A negative outcome of any issue attracts more attention than a positive one. This is also true for hair transplantation. For example, a natural-looking hair transplant can bring 10 people to a clinic that performs the operation. But an unnatural appearance will lose 100 people.
No one wants the hair transplantation to fail and expects a simple appearance. But unfortunately, not every operation has the desired successful result. So how can a natural look be achieved in hair transplantation? We will explain the answer to this question in detail in our article.
Does a hair transplant look natural?
If your hair transplantation is of an ideal density and is not perceptible to anyone else, you can speak of a natural result. However, if the person perceives a feeling of strangeness on your head at first sight, it means that there is a faulty and unsuccessful result.
How to achieve natural hair transplantation?
The desired appearance of a hair transplant depends on following certain rules from before to after the operation. We can examine these hierarchical rules in 8 groups.
- Choosing the right surgeon
- Preoperative planning and consultation
- Surgical techniques
- Correct use of the donor site
- Correct hairline design
- Angle and direction determination
- Ideal density
- Post-operative care
1 ) Choosing the right surgeon
If your goal is only to grow transplanted hair, your choice of surgeon may not be very meaningful. However, if your goal is to have natural hair that will make you happy, it is very important to choose a doctor who has proven himself with his success. Remember that the majority of unsuccessful results occur in hair transplants performed without a good research. If the surgeon you choose is experienced, his assistant technicians will also have the necessary training. Because hair transplantationis done with a serious team work.
2 ) Planning and consultation
Your doctor should make a special planning for you. It should be decided whether you are suitable for hair transplantation according to your age, shedding rate and donor quality. If you are suitable, graft planning should be done in proportion to the width of the recipient area. Depending on your hair loss rate, you may need a new hair transplant at an advanced age. This will be informed to you by an experienced hair surgeon before the operation. The patient’s wishes must be taken into consideration before the operation. Many patients show us a photo of themselves at the age of 18 taken from their wallet during the consultation. They actually give us a message. Their dream is to have the hair appearance of an 18-year-old. But these wishes should be realistic. We are getting older every day and we can never go back to the age of 18. If the patient has unrealistic expectations, the doctor will tell the patient about the negativities that this may bring.
3 ) Surgical techniques
The harvesting of the grafts is done with the FUE or FUT technique. The FUT technique is almost abandoned. Because the possibility of scarring in the donor area is quite high. As AHD clinic, we perform graft harvesting only with the FUE method. The FUE technique is the most popular graft harvesting method due to its advantages of minimal invasion and rapid healing.
FUE and DHI methods can be preferred for transplanting the grafts to the recipient site. DHI technique is much more advantageous in terms of natural appearance. Because the pens used for hair transplantation are very thin and there are no scars on the skin. It is also easier to transplant at right angles. Therefore, AHD clinic has been performing hair transplantation only with implanter pen, i.e. dhi technique since 2010.
4 ) Graft harvesting
Grafts should be taken homogeneously from the donor area. The number of grafts that can be taken from everyone is different. In excessive graft harvesting, an undesirable bad appearance will occur in the donor area and the integrity of the nape area will be disrupted. If the donor area hair is insufficient, the idea of hair transplantation may not be correct.
In addition, in large baldness such as Norwood 6 -7, the number of strong hair in the donor area has already decreased. And the number of grafts required will be quite high. Therefore, a hair transplantation in a large area will result in a very sparse appearance. It is very difficult to achieve a natural result in a hair transplantation where sufficient density cannot be achieved.
5 ) Hairline design
One of the most important criteria for a natural result in hair transplantation is to design a correct hairline. An experienced doctor will create the most accurate hairline according to the person’s age, facial structure, shedding type and the number of grafts that can be taken. Because a correct design will emerge as a result of artistic thinking.
Patients usually want a hairline from very low down. This request is not always correct. Because if the front hair is too low or too high, the natural appearance will be distracted. However, it is the right option to start the hairline from above in advanced ages.
The hair on the front line is not straight or sharp zig zagged like a saw blade. The hairline does not form a straight line either. For the most natural look, soft irregularities and slight indentations should be created.
It is also very importantto design a feminine hairline for women. Because even if all the transplanted hair grows out, an unnatural appearance definitely does not make the person happy. We explained the hairline design in more detail in another article.
