The Belgravia Centre Blog

A brief description of hair restoration surgery

Hair restoration surgery (also known as a hair transplant) is a procedure whereby a surgeon extracts hair follicles from one area of the body to another. This procedure is most frequently carried out for the condition Male Pattern Hair Loss (hair loss caused by genetics), where follicles are transplanted from the sides of the scalp to thinning areas on the top. Because DHT (the product produced by the body that attacks the hair follicles and causes them to shrink) does not affect hair on the side of the scalp, these transplanted hairs will not be susceptible to the condition.

When are you not suitable for hair restoration surgery?

Before hair transplant surgery is carried out you will need to visit a doctor for a consultation. The doctor will make various considerations to determine whether you are suitable for the procedure.

A person with extensive hair loss is not suitable for hair restoration surgery as there will not be enough donor follicles to cover the balding area. Many people do not realise that hair will no longer grow from the area which the follicle was removed so there is only so much hair that can be removed before the donor area begins to appear visibly thinner. Elton John is one of the most famous faces thought to have had a hair transplant. We suspect surgery was limited to his frontal hairline if any surgery was carried out at all. It is most likely he wears a hair replacement system as it seems unlikely there would have been enough donor hair to replace his whole balding area.

A person with thinning but still reasonably dense hair may not not be suitable for a hair transplant as there is not enough space to insert the new hair. There is a risk that the transplanted hair will pushe out the neighboring hair hence canceling your gain. In addition, the situation of having a thick hair and a thin hair adjacent to each other is cosmetically very odd.

A person with a Diffuse Hair Loss condition will not be suitable.

Hair transplantation should not be performed on a person with Alopecia Areata because this type of hair loss can affect any area of the scalp, therefore even the transplanted hair is subject to attack making the whole procedure pointless. This principle also applies to Pseudopelade and Lichen Planus.

Following surgery are your hair loss worries a thing of the past?

Male Pattern Hair loss is a progressive, ongoing condition. A good surgeon considers the future for potential hair transplant patients – will there be donor hair available in the future should the balding areas thin further? One important factor following a hair transplant is that there are almost always areas of hair still susceptible to hair loss on the top of the head. It is essential that these areas are maintained by using the right preventative hair loss treatments in order to avoid uneven areas of thinning hair or baldness months or years down the line.

To enquire about Belgravia’s hair replacement and hair restoration services please message the centre or call us on 020 7730 6666. You can also complete our online diagnostic form for our home-use treatment service.