Frequent questions

The most common cause for hair loss is hereditary factors. Both men and women can inherit the gene for hair loss from a parent. Men, on the other hand, have a greater tendency to inherit this genetic condition since testosterone and its metabolite dihydrotestosterone, DHT, activate the genetic program that generates hair loss in the follicles.

The age of onset, the extent and the speed with which hair is lost varies from person to person. Some serious diseases, bad eating habits and even deficiencies of some vitamins in the body can accelerate this process; hair dyes and chemicals can also cause it when improperly applied.

The use of hats or caps, poor blood circulation, excessive use of shampoo or clogged pores, on the contrary, are not causes of hair loss.

Although hair transplants are more expensive than some alternative treatments, their results are permanent. For this reason, most patients consider them a good investment in their future.

Some clinics charge by area to be covered, by number of sessions or, as one might say colloquially, “to the eye”. The most precise and fair way is by follicular units, which is the natural way in which they are born and how the grafts are extracted. Make sure the surgeon who is going to operate you is certified by the ISHRS (www.ishrs.org)

* Remember: the Follicular Unit is different from the Follicle. The unit can have between one and 5 hairs each, whereas a follicle is a single hair.

Hair replacement is affordable today more than ever. After a formal medical exam and discussing your expectations, we can give a real estimate of the time and cost necessary to achieve your goal.

The value varies depending on the size of the surgery, the technique used, the area to be worked on and the method of payment. The goal is for it to be a safe surgery, with natural results and at a fair price. We cannot give you an exact value but the value of the follicle is between $ 1.50 and $ 3 dollars. These fees include everything (post-operative medicines, lunch, surgery room fees, surgical assistantship, taxes, etc.).

At HairDoctors we receive cash and all cards (debit and credit). We can also receive post dated checks with authorization from Covicheques. We have an agreement with banks, who finance medical and aesthetic procedures, with an interest rate similar to those of “free investment”.

The number of sessions depends on several factors such as: the area of the scalp to be treated, the number and size of the grafts used, the density of the transplants and the individual characteristics of the patient. Eg: thick hair provides greater density than fine.

The estimated number of sessions is discussed during the consultation with your specialist doctor. Generally, the entire transplant can be done in one session, but in the case of very severe alopecia (great extension and very little capillary density), more than one procedure is necessary. It is common for some patients to come later for another session, especially when the native hair loss has continued significantly and they have not used protective medications.

It is common to want a second session in order to cover more area or increase the current density. The limitation of these surgeries is the amount of donor area available.

The answer is yes. The transplanted hair is removed from one area of the body (donor area) and transferred to another site (recipient). The transferred tissue is not rejected, as it is not a foreign tissue. Transplanted hair maintains its own characteristics, color, texture, growth rate, and curl, after transplantation.

The vitality of the grafted follicle is maintained by the abundant blood supply to the scalp. In recent years, techniques and instruments have been developed that allow surgeons to achieve truly natural results by transplanting a large number of small grafts.

We have found that hair from other parts of the body can be used for transplants, although extraction is sometimes technically difficult. We have extracted from the beard, the chest, the back among others with results well above expectations.

The follicular unit is made up of one to four hair roots, sebaceous glands, the erector hair muscles, a peri-follicular vascular plexus, a neural network, and the peri-follicle (a circumferential sheath of fine collagen that defines the unit).

For a transplant, the most natural way to transplant the grafts should be in the form of follicular units. Taking into account the aesthetics of the capillary anatomy, we know that the closer we get to the frontal line, the Follicular Units contain less hair (unicapillary) and as we progress to the back these units are two to four hairs.

You have to be very realistic with the needs and with the type of work to be done and have a vision of the patient about what they will look like in the future. Offering or hoping to achieve the original density that the patient had is generally not feasible. Working with real expectations, the total number of grafts required for each patient will depend on the contrast between the color of the hair and the skin, the density of the donor area, the laxity of the scalp, the number of hairs per follicular unit and the character of the hair itself (color, texture, thickness).

The surgeon considers these factors and combines them with the patient’s expectations to calculate the amount of work required. Still, a predictable result does not always guarantee patient satisfaction. A man accustomed to his baldness will be easier to satisfy, and will accept a limited result, than a young man who is beginning to lose his hair and who remembers those days when he looked in the mirror and saw the strong and dense hair of his adolescence .

The young patient will always want the front line that he had in his youth and will not be content with less. Because the surgery is permanent, the surgeon must consider an appropriate capillary design for life and also take into account the reserves in the donor area. The mature patient with significant hair loss will be much happier with a restored high frontal hairline and a modest amount of natural hair covering their head for the first time in years.

