Q: If a person is graying on the top and sides and you do a hair transplant from the back, will the top look darker after the hair restoration?

A: The hair is taken from the back and sides of the scalp and the follicular units, once dissected from the donor strip, are randomly inserted into the recipient area. That way, the color of the harvested hair will be mixed and will match perfectly. Usually, people’s hair is lighter on the top because of the sun, so when you move the hair from the back and sides to the top, it will actually lighten to match the surrounding hair, if it didn’t match already.

Q: I am considering having a hair transplant. Does my hair need to be cut?

A: In all hair transplant procedures, we are able to transplant into areas of existing hair without it having to be cut. The question of whether hair needs to be cut in the donor area depends upon the way the donor hair is obtained (harvested).

With a Follicular Unit Hair Transplant procedure using single strip harvesting method (FUT), only the strip of hair that is removed needs to be cut. When the procedure is finished, the hair above the incision lays down over the sutured area and it become undetectable.

In Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), particularly in sessions over 600 grafts, large areas of the donor area must be clipped short (to about 1-2mm in length) in order to obtain enough donor hair.

Q: I hear that you are now using ACell to help the donor area to heal. How much does it cost if I want you do use it during my procedure?

A: Because the technology is so new, we are currently offering ACell to all patients undergoing follicular unit transplant procedures at no additional charge.

Q: I am a 34 year old male and my dermatologist prescribed Propecia for me today. Most of my hair loss is at the hairline, but there is some loss on top as well. It’s not bad, I just want to stay ahead of it. If I get a transplant I want to get it at your clinic, but I will give the Propecia a try first. I am going to be overseas for a couple of months starting this Sunday and I was wondering about the necessity or desirability of having someone measure my hair density prior to starting the Propecia. Would you advise waiting to start the Propecia until I come back in two months and having my density examined at your clinic?

A: I would start Propecia as soon as possible. What is important for a hair transplant is the density in the donor area and this is not affected by Propecia (or minoxidil). Your donor density can be measured anytime at an evaluation prior to surgery. If you want to wait to see the effects of Propecia prior to the hair transplant, you really should wait a year; since growth, if any, can take this long. If you just want to have Propecia on board for the hair restoration procedure, or to make sure you don’t have side effects, then generally a month will do. If you would like to do a photo consult through our website to get some preliminary information about how many grafts you might need, you can do that at your leisure, but start Propecia now since the longer you wait the less effective it will be at regrowing hair.

Q: Is it recommended to wait for 1 year after starting Propecia, when the effect of the medication kicks in and improves density of donor area, and then perform the surgery?

A: Propecia will not affect the donor area, as this area is generally not impacted by the miniaturizing (thinning) effects of DHT –- the hormone that Propecia blocks. The purpose of waiting the year is to possibly regrow hair in the recipient area. If regrowth is significant, a hair transplant may not be necessary. If a person’s hair loss is extensive and there is little chance that Propecia will grow a significant amount of hair back to give a satisfactory improvement, then waiting the year is unnecessary.