By Dr. John Frank, M.D. – IAHRS, ABHRS,ISHRS, AHLA, XM Radio: ‘The Bald Truth’, NYC, Oct 27, 2010
Hair grafting is a procedure when hair is placed on the scalp to restore hair. Hair grafting involves a donor giving the hair to the recipient. In many cases, the donor and the recipient are the same person.
Hair grafting involves taking hair from the sides of the head (where baldness doesn’t occur) and to place these hairs on the scalp. The benefit of hair grafting is that the hair restores using real hair.
It used to be that when doctors performed hair grafts, the hairs were grafted in clusters instead of being planted individually. The hair grafts didn’t appear natural because the grafts were harvested in clusters as opposed to being harvested individually (FUE method) or having each graft dissected individually from a strip that was harvested.
Since hair naturally grows in groups of 1-4 hairs, it’s important that hair grafting follows this pattern. If a graft consists of more than 4 hairs you run the risk of an unnatural appearance, especially when addressing the hair line. You do not run as much of a risk if you apply grafts with more density behind the hair line.
Hair grafting is one of the best ways to restore hair. Since hair grafting involves using ones own hair, the restored hair will be undetectable. Hair grafting involves mimicking the hair the way is naturally grown (in groups of 1-4 hairs) making the restored hair look like natural instead of being the result of a procedure.
Hair Graft Care
Transplanted hair follicles thrive in a moist environment, so do everything you can to keep them from drying. If they are allowed to dry, they will still heal, however they will form thick crusts which will adhere to your scalp for a longer period of time. Therefore, spray the hair grafts with as much as possible for the first five days.
You may keep your grafts moist with hourly sprays of “normal saline” (0.9% salt water) while you are awake. You can either purchase normal saline from a medical supply store or you can mix it yourself (mix 10 tablespoons of table salt in one gallon of distilled water). This amount should last you several days.
For the first five days following the surgery you should wash the graft area twice a day using the following method. Apply a small amount of shampoo to a gauze or washcloth and place on the graft area. Rinse the shampoo off of your scalp by pouring cupfulls of water over the gauze or washcloth. Spraying or pouring water directly to the graft area could dislodge the grafts, and is strongly discouraged for five days following the procedure. After this time, the grafts are well adhered to the scalp and you may resume showering normally.
© 2012, John Frank, M.D.
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