Here’s the ultimate guide to find the best hair transplant clinic in 6 questions. We will also help you to identify  the  best hair transplant surgeon in the UK . If you’re reading this article you probably want to narrow down your clinic choice. We have categorised the top six questions  you should ask before choosing with the answers. There is plenty of information below which will increase your knowledge and information. This will help in your decision making in choosing the best hair transplant clinic and surgeon. Read these six questions you should ask a hair transplant clinic before paying for their services!

We will discuss these things : How to assess the best hair transplant surgeon, the best clinic and service. You will also find out about post operative care, surgical and non surgical options and prices.

 

 

Question 1: How qualified is the surgeon?

 

This is really important because a clinic promoting itself as the best hair transplantation clinic needs to demonstrate this. FUE surgery is a perfected skill is in order to produce unrivalled excellent results in restoring hair in hair loss areas.

 

A highly qualified experienced surgeon who can carry out hair transplants successfully will need at least three years experience. This should be exclusively in hair transplant surgery. This is necessary to feel confident in carrying out modern FUE and FUT surgery techniques. The extraction part of FUE surgery is the most skilful and challenging part of surgery. Every Patient is different. The results depend on the hair and skin types. Consequently the skill of the surgeon is in managing the challenges this may pose during surgery.”

 

Your surgeon should have carried out at least 2000 successful procedures.

Consequently he able to confidently offer you excellent results in your surgery outcomes. Our expert FUE surgeon is one of the best FUE hair transplant surgeons in the UK. We have carried out over 4000 successful hair transplant procedures and he has unrivalled expertise in FUE surgery. This has taken 16 years of dedication. You can find out more about reputable UK hair transplant surgeons by visiting BAHRS here.

 

Despite this experience and a pioneer in modern FUE surgery , our sugeon says that even the best hair transplant clinic can never guarantee results.Y ou will now be wondering why this is so let’s put this is easy to read terms so you can find out more.

 

Guarantees of successful surgery by the clinic or surgeon.

 

This is because any surgery is a medical procedure with no guarantees. ” Until the patient is on the operating table we can never guarantee how it will go.” However a experienced surgeon will assess straight after your surgery whether your chances of getting excellent results. This will be based upon the surgery being managed well by your surgeon’s expertise.

The best experienced FUE surgeon can plan for the challenges that a difficult surgery may present.

It is his job to get through the challenges on the day and manage them to deliver you successful results. This will also depend on choosing experienced hair technicians who are part of the team.

If you are reading this article you will now be asking;

 

What kind of challenges might affect the success of my hair transplantation surgery ?

Skin Type

1. Well the answer is, your skin may be really tough or the opposite and be hyper mobile or lax. Both these make it difficult for extraction of your grafts which can make your surgery challenging.

Type of hair

1. Your donor hair might be coarse, weak, thin, curly, wavy or grow in a non standard direction. Weak hair can break during extraction. Curly or wavy hair can be easily transacted or damaged during extraction.These multiple factors affect the success of the extraction part of the procedure. They will need the surgeon’s expertise and experience to manage without transacting or damaging your precious grafts to ensure the extracted grafts grow successfully.

Colour of hair

1. We know grey hair is difficult to extract because it’s difficult to see during extraction of grafts in surgery.

Hair Direction.

1. If hair grows in a non standard direction this is only visible after shaving the hair. When the surgery process begins this is visible and requires greater expertise on the part of the surgeon.This is because it can be easily broken or transacted during surgery.
2. Additionally an apprehensive patient will make the surgery more difficult than a relaxed patient. This will impact both the patient and surgical team. Relaxed patients have an easier more successful surgery day.

 

Your surgeon’s experience will ensure you get great results despite the various factors written above.

 

How many hair transplantation procedures has the surgeon carried out over how many years?

 

Before you choose your surgeon you must ask how many patients and procedures they have carried out. This is not something you should feel embarrassed to ask. Put your surgeon on the spot in the nicest possible way! Ask them when (what year) they started out doing hair transplant surgery. If they wobble or are not giving you a straight answer to this question you can walk away. Start to look for a more experienced surgeon.

 

It is normal practice for patients to see several surgeons before making up their mind. Therefore don’t be embarrassed if you don’t proceed and continue with your research in finding the best hair restoration clinic!

 

How many procedures will be done on my surgery day?

