You may be wondering what does hair restoration cost and how do you get the best bang for your buck.
Surgical hair restoration costs are something of a concern for many patients seeking the best hair transplant they can afford, after all it’s not cheap to move your hairs around your head…
A Hair transplant procedure is not only a high ticket item, it is a permanent process and will result in the hairs becoming immovable.
Since it’s pretty much permanent, you probably don’t want to look for a “cheap” or “inexpensive hair transplant”. If you’re like most of our patients who get hair transplant surgery, then you’re looking to get the best hair transplant at the best possible price.
Right off the top we’ll tell you that to get the best value for your money, you want to go with the state-of-the-art in surgical hair restoration: FUT (follicular unit transplantation) or FUE (follicular unit extraction).
Beware The Low-Ball Hair Restoration Cost Quote
One tactic you’ll want to be aware of is “low balling.”
Low balling the price of hair restoration surgery is a selling technique where the sales person offers an item or service at a price lower than its perceived value (i.e., a too-good-to-be-true price).
Later, the seller uses techniques to try to raise the price known as upselling.
For example, after you agree to an initial price, the doctor may slowly suggest other services you might want to consider thus increasing the overall bill and leaving you feel like you’re being persuaded into buying something that is either good for you or is not…
You might think you’d be immune to this technique but — think again. It is surprisingly persuasive and effective.
Research Shows Low Balling To Be Effective
Social psychology researchers in 1978 effectively demonstrated that getting people to first agree to an initial set of acceptable conditions made it easier for them to accept changes to the conditions that made them more costly than if they were presented with the most costly conditions up front*.
If you go with the extra costs, you may be happy with the eventual outcome, but this is less than a fully honest way of doing business in our opinion.
A worse outcome yet would be to not budge on the low ball quote, get a sub-standard or incomplete restoration surgery, and then later be completely miserable with the outcome of your hair transplant.
In the end, if you feel like you’re being low-balled see another doctor.
You Want A Single Fee For Everything Your Hair Transplant Doctor Is Going To Do
Probably the most common system is for the patient/client to pay a set value for each graft transplanted. Usually, the price ranges from $3 to $7 per graft in most hair clinics. For the price per graft model most hair loss clinics will offer to transplant around 2000 grafts which comes out to be about $8000 or so.
Pricing a hair transplant this way has an obvious drawback: The surgeon and the staff must count every single graft, which is a very arduous task, has a lot of room for error, and is difficult for the patient to verify.
While any normal errors will have little to no noticeable effect on the final outcome, you could be paying a lot more for a whole lot less.
Or worse yet, the surgeon could over harvest your donor area and leave you with no other alternatives than to shave your head bald…
A far better way to pay is just agree to pay a set price for the final outcome. Namely as many hairs transplanted as humanly possible, safely, without depleting the donor area.
Your doctor should be able to clearly explain how they count grafts, the estimated coverage and look, and what percentage of grafts they expect to lose during the transplant — a very small percentage of grafts may not take or could be damaged during the procedure.
This is why not over harvesting is key and ensuring that each and every hair follicle is given the attention needed to give it the best possible chance at surviving the transplant.
This is normal and common, and your doctor will allow for a certain amount of expected lost so it does not negatively impact your outcome.
Overall, the single set fee should be for the procedure, suture removal and all follow ups.
Beware of Hidden Fees
There shouldn’t be any hidden fees but some offices will attempt to sell custom products after the procedure for hair care.
Realistically, all that is needed product wise after the procedure is to keep the grafts moist with salt water spray and a gentle shampoo.
(For more post-op money savings tip, see post: Tip #2 How to Save Money On Hair Transplant Post Operative Care).
Watch Out For Pushy Sales Tactics
If you’re quoted a price per graft or a seemingly low price, be on guard against high pressure sales tactics that happen once you’re on their table and they’ve performed the procedure.
Some clinics will offer you a certain number of grafts, which can be split on the procedure in order to do less and get more, and often will try and sell more grafts after they’ve delivered on the little promised on the phone or on the quote.
Again, surgical hair restoration is a high-ticket item and you want to take your time to reach an educated decision.
(For more tips on how to decide, see post: Tip #5 Have Realistic Hair Transplant Outcome Expectations).
Beware of Graft Splitting**
This is another pricing technique designed to make a hair transplant appear less expensive than it really is.
Hair transplants involve transplanting grafts which contain anywhere from 3 to 12 hairs (sometimes called a mini or micro-graft).
Rather than charge you by the graft, some doctors may charge you by the number of hairs which makes it seem like you’re getting more for your money when you’re really not.
When talking to different doctors be sure your comparing price based on grafts versus hairs or whole grafts verses split grafts.
Be an educated buyer.
When a doctor talks grafts, ask him or her about how many hairs are in each graft.
How Many Hairs Are In A Graft?
At the high end, standard grafts (called plugs) contain 12 – 30 hairs***.
Mini- and micro-grafts contain 4-12 vs. 1-3 hairs respectively.
A micro-graft is on par with follicular units, the smallest biological natural grouping of hair follicles, which are usually 2-4 hair follicles.
How To Make A Hair Transplant More Affordable
If the cost of the procedure truly is the single most important factor, you can probably find a qualified doctor to negotiate the price or offer financing options to make a quality hair transplant more affordable for your immediate financing needs.
They may be able to give you a reduced rate if they’re trying to fill a last minute spot on their schedule or if they are having a slower than normal month.
In the end, to get the best value for your money, be an educated buyer by understanding how hair transplants are priced, watch out for potentially shady pricing techniques, and — perhaps most importantly — get to know your doctor.
Thoroughly research your doctor, his or her credentials, reviews, past patients, and trust your instincts.
By Dr. John Frank, M.D. | IAHRS, ABHRS, ISHRS, AHLA, XM Radio: ‘The Bald Truth’, Columbus Ohio
Next Tip: How To Ensure Complete Comfort During Your Hair Restoration Procedure
Previous Tip: Have Realistic Hair Transplant Outcome Expectations
*See Low-ball procedure for producing compliance: Commitment then cost. Cialdini, Cacioppo, Bassett, and Miller (1978).
**See What Does a Hair Transplant Cost & How Are They Priced?
*** Note that state-of-the-art FUT and FUE hair transplants never use grafts of this size.
