How to handle Hair Transplant Scars
Thinking of hair transplant surgery but worried about the scarring? A lot of hair transplant clinics claim that their procedure leaves no scars, but that’s unlikely. Hair transplant surgery is still surgery, and scars are to be expected no matter how advanced the procedure. Getting hair transplant scars after the operation is part of the body’s natural healing process. It doesn’t mean you should get huge and obvious scars after the surgery, though!
There are a few things to consider when it comes to minimizing scars after hair transplant surgery.
First, a highly experienced surgeon can keep the hair transplant scars thin and easier to hide.
By strategically positioning the hair grafts, your surgeon can make the regrowth look a lot more natural. An experienced surgeon can also keep the scar from the extraction site a lot thinner and easier to hide.
Second, the right technology can make a difference in terms of scars after surgery.
There are two common technologies used to transplant hair today: Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE).
FUT cuts out a small strip of skin from the scalp containing the hair follicles for transplantation. This strip is cut into small grafts and planted into the areas losing hair.
The procedure leaves a thin, elongated scar but will fade after a few months. That is, if you make sure to follow proper hair transplant after care and pinch the scar area tight around 3 weeks after the surgery.
Hiding an FUT scar is easy as long as you won’t keep your hair extremely short.
The other option is Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), which extracts the actual hair follicles and transplants them into sparse or bald areas of the scalp. It’s a lot less invasive, but does require precision work.
The scars left by FUE are circular and are easier to hide. However, the number of hair transplant scars can vary depending on the number of follicles to extract.
Finally, the body’s natural healing process also plays a significant factor.
Scars usually fade faster on young skin, but this is typical of most wounds and post-surgery scars.
One catch: some people are genetically predisposed to over-produce scar tissue during the wound healing process, resulting in keloids. Patients with this problem are normally not advised to undergo hair transplant surgery.
There are several options available in handling scars left behind after hair transplant surgery.
One option is to hide the scars using FUE.
The extracted hair follicles are transplanted straight over the scars to cover them up. Take note, though: the FUE procedure will fail if there is no blood supply to the area, as no hair will grow from the transplanted follicles.
Trichophytic Closure is another option, especially if you underwent FUT.
After the strip of skin is extracted from the donor area of the scalp, the surgeon will trim the edges of the wound as closely as possible. This is to achieve a much thinner and cleaner hair transplant scar that won’t be very visible once it heals.
Finally, there is Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP) to cover up scars.
SMP is a procedure wherein small, very fine dots are strategically tattooed over the scar to make it less obvious.
Hair transplant scars are unavoidable. Choosing FUE makes for less visible scars, but it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor first. The right surgeon can make the difference, and give you optimal results with less scarring to worry about.
