Most medical transplantations that require donors involve taking something from another person to implant into another. Not for hair transplantation!
One of the unique features of modern hair restoration is that it takes hair follicles either individually (FUE) or in small groups (FUT) from the recipient to move it to another part of their own body. This serves a couple of important purposes:
- It limits the number of transplantation rejections, as the donor hairs come from your own body
- It allows you to grow hair that is naturally your own for a better final result
- It solves the majority of pattern hair loss by taking hair from where it still grows and moving it to where it doesn’t.
Modern surgical hair restoration procedures are highly effective, look great, and, when performed by experienced professionals, are customized to fit your specific needs.
Doesn’t Balding Mean I Don’t Have Hair To Transplant?
This might come as a surprise to some, but there is a reason that the most common type of hair loss is called “male pattern hair loss” (MPHL). In the vast majority of hair loss cases, the hair loss starts at a central point on top of the head and spirals out to the sides, generally stopping when it reaches them.
This results in the common depiction of bald people having the half-ring of hair around the sides and back of their head. Though this is the most common way in which hair loss occurs, it is not the only way.
Each person’s hair loss is different and manifests in different ways. Some of these ways include the specific pattern their hair loss follows, the steps taken to “remedy” the hair loss, and the impact of other external factors such as exposure to elements and so on.
Although there are a lot of factors that can provide unique experiences for each person, the result that hair on the sides and back of the head remains after the top of the scalp becomes completely bald is the most common.
This means that even though a person might be balding or suffering from hair loss, the ideal and most used donor area is the recipient’s own hair follicles from the parts of their head that retain growth!
How Is FUT Donation Different From FUE?
Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction(FUE) both use donor areas to move healthy hair follicles to areas where hair growth is desired. In fact, they both use the same areas in most cases!
The primary difference is that FUT requires removing strips of hair follicles in small batches before transplanting them while FUE transplants individual hair follicles one at a time.
Since individual follicles leave smaller scarring and allow for precision removal of hair follicles from more heavily populated areas, FUE tends to take donations from both the sides and the back of the head for transplanting. The surgeon will decide which areas have the thickest hair density, being sure to remove hair follicles in such a way that leaves the smallest impact on the donor area while making the largest impact on the recipient area.
FUT is slightly different because of its removal of larger (though still quite tiny) strips of follicles for transplantation. Generally, when possible, donation sites for FUT are best from the back of the head, particularly along the hairline where it will be least noticed and create the least amount of scarring.
If you have a surgeon, like Dr. Williams from Advanced Medical Hair Institute, who is careful and meticulous about ensuring the best look for you individually, the resulting scarring should be minimal, while the effect of the transplant will be maximized in turn.
Can Donations Come From Elsewhere On The Body?
In certain cases, the head may not be a viable option for the donation of hair follicles, so it is possible that donations might be taken from elsewhere on the body. This is not the ideal option, however, as most other places on the body tend to shed and grow hair differently than the top of the head, so care must be taken in exploring these options.
Some research has shown that chest hair makes the best donation site for men outside of the head itself because of the density, longevity, and type of hair follicles that tend to grow there. Comparatively, the arms, legs, and back are not generally strong candidates for hair donation because of the inconsistencies with their growth compared to head hair.
Where Can I Learn More About Hair Restoration For Me?
If you are in the Las Vegas area, you can contact Advanced Medical Hair Institute by phone or visit the website to speak with a member of the team about a free consultation. If you are ready to schedule right now, all you have to do is schedule a consultation on our website right now!
We look forward to helping you on your hair restoration journey.