 

It is also important to ask how many procedures your surgeon will carry out in one day. Too many procedures in a day will entail a rushed surgery and this will affect your results. A clinic purporting to be the best FUE hair transplant clinic will only carry out one surgery a day.This is because FUE surgery is a laborious, time consuming process. It involves the extracting of grafts individually and with precision. Surgery takes a whole day to carry out with success.It takes many years to become an expert in FUE surgery.

It is our policy to take the surgeon’s time on each surgery to get the best results out of every hair transplant surgery. This ensures the quality of results is strictly maintained and controlled. The surgeon’s whole expertise is upon each patient without rushing.

One surgery a day as a quality control

We understand that it’s about delivering quality results and happy patients. This is a priority rather than numbers of surgeries in one day. If a clinic is doing several surgeries a day your guard should be up. You can question the quality of their results.

Because a clinic is advertising as the “best FUE clinic for hair transplant surgery” doesn’t necessarily mean they will fetch you the best results.

 

Here’s a quick guide to checking out the professional credentials of your would be surgeon.

 

A well qualified surgeon should have membership of professional bodies such as BAHRS https://www.bahrs.co.uk/ and The ISHRS. https://ishrs.org/

You can check their qualifications on these websites. This is not the only criteria however, please do look at and read patient reviews. These will give you a lot of information about how confident your surgeon is in hair transplant surgery. Reviews also tell you how great the patient experience has been during surgery. You want to feel happy and relaxed and place your trust in the confident capable hands of your surgeon.

 

Patient Reviews

Be careful of reviews such as trust pilot and other forums or the clinic’s own website as they can be edited, deleted or manufactured. Google reviews are not able to be manufactured.They require a patient login from a personal phone and google account. If you are trusting reviews about your surgeon you want to be sure they are genuine. A excellent clinic will have an option for clients to leave google reviews on their website so that you the user can judge them and the service they are providing.

 

 

 

Question 2: Is there anything else I can do to prevent surgery for my hair restoration?

 

Any good hair transplant or restoration clinic will not be pushing you down the surgical route if there are non surgical solutions to restoring your hair.

The answer to the question is there anything else I can do to restore hair? Yes there is. “Minoxidil (or Rogaine) and DHT blockers are both FDA approved. You can consider trying these as options to reduce your hair loss. It is important to consider reducing hair loss as a hair transplant will only fill in bald areas utilising your own limited natural hair. Medication can prevent ongoing hair loss. Here’s a quick guide to two common hair loss non surgical solutions. You can find out more about our non surgical solutions.

1. Minoxodil 

   Minoxodil is a topical, over-the-counter treatment for hair loss that you can buy in Boots or online. This does stop working after a few years for many patients.

2. Hair loss Medication Tablets commonly known as DHT blockers

DHT blockers. Many side effects are written about this which is an oral, prescription only drug.The side effects may not happen to you but they are best explained in a consultation with your hair restoration surgeon. You need to understand these. Our understanding and research so far is that any side effects are temporary which subside upon stopping the medication tablets. Many patients are driven into dismissing hair loss medication tablets due to the inordinate fear mongering on various internet websites of the possible side effects of these tablets.

 

What are the side effects?

An experienced hair restoration surgeon will be able to explain the side effects and the statistics of these. This will be so that  you can make an informed choice. You may not have any side effects. Instead you may restore your hair loss and stop your hair falling out. In our experience of prescribing thousands of hair loss medication tablets we have found them to work in the vast majority of cases. Tablets are particularly effective in restoring hair in the crown area where there is hair loss. The side effects are mood swings, loss of libido and erectile dysfunction in very few cases. All side effects are temporary and cease upon stopping the tablets.

 

How long do I need to take these to see results ?

They do need to be taken for six months to a year. This is necessary to see any effects in preventing further hair loss and in restoring recently lost hair. At first you may notice some hair falling out in the first few weeks on your pillow. Rest assured this is temporary.They do prevent hair loss and thicken individual hair shafts making the hair denser and stronger.The great news is that hair loss medication tablets are affordable in price. They may stave off the need for hair transplant surgery.

 

Medication can strengthen the hair ready for hair transplant surgery.

The best hair transplantation clinics and surgeons will be able to manage the doses of these hair loss medication tablets.This is so that you can take them under medical supervision. All side effects of hair loss medication tablets should be explained in your consent form as these are prescription only medications. You should be able to understand these and have them explained before going down this route. We have never known of any research pointing to permanent side effects with hair loss medication tablets. This is great news if you are a bit apprehensive about trying these out.

 

If they don’t work for you, you can always stop but at least you have explored this non surgical hair restoration option. To find out more about male and female hair loss treatments visit our page.