The vast majority of patients who consult are between these two extremes, and it is here that we have to carefully guide the patient to achieve clear and reasonable goals. Considering human psychology, capillary dynamics and based on practice, it is not always wise to recommend a specific number of grafts.

The suggested amount is more for guidance, and not a definitive figure. The impact of a transplant depends on the area to be transplanted and the number of grafts used. (See Norwood-Hamilton Scale to find out what grade it is in).

No, absolutely not. Current techniques allow to put hair between existing hair, improving and restoring density. Although in the future you may need another session, it is simply to go one step ahead of baldness.

Yes, in almost all cases, the negative results of a bad transplant can be reversed. Patients with locks, doll hair, or ‘cornrow’ hair have the option of achieving a more natural appearance. With the FUE technique, these strands of hair are removed, under a microscope they are divided to the size of individual follicular units and reimplanted.

If the patient has enough donor tissue, grafts can be transplanted around these strands and thus ‘dissolve that unnatural image’, obtaining excellent results.

Our patients think that it is less annoying than the intervention of a dentist, that they feel pressure or minor discomfort. They are generally busy enjoying a movie; others choose to sleep part of the time.

What should be noted about this surgery is that it is long, and this causes fatigue so some sedation may be required. The surgery is performed under local anesthesia injected with very fine needles where the patient only feels mild stings at first.

The operation is outpatient. Our patients resume their normal activities after the first week or even the next day if the work does not require a lot of physical activity.

It is our responsibility to inform patients of all treatment alternatives. If you are not a good candidate for transplantation, every reason will be given. Very young patients often have unrealistic hopes. Medicines like Minoxidil and Finasteride can slow down the process and should be tried first, or in conjunction with the initial procedure.

Complications and risks are really very rare. In the rare cases in which a certain small infection has been detected, it is due to a carelessness of the patient in following the post-operative instructions. Even if an infection occurs, it is very easy to cure it with common antibiotics that can be prescribed by us or by any doctor.

Other postoperative complications are hiccups, due to the manipulation of the scalp that is treated with low doses of Haloperidol. Truly exotic complications are: arteriovenous communications in the donor area, generally temporary dysesthesias, bad hair since it follows different directions from the growth pattern of the rest of the hair (due to poor technique) and less exotic, in patients with multiple surgeries or when has removed too much donor tissue, visible scars.

The advantage of the surgery is that it is a permanent, guaranteed and fast result, of course new hair does not grow overnight, but you don’t have to do anything except be patient.

The drugs help the native hair not to fall out more, but they are of chronic, permanent use and if they are suspended the fall is restarted, that is, they are stoppers of the process but they do not remove new hair in those spaces where it has already been lost. They do not end the cause of the fall, they only prevent and thicken the native hair.

The ideal is to do a combined treatment. Surgery to repopulate those spaces and medications to protect. I know that hair transplant surgery can represent a lot of money, but the idea is to do such a natural, large and dense job that it is the best investment of your life.

This procedure is well tolerated, it is under local and outpatient anesthesia and it could be said that the effectiveness is 100%. Obviously you have to have clear and real expectations of what you want. The technique is transplantation by follicular units with extraction by the FUE method. That is, follicle by follicle is transplanted to make it look 100% natural.

FUE stands for “Follicular Unit Extraction”. It is done with a “micro-drill” that has a mini punch at the tip that allows them to be removed individually.

This procedure is more time consuming, slightly more expensive, and a larger donor area must be shaved. The good thing is that it does not leave any linear scars, but rather tiny punctate scars of less than 1 mm in diameter in all the areas from which they are extracted and the post-operative is smoother.

The sowing with both techniques is the same and the results of the transplant are the same, the difference is the extraction.

Follicular Unit Extraction Technique Ambulatory, local anesthesia Longer time for extraction May require multiple sessions (as the extraction process takes longer) Multiple tiny scars that are covered with hair No linear scar remains, but multiple tiny scars Extraction can be difficult and time consuming. No suture. It requires having shaved hair. We can use hair from different parts of the body. There is a risk of extracting DHT-sensitive follicles if they are extracted from border areas More expensive ($ 5500 pesos per average UF) The anatomy of the scalp of the donor area is not distorted, but generally a greater extension of the donor area is necessary to extract the same number of follicles For extraction prone position (lying face down), awake patient Post operative with minimal pain

Regarding the tests, on the recommendation of the Secretary of Health of Bogotá it is necessary to test for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. We currently have two agreements with two very good laboratories and with very reasonable prices if they have been referred by our clinic. If you consider that you have a medical history that could affect the procedure, specific tests are recommended depending on the case.

