Is It Too Late For A Hair Transplant?

Hair transplantation is the most successful form of hair restoration currently on the market. FUE hair transplants provide realistic and natural-looking results which last a lifetime, however, it is important to be aware that hair transplant is not for everybody.

There are a number of reasons that someone might not be an ideal candidate for hair transplantation and one of them could be due to it being too late. Today we’re going to talk you through the ideal candidate for a hair transplant, as well as some information on when it might be too late for you to get a hair transplant.

Who is an ideal hair transplant candidate?

There are a number of different factors that make someone a good transplant for a hair transplant. During a consultation some of the factors we will look at include;

• The density of your hair: Although a hair transplant helps those with hair loss, you do need to have hair for the procedure to work. We look at your donor hair – found at the back and side of the scalp. We’ll look to ensure there is enough density in your donor area to plan a good hair transplant.
• Your hair type: The different characteristics of hair can affect how successful a hair transplant is. Different factors such as hair colour, texture and curliness can affect the result.
• The cause of hair loss: Hair loss can happen for a number of different reasons and some of these reasons such as stress-related hair loss are not permanent and a hair transplant would not be a worthwhile treatment plan
• Age: The age and severity of hair loss can play a part in being a good candidate. Some potential clients are too young and their hair loss is not yet predictable which can make a hair transplant hard to plan. For some, your hair loss might be too far gone, meaning a hair transplant is not possible.
• General health: Every patent over 45 will be required to have an ECG check to check the health of their heart, and other medical factors can determine if someone is a good candidate. During a consultation, we’ll ask a series of questions to ensure your general health is good.
• Previous hair transplant: Some people may be looking into getting a second hair transplant, however, this is sometimes not possible if you’ve had a previous hair transplant – your first hair transplant might not have been planned with future hair loss in mind which can leave you with less donor hair.

When is too late for a hair transplant?

We often get asked how old is too old to have a hair transplant, and this is a hard question to answer. As long as you are in good health there is normally no age limit on getting a hair transplant. In terms of when is too late for a hair transplant, the main concern we have is just ensuring you are a good candidate.

You can see from the list above, there are a lot of factors that determine if someone is a good candidate and this is why having a consultation is important, it allows us to see if you’re a good candidate as well as showing you the realistic results we believe we can achieve. You can see exactly what happens during a hair transplant consultations, here.

Can you do a bald hair transplant?

No, we can’t. Being bald is one time when it is too late for a hair transplant. For a hair transplant to be successful, we need our patient to have a good amount of donor hair. A hair transplant works by moving hair follicles from one area of the scalp to another, and therefore would not work for someone with no hair at all.

We do have other treatment options, such as ATP where pigmentation can be applied to the scalp to mimic the appearance of hair follicles. This replicates the appearance of a closely shaven scalp. ATP works well for those with little to no hair.

If you would like more information on our hair transplant procedures or to see if you’re the right type of candidate, please contact us today for a no-obligation consultation.

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