Hi guys, newbie here with a question.
Does ones hair have to be buzzed short or shave in order to get a hair transplant? Sorry for the dumb question
Thanks
A lot depends on the doctor.
Generally speaking, if you have having FUE done, then YES for the most part, only in the areas where the doctor is extracting the follicles. That said, some doctors, eg: Dr. Cole, offer patients the option whether to have the donor site shaved or not.
If you have having STRIP, then you don’t necessarily have to shave the donor site.
If you want, email me at hairsite@aol.com and I will put you in touch with different doctors and see if you are a good candidate for hair transplant, what options are best for you, and the cost etc.
» Hi guys, newbie here with a question.
» Does ones hair have to be buzzed short or shave in order to get a hair
» transplant? Sorry for the dumb question
» Thanks
Dr. Cole is the only one I know who does not shave the donor while doing fue.
He also, sometimes, does not shave the recipient. Most other doctors, will shave the recipient and the donor. Dr. Hasson posted sometime back why it was important to shave. Something to do with the hair angles.
When you decide to get a transplant, its a life altering event mind you, give the doctor a clear field of vision in which to take out or place the grafts. I will.
» When you decide to get a transplant, its a life altering event mind you,
» give the doctor a clear field of vision in which to take out or place the
» grafts. I will.
im not looking forward to having my head shaved for fue with cole, but like you say, if it helps the dr get it right then its worth it, even if it means exposing my strip scar until the hair grows back.
» » Hi guys, newbie here with a question.
» » Does ones hair have to be buzzed short or shave in order to get a hair
» » transplant? Sorry for the dumb question
» » Thanks
»
» Dr. Cole is the only one I know who does not shave the donor while doing
» fue.
» He also, sometimes, does not shave the recipient. Most other doctors, will
» shave the recipient and the donor. Dr. Hasson posted sometime back why it
» was important to shave. Something to do with the hair angles.
»
» When you decide to get a transplant, its a life altering event mind you,
» give the doctor a clear field of vision in which to take out or place the
» grafts. I will.
Drs. Cole and Mwamba offer FUE/FIT without shaving the donor, but the price is higher. The options are shaven, shaven patches, and non-shaven. Shaven patches means that the areas shaven are narrow enough to be covered by the hair above. Non-shaven means that no hair is shaven, only the hairs that will be harvested will be clipped with scissors.
Shaving the recipient area helps to move the surgery along quicker. Having a consult with Dr. Cole or Dr. Mwamba will let you know if you can have the transplant without shaving the recipient area.
Fast,
Sometimes it makes sense to shave the recipient area for a hair transplant; sometimes, not so much. You might want to check out this related thread: http://www.hairsite.com/hair-loss/forum_entry.php?id=2004
For FIT/FUE I think it almost always make sense to partially or totally shave the donor area. There may be some circumstances where the patient should keep the hair long, but I imagine only a limited number of grafts would be extracted in these cases.
» Fast,
»
» Sometimes it makes sense to shave the recipient area for a hair
» transplant; sometimes, not so much. You might want to check out this
» related thread: http://www.hairsite.com/hair-loss/forum_entry.php?id=2004
»
» For FIT/FUE I think it almost always make sense to partially or totally
» shave the donor area. There may be some circumstances where the patient
» should keep the hair long, but I imagine only a limited number of grafts
» would be extracted in these cases.
How about Dr. Umar? Thanks for the responses BTW
» » Fast,
» »
» » Sometimes it makes sense to shave the recipient area for a hair
» » transplant; sometimes, not so much. You might want to check out this
» » related thread:
» http://www.hairsite.com/hair-loss/forum_entry.php?id=2004
» »
» » For FIT/FUE I think it almost always make sense to partially or totally
» » shave the donor area. There may be some circumstances where the patient
» » should keep the hair long, but I imagine only a limited number of
» grafts
» » would be extracted in these cases.
»
» How about Dr. Umar? Thanks for the responses BTW
I would think not shaving would give the doctor a better idea how the hair looks, thickness etc.
» » When you decide to get a transplant, its a life altering event mind you,
» » give the doctor a clear field of vision in which to take out or place
» the
» » grafts. I will.
»
» im not looking forward to having my head shaved for fue with cole, but
» like you say, if it helps the dr get it right then its worth it, even if
» it means exposing my strip scar until the hair grows back.
Haggis, the short-term pain is worth the long-term gain. I shaved my head for the first time since second grade or so. I got a lot of compliments when my hair was short. I was very self consious of strip scars, but more so than people noticed.
» I would think not shaving would give the doctor a better idea how the hair
» looks, thickness etc.
You are correct, but the doctor shaves or close buzzes after he sees you with hair grown out. You don’t show up with hair buzzed.
» I would think not shaving would give the doctor a better idea how the hair
» looks, thickness etc.
Fast,
You are correct in that certain hair characteristics, curl for example, cannot be determined unless the hair grows out. Hair thickness, on the other end, can be observed even if the donor is clipped down to stubble.
When it comes time to do the procedure, the hair type that is being worked on should already have been analysed. No need to give the doc an idea of how the hair looks at that point. Keep in mind that the FIT/FUE extraction process is done with high magnification. Therefore, long stray hairs flying in and out the field of vision can complicate the extractions. One solution to this is to buzz down the entire donor area. Another way get around this is clipping a small area while leave the surrounding donor hair long. Then the staff can entirely pin that long hair up and out from the field of view of the extraction area.
» Hi guys, newbie here with a question.
» Does ones hair have to be buzzed short or shave in order to get a hair
» transplant? Sorry for the dumb question
» Thanks
There are various situations.
-
In strip, the donor sitrip to be excised is buzzed and the surrounding long hair can cover it post op.
-
In FUSE/fue, the follicular units can be taken out by shaving the entire scalp donor area. This is specially so, if larger number of grafts are required.
If lesser number of grafts are required, strips of donor hair bearing scalp can be trimmed. The long hair above the trimmed area cover it post ht.
Point to remember- Such a selective extraction will mean that there will be a difference in the hair density of the trimmed donor area v/s its surrounding areas.
- Recipient area - Its advisable to trim (not shave) the hair in the recipient area. This helps in judging the exact angulation and the direction of the pre existent hair in that part of the scalp. It is also useful when placing grafts at a high density.
» Hi guys, newbie here with a question.
» Does ones hair have to be buzzed short or shave in order to get a hair
» transplant? Sorry for the dumb question
» Thanks
some docs will do it without it shaven but i think it costs more. You honestly want to shave it so that they can see better when implanting.
» » Hi guys, newbie here with a question.
» » Does ones hair have to be buzzed short or shave in order to get a hair
» » transplant? Sorry for the dumb question
» » Thanks
»
» some docs will do it without it shaven but i think it costs more. You
» honestly want to shave it so that they can see better when implanting.
thanks for all the great info guys
» » » Hi guys, newbie here with a question.
» » » Does ones hair have to be buzzed short or shave in order to get a
» hair
» » » transplant? Sorry for the dumb question
» » » Thanks
» »
» » some docs will do it without it shaven but i think it costs more. You
» » honestly want to shave it so that they can see better when implanting.
»
» thanks for all the great info guys
Jessica pointed out the options available at IHTI (Dr. Cole’s clinic). I would emphasize the point that the surgery moves along much smoother and faster when the docs and techs can see what they are doing more readily. FIT/FUE is already a very labor intensive procedure, so anything that will help facilitate it is useful. With that said you can see the options noted in Jessica’s post further back.
Regards,
Fit Klub
» Point to remember- Such a selective extraction will mean that there
» will be a difference in the hair density of the trimmed donor area v/s its
» surrounding areas.
This is true, but most doctors will not harvest in great enough density to make a visible difference. This is why the total amount of grafts you plan to harvest in that session can dictate whether or not you are a candidate for shaven patches or non-shaven technique.
» …long stray hairs flying
» in and out the field of vision can complicate the extractions.
Complicate is such a strong word 
It definitely slows down the process, but, in my experience, it does not necessarily compromise the quality of the grafts extracted. There is an assistant right next to the doctor to maintain his/her field of vision and keep those stray hairs out of the way.
If I had a say in the decision (which I don’t, its totally up to the patient and the doctor), I would say shave the whole head. But, if a small number is to be extracted or the patient has a situation which necessitates a non-shaven donor area (public figures, politicians, celebrities), then I am all for it. It just takes more time.