6 ) Angle and direction determination
The most basic rule to achieve naturalness in hair transplantation is to imitate the angle and directional design of creation. If there are hairs in the recipient area that have not yet fallen out, it is necessary to transplant in parallel to them and at the same angle.
The direction of the hair in the anterior region faces downwards and usually grows at an angle of 20-25 degrees. The hair growth angles continue to increase in the reverse direction as 25 – 30 – 35 – 40 – 45 degrees. In hair transplantation performed without following these angle rules, an artificial image is formed and naturalness is lost. A bad image occurs in transplants made with wrong angles. Many people even regret having a hair transplant. There are many applications to our clinic to correct these bad images.
In the transplants to be made in the temple area, the angles are even more horizontal, 15-20 degrees. In addition, the grafts to be transplanted to the temple area should consist entirely of single grafts. Chest hair can be used in the temple area.
In the transplantation to the crown region, transplantation should be done at angles suitable for the unique hair rotation of this region.
7 ) Optimal hair density
It is not correct to create a sparse image by keeping the recipient area too large. An ideal hair density should be achieved with 40-45 grafts per 1 square centimeter.
In addition, the first 2-3 rows in the front should consist entirely of single hair follicles. It would be better to prefer single hair follicles above the ear for the front hairline. Because the hair above the ear is thinner. It will be easier to capture naturalness with thin hair.
Towards the back, multiple hair follicles should be planted in a mixed way. A slightly sparse front row will give a more natural result. 25-30 grafts per square centimeter is an ideal number for the density of this area. Because transplanting a denser number of grafts to the front area does not give a natural result.
If beard hair will be used in hair transplantation, it is not correct to plant beard hair on the front hairline. It is best to use beard hair in the midline or crown area mixed with nape hair.
In addition, the grafts should be transplanted at the correct depth and without damaging them. If the transplanted grafts cannot be fed adequately, the number of grafts that will grow healthy may decrease. This causes a sparse appearance.
Grafts are placed in a certain area in transplants starting from the front and backwards. Towards the top, there will probably be no grafts to be transplanted and these areas will remain empty. There should be a smooth transition between these two areas. In other words, the grafts should be transplanted with a decreasing frequency towards the back so that there is no sharp distinction between the two areas.
8 ) Post-operative process
After hair transplantation, you should follow the advice your doctor will give you. These will generally be simple and easy to follow. Especially in the first 10 days, you should protect your hair follicles from possible trauma. Pay attention to your hair washing for the first 10 days. If possible, have the first wash done at the clinic where you have hair transplantation. Because a sparse appearance may occur due to insufficient hair growth. If the hair is sparse, it will not look natural. In addition, medical treatments such as Finasteride and Minoxidil may contribute positively to the result of hair transplantation.
Why does a hair transplant look unnatural?
A good hair transplant doctor may not be able to give you back the hair density you had when you were 18-20 years old. Because if the donor area is insufficient and the recipient area is large, there is nothing he can do. But in any case, achieving a natural look depends on the doctor’s artistic skill.
In fact, if the rules specified in each of the above-mentioned items are not followed, it is not surprising that both a failed and unnatural result is not surprising. I think it will be more memorable to repeat them in a summary table. In the table, we have summarized the situations that ensure or disrupt naturalness.
| Natural appearance | Unnatural appearance |
|---|---|
| Single and fine hair follicles | Multiple and thick hair follicles |
| Irregular and slightly indented and protruding hairline | Straight or sharp indentations |
| Horizontal angles of 20-25 degrees | Steeper angles (40 degrees and higher) |
| Optimal density | Too dense front hairline |
AHD clinic in Turkey for a natural look
Ahd Clinic is synonymous with a natural look in hair transplantation. Because this has been the most important criterion for our patients to prefer us. The majority of those who apply to our clinic for hair transplantation from Turkey are from cities other than Antaya. We also receive applications from many countries of the World.
If you contact us, we first evaluate whether you are suitable for the operation. If we evaluate that you are not suitable according to the criteria of modern medicine, we clearly state that we cannot perform hair transplantation. According to us, this is one of the most important reasons for our success. If you are eligible, we will inform you about the possible operation and the number of grafts.
You can follow us on our social media channels such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube for our results.