Though the lack of hair on one’s head hardly qualifies as a health threat, all over the world, male pattern baldness is a subject of scorn, perceived as a sign of aging and loss of vigor. As such, head hair restoration is in constantly high demand, and a host of remedies of dubious effectiveness, from scalp oils to chemical shampoos, may be found everywhere on the open market. This is the primary objective of hair transplantation, a surgical process by which hair follicles are taken from areas of thick hair growth, and implanted anew in areas suffering from baldness. However, this technique has also been used to restore other prominent locations of hair on the body, such as the eyelashes and eyebrows, or to cover up bald patches caused by scarring due to an injury. The vast majority of these procedures are performed on men, but women who suffer from partial or complete baldness may also avail of hair transplantation to rejuvenate a thinning scalp.

A hair transplantation begins with the application of local anesthetic and mild sedation, if desired, and the scalp is shampooed with an antibacterial chemical. The surgeon then slices out a section of scalp with significant hair growth, such as from the back, from which to extract hair follicles. The wound in the donor area is sealed while singular follicle grafts are removed from the skin section. This process is performed with powerful microscopes and delicate micro-surgical tools, to excise superfluous tissue from the area while taking care not to damage the hair cells as they are detached. The surgeon then takes fine needles or tiny blades to the bald area, puncturing the surface finely to create the graft sites, and taking care to arrange the holes in a pattern that simulates actual hair growth. Finally, the follicular cells are individually inserted. The process involves hundreds, if not thousands, of separately transplanted hairs. The entire procedure takes about four hours to complete.

Afterwards, the treated area is dressed with semi-permeable bandaging, which will allow blood and other fluids to flow. The area may be shampooed within two days from the procedure, but should be kept out of the sunlight until otherwise prescribed by the doctor. In the first ten days after the surgery, the transplanted hair will fall out due to the trauma of the operation, but the treated area will grow new hair within two to three months, and no further hair loss from the replanted follicles should occur. The treated area should be fully covered with thick, normal hair within a period of six to nine months. Some patients resort to medicinal shampoos to reduce the hair loss, although this is part of the recovery process and should not be cause for concern.

In the aftermath of the surgery, the patient may experience itching and swelling of the scalp, which can be treated with medication if it becomes chronically uncomfortable. However, no other significant management treatment is usually necessary. Some of the problems associated with hair transplantation have to do with poor placement or arrangement of the graft sites, which may result in unnatural-looking hair growth. This is usually adjusted with corrective surgery, though repair or removal procedures can be tedious, due to a limit of the number of grafts that can extracted at any one time. Eventually, non-transplanted hair in the area may also fall, leaving behind the grafted hair. This creates unsightly-looking patches of hair that may require further hair transplant applications, or simple removal of the grafts if the patient is no longer concerned about the hair loss.

The positive effects of a good hair transplant include increased self-confidence and a younger, more vibrant appearance.