Stands for: Follicular Unit Extraction
Most Popular Choice
Approach: Doctor-Led
Cost: £3,000 – £7,000
Finance Available
FUE Hair Transplant
Contents
- 1 FUE Hair Transplant Surgery - All You Need to Know
- 2 How Does an FUE Transplant Work?
- 3 Who is a Good Candidate for an FUE Hair Transplant ?
- 4 Some of Our Before and After Hair Transplant Results
- 5 How Much Does FUE Hair Transplant Surgery Cost?
- 6 What are the Risks of an FUE Hair Transplant?
- 7 Do I Need to Take Medication?
- 8 What is the difference between FUE and FUT?
- 9 Do FUE Hair Transplants hurt?
- 10 Results and Aftercare
- 11 Frequently Asked Questions
- 11.0.1 How many grafts are taken in FUE procedures?
- 11.0.2 How much is a Follicular Unit Extraction procedure?
- 11.0.3 Will an FUE Hair Transplant hurt?
- 11.0.4 Who will perform your FUE Hair Transplant?
- 11.0.5 What happens on the day of my FUE Hair Transplant?
- 11.0.6 What is FUE Hair Transplant surgery used to treat?
- 11.0.7 Why Choose FUE Over FUT Surgery?
- 11.0.8 Will I experience further hair loss?
- 11.1 Patient Gallery - Hair Transplant Results
FUE Hair Transplant Surgery - All You Need to Know
A Follicular Unit Excision or Extraction (FUE) hair transplant is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that takes individual hair follicles from the back and sides of your head (donor area) and transplants them to the recipient area that is experiencing hair thinning or hair loss. Whether you are concerned about your receding hairline, eyebrows, or beard, an FUE transplant is often the perfect choice.
All of our hair transplant procedures, including FUE surgery, hairline hair transplant, crown hair transplant are doctor-led by certified medical professionals with years of experience in hair restoration. Book your free consultation today and end your hair loss concerns!
How Does an FUE Transplant Work?
The FUE (or Follicular Unite Extraction) transplant procedure is a process where our doctor uses a specialist machine called a punch machine that spins around very fast (like a mini drill) and extracts hair from the back and sides of a patient’s scalp (called the donor area). The next step is where our doctor will make thousands of tiny incisions in the recipient area of the head using either medical blades or sapphire blades. Then, the hair that has been extracted, gets implanted using medical forceps into the recipient area of the scalp where hair thinning is present in order to achieve coverage and density in that region.
The procedure is performed using local anaesthetic mixture (typically comprising of lidocaine, adrenaline, saline and sometimes bupivacaine) so that the patient doesn’t feel any pain. The donor area will have some very small dot-like scars however these typically aren’t visible scars because the existing donor area hair will grow to around a grade 2 and cover the area up.
The first 2 weeks is the recovery phase where scabbing will occur. We provide you with instructions for this 2 week period. Then there is the shedding phase from around week 2-3 that lasts to around week 8-12. This is also known as the “ugly duckling” phase. From month 6 through to month 12 is where patients will notice the biggest change from the initial signs of growth post shedding phase at month 5-6 to the final result at around month 12.
The transplanted hair should last a lifetime if taken care of as it is taken from an area where the hair does not get affected by hair loss so it should carry on growing in it’s new position in the scalp as normal.
Who is a Good Candidate for an FUE Hair Transplant ?
A good candidate for an FUE hair transplant is someone who:
- has realistic expectations of what can be achieved
- has a good and healthy donor area
- is in good health with no serious medical conditions
- is over the age of 18 and ideally over 24
- understands that hair loss is progressive and understands the roll of hair loss medication
Taking all the above into account, another important overall factor is the stability of hair loss as well as family history of the pattern of hair loss. This is to first assess whether the patient would be eligible and secondly, to be able to future plan an FUE hair transplant with the patient’s best interest in mind.
Some other considerations would be things like the texture of the patient’s hair, the hair tpye, the condition of the donor area such if there is any inflammation or infection that needs addressing before surgery. All of this is discussed during the pre-surgery consultation with either Dr Aziz Elgindi, Dr Mohammed Ditta or Dr Tetiana Mamontova.
Some of Our Before and After Hair Transplant Results
Gerard’s before and after results. Timescale is just over 1 year. Grafts transplanted were roughly 1,800.
