Although hereditary pattern hair loss is most common in men, it’s a myth that FUE hair transplants are useful only for our male clientele. In fact, approximately 40% to 50% of women suffer from hair loss at one point or another in their lives. The majority of those women will see thinning as a result of female pattern baldness or dramatic hormone changes later in life. The procedure can work just as well for women as it does for men, given that the client has healthy donor hair follicles. FUE can be a meticulous and time-consuming process when the nature of hair thinning is diffused throughout the scalp rather than localized to one area. However, be careful — individual planning delivers impressive results.

In a perfect world, we’d like to tell our clients that a hair transplant offers immediate results. However, most good things come to those who wait, and this holds true for hair. The before and after effects of a hair transplant will not be immediate. In fact, the truth is that after an FUE hair transplant, many of the engrafted hair follicles fall out within the first 3 weeks of the procedure. This is perfectly natural and expected. Some people worry unnecessarily about those hairs shedding, because they don’t realize it’s the follicles themselves, under the skin’s surface, which are working to produce new hairs. Dr. Torgerson’s FUE hair transplant patients can expect to see wispy strands growing in around 3 months after their procedure. They are thin and sometimes patchy at first, but this is just the beginning of the full growth process.

Closer to 8 months after surgery, thicker, denser hairs grow in, and they’ll fill the sparse areas more completely. At 8 or 9 months, your locks may have unruly characteristics such as texture or styling difficulties, but you can get excited about the coverage and new look at that point. Most people will see 80% to 95% fullness at one year, with further maturation and density of the hairs for many months after. Over time, the new strands take on the direction and style of the surrounding hair to blend in and make for an effortless result. Clients must plan to be patient and celebrate the ongoing stages. Your hair growth is bound by natural phases. As you cycle through them, your evolving results will look better and better each day.

Sadly, this is a myth. An FUE hair transplant does not technically grow any new hair follicles that you didn’t already have. What it does is strategically redistribute your existing follicles. Spreading your live, healthy hairs means that an experienced and artistic hair transplant surgeon can create the appearance of more and “new” hair.

For example, in almost all cases of male pattern baldness (androgenic alopecia), the affected area of the scalp is the top of the head and frontal hairline. Most men with male pattern baldness will have a permanent horseshoe pattern of hair remaining around the back and sides of the head, and that area can often provide enough donor hair for a few FUE sessions without creating visible depletion. When hair loss is localized, not diffused, the available follicle density in donor areas remains thick and plentiful. These hairs also have a natural DHT resistance, which makes them likely to stay and grow where they’re placed. (DHT is a hormone that causes hair loss.) With FUE hair transplant techniques, we can move follicles from one area of your head to another, and the long-term success using digitally assisted advanced FUE machines is over 90%.

Immediately following an FUE procedure, you’ll have a few temporary restrictions. One of these is regular hair washing, but only for about 5 days. The first day, your surgeon will show you how to gently rinse your scalp with cool, clean water. You won’t be permitted to shampoo or put any pressure on the scalp. Even shower head pressure is too much in the early days. You’ll be advised to rinse the scalp clean as little grafts take hold and heal over the first 3 to 5 days. Tiny scabs will gradually soften, and by Day 10, you can soak the scalp and gently wash them off. Once you’re given the all-clear to wash your hair normally (after 7 to 10 days in most cases), then you can relax and treat your scalp as you normally would. In the long run, when new hairs grow in around 3 to 4 months, washing, conditioning, cutting, and styling are all just fine. Your new hair will be strong and resilient.