Should you be wary of a “Cheap Hair Transplant”? It might be wise to consider Grandpa’s words of wisdom, “You get what you pay for!” However, at one time or another, we’ve all reasoned, “But…it was such a great deal!”.
It may have been a pair of shoes, or clothing or an expensive electronic product that was priced so low it seemed too good to be true – and eventually, unfortunately, you found out that it was. Before you go any further in your search for hair restoration you owe it to yourself to find out, “Why should I avoid a cheap hair transplant?”
Reason #1: A Cheap Hair Transplant Looks … Well, Cheap
A cheap boob job and a cheap hair transplant have one thing in common, it’s obvious. They both look dreadfully cheap! That’s what happens when a surgeon lacks experience and training. If he or she doesn’t have the reputation needed to garner a fair price for this specialized cosmetic procedure, then chances are, you are not going to be satisfied with the results!
A hair transplant is NOT like buying a vacuum cleaner! Hair plays a monumental role in the way you look and how you feel about yourself – forever. You already feel self-conscious about your hair loss! Don’t compound the problem. Think about the last person you saw with a cheap hairpiece. Few things look more ridiculous. At least you can take off a cheap hairpiece. You cannot take off the disaster of a bad hair transplant. If you can’t afford to pay a fair price for a qualified hair surgeon, then it’s probably best to live with the hair loss you have, because getting a bad hair transplant will only make you feel even more self-conscious – permanently!
Reason #2: Your Hair Transplant Doctor May Not be a Doctor!
To cut corners, it is a regrettable reality that some hair clinics substitute skilled surgeons for non-licensed, inexperienced hair technicians. This is often illegal in many states, including Tennessee. You must be a licensed physician to make incisions, and that includes a hair transplant. A physician “on the premises” doesn’t count!
You may ask yourself, “Why is a real medical doctor so important?” First, a hair transplant requires some form of relaxing medication during the procedure as well as pain medication afterwards. This individualized medicine is based on body weight, age, existing medications, and complications. Every patient should be monitored throughout the entire procedure by a licensed physician to ensure that everything is going as expected. Besides medical experience, artistic specialization is also vital if you desire excellent results. For example, restoring hair loss in the crown is a complex procedure. The incisions must be created in a spiral pattern where hair direction and placement are key to a natural looking result. Anything short of that will look ridiculous and unnatural.
Reason #3: Cutting Corners Can “Kill” Your Hair
at We Grow Hair
Every hair counts! You only have a finite number of hair follicles on your head. That’s why it’s important to make the most of every single hair, because once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
The first way to ‘waste’ or ‘destroy’ hair follicles is inept hair harvesting. Only a skilled surgeon knows where to extract DHT resistant, permanent donor hair. If an unskilled surgeon fails to extract the right hair follicles, there is a high probability that your transplanted hair won’t be permanent. On top of that, you will have lost the hair he removed during the procedure!
During an FUT procedure, clumsy extraction can transect (cut through) the base of hair follicles, killing thousands of hairs. It can also leave an unsightly linear scar, which destroys nearby hair follicles limiting the potential for future transplants. During an FUE procedure, the base of the hairs can also be transected when they are extracted (especially for patients with curly hair). This results in countless destruction. it’s also possible to overharvest an area, resulting in a high concentration of circular scars. This will leave the back of your head looking patchy and thin in areas also limiting future transplants.
Another way to ‘kill’ hair follicles is during site creation. During a transplant, thousands of tiny incisions must be made at the right depth and angle to place transplanted hairs. A common mistake for inexperienced doctors is to sever the root of surrounding hair follicles beneath the surface of the skin. The result is even more hair destruction that is irreversible.
Reason #4: Bargain Deals = Low Hair Count
$2.80 per graft? $3.75 per graft? $5.00 per graft? What is a reasonable price per graft? When you see this specialized cosmetic procedure being peddled at the lowest price possible that should be a genuine red flag.
First and foremost, charging by the graft can be misleading. How many hairs are in each graft? One hair? Three hairs? 2000 grafts may sound like a lot of hair, but what if there is only one hair in each graft? You’d only be getting 2000 hairs. At our clinic, we find that 2000 hairs is not enough hair to satisfy most patients. It’s our experience that the average patient will need at least 6,000 – 8,000 hairs (one Multi-Unit Hair Grafting™ procedure) to cover their areas of hair loss and be satisfied with their results. Even at that, there are times when a second procedure is desired to finish the crown area or thicken up results.
When shopping for a hair transplant, your main question should be, “How much coverage will I get for the price I’m paying?” Many websites that boast about their bargain prices don’t tell you that the photos on their website represent 3 or 4 hair transplants – not one.
Reason #5: Do-Overs Cost Big!
We see patients every day who regret “the money they saved” when they signed up for a cheap hair transplant! It ended up costing them double or triple what they originally thought, not to mention the wasted time and embarrassment of a bad hair transplant. We correct countless “cheap hair transplants”. Unfortunately, some patients pay the ultimate price. Their hair transplant(s) were so bad that it cannot be repaired because their donor area was exhausted.
Don’t let that happen to you. Do it right the first time. Go to a reputable clinic. Look at reviews. Ask to see before/after photos and videos and find out how many procedures they represent. Ask for references and meet other patients. Find out how many procedures you’ll need to cover the area of hair loss you have. You’ll probably discover that the “more expensive” clinic will actually help you save both time and money while giving you the hair transplant of your dreams!