Calvin’s before and after results. Timescale is just over 1 year. Grafts transplanted were 3,000+
Charlotte’s before and after results. Timescale is just over 1 year. Grafts transplanted were 1,800.
Alan’s before and after results. Timescale is just over 6 months. Grafts transplanted were 1,500.
Ryan’s before and after results. Timescale is just over 6 month. Grafts transplanted were 2,550.
How Much Does FUE Hair Transplant Surgery Cost?
Our FUE hair transplant costs start from £3,000 for very small surgeries and can go up to £7,000 for larger cases. We do use graft numbers as a guide for surface area coverage, but we aren’t strict on pricing on exact graft numbers. Our pricing relates more to surface area that is possible to be covered, be it in 1 session or 2.
As every patient has a different surface area of hair loss and having other factors that can affect the price, the exact hair transplant cost is given at the consultation. To get a rough idea of number of grafts required for the size of the area, we have an interactive hair graft calculator that visually displays the area and grafts required.
Meet Our Doctors
All our doctors are on the GMC register and are associate members of the ISHRS, which is the internationally recognised gold standard board of hair restoration surgeons. All of our surgeons have made appearances on various media outlets such as The Sun, The Independent and other such large publications. We have also won awards such as the SME News Greater London Enterprise Award in 2023 for best hair transplant clinic.
Our doctors are:
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- Dr Mohammed Ditta – Lead Hair Transplant Surgeon – GMC: 7084372
- Dr Aziz Elgindi – Lead Hair Transplant Surgeon – GMC: 7450896
- Dr Tetiana Mamontova – Lead Hair Restoration Surgeon – GMC: 7322628
Make the best investment in yourself and find out more about how we can help eliminate hair loss for good!
What are the Risks of an FUE Hair Transplant?
No surgery is without risks. From simple to complex, every surgery carries risks and complications. FUE hair transplant surgery is no different. Some of the risks that it carries for the patient are:
- Swelling and Scabbing – This is a small risk as most fue hair transplants result in swelling caused by the local anaesthetic in combination with the body’s natural healing response as well as scabbing.
- Bleeding – Some patients experience some bleeding from the donor area after taking the bandage off. You can clean the donor area and apply savlon on it and wrap it in another bandage.
- Allergic reaction – This is very rare as a patient should have disclosed an allergy to the local anaesthetic in their medical history questionnaire so that we can plan accordingly. We have epipens and defibrillators if something like this happens.
- Infection – Infections can occur on open wounds. This is not very common however we provide antibiotics and painkillers post procedure.
- Shock Loss – There are 2 types. The shock loss that occurs in the recipient area of the transplanted grafts and the shock loss that can happen to the surrounding area. The first point is very common. It’s also known as the “ugly duckling” phase and 99.99% of patients go through it. It resolves within 3-6 months when the hair starts to show through. The 2nd type is not as common. An assessment with one of our surgeons takes place and we make sure that your hair loss is stable before having a hair transplant to avoid this. If not stable, the help of medication in the form of finasteride is recommended and to take it for a period of at least 1 month before having the hair transplant in order to stabilise your hair loss so that you don’t experience surrounding area shock loss.
Do I Need to Take Medication?
As briefly touched on above, hair loss (specifically androgenetic alopecia) is a progressive disease meaning that your hair will continue to fall in a pattern that is determined by your genetics. An FUE hair transplant will only address hair loss on the current area but not any potential further future areas of hair loss. This is where medication plays a very big role, specifically the DHT blocker called finasteride.
Be it to prevent and preserve your pre-existing hair for future hair loss potential or to stabilise your current hair loss or even to assist with the hair transplant, medication is most of the time required after a hair transplant. A lot of our patients take it in either oral or topical form and tend to combine it with minoxidil to increase the blood flow in the area and to help with the results of the hair transplant.
What is the difference between FUE and FUT?
There are a number of key differences between the FUT and FUE hair transplant methods.
Often called the ‘strip method’ or ‘strip surgery’, FUT hair transplants take large strips of donor hairs from the patient’s scalp. These strips of hair are then dissected under a microscope before being implanted into the balding area. In comparison, follicular unit excision (FUE) takes much smaller hair grafts from the donor area, not only making it quicker, but leaving most patients with much less visible scarring than those who have undergone FUT.
You can see more info on our page FUE vs FUT hair transplants here.
Why choose FUE over FUT?
- During the procedure, there is less pain involved in FUE than FUT. This is because no major, or large incisions are required.
