Is Hair Replacement Painful?

If you have decided that undergoing a hair replacement procedure (hair transplant surgery) is the route you want to take for your hair loss, you will want to do your due diligence first. Hair replacement is a major decision and— while it is a safe procedure boasting high success rates— it has inherent side effects and risks that you will want to know about.

Now comes the bottom-line question: is hair replacement surgery painful? The information we have provided below can give you useful insight.

What to Expect During a Hair Replacement Surgery

Hair transplant surgery is a procedure in which a skilled hair doctor extracts hair-bearing scalp grafts from the donor site (part of the scalp where there is thick hair) to bald or thinning areas.

Hair transplant surgery is classified into two main types:

Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT)

This involves your hair doctor removing a skin strip containing suitable follicles from the donor site. Your doctor obtains multiple strips of a few millimeters thickness and trims them to two millimeters by removing excess fatty tissue.

When enough follicles are transplanted to the recipient site, your hair doctor closes it with sutures then covers it with a bandage.

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)

During an FUE procedure, your hair doctor uses a specialized punching tool to create circular cuts or holes, about one millimeter in diameter, in the recipient site. Your hair doctor then uses small forceps to carefully remove the follicle units from the donor site.

While your hair doctor prepares the recipient site, they submerge the isolated follicles in a chilled saline solution. Sometimes, follicular units are directly transferred to the recipient site.

Employing Anesthetics

No matter which technique your hair doctor recommends, they will perform it using local anesthesia, possibly along with sedation, to keep you comfortable and relaxed during the procedure.

Your scalp will be totally insensitive to pain, although you may feel some pressure or tugging. For complex cases or those in which tissue flaps or expansion is involved, your hair doctor will likely administer general anesthesia, meaning you will sleep through the process.

Hair Replacement Near Me in Liberty, MO and Urbandale, IA

If you are in search of a reliable hair transplant surgeon in Liberty, Missouri, or Urbandale, Iowa, visit us here at Darling Hair Restoration for a consultation with Dr. Scott Darling.

Dr. Darling will do a thorough evaluation to recommend a suitable hair replacement option for you. Should he deem hair transplant surgery necessary, you can count on him to take all necessary measures to ensure both your safety and comfort, so you can focus on one thing: look forward to a beautiful result and to bringing back your self-confidence.

Book your visit today! Call us at (816) 792-3400 or fill out our appointment request form.