This procedure is well tolerated, it is ambulatory and under local anesthesia. The requirements are minimal. Basically do not drink alcohol, aspirin or antihistamines one week before surgery (assuming you do not have major health problems) and avoid any drink containing caffeine on the day of the procedure. For the post-operative period, do not force or lift heavy objects. In the consultation, you are given in detail all the recommendations for the pre and post-operative surgery, depending on the case.

This procedure is well tolerated, it is under local and outpatient anesthesia and it could be said that it has no contraindications when the cause of the fall is due to androgenic conditions (heredity), scars, desire to reduce the size of the forehead, among others.

The relative contraindications are when the cause of alopecia is due to infections, metabolic problems, autoimmune pathologies such as alopecia areata or universal, cancer, radiotherapy and other not very frequent causes.

In these cases, micropigmentation is an interesting alternative.

Unfortunately hair transplants using follicles from another person are not possible because the body rejects them and they are not born. This is due to immunohistocompatibility, that is, information from the body that identifies what belongs to oneself and that rejects cells, bacteria and other non-self antigens.

The time depends on the technique to be used, on the size chosen, on variables specific to each patient such as sensitivity, bleeding and elasticity of the recipient area. On average it is between 2 and 10 hours.

When removing the strip, a line remains which is the junction of the upper and lower edge. The length depends on the size of the surgery. The width of this scar is 1mm. (like the crease of the palm of a hand). This line is covered by the surrounding hair, making it totally undetectable. It is closed with the trichophytic cutting technique to achieve these virtually undetectable characteristics.

The postoperative depends on the patient and his discipline according to the instructions given by the doctor after the surgery.

Small scabs will form on the scalp at the graft sites. Generally speaking, these scabs will disappear in 4-10 days. Shampoo can be resumed 24 hrs. after surgery (preferably a mild shampoo). We use absorbable sutures, that is, they are dissolved by the body.

With the FUE method, there are no sutures and the scabs in the donor area also fall off in the first week. Normally the grafted hair will be lost in 2-4 weeks. The new growth will start in 3-4 months and the length will increase by approximately 0.5-1 cm per month.

Periodic reviews are convenient but not necessary. Many people cannot come because of the distance. The suture is absorbable because of this and we give them all the postoperative medications so they don’t have to worry about it.

The transplanted hair does not need any medication. What happens is that the native hair must be cared for so that it does not continue to lose. The two main medical treatments for this are finasteride and minoxidil. The ideal is a combined treatment, but the transplant alone can also be definitive and permanent.

Immediately the surgery is finished, they look like some white spots (the tips of the grafts) seem like “goose bumps”. These spots dry out, become scabbed and fall off and look like an allergy or breakout, which disappear in the first week.

The three main cares after surgery are: do not hit your head, do not lift heavy objects and do not expose yourself to the sun.

Walking, cycling, or elliptical training is recommended to help you metabolize anesthetics faster.

Because it is an autotransplant, the body does not reject them and 100% grow. HairDoctors provides a copy of the informed consent of the surgery, where the steps, care, results, commitments, etc. are explained. from both sides. In addition, a CD with the photos of the preoperative and of the entire intervention, so that the photographic record is the one that evidences the change. The goal is that the result is natural, evident and safe.

The new hair begins to be born after two months, a significant change is observed at 6 months and the final result approximately one year. The transplanted hair never falls out, since it was extracted from the occipital region and there the follicles are resistant to the DHT hormone, which is the cause of thinning and shedding the hair.

If the donor area is limited, the entire depopulated area cannot be covered. However, when transplanting to an area that has a more aesthetic impact, a difference is made.

There is also a multiplier effect, since with a density of just over 50% of the donor area being achieved, visually practically the same effect is achieved as if it had a density of 100%

If you want to improve the density of your beard, you can have a micro transplant. The idea is to leave very natural and symmetrical edges. Remember that this transplanted hair continues to grow like that of the head and must be periodically retouched, that is, it can be shaved normally.

The key to making your beard transplant look natural is to seed them with a neutral direction or angle and seed single hair follicles. It can be done all in one session or done in parts (these numbers are only an approximation because in addition to size, the initial and final density determine the number of follicles)

-Etters up to the earlobe (400 UF) -Beard up to the corner of the mouth (800 to 1400 UF) -Mustache only (200 UF) -Padlock (500 UF)