Hair implants come in many types and choosing the right one can mean the difference between getting hair that looks natural and something that looks like it belongs in a fright show. When you are consulting with the doctor at the hair clinic be sure to ask to see pictures of their work. Cosmetic surgery is all about looks and a surgeon should be happy to show you what he or she can do. If they don’t have a large book of satisfied customers then politely leave and go somewhere else.
The size of the hair implant is a very important part of the over all appearance. If the individual grafts are too large then they stick out like a sore thumb.
The most noticeable type of implant is called the strip graft. With this method the surgeon removes a strip of scalp from the donor area which usually located at the back of the head due to the nature of hair loss from male pattern baldness. This strip generally has from 30 to 50 hair follicular units. The strip is then inserted into an incision in the bald area of the head. Several of these grafts are inserted which covers the balding but they are very noticeable. The hairs are in a straight line, which is not how they grow naturally, so everyone can see you have had hair implantation.
The next type was originally used in the 1950’s. This type, called plug grafts, consists of round plugs of scalp with about 10 – 15 hair units. Again these are very noticeable and hard to hide. The hairs tend to stick up every which way and they often times end up looking like a cheap doll’s head.
A more natural looking implant is the mini-graft. This is a plug type but there are only 5 to 6 hairs. Although these are noticeable upon close inspection most people really can’t tell you have had hair transplantation surgery when you have these implants done. They are the best but they usually will do and are the most economical considering both cost and results.
The last type of hair implanting involves micro-grafts. These are small grafts that are composed of one to three hairs. They are very natural looking because this is the common number of hairs that grow together. A skilled surgeon can easily place these in a way that allows them to grow the same direction of the surrounding hair so there is a perfect match. This is the most time consuming surgery but it also gives the very best results. If you can afford it definitely choose the micro-graft technique for your hair implants.