Frequently Asked Questions
When can I Begin Washing Hair After a Transplantation?
Washing your hair after a hair transplantation is important to survival. We usually have our patients start spraying hair with lactated ringers with liposomal ATP as well as other growth factors twice a day to help your hair process start ASAP. Actual hair washing usually takes place several days after the procedure. There are several advantages to this approach:
- Healing improved
- Decreased inflammation and redness
- Improved blood supply and uptake
How long is the ARTAS procedure?
The length of the ARTAS procedure has been dramatically decreased for the latest update 9x. Users with a non-updated system will notice less than 500 grafts per hour while the updated system can harvest as much as 1000 graft or more per hour. With the new updates, the system is able to reliably obtain grafts at a much higher speed than the older versions of the ARTAS.
So how does regenerative medicine work?
Regenerative medicine is the most exciting developing area of medicine. It works by helping the body heal itself from within using peptides, growth factors and other biological compounds to help the body repair and replenish itself.
Do other doctors use regenerative medicine?
There are leaders of regenerative medicine throughout the world. Many of the experts are located outside the United States. Dr. Sameea uses techniques from all over with an evidence based approach driving her decision making.
What proof do the doctors of Aesthetic Scalp have that regenerative medicine work?
Dr. Shah has used regenerative medicine extensively with fat transplantation. Without enriched fat he has noticed only about 10% of the fat actually surviving transplantation, but with the use of regenerative techniques he has noticed survival rates ranging from 50-105%. The knowledge gained here as well as from other experts has shaped our use of regenerative techniques for hair transplantation. Using growth factors we have noticed improvement in hair transplantation survival as well as improved conditions of the scalp overall. Growth factors have been a game changer for patients with slick baldness and temples where hair transplantation has typically a lower success rate.
Can you describe the exact cocktail of ingredients you use?
The techniques we use are all based on science and evidence based. During the harvest period, we use regenerative medicine in the scalp area with wound healing factors in the donor bed. The exact regenerative factors depend on each patient’s own physiology (male/ female/ exact type of hair loss/ etc) and are matched and injected accordingly. For postoperative patients, we use a proprietary hair spray/rinse to further nourish the newly placed grafts. We have found our techniques decrease shedding and increase hair growth at a faster rate. By improving conditions of the scalp we attempting to get better results with less hair!!!
Can I use solely regenerative medicine for my hair loss?
Yes, the use of injections can be helpful for a variety of patients which includes female hair loss, diffuse hair loss and other patients. We offer a variety of customized treatments designed to help your specific cause of hair loss.
What is regenerative medicine?
Regenerative medicine is a branch of medicine where regeneration of human cells is performed by use of peptides, hormones, growth factors and other solutions to allow improved results. Several terms are important for us to understand.
- Cytokines are proteins that signal the surrounding cells to perform different actions.
- Growth factors are able to allow cells to differentiate, proliferate, and germinate (grow).
What exactly is PRP?
PRP (platelet rich plasma)- It is one of the best studied regenerative medicine techniques. It is essentially a concentrated source of platelets which contains cytokines and growth factors. It can create large changes in some cases of hair proliferation.
What is ECM?
Extracellular matrix (ECM)- is a collection of extracellular molecules secreted by cells.
What is MSMM and how does it work?
Matristem Micromatrix- is dervied from a pig bladder and contains a slowly biodegradable substance. The use of MSMM works mostly in decreasing healing time and decreasing scarring. In addition, it is theorized to cause tissue regeneration. During surgery, MSMM can be used with the hair grafts to help nourish them.
Why is the Strip Method Commonly Criticized?
One of the criticisms of the strip method is that it leaves a permanent scar. All scars are permanent and can be attempted to be lessened in appearance. Some techniques to decrease appearance of scars from the strip method:
- Steroid injection- can thin a scar and make it more likely to accept hair grafts
- Direct excision- best for thick scars and unsightly scars
- Tissue expansion and direct excision- Used for rare cases with multiple harvest and especially poor scars
- FUE placement- Here only the best of the best grafts will survive and ARTAS for patients with donor hairs still available as well as body hair can be options
- Scalp Micropigmentation- An increasingly valuable tool in hair transplantation to help hide scars and improve hair results
What is the difference between Artas and Neograft?
Neograft is a handheld manual FUE with suction built into the device. Based on this design there are several flaws in harvesting hairs including human error, and suction injury that can lead to trauma to the harvested hairs. ARTAS is the state of the art robotic system used to help eliminate human mistakes using stereoscopic cameras, computer algorithms, and continual updates. The ARTAS can actually detect which hairs are in the anagen phase of growth while it is extraordinarily difficult with the naked eye. While there are a host nuances to hair transplantation, harvesting issues are nearly eliminated with ARTAS.
Is ARTAS Cost Effective?
The true cost of hair transplantation is based on a variety of factors and issues.
- Economics –There is no better analogy than ‘You get what you pay for!’ with hair transplantation. While finding low cost options at chain providers is an option, patients are often left with visible scars, poor graft yields, and aesthetically unappealing graft placement. ARTAS represents the state of the art and a huge advance in hair transplantation. Patients should expect to pay more for a better procedure than a lower quality one.
- Hair Reserve – We often think only terms of economics but for a few thousand more, obtaining hair grafts with a higher yield (i.e. lower transection, proper growth phase, etc) will allow the patients to have a better result with less donor hairs.
What is the best type of hair for the ARTAS procedure?
The best hair type for the ARTAS is black, straight hair. However, the ARTAS can work on a variety of hair types. For white or grey hair, hair dye can be used for improved detection. For curly hair, the ARTAS can be adjusted to help it remove hair with increased precision.
Can I wash my hair right after the procedure?
We give detailed instructions for each patient. Our patients can use a proprietary rinse formula exclusively at Aesthetic Scalp for the first 7 days. Our proprietary rinse, called AS rinse, is designed to decrease the shedding phase of hair transplantation. We have found a significant degree of our patients will now only have minimal shedding. Normal hair washing can occur 7-10 days after the procedure.
Can the ARTAS harvest beard hair or body hair?
Currently the ARTAS does not harvest body hair. The body hair harvest is the one area where we use manual FUE since the reserve of hairs and quality of hairs are considered second line. Body hair harvesting is difficult with higher transection rates and lower yields.
Can I watch TV during the procedure?
Yes, most of our patients will watch TV, use their phone or iPad, finalize business deals, study for exams and more during the procedure. We know that you want to be entertained so we provide you with multiple options to make your day as enjoyable as possible.
How low should an ideal hairline be in the center?
An ideal hairline will vary from person to person. Patients should understand that hair position will vary from ideal based on the number of donor hairs. The central point of the forehead is critical to creating an appropriate frame to the face.
Rule of 1/3’s- The hairline should be the same distance from your glabella (brow line) as the browline is to your base of nose. This proportion is often too low for most patients.
45 degree angle rule- The intersection of horizontal forehead and vertical forehead meet a 45 degree angle will be the ideal starting point of the forehead.
How should the hair transition to the temporal recessions?
Male patients typically have subtle temporal recessions present. The lateral temporal recession should correlate with the lateral canthus (lateral corner of the eye).
What should my hairline look like?
The hair should never be a straight line. The hairline created is based on a slightly irregular contour of slight eddys and dips to mimic a natural hairline. There are different patterns to direction and hairs can run in different directions. Typically in a male hairline the run anteriorly and away from the midline. The angle of male hair should be lower. Too high an angle can create an unnatural appearance and also is not efficient use of hairs. Along the temporal tuft the hair should run inferiorly to create a natural temporal action. Transitions are critical and should utilize a series of microtransitions to help hide the change in direction of hair. We have studied thousands of ideal heads and hair transitions to help create a natural pattern fitting for your head.