28 Sep Hair Transplant Cost
Hair Transplant Cost
How Much Does a Hair Transplant Cost?
Losing hair can blow your confidence. It’s something a very large percentage of men and women have to deal with. According to the American Hair Loss Association (yup, there’s an association for it), by age 50, more than 8 out of 10 men have significant hair thinning. Among women, 1 in 2 women has noticeable hair loss. Some 30 million women in the United States have female pattern hair loss.
Men affected by male pattern baldness and women with thinning hair have plenty of options to reclaim some of the lost glory. One option is a hair transplant. In 2019, more than 735,000 surgical hair restoration procedures (hair transplants) were performed worldwide, and the demand continues to increase. Many celebrities, including footballer Wayne Rooney and singer Joey Fatone, have gotten hair transplants and spoken openly about them (the list of alleged hair transplants in Hollywood is too long to include in this article). Moreover, hair transplant technology has improved greatly from the time your grandfather got hair plugs that made him look like a doll!
If you’ve tried and failed non-invasive hair loss remedies and are considering a surgical fix, one of the first questions on your mind is…how much does a hair transplant cost? Read on to find out.
Types of Hair Transplants
There are currently two widely accepted methods of hair transplantation – FUT and FUE.
Follicular unit transplantation (FUT) involves harvesting a strip of healthy hair from a donor area, typically the back of the scalp, where missing hair is less obvious. The donor strip is transplanted to an area of hair thinning. The procedure leaves a noticeable linear scar in the donor area, which can be a concern for people who wear their hair short.
Follicular unit extraction (FUE), a newer method of hair transplantation, involves harvesting single follicular units (hair follicles) from a large donor zone and transplanting them into an area of thinning. The surgeon uses microscopic extraction to remove individual hairs from the scalp, which leaves behind minimal scarring. However, FUE takes longer to perform and can cover smaller treatment areas compared to FUT.
In terms of cost, FUE may appear to be more expensive than FUT because it requires a lot of the surgeon’s time. However, the cost per transplanted hair may work out to be lower with FUE.
Factors Affecting Hair Transplant Cost
The cost of your hair transplant will depend on many factors, including:
Location: The overall cost of living in your area, as well as the number of hair transplant surgeons in your vicinity, can affect the cost of a hair transplant. Costs tend to be lower in competitive markets where there are multiple providers.
Procedure: As noted above, costs of the two types of hair transplant procedures, FUT and FUE, are different.
Skill: Surgeons with a great deal of experience and superior skills may charge more for a hair transplant. However, a higher price doesn’t necessarily mean a better surgeon, so do your research.
Hair Loss: The amount of hair you want to be transplanted also affects cost. Treatment of a few patches will cost considerably less than hair thinning across the whole scalp.
Travel: Sometimes, you may have to travel to get a hair transplant from a top-rated specialist, so you’ll need to factor in travel costs.
Recovery: When you’re budgeting for a hair transplant, don’t forget to include recovery costs, such as medications and follow-up visits.
Hair Transplant Cost in the United States
Because of the various factors listed above, the cost of a hair transplant in the United States can vary widely, ranging anywhere from $2,000 to $15,000. It’s worth noting that hair transplants are categorized as cosmetic procedures and are not covered by most health insurance providers, so you’ll most likely have to pay out-of-pocket.
Doctors might quote a per graft price to you, which typically ranges from $2 to $10 for each graft. Some practices offer lunchtime hair transplants for $2,000, where 200 grafts are performed during a short session (per graft cost $10). Hair transplants with a much larger number of grafts in one session tend to be less expensive in terms of per graft cost. For example, 3,000 grafts may cost $12,000, which works out to a per graft cost of $4. Also, specialized treatments, like body hair transplants or facial hair grafts, tend to cost more, up to $15 per graft.
Hair Transplant Cost Overseas
Hair transplants are gaining in popularity not only in the United States but around the world. Some countries are capitalizing on the natural-looking results of modern hair transplant techniques by offering medical tourism (traveling overseas for a medical procedure).
In particular, Turkey has a flourishing hair transplant industry, which is worth an estimated $1 billion. Some 60,000 people travel to Turkey each year and come back home with a luxurious head of hair. The capital, Istanbul, alone has some 350 clinics offering hair transplants. It’s common to see people with bandaged heads walking in the streets or visiting museums for a spot of sightseeing before heading home.
Why would someone travel thousands of miles to get a hair transplant? No prizes for guessing; it’s the cost. A 4,000-follicle FUE hair transplant in Turkey can cost under $2,000, which is a steal compared to the $15,000 or more in the US.
But what sounds like a great deal on a head of hair can go wrong in all kinds of ways. There are concerns around regulations, hygiene, complication rates, and even the person who does the hair transplant. Hair restoration surgery is a precision procedure that requires making thousands of incisions in the scalp. In Turkey and other overseas clinics, nurses and technicians, rather than doctors, perform the majority of procedures to save costs (in violation of local laws).
Is the Cost of a Hair Transplant Worth It?
Hair transplants are gaining acceptability and are no longer considered something silly that vain men do. Depending on the cause of hair loss, women can be excellent candidates for hair transplant surgery. For instance, adding healthy hair follicles near the part line can make a dramatic cosmetic improvement in women with hair thinning. It’s a personal decision how someone wants to handle hair loss, but one thing is certain – if your thinning hair bothers you and less invasive remedies haven’t worked, a hair transplant is your best bet and could be well worth the cost.
For more information about our hair transplant options, please contact us at 513.891.4440 or fill out the form on this page, and we will have someone from our office call you back as soon as possible.
To learn more about hair transplants check out some of our other articles: