hair transplant ( on day 4 ) 
9. No Smoking, alcohol, or exercise for about 10 days to 2 weeks
10. No swimming pool, Chlorinated water, Helmet, or Direct sunlight exposure for 3 weeks
11. You can use normal hair oil after 21 days of HT.
12. You can colour your hair after 3 weeks.

If hair transplant clinics. Are there so many Experts in hair transplant, or is hair transplant a very easy procedure to do? Some patients think that the USA, the UK, or Australia have better clinics than India and Turkey. But the procedure has not remained ethical in more than 80 % clinics in these countries, even after paying 6 dollars per graft for FUE in some clinics. A lot of patients from all around the world Head to India and Turkey in search of cheaper hair transplants.

Cheating No. 1. – Hair transplant entirely done by Technicians, Assistants, or trichologists 

99 % of turkey clinics and more than 90 % Indian clinics do not have any role for a doctor in your hair transplant. In the USA, Australia, the UK, the UAE, and other countries, the figure is more than 60 % – 80 %.  Doctors only observe your hair transplant; they don’t have any role in the execution of the hair transplant.

A doctor’s job is just roaming in the operating theater at regular intervals.  Doctors explain to the patients that it’s a trained technician’s job. So, suddenly, hair transplant is done at very cheap prices in 100 clinics in one city. Patient thinks that he has 100 options, so they calls various clinics and starts accumulating quotes for his hair transplant.

Cheating No. 2: Less Qualified Doctors operating on you 

Do you show your teeth to a plastic surgeon?

The answer is no, because there is a doctor who has been trained to treat dental diseases called the dentist. But various hair transplant companies hire Ayurveda doctors, homeopathic doctors, and dentists to get a shield for hair transplant being performed by a doctor. These companies do a few cases with a proper doctor and get a few results. They then just use their results photographs to lure patients to their clinic to be operated on by under-qualified doctors.

Cheating No. 3 . Showing results of the chief hair surgeon and  having operated on the Patient by another doctor 

There are clinics that make a name by the ethical work of one good hair transplant surgeon. Then they hire various doctors. You are given the belief that hair transplant is teamwork, and the other doctors operate on you. They open their clinic branches and get you operated on by different doctors. Practically, you see good hair transplant results, which are provided by the chief hair surgeon, but you don’t know the results provided by other doctors. There are many clinics in India that set the cost of the chief hair transplant surgeon 2 – 4 times higher than other doctors available in their clinic, so that you are forced to choose other doctors. So always confirm the charges.

Cheating No. 4 . Using hair society memberships as qualifications or degrees 

There are many doctors who write membership of ISHRS and IAHRS, AHRS, ABHRS as degrees. They always cite that they are superior hair surgeons to others because they have memberships in these societies. The fact is that these societies have been created by a group of doctors to share their knowledge and experience. They are not training institutes or medical colleges. You get a degree from a medical college after you get training of 3 – 6 years and then pass an examination to obtain that medical degree. All these hair society memberships are provided to doctors who are interested in the field of hair transplant without any training provided by them. These are made to share experience and knowledge, for which they conduct conferences every year. They are not medical institutions, and their memberships should not be used as degrees or qualifications to lure patients.

There are some doctors in Turkey who have all these memberships, and they openly write on their website that no steps of your hair transplant will be done by a doctor. The doctor will only observe your case and guide his technician.

Cheating No. 5. Getting your graft extraction by a technician

Sometimes clinics try to prove that only the slitting process or channel making by the doctor is important for getting a natural hair transplant result. They explain that graft extraction can be done by an assistant or a hair technician, as this will not impact your result. The fact is that graft extraction is the only step in which the graft can get damaged. Your donor area will get damaged severely when technicians do it.

Cheating No. 6. Sedating you with tablets or injections during hair transplant

There was a patient who got one hair transplant in Australia and told us that he woke up at the end of the procedure after the clinic provided him with tablets. Giving the patient sedative tablets or injections so that he does not know who performed his hair transplant. There was one clinic in Punjab that provided sedative tablets on the pretext of antibiotics or painkiller tablets. This type of cheating happens all over the world. The hair transplant process has just 5 – 10 minutes of mild pain, which happens when the area is given numbing injections. Refrain yourself from clinic who provides you sedatives. Always inquire that you will not be sedated and will be able to have lunch in between your hair transplant procedure.

Cheating No. 7: Unlimited Grafts at fixed price

Giving an unlimited graft offer without telling the number of grafts or the area. In Turkey and India, many clinics provide you with an unlimited graft package so that patients don’t care about the things because of the term unlimited. It may lead to extensive damage to your donor area because, in most of these cases, hair grafts are not extracted by the doctor himself.

Cheating No. 8: Giving a package in terms of hair or follicles rather than grafts.

Explaining the package in terms of hairs or follicles. Few doctors/clinics/companies charge you per hair instead of per graft. They explain to you that one graft has 2 – 4 hairs, and 2000 grafts have 6000 hairs. This is entirely wrong. On average, 30 % grafts have 3 hair, 40 % have two hair, and 25 % have single hair; only 5 % grafts have 4 – 5 hair. On average, 2000 grafts have 4000 – 5000 hairs.

Cheating No. 9: Robotic Hair Transplant

Robotic hair transplant – The Only robot available in the world to perform hair transplant is ARTAS. There are certain vacuum-assisted devices like SAFER ( Neograft ), FUETOR, etc, which are modifications of the normal micromotor mechanism used for powered FUE.  Various studies have indicated that vacuum-assisted devices like SAFER actually dehydrate the grafts, and hair transplants fail because of the drying of the grafts. But to make an advantage in marketing their hair transplant center, they call this machine ROBOT and term ROBOTIC HAIR TRANSPLANT.

Cheating No. 10: Delivering a lesser no of grafts. 

The clinic will explain to you a package of 3000 or unlimited grafts at very lucrative rates, and then put in just 1000 – 1500 grafts. Many times in a bid to prove their promise, they cover very big areas with a very small number of grafts. The result is very futile, and sometimes patients think that he was better looking before the hair transplant itself.