Z
Zak1066
member
MY WORK AS A HAIR TRANSPLANT TECHNICIAN
I still remember the first time I ever saw a ht. I was only 9 but my father thought it was a good idea to put one of his surgeries on the telly WHILE WE WERE EATING ¦! Although I was traumatised at the time, this memory always puts a smile on my face.
So yes, hair transplants have been a part of my life since my childhood. My father graduated in medicine the same year I was born and soon after he decided to combine his speciality in dermatology and trichology with hair transplants. All throughout his career he has employed many family members to help him with his work, and I was no exception.
MY EXPERIENCE
However, I did not start to work in the industry until I was 22. From then on I spent 3 years working for my dad in Barcelona and a further 9 years in two different clinics in London. I cannot say I loved the job from the beginning ¦ quite the opposite in fact. Spending hours using a microscope trying to coordinate your hands to cut a piece of skin is not that easy ¦ and it can be very frustrating. But like driving a car, once you practice enough it can be very enjoyable, especially if the patient has chosen a good film to watch!
One aspect that I loved about my job was taking care of the patients. You get to meet new people with fascinating stories to tell every day. Most of them are so nervous ¦ I even had patients (not many though) that cried when going into surgery. It was always heartbreaking to see such a reaction but I can understand the fear of going through such a procedure. However, hair transplants are straight forward and relatively painless so there is no need to worry. All patients (even the few who cried) always said that it was quite enjoyable and they always left the clinics very happy and relaxed.
Another aspect that attracted me was knowing that you are changing people s lives ¦ Although some are not that worried about getting bald, I have met clients who do not want to leave home on windy days or who never take their baseball cap off ¦ not even in front of their partners. Some might think that having a hair transplant is vain but I can guarantee that it affects people s lives in such positive ways!
A further interesting point about my role as a medical technician was taking care of the before and after picture library. This meant that I could see the transformation of every patient. I always get people asking me if hair transplants actually work. And the answer is: OH YEAH! However, you also need a good surgeon who knows what he is doing and who is in turn supported by a close-knit team. It was quite frequent that patients would come from other clinics with bad results and wanted us to fix it (which we did).
WHAT MAKES FOR A BAD HAIR TRANSPLANT
These are just some examples of things that need to be taken into account while doing a hair transplant:
- The direction of the hair. If the implants are placed on different directions, the result will obviously be quite unnatural.
- The natural hairline of the patient. The common mistake is to lower it too much making it look artificial.
- The size of the GRAFTS. Ideally these need to have 1-4 hairs (5 max). Bigger grafts mean that there is a risk to have the look of a doll!
- The density of the donor area. If the donor area is not well estimated there might not be enough material to cover the desired area.
There are more examples of issues that are common in bad hair transplants but suffice is to say that choosing a great surgeon is a must! Fortunately, I have always had the chance to work with brilliant ones.
TECHNIQUES
There are many techniques or combination of them such as flap, extensions, scalp reduction and so on. However, the most common nowadays ones are:
1- FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation) removal of a strip from the back of the head which is then cut into follicular units. The grafts are then implanted on the scalp where the holes have been made with a thin needle or blade.
- The strip normally is around 15-30 cms long (although can be longer or shorter) and 1-1.5 cms wide.
- It leaves a very thin scar although barely noticeable in most cases.
- It allows a large extraction of grafts and, consequently, provides good density.
2 FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) removal of each individual follicular unit with a punch. The grafts are then implanted in the same way as in a FUT.
- The scars are almost invisible.
- The number of grafts extracted is quite limited.
Personally I think that FUT is better but FUE can be very good if the patient does not have much hair loss and likes to have his hair really short.
PRICES
The prices vary so much between clinics but it goes from £3k to at around £12k depending on the technique although there are clinics charging far more than that. Just because a clinic is cheap does not mean it is bad. And just because they are expensive it does not mean they are going to give the best results! What people need to consider above the price is the surgeons, their experience and their results.
HAIR LOSS MEDICATION
Propecia and minoxidil are great products to help stop the hair loss. Having a hair transplant and not taking medication to prevent further loss is not advisable as the patient has a limited amount of donor area.
People are always concerned about the secondary effects of the Propecia but it only affects a VERY small percentage of patients and in those cases these effects stop once they quit taking the tablet. I have been on Propecia for 14 years and so have many of my friends and family and no one has ever had any complaints, quite the opposite. I was losing my hair when I was 20 and this medicine stopped the process and it even increased my density in some areas.
So when patients go for a consultation they should ask the surgeon about medication. In the three clinics I have worked for they ALWAYS insist on taking them! Also, big Boots do sell Propecia at a very good price without prescription. They also take pics and do a case study of the patients!
CLINICS
If you are interested in having a hair transplant I strongly recommend you do so. You will gain so much confidence! However, make sure you are a good candidate! It is good to see different surgeons to get a better idea. There are many good clinics around so check them all out!
