By Puja Gupta
That a hair transplant procedure is as painful as any other surgical process is a myth, points out Dr Pradeep Sethi, Hair Transplant Surgeon at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi and Managing Director Eugenix Hair Sciences.
Many people think that the procedure might result in regular headache or migraines which is also untrue, clears Dr Arika Bansal, Hair Transplant surgeon, AIIMS New Delhi.
IANSlife spoke to the experts who bust all the myths around hair transplant and point to the facts. Read on:
The procedure needs to be retouched or done again and again -- It will always remain intact once done, only if done by a highly experienced professional. One may lose hair in a different region where the procedure has not been done and might require transplantation for the same.
People cannot get hair transplantation after a certain age -- Advancing age is never a problem as long as there is good blood flow in scalp region and if the person is not suffering from any uncontrolled pre-existing health condition.
Donor can be anyone - Wrong. Only your own hair can be transplanted on you.
Hair doesn't grow any longer than the grafted length -- Once the hair is grafted, it becomes as natural as your existing hair. You can do whatever you want at your will. It can be shaved, dyed, treated, etc. and will come back to its originality with growth. Hence, you can grow your hair as long as you want without any further treatment or procedures.
The procedure may cause cancer -- There is no relation to cancer at all. The transplant doesn't cause any health conditions
There are lifelong scars after the procedure -- There are rarely any chest extraction cases that leave scars on patients. Scars are generally not seen on the scalp if extracted in a proper manner. Whereas, any break in skin leaves a scar which are generally lifelong, if done by an expert, there will hardly be any visible scarring.
The hair transplantation procedure is temporary -- There is nothing temporary about the procedure, the characteristics of the transplanted hair might change with age like greying of hair but otherwise, it remains as is life long without any losses.
A person can differentiate between natural hair and those transplanted -- If done by a highly experienced professional, an onlooker cannot make out if the hair has been transplanted or if its natural. It is recommended one researchs' properly before opting for the procedure as it depends entirely on the person who performs it.
The process is very painful -- There is a misconception for the hair transplant procedure to be painful like every other surgical process, which is absolutely untrue. The procedure is initiated with inducing local anaesthesia which is a pinprick with a very fine needle following which the procedure of transplant is absolutely painless and doesn't cause even slightest of discomfort.
Causes headaches and Migraine -- Many people think that the procedure might result in regular headache or migraines which is again untrue. There has never been a case as such where people who have had the procedure complained anything as such.
Will lack density -- No, the hair is nice and dense. It will be thick and healthy, but we cannot match nature in its density.
Hair cannot be implanted on scarred tissue -- Hair can only be transplanted on regions with ideal blood supply. As long as the scar is completely remodulated and has an optimal blood supply, it can be grafted upon as they will grow naturally.
The procedure is done with cut and stitch technique -- The old cut and stitch technique has now been replaced by an entirely modernised procedure with absolute precision. Now individual grafts are extracted by modern aided equipment.
The transplanted hair will develop into scalp hair characteristics -- The body hair grafted onto scalp during the transplantation procedure will retain its own nature while the rest of the features remaining as it is.