 

 

 

Question 3 : Which is the best hair transplantation procedure for me?

 

If you have severe hair loss and bald patches your option to restore hair will be hair transplant surgery.

There are two types FUT and FUE. FUE surgery is the most popular. This is because it is virtually scar free whereas FUT leaves a permanent linear scar at the back of the head.

FUE surgery has a fast down time and is not as invasive as FUT surgery.The tiny white scars from extraction in the donor area are only visible with a lens if done expertly by your hair transplant surgeon.

 

Here are the stages of FUE explained;

1. FUE is the most popular and involves using a motorised tool.This is called a punch to harvest hair follicles from the back of the head where hair is still permanent and remains.
2. Your surgeon will make new incisions in the balding or hair loss areas.
3. The extracted hair follicles are then inserted in those hair loss areas.

 

Here are the stages ofFUTsurgery in a nutshell.

1. During FUT surgery a strip of hair is removed, and the hair technicians “sliver “it up into individual hair grafts.
2. Just as with FUE these are re-inserted into the bald or hair loss area.
3. You do have stitches in the donor area and these have to be taken care of. You will need a visit back to the clinic after surgery to make sure everything is healing.

FUT doesn’t involve shaving of the hair, unlike FUE surgery. Many prefer this if they can’t shave their hair for work reasons. The price of this a permanent scar, a heavy penalty to pay.

Problems of FUT surgery.

FUT is the older hair transplant technique and can leave numbness or sensitivity in the scar area upon pressure. This can last for months.Therefore it is not the most favoured technique nowadays. Some clinics claiming to be the best in hair transplant surgery or with unrivalled expertise will try to sell FUT procedures. Their reasons are it costs less due to the profit margin being more for the clinic compared to FUE.

In FUE surgery they pay the surgeon more as it is more time consuming.

Be very careful here when deciding upon FUT. You will be left with a permanent linear scar in your donor area. This scar will show if you prefer a shaved hairstyle in the future.

 

Question 4

How much will a hair transplant cost?

 

It all depends on the hair transplant surgeon and clinic.

More expensive doesn’t always mean a better surgery result.The price is dependant upon how many hairs or groups of hairs known as grafts that you need. Many clinics advertising as the “best price or cost for a hair transplant”  try sales tactics. They “try to over inflate prices by quoting prices based on numbers of hairs. It is important to note that hair grows in groups of one’s, twos, threes which are called grafts.Quotations based on numbers of hair are sales oriented.

 

Hair transplantation can cost anything from £3000 to £7000.

Any  hair transplant is a permanent procedure and cheaper alternatives may not give satisfactory results. As we have discussed earlier this is dependent upon the experience and expertise of your surgeon.Always check who is carrying out your procedure. Is it hair transplant technicians or a bonafide hair transplant surgeon?

Cheaper prices below £2500 usually entail surgery carried out by hair transplant technicians. This is actually illegal as they don’t have insurance or indemnity. The best price to pay for a hair transplant is dependent on how much you can afford for the highest quality of results.

A well qualified surgeon should still be able to be affordable in the UK price bracket of your hair transplant surgery. They will look at the work required to restore your hair loss and then give you an overall price. This should include post operative care as part of the package.

Comparing UK prices with abroad,

This does not mean that you can compare UK prices in a top high standard clinic with the quality of surgery in cheaper clinics abroad. They offer cheap deals because the surgery is carried out by hair technicians .Surgery by hair technicians offers variable results. It is always a risk to go and have surgery in an unknown clinic abroad.

This is not the same expertise as a well qualified surgeon whom you can visit post operatively. A local surgeon is able  to check your progress during the whole year of your hair restoration journey.

You should compare like with like when considering prices and you may get a good result for a good price aboard but then again you may not.

Hair transplant prices and costs in the UK

Hair Transplant prices vary in the UK tremendously. They can vary from £2000 to £10,000. The hair transplant industry is heavily unregulated. Be careful of cheap low cost prices as you cannot replace your donor hair if it doesn’t grow after a botched surgery. Reputable and expert hair transplant clinics such as FM Hair Restoration Institute in Harley Street London offer affordable prices. They don’t compete with low hair transplant prices offering substandard work abroad.

They understand that it’s about the surgeon’s reputation, brand quality, authority in the marketplace and longevity.

 

There is nothing more upsetting than a cheap hair transplant which has fetched a poor result.

Conclusion

To conclude you need to be assured which hair loss areas are going to be filled in by your surgeon. This is better than going by numbers of hairs or grafts for low cost prices.It’s your end result that matters not numbers of hairs in sales.

The density of hair in the areas to be filled is important and should be around 30 to 40 grafts per cm squared.

Many people are mislead by these sales tactics of high hair numbers offered in hair transplant quotes. We often find they do not receive the numbers of hairs or grafts they have been quoted and have been left feeling cheated.Find out more about hair transplant costs and things you should be mindful of. Find out more about hair transplants costs and prices.

 

 

 

Question 5 : Will I need time off after my hair transplant surgery?

 

 

The short answer is yes you will. You do need to remember that you will need look after your hair post surgery to get the best optimum results.

Rest is important to reduce swelling of the face and eyes and to ensure the grafts grow.

 

We always recommend to stay at home for at least two days post operatively. Most people book at least one to two weeks off from work. If your job entails heavy lifting you will need more time off work but the limit is two weeks.Many patients need two weeks off work because they don’t wish to go to work with scabs on their scalp resulting from FUE surgery.

 

If you can schedule it, it’s probably best to have your surgery at the start of a week’s holiday in the UK. Don’t go to a hot country as this is bad for newly transplanted hair.

Where should I have my surgery?

London and the UK is a great place to have hair transplant surgery. This is because there are great transport links for post operative care. The climate is temperate compared to hot countries abroad.It is recommended to cover your hair with a canvas hat. A  hat will protect your newly transplanted hair from the hot summer sun.

 

Most people try to schedule their surgery during the Christmas holiday period. Christmas is a very busy time in hair transplant clinics in London and the UK. Be sure to book in advance if this is what you wish to do.

Post operative care for my reassurance

An excellent hair restoration clinic will provide post operative advice and care. This should be in the form of written instructions and include a post operative pack with day by day instructions to follow. You can read more about post operative care after a hair transplant, where there is a detailed guide.

 

 

 

Question 6 : Will I need future hair transplants?

 

Hair loss is a progressive issue. If you are losing hair it’s because you are genetically predisposed to do so. A hair transplant is a permanent procedure.It won’t stop hair loss in other non transplanted areas. This will have to be brought under control with other treatments.

 

These may be in the form of PRP for hair or hair loss medication tablets. These are all to be done under strict supervision of a highly experienced hair restoration surgeon. He should have prescribed these treatments before.

 

If you want to maintain natural hair,you need to consider all options in keeping hold of your existing hair. No surgeon can recreate new hair.Stem cell research to recreate new hair in laboratories is still in the research stage.

 

You only have the hair you are born with.If you’re predisposed to losing this you need to keep hold of your precious hair.

 

PRP therapy for restoring hair.

 

Be careful of the tactics used in some clinics in the UK. Many adverts show  PRP  being miss sold as creating new hair using stem cell therapy. PRP has the advantages of being medication and drug free. Therefore the great thing about PRP is it  does not impact on your hormones and libido which is a big fear factor in men considering hair loss medication tablets.

 

Sales tactics offering to create new hair are misleading and false. Not even the best hair transplant clinic can make new hair that you have been born with.

 

Your ultimate best option is to look after the hair you have.

We say an excellent hair transplant clinic will preserve your finite limited precious resource which is your donor area in case you need a hair transplant in the future.

Any influencer claiming to have had more than five hair transplants is questionable.

 

Which is the best hair transplant clinic and surgeon?

 

To summarise an experienced leading hair transplant surgeon will be experienced in carrying out thousands of procedures. This will be  demonstrated by their gallery of results. They will have great genuine google reviews written by you the users. The best hair transplant clinics offer a manned helpline by an expert adviser. A specialist is able to offer post operative guidance and support. You might consider this important as if you are considering surgery abroad as the post operative help may be remote or non existent.

 

A clinic which is excellent will care about you the patient.

They will be there for you throughout your hair restoration journey.

Please do remember that it takes one for year for the hair to grow after a hair transplant.

This is when you will be able to see the results of your surgery.

A good clinic will be one that keeps their doors open for you for this whole year at least.

If you wish to find out more about hair restoration and hair transplantation in London contact us. Why not book a free consultation at our hair transplant clinic here in Harley Street in London. We are leaders in the UK hair transplant industry. Our experience of thousands of procedures means we have unrivalled expertise.

 

There is no sales pressure just great information to help you make the right decision every step of the way. Our consultations are free and packed with information to help you make a good decision. Book a consultation here or ask for a callback. An expert hair restoration advisor will contact you.

 

Thank you for reading this article.

 

Farzana