I still remember the first time I ever saw a ht. I was only 9 but my father thought it was a good idea to put one of his surgeries on the telly WHILE WE WERE EATING ¦! Although I was traumatised at the time, this memory always puts a smile on my face.
So yes, hair transplants have been a part of my life since my childhood. My father graduated in medicine the same year I was born and soon after he decided to combine his speciality in dermatology and trichology with hair transplants. All throughout his career he has employed many family members to help him with his work, and I was no exception.
MY EXPERIENCE
However, I did not start to work in the industry until I was 22. From then on I spent 3 years working for my dad in Barcelona and a further 9 years in two different clinics in London. I cannot say I loved the job from the beginning ¦ quite the opposite in fact. Spending hours using a microscope trying to coordinate your hands to cut a piece of skin is not that easy ¦ and it can be very frustrating. But like driving a car, once you practice enough it can be very enjoyable, especially if the patient has chosen a good film to watch!
One aspect that I loved about my job was taking care of the patients. You get to meet new people with fascinating stories to tell every day. Most of them are so nervous ¦ I even had patients (not many though) that cried when going into surgery. It was always heartbreaking to see such a reaction but I can understand the fear of going through such a procedure. However, hair transplants are straight forward and relatively painless so there is no need to worry. All patients (even the few who cried) always said that it was quite enjoyable and they always left the clinics very happy and relaxed.
Another aspect that attracted me was knowing that you are changing people s lives ¦ Although some are not that worried about getting bald, I have met clients who do not want to leave home on windy days or who never take their baseball cap off ¦ not even in front of their partners. Some might think that having a hair transplant is vain but I can guarantee that it affects people s lives in such positive ways!
A further interesting point about my role as a medical technician was taking care of the before and after picture library. This meant that I could see the transformation of every patient. I always get people asking me if hair transplants actually work. And the answer is: OH YEAH! However, you also need a good surgeon who knows what he is doing and who is in turn supported by a close-knit team. It was quite frequent that patients would come from other clinics with bad results and wanted us to fix it (which we did).
WHAT MAKES FOR A BAD HAIR TRANSPLANT
These are just some examples of things that need to be taken into account while doing a hair transplant:
- The direction of the hair. If the implants are placed on different directions, the result will obviously be quite unnatural.
- The natural hairline of the patient. The common mistake is to lower it too much making it look artificial.
- The size of the GRAFTS. Ideally these need to have 1-4 hairs (5 max). Bigger grafts mean that there is a risk to have the look of a doll!
- The density of the donor area. If the donor area is not well estimated there might not be enough material to cover the desired area.
There are more examples of issues that are common in bad hair transplants but suffice is to say that choosing a great surgeon is a must! Fortunately, I have always had the chance to work with brilliant ones.
TECHNIQUES
There are many techniques or combination of them such as flap, extensions, scalp reduction and so on. However, the most common nowadays ones are:
1- FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation) removal of a strip from the back of the head which is then cut into follicular units. The grafts are then implanted on the scalp where the holes have been made with a thin needle or blade.
- The strip normally is around 15-30 cms long (although can be longer or shorter) and 1-1.5 cms wide.
- It leaves a very thin scar although barely noticeable in most cases.
- It allows a large extraction of grafts and, consequently, provides good density.
2 FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) removal of each individual follicular unit with a punch. The grafts are then implanted in the same way as in a FUT.
- The scars are almost invisible.
- The number of grafts extracted is quite limited.
Personally I think that FUT is better but FUE can be very good if the patient does not have much hair loss and likes to have his hair really short.
PRICES
The prices vary so much between clinics but it goes from £3k to at around £12k depending on the technique although there are clinics charging far more than that. Just because a clinic is cheap does not mean it is bad. And just because they are expensive it does not mean they are going to give the best results! What people need to consider above the price is the surgeons, their experience and their results.
HAIR LOSS MEDICATION
Propecia and minoxidil are great products to help stop the hair loss. Having a hair transplant and not taking medication to prevent further loss is not advisable as the patient has a limited amount of donor area.
People are always concerned about the secondary effects of the Propecia but it only affects a VERY small percentage of patients and in those cases these effects stop once they quit taking the tablet. I have been on Propecia for 14 years and so have many of my friends and family and no one has ever had any complaints, quite the opposite. I was losing my hair when I was 20 and this medicine stopped the process and it even increased my density in some areas.
So when patients go for a consultation they should ask the surgeon about medication. In the three clinics I have worked for they ALWAYS insist on taking them! Also, big Boots do sell Propecia at a very good price without prescription. They also take pics and do a case study of the patients!
CLINICS
If you are interested in having a hair transplant I strongly recommend you do so. You will gain so much confidence! However, make sure you are a good candidate! It is good to see different surgeons to get a better idea. There are many good clinics around so check them all out!
