All men and women experience hair thinning as we get older, some may not be obvious, but others will show and feel drastic changes happening to their hair. Hair loss and hair thinning affects people in different ways, but most people lose or affect their confidence and self-esteem. Luckily, now there are ways to bring our hair back with full volume. One of these ways are hair transplants, but how does it work and how much does it cost? In this article, we’ll be briefly discussing the causes of hair loss and thinning and the costs of hair transplant.
Causes of hair loss and thinning
There are many causes of hair loss, but here are the most common causes:
- Stress
- Genetics
- Diet
- Medical condition
- Hormonal changes
- Too much hair styling and treatments
What is hair transplant?
Hair transplant is a process that involves removing healthy hair strands from a part of the head and transferring it into the area where hair is thinning, therefore, having hair growth in different parts of the scalp.
During the transplant, you will receive local anaesthesia to numb the scalp, but will remain awake during the procedure. The whole process takes around 4 to 8 hours, and some transplants may take several times a day, depending on the patient’s case. After that, some patients might be bandaged and given instructions on how to self-care for the area at home.
How much do hair transplants cost?
Aside from the procedure itself, both treatment and recovery come at a price, and other factors can also affect the overall cost of a hair transplant. Hair transplants are priced from 3,000 USD to 15,000 USD, depending on factors like the location on where the surgery was performed, your residence, or if you had to travel for your surgery, the surgeon of your choice, and especially depending on the surgery process and complications if any.
3,000 USD to 15,000 USD is quite expensive, it is very unlikely that insurance will pay for hair transplant surgery because it is considered as a cosmetic procedure. Unless it is a reason for an underlying medical condition or injury, it could be possible to have your insurance company help pay for this procedure.
After care and recovery
Aside from having a financial costs, there are also risks you have to take physically. After the surgery, you’ll be needing special care as you recover from the hair transplant process. If you are bandaged, you need to be more careful when removing as it might stick to the wounds and replacing it with new dressings while it’s healing. Swelling is another common side effect of a hair transplant surgery, some surgeons will give you ati inflammatory or steroids for relief.
You will also have to wait for about 2 to 3 days after surgery to wash your hair. You can gently wash your hair to avoid greasy buildup and to clean your wounds in the transplanted areas. Also avoid pullover shirts as it may pull the sensitive parts of your scalp, wearing button-down shirts is the best option when you need to change clothes. As for recovery time, it may take around two to three weeks to fully recover and resume your daily activities and routine.