- FUE is also a quicker than FUT. This is because no separations need to be made under a microscope as is needed with FUT. This means you can tailor your hair transplant around your busy schedule!
- The FUE procedure typically has a much quicker recovery time when compared to FUT. This is because of the reduced scarring made by the 0.75mm – 0.9mm punches. Patients are left with tiny scabs that quickly heal as opposed to large incisions made in the scalp.
Do FUE Hair Transplants hurt?
FUE hair transplants are generally not painful, as the procedure is performed under local anaesthesia to numb the scalp. During the procedure, most patients feel little to no discomfort. However, after the anaesthesia wears off, some mild soreness, tenderness, or discomfort may occur, especially in the donor and recipient areas. This is usually manageable with over-the-counter pain medications and subsides within a few days.
After your procedure, your assigned hair transplant surgeon will discuss the aftercare process with you extensively. If you have any problems, just get in touch with us!
Results and Aftercare
Following your hair transplantation procedure, you will have access to our post-transplant aftercare whenever you need it.
It is important to keep the scalp hydrated during the first few days following the procedure in order to protect against infection and minimise scabbing. We provide full aftercare instructions and are on hand to answer any concerns following your procedure.
It can take 3+ months for the new follicles to take and naturally grow new hair, so regrowth may be uneven at first, but rest assured, you will soon benefit from thicker looking hair. Although every patient’s recovery time and results may differ, most patients see full natural hair growth around 10 months following their procedure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Between 600 and 6,000 hair follicles are extracted during a FUE hair transplant. Naturally, this depends on the severity and area of baldness.
An FUE hair transplant can cost between £3,000 and £7,000+. Again, this is dependent upon the severity of the baldness as the procedure’s cost is directly related to the number of follicles extracted and implanted. Read more about the cost of an FUE hair transplant
Patient safety comes first and foremost at our clinic. Some great news is that during your hair transplant procedure, you should not feel any pain at all. This is because the treatment is done under local anaesthetic. You shouldn’t feel a thing!
After your FUE hair transplant surgery, there may be some slight feelings of discomfort. However, as almost microscopic incisions are made on the scalp, you should not expect to feel any tightness as you would with FUT treatments.
After your procedure, one of our hair transplant surgeons will remain in contact with you and discuss the aftercare process with you extensively. If you have any problems, just get in touch with us!
After your free initial consultation, your FUE hair transplant will be performed by one of our certified hair transplant doctors. All of our procedures are performed by doctors, with a little help from our specialist team of technicians, ensuring you receive high quality care and treatment.
After you have received your free consultation with one of our hair transplant surgeons, arrive at our clinic on Harley Street or at any other clinic location we have in the UK. During your hair transplant surgery you will receive a local anaesthetic. You shouldn’t feel anything more than a little bit of pressure; almost like a head massage!
During the surgical procedure, your surgeon will take hair follicles from your donor area and place them onto the area you need them most. After the procedure is completed, we provide an aftercare package which contains all the treatments and instructions on what you should post hair transplant.
There can be many causes for hair loss. Whether it be female or male pattern baldness, follicular unit extraction can be used to counteract the effects of thinning hair and premature balding. As well as pattern baldness FUE has been used to treat:
- Baldness as a result of chemical treatments (chemotherapy etc).
- Patients who have experienced facial trauma
- and many more
During the procedure, there is less pain involved in FUE than FUT. This is because no major, or large, incisions are required.
FUE is also quicker than FUT. This is because no separations need to be made under a microscope as is needed with FUT. This means you can tailor your hair transplant around your busy schedule!
After the procedure, FUE typically has a much quicker recovery time when compared to FUT. This is because of the reduced scarring made by the 0.8mm – 1mm punches. Patients are left with tiny scabs that quickly heal as opposed to large incisions made in the scalp.
Whilst there may be a small bit of shedding soon after your procedure, you should not suffer hair loss (in the same area) after your new hair transplant, however it can take around 6 months for the new hair to start to grow and thicken.
Patient Gallery - Hair Transplant Results
Patient Testimonials
Aside from achieving fantastic results, we believe that keeping in touch with our patients before, during and after their hair transplantation procedure is paramount – it helps to keep our patients feeling calm and in control. We’re always on hand to provide guidance, support and aftercare advice. Time and again, our patients tell us that this is what sets us apart from other clinics.
You can read our great reviews of FUE hair transplants over on Google.