What should you look for in a hair transplant clinic?

Who's actually responsible for your procedure?

You're choosing more than a clinic name. You should know which physician is responsible for evaluating you, planning the procedure and overseeing your care.

A clinic should be able to clearly tell you who that person is and explain their training and experience with hair restoration.

Know the name and experience of the physician responsible for your care.

Ask about hair restoration experience.

A medical license tells you someone is licensed to practice medicine. It doesn't tell you how much experience they have performing hair transplants.

Ask how long the physician has performed hair restoration procedures and how regularly they perform the procedure being recommended to you.

Useful questions

• How long have you performed hair transplants?
• How often do you perform them?
• How much experience do you have with the procedure you're recommending?
• Why are you recommending this approach for me?

Know who will be doing what.

Hair transplant procedures often involve a team. What's important is understanding who will perform each part of your procedure and who is medically responsible for your care.

Before booking, ask who will

• evaluate your hair loss
• design your treatment plan
• harvest the donor grafts
• create the recipient sites
• place the grafts
• oversee your procedure
• handle your follow-up care

You should know who's performing your procedure before the day of surgery.

Rules governing which parts of a hair transplant may be delegated can vary by location.

A good consultation should explain the plan.

The consultation is your chance to understand what the clinic is recommending and why.

You should leave with a clearer understanding of your hair loss, the proposed procedure, the expected graft count, the donor area and what a realistic result may look like.

You should understand

• Recommended procedure
• Why it's being recommended
• Estimated graft count
• How your donor hair will be used
• Expected timeline and recovery
• Total expected cost
• Who will perform the procedure
• Follow-up plan

If something isn't clear, ask.

You don't need to know the terminology beforehand. The clinic should be able to explain the plan in language you understand.

Understand what's realistic for you.

Hair transplant results vary from person to person. Your donor hair, amount of hair loss and treatment plan all affect what may realistically be achievable.

If a clinic shows before-and-after photos, look for actual patients with hair loss and treatment plans reasonably similar to yours.

The goal of the consultation is to understand what's realistic for you.

Know what the price includes.

Before comparing clinics, make sure you're comparing similar treatment plans.

Know

• Estimated graft count
• Recommended procedure
• Total price
• What's included
• Any additional fees
• Follow-up care

Compare the full treatment plan, not just the price.

A few things should make you ask more questions.

Promises of a specific result

Be cautious of anyone promising an exact level of density, coverage or final result before your procedure.

“Scarless” surgery

Hair transplant surgery involves removing and