What picture comes to mind when you consider hair transplants? completely unnatural-looking hair? On top of your head, do you have a bad toupee that looks more like a rug than actual hair? Or how about the notorious “raccoon skin cap” method? *shudder*
The days of hair transplants that appeared fake are thankfully behind us as more natural hair transplants become available. Whether you are struggling with thinning hair or more advanced hair loss, transplants are one of numerous options to help you regain confidence and healthy-looking hair.
It is possible to get a synthetic hair transplant, albeit they are most common outside of the US. The most common type of hair transplant is a natural one that uses scalp hair.
But how does a hair replacement procedure work? There could be risks. What are some examples of synthetic hair transplant before and after photos?
By responding to these and other questions, we’ll give you the details you need about this type of hair implantation.
What Is a Transplant of Synthetic Hair?
Before diving into everything you need to know about a synthetic hair transplant, we’ll go over some basic hair transplantation facts.
Hair transplants are a way to restore full hair for people who experience hair loss, most frequently androgenetic alopecia, sometimes known as androgenic alopecia but more popularly known as male or female pattern baldness.
A natural hair transplant involves taking certain hair follicles from the “donor site”—the part of your scalp that is unaffected by male pattern baldness—and transplanting them to the balding area.
Our guide to hair transplants has further details on the many transplant techniques that make use of natural hair growth. We’ll continue to concentrate on a distinct variety, of synthetic hair transplants.
Natural hair wasn’t the only material used for hair transplants. For many years, people have tried using synthetic or artificial hair, commonly referred to as artificial hair fibers, to treat baldness.
However, due to poor application and subpar results that frequently led to major infection, damage, and other issues, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did restrict the use of these synthetic hair fibers in the 1980s.
How Successful Are Synthetic Hair Transplants?
When compared to natural hair transplants, bio fiber hair transplant, also known as synthetic hair transplant, operates differently.
To be a candidate for a natural hair transplant, you must have enough healthy hair on your scalp to transplant to the area that needs hair and the ability to develop hair on the portion of your scalp that is thinning.
A bio fiber hair transplant may be an effective solution for people who don’t have enough hair for a natural hair transplant or who are unable to develop hair on the area of their scalp that is thinning. Additionally, synthetic fibers come in a wide range of hues, lengths, shapes, and hair densities.
Surgeons perform a process known as a “tolerance test” in which they insert synthetic hair strands deeply enough under the skin and tie them with a certain reversible knot using an automatic hair implant equipment with a specifically designed hooked needle.
If you’re undergoing a synthetic hair transplant, local anesthesia is applied to the scalp before to the procedure. After administering anesthesia to the scalp, the technique can install up to 1,000 artificial hair strands at a rate of 600 per hour.
For four weeks, the test patch is checked once a week to check for scalp reactions and make sure the synthetic fibers haven’t emerged.
Are successful artificial hair transplants possible?
The scientific community has been informed of research on the safety of the technique since the 2000s.
One 2018 study looked at 194 people with androgenetic alopecia who had synthetic hair transplants in order to assess the efficiency and safety of Automatic Biofibre® implants. After two years, almost 98 percent of patients were happy with the results, while less than 10 percent of patients expressed dissatisfaction with the side effects.
A previous study from 2015 that looked at 133 people who had synthetic hair implants also discovered very positive results, with 90% reporting no difficulties after surgery.
