Category: Hair Transplantation

My question is whether an eyebrow transplant is worth it or not. I read previously you said that your eyebrows will never look the same regardless of how good the Dr. claims they are. I can’t find the exact post you said that anymore but I know you did. My question is will it look natural, specifically for a man to have done? If not then what’s the point…

Would you personally have an eyebrow transplant if you needed it? Honestly?

One last question does the complete absence of news from follica for such a long time conclude that they failed? This is what I believe but your opinion is obviously better than my own.

Thank you Doc!

Eyebrow transplants work well. They are really valuable for eyebrows that are incomplete, damaged by trauma or picking the hairs out over time. I have done many of these and the results are very good, but there is an art in the transplant process and a technical skill that is very difficult for many doctors. The thing that people might not realize, is that the hair is moved from the back of the head to the eyebrows, so you’ll need to trim those transplanted hairs or your eyebrow hairs will grow as long as those on your scalp.

Regarding Follica, I don’t know much more than what has already been published in the financial statements of the company. Some companies just stay quiet until they have an announcement. Or they fade away. I really don’t know.

As the vertex eats up so many grafts, why do Dr.s try to transplant without the swirl and simply part the hair. The direction of the top could be forward and the lower half downward. I believe many men would give up the swirl for more coverage, is this possible?

You are correct. The vertex (crown) ‘eats up’ many grafts. In other words, you need more grafts to cover the vertex than to cover the front to make it look full. So doctors generally do not recommend transplanting the vertex and many men give up the swirl for more coverage. But to some men, the vertex is an important issue and they go ahead with creating the swirl. This is a decision made by the patient AND the doctor. If the hair loss is early, the man’s age is above 28 and the patient will take Propecia (finasteride) for life, then the decision to transplant the swirl is reasonable.

Dr. do you have pictures to show what a hair transplant may look like for someone who has very fine hair? I may need as many as 1000-1500 grafts at my age of 51. My concern is my hair thickness. I believe my donor hair density is ‘average’ but not thick in caliber. Thank you

Many men have very fine hair. Hair thickness will affect the degree of fullness that is obtained from a hair transplant. A very fine hair may have 1/4th of the volume of a coarse hair, so what a surgeon loses in volume must be made up to some degree in the numbers of transplanted hairs. In other words, men with fine hair need more hair transplanted compared to men with coarse hair. There are other factors, such as hair styling (wavy and long is better than short and straight) and hair color/skin color, that would also determine the appearance of fullness. For example, fine, black, curly hair on dark skin is better than thick, coarse, straight hair on pale skin.

You should discuss your expectations and results with your doctor. Here are some patients with fine or very fine hair — KP, HWA, KLA, UH, and HTA. If you want live examples, come to one of my monthly Open House events where many of my patients attend to show off their results, some of which have very fine hair. It has always been interesting for me to note that men with fine hair are easier to please than men with coarse hair. I think that they always had see-through hair and that is why they appreciate whatever they get from a hair transplant.

As I sit in my CHU, aka containerized housing unit, everyday in the lovely country of Iraq I pay special and close attention to my hair since I have not much else to do at nights but read and finish up work, which I get enough during the regular working hours. I suppose the only reason I pay such close attention is one of two reasons;

First, since losing my hair at a young age I have always noticed it and it has bothered me enough that I can easily say that not a day goes by that I do not have at least a brief thought about it. Secondly, and the reason for writing, is I have recently had my second surgery about three months ago at NHI and I am at the phase of not much results noticeable yet but I remain faithful as this is not the first time and I tell myself not to judge anything this early everyday. I have noticed some of donors have started to grow but I am not concerned so much on the results of the second surgery as I am being patient about it.

My main concern is the first transplant, or more specifically, the texture of the hairs from the first transplant. I noticed early on in the first surgery that many of the hairs have a wiry, crinkled like textured that is near impossible to manage and very noticeable different from the natives hairs around it. I have read plenty on the internet, to include on this blog, about transplanted hair texture change and most say it is a temporary change caused by reasons not fully understood during the healing process of the transplanted follicle. I have stuck it out with the fact that it is only temporary but now well over a year into the first surgery I am starting to wonder if this texture change is really temporary or just how the hair is now. Or maybe I once again am not being patient enough and must still wait it out. I do want add that this is not just a few hairs, it is notable portion of the transplanted hairs. Is this a reality I must accept or should I continue to stick it out see what is in store?

Changes in hair character to curly and occasionally (rarely) to kinky does occur. I tell those that are affected that they should wait to see how it grows in after one hair cycle (about 3 years) has passed. Patience is a virtue, waiting is the hardest part, etc, etc. I know it is easier said than done while waiting for your transplanted hairs to grow, but try to focus anywhere other than your hair.

When you are in Los Angeles again, please get to me personally and I will go into your hair examination myself. Best of luck to you in Iraq.

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What happens if the hair doesnt grow after a transplant? Do doctors offer a guarantee of some sort? I know each doctor or clinic would have their own policy, but I wasn’t sure if there was some sort of standard thing most doctors offer.

Guarantees in medicine are illegal in most of the 50 states. Imagine guaranteeing that your cancer will be cured by one particular doctor as a marketing gimmick, then you die. What is the recourse?

There are practical guarantees of replacing that did not grow at no cost to you and this is common in the industry without violating any laws.

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Hi Dr. Rassman. Here is my question. I don’t mind having my hair buzzed or very very short. I don’t need to have flowing locks of hair, so long as there is a shadow/stubble on my head. Do you think that using body hair in conjunction with nape and head hair from the permanent zone could be transplanted onto my head in the design of a norwood 1? I realize that body hair might look strange when grown out, but do you think if buzzed it would look natural?
-Thanks

I would need to meet you, determine what is driving you, find out if you have all of your marbles, and examine the status of your existing hair. The FUE technique is the best approach and it is your scalp hair which is correct and normal looking.

Ones ability to use body hair is not the issue, but will it do what you want it to do? Body hair has a long telogen cycle and a short anagen cycle which means that out of every body hair transplanted, you might have only 30% of them growing at any one time. The recipient site may have some microscopic (barely visible) cobbling of the body hair ‘skin’ used in the transplant, so you must know what it would look like. First, let’s establish a relationship and let me examine you.

The following article from a hair transplant clinic called ‘NHI CLINICS’ based in athens, please can you give me your opinion of the ‘about us’ section of their website.

After I started New Hair Institute and called it NHI, various other shops began springing up to capitalize on our marketing and status in the industry. Claims that they are us are false and their use of our brand (NHI) is in violation of trademark laws, but I’ll leave that to a lawyer. Again, they are not affiliated with me (Dr. Rassman) or New Hair Institute and any suggestion that they are shows the nature of that organization. They are making claims that are simply not true.

Here’s a link about this Athens based clinic (and the owner, Malcolm Mendelsohn) that you might find interesting — Hair-Restoration-Info.com