Tip 5 OF 10 To Insure You’ll Get The Best Hair Transplant Procedure:
Have Realistic Hair Transplant Outcome Expectations
By Dr. John Frank, M.D. | IAHRS, ABHRS, ISHRS, AHLA, XM Radio: ‘The Bald Truth’, NYC, July 19, 2013
Ensuring you’ll get the best hair transplant procedure involves paying attention to many objective variables, such as where and when to get your procedure. However, there is one critically important subjective variable you need to pay attention to and that is your expectations. The best way to maximize your own hair transplant outcome is to be fully educated about the procedure, the doctor, and then make sure you set realistic expectations for your hair transplant outcome.
The first step is to realize that significant hair loss can understandably make us feel emotionally vulnerable, even desperate. In this state, we are at risk to accept false promises. The field of surgical hair restoration is growing, and overtime costs will likely decline further increasing competition. This can lead to sensational marketing and wild promises, so you need to do constant reality checking as you work through who to work with.
Here’s some things to do to manage your expectations and insure you’ll be happy with your new look.
First, do not make a decision based only on before & after photos, no matter how great they look. Lighting and how hair transplant office takes the pictures can have a huge effect on how good or bad the before and after pictures look. Further, in the process of getting images off a digital camera and onto the web, it is easy to alter or inadvertently make patient results photos look better (or worse) than they really are*.
Second, while it’s normal to first talk to a hair clinic’s surgical coordinator or counselor, you must spend time with the doctor who will be performing your surgery with the dual goal of understanding everything about the procedure and making sure you know exactly what to expect. And a good doctor will not take advantage of you and your emotions; instead they will do all they can to help you make an informed decision over several consultations. A good doctor will not pressure or rush you and will happily answer all of your questions.
Finally, if you find you’re becoming obsessed about how your hair transplant will look and whether it will be good enough, this is a sign you may have unrealistic expectations. Your hair and appearance can get wrapped up with your self-esteem and feelings of self-worth and a hair transplant may, in your mind, be tied to an idealized version of what your life is going to be like after the procedure. That’s not good, and it is a sure set up for disappointment.
Remember your goal is simply to improve your appearance, and you should expect to feel better about it. Make sure nothing more than that, like your basic self-worth, is at stake in your hair transplant outcome. If it is, your hair transplant, no matter how good it turns out, is likely to disappoint you in the long run.
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*See Misleading Hair Transplant Advertising: The Before and After Con Job, September 4, 2008, The Bald Truth
