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: Can I sleep as I normally do after a hair transplant?

A: We ask that you sleep on your back, with your head elevated on a few pillows. By raising your head, the pillows decrease any swelling that normally occurs after the hair transplant. We also use a small injection of cortisone given in the arm to help decrease swelling.

Q: After my procedure I had some shock loss, and then after about 4 1/2 to 7 months I had tremendous growth — really thick. I was amazed actually. Now, at 8 months it has thinned again, quite a lot compared to the growth I had before. I just wondered if this was a normal growth pattern and whether further growth could be expected?

A: This is not the most common situation, but should not be a cause for concern. The newly transplanted hairs are initially synchronous when they first grow in — i.e. they tend to all grow in around the same time (with some variability). This is in contrast to normal hair, where every hair is on its own independent cycle. Sometimes the newly transplanted hair will shed at one time before the cycles of each hair become more varied asynchronous.

CBS News’ The Early Show has picked up the “balding buzz” that first started to grow when the National Enquirer reported that New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady is seeking advice on how to treat his hair loss.

CBS turned to Dr. Bernstein for his expert medical opinion on Brady’s hair loss. View the post to watch the video and read some links on hair loss.