Countless people suffer from hair loss, especially as they grow older. If your hair is thinning, falling out in patches, or receding, you shouldn’t hesitate to get in touch with your local clinic. The earlier you begin treatment, the greater the chances of success. Here at Advanced Hair Restoration of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, OK, we offer transplants and micrografts to both male and female patients.
While both treatments can work well, the latter is less invasive and therefore appropriate for a wider range of people. At your initial consultation, your provider can let you know whether you are a good candidate and if so, how many sessions you need. Most people come to see us 1-3 times for treatment, once to remove the sutures, and once for a follow-up appointment several months later.
How Many Hair Restoration Sessions Do You Need in Oklahoma City?
There are several ways of addressing the loss of hair on the scalp, and different methods work well for different conditions. When you come to the clinic, your doctor can assess what type of hair loss you suffer from and let you know what a potential solution is. For instance, they might tell you that micrograft treatment is the best solution or that you should undergo a hair transplant using the Strip method.
After their initial consultation with our specialists, most patients only have to come to the clinic two to four times. Several months after your last appointment, we might invite you to a follow-up session, so we can see how well your hair is growing now. Most people won’t need additional treatment, but some might want to repeat the process to further increase the density of their hair.
The Types of Hair Loss
The kind of hair loss you suffer from determines the treatment that is most appropriate for you. Androgenetic alopecia, also called male or female pattern hair loss, is the most common issue, and it affects approximately 80 million people across the US. In men, it usually begins at the temples and continues to the top of the head. However, women often experience a general thinning of their hair without any baldness.
While androgenetic alopecia is a normal part of the aging process, alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition. Sufferers’ hair falls out in patches because their immune system attacks the hair follicles. Similarly, a condition called Telogen effluvium stops your hair follicles from entering the growth phase and encourages the hair to fall out. Both alopecia aerata and Telogen effluvium require more treatment and medication than pattern hair loss.
MicroGraft Hair Treatment
This method is great for people who are experiencing alopecia or intense hair loss in one or more areas of their scalp. It is popular with both men and women who would like to increase the thickness of their hair and repopulate their scalp with fully functional hair follicles. This microsurgery only requires one to four sessions, during which your provider first extracts follicles from densely populated areas and then transplants them to the treatment site.
Because we use very fine instruments at the Oklahoma City clinic, we won’t leave behind any scars at your donor site, and the transplanted follicles have a high survival rate. You can expect minimal preparation and recovery time for this kind of hair restoration treatment because it is performed on an outpatient basis and doesn’t require general anesthesia.
Hair Transplant
Sometimes, the technique used during the micrograft, called follicular unit extraction, doesn’t work or isn’t suitable for the patient. In such cases, we need to use the Strip method, which involves taking a strip of tissue from the patient, dissecting it into smaller sections, and introducing the resulting micrografts to the balding areas of the patient’s head.
This type of treatment takes around 4-5 hours and involves making incisions in the scalp. For this reason, it is considered slightly more invasive than the micrograft technique. For each treatment area, you will need to come to the clinic twice: once to have your hair transplanted and once to have the sutures removed. If you are not local, we can communicate with your primary physician and ask them to remove your sutures 10-14 days after the treatment.
Beard Transplant
Hair transplants are most commonly performed on the scalp, but you can also have a beard transplant if you have trouble growing facial hair on your own. During this treatment, donor hair is taken from the back of your head and inserted into the area where you would like thicker growth. As a result, you can expect more volume, and you’ll finally be able to grow that goatee, mustache, or beard you’ve always wanted.
What To Expect at Your Appointment
When you contact the clinic about hair loss, we’ll invite you to an initial consultation to find out more about your issue. At that time, we can determine what kind of hair loss you suffer from, how long you have been struggling with the condition, what other treatments you have tried, and what medical issues you have. Then, we can determine whether you would be a good candidate for a transplant and tell you more about the treatment.
Preparing for a Transplant
You don’t have to do much to get ready for your transplant, and most patients don’t stop working or going about their normal routine until the day of their appointment. However, it’s important to keep certain guidelines in mind. Your provider will ask you to stop taking any blood-thinning medication a few days before your session.
Additionally, you shouldn’t smoke for 24 hours, and you must avoid cutting your hair in the days prior to the treatment. Take any medication your provider recommends, and try to massage your scalp for 10-30 minutes in the weeks before your session in order to increase the blood flow to the treatment site. Depending on your health history, your provider might also ask you to complete an ECG and a blood test.
Your Session
During a micrograft, you’ll only need local anesthesia, but during a traditional hair transplant, your doctor might also administer oral sedation. Both treatments will take several hours, so you should plan to spend most of the day at the clinic. After your appointment, we will make sure that you are feeling well and then allow you to leave and recover in the comfort of your own home.
Recovery and Results
The micrograft and the traditional hair or beard transplant can offer excellent, permanent results and restore your thick head of hair. But while you can expect to resume many of your normal activities almost immediately after a micrograft, you’ll have to adapt your routine after a transplant. Your provider will speak to you about suitable sleeping positions, physical activities, and hair washing techniques.
Around 7-10 days after your hair restoration session, you will notice that your hair grafts and incisions have healed. If you’ve opted for a micrograft, you can resume all activities at this point, but if you’ve had a transplant, you will need to return to the clinic or your primary physician and have your sutures removed. Between six to nine months after the treatment, you will see the full results of your hair transplant.
Am I a Good Candidate for a Hair Transplant?
The easiest way to find out whether you’re a good candidate for a transplant is to speak to the providers at your Oklahoma City clinic. They can check what type of hair loss you are suffering from and let you know whether a transplant or another type of treatment could help you regain your hair.
Most people suffering from hair loss are good candidates, but if you have an infection or skin condition on your scalp or you’ve lost your hair due to medication like chemotherapy, you might have to look for another solution. Similarly, people with severe medical issues might not be eligible.
Regain Your Youthful Head of Hair Now
Losing hair is stressful for many people, especially those who experience alopecia or another type of hair loss at a young age. As soon as you begin to notice the first symptoms, which might include more hair falling out, patches of baldness, or a receding hairline, you should contact your local clinic and ask for treatment. The sooner you address it, the more effectively hair loss can be stopped.
Your provider will ask you about your cosmetic concerns and discuss the various treatment options, then come up with a plan. Most likely, this will involve visiting the clinic two to three times. Fortunately, a hair transplant isn’t very invasive, so you won’t have to spend several weeks resting after treatment. Call us today at Advanced Hair Restoration of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, OK to book your initial consultation with our specialists.