For many men that want to restore thinning or balding hair on the scalp, the thought of having to shave their scalp (even if the end result is a full head of hair) can make them decide not to have hair restoration surgery. They do not like the idea of having to shave, and regrow, their hair so they simply avoid having a hair transplant. Thankfully, patients that do not want to shave their scalp have the option of long hair FUE transplant to give them the hairline they desire.
Patients who are ideal candidates for this hair transplant technique are able to grow their hair longer on both the back and sides of the scalp before the surgery. On the day of the actual procedure, the longer hair of the patient is lifted so a thin band of hair can be shaved by the surgeon, The hair grafts/follicular units are then harvested from the band that was shaved by the surgeon.
Once the follicular unit extraction procedure is completed by the doctor, the longer hair is then combed downwards by the doctor. The longer hair is able to completely cover the sections of the head where hair grafts were extracted in order to be placed in the balding or thinning areas of the scalp. Patients are able to grow their hair as long as they want because the final length of the hair works to their advantage when it comes to hair restoration. In general, the longer they are able to grow their hair, the wider the band that can be shaved by the surgeon. This also means there is a larger amount of hair grafts that can potentially be harvested by the surgeon for transplantation into the targeted area of the scalp.
Not having to shave their heads, at the start of the long hair FUE hair transplant process, makes it almost impossible for the public to tell that a hair restoration procedure was performed by a professional doctor. Follicular unit extraction is when the hair grafts are individually removed from the donor area on the body. The individual harvesting of the hair grafts means there will not be a scar where the hair grafts were removed from the donor area.
Much like a traditional hair transplant procedure, the final results will be natural in appearance and are also permanent which means they will last a lifetime.
