Hair Transplants: The options, the costs & results to expect

It’s a tell-tale sign we’re getting older. Before the wrinkles come and the back goes, a lot of men start losing their hair strand by strand. Male pattern baldness affects more than half of all men, with one study finding that 53 per cent of us will experience moderate to extensive hair loss by our fortieth birthdays.

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The FUE Procedure

“The FUE procedure leaves no visible scarring at the back of the head, as was the case with older strip methods of hair transplant,” says The Private Clinic of Harley Street. “Patients can leave the clinic immediately after treatment with minimal downtime, so they’re able to quickly get back to their day to day activities.”

Carried out under local anaesthetic, you will be fully awake while the transplant is happening. You may have to wear bandages over your scalp as it recovers and require one or two days off work (take more if you don’t want nosy colleagues asking questions). After the procedure, your scalp will feel tender to the touch and there will be some discomfort as the anaesthetic wears off, but nothing a few prescribed painkillers won’t manage.

“It doesn’t hurt at all,” says Stevenson. “I’ve had 13 and have a low pain threshold, so I’m a good judge. It’s more uncomfortable, sitting in the chair for an extended period of time. It’s like getting a filling at the dentist, in terms of pain but over a much longer time period. You can be in the chair from five to 12 hours, depending on the procedure.”

Do note that smaller patches of hair can take up just two to three hours of your time. You may need more than one session but these will be spread apart so your scalp can recover in between. As long as you have the supply of hair coming through you can have as many transplants as you like.

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• Find out more about FUE Hair Transplants here
• See our hair transplant before and after photo gallery
• Read our extensive hair transplant FAQs