Losing hair isn’t enjoyable for anyone. For one thing, it’s considered by many one of the most prominent signs of aging — and nobody wants to show their age as they “get on up” in years. For another, hair loss makes it difficult for people to feel as if they look their best. They have to work with styling less hair, and often find themselves resorting to things like hats or even wigs to cover up their hair loss. In actuality, this often results in the hair loss being highlighted. Many people — especially men — are essentially told to accept their hair loss as a regular part of life. If you are fine with less hair, then you should not feel as if you can’t accept it. But you also shouldn’t feel as if you have to. Should your hair loss bother you, whether you’re a man or women, hair transplant clinics could provide the treatments you need. Hair transplant clinics provide several different options for people to choose from, all of which solve the issue of balding in many effective ways. Let’s look into FUE hair transplants and FUSS hair transplants — at how they compare to one another, and how they work.
FUE Hair Transplants: The Process
Many hair transplant clinics offer FUE hair transplants, as they are widely favored by professionals. The FUE hair transplant cost is comparable to other hair transplant treatments, and the results are extremely favorable. Furthermore, the process is not as involved or painful as some of the alternatives. Essentially, an FUE transplant — standing for Follicular Unit Extraction transplant — involves harvest individual follicular unit grafts, which consist of hair groupings of one to four hairs, from the scalp. These units are harvested one at a time in little “punches” ranging from .7 to one millimeter in size. They’ll then be transplanted to the balding part of the scalp. Usually, this procedure takes about eight hours, after which the patient can leave the hair transplant clinic and return home. Although the healing time varies depending on the patient’s skin type, the grafts take in a matter of days. They settle in about four to five days. The main alternative people choose rather than a FUE transplant is a FUSS transplant. But as you’ll see below, this supposed alternative does not compare to what we’ve already discussed.
FUSS Versus FUE: The Facts
Immediately, a FUSS transplant is more invasive than a FUE transplant. A FUSS transplant — meaning a Follicular Unit Strip Surgery — involves taking a small strip of scalp from a non-balding area and placing it through incisions in the balding area. Not only is FUSS more invasive — it also has a longer healing time, limits graft harvesting due to the pulling of the scalp in future procedures, and leaves scars behind. FUE does not leave large scars and has a minimal risk of complications. FUE transplant patients also have a wider range of options to choose from regarding what they do with their hair in the future. They can shave, cut their hair short, and comb it easily. These are not necessarily as simple for FUSS patients. For patients who want to skip transplants altogether and have a purely cosmetic procedure done, there’s yet another option.
Scalp Micropigmentation: The Cosmetic Option
Some people are fine with shaving their heads as they go bald. However, they’re frustrated by the presence of a receding hairline. In this case, a transplant is not necessary should the patient not want it. A scalp micropigmentation procedure involves tattooing the scalp where the hairline is meant to be. Due to the fact that the hair is already very short, this procedure is usually quite effective. It looks very realistic, and involves the same type of recovery time as a typical tattoo. The drawback would be that the hair seen is not real — but then, that is not a concern for someone willing to shave their head for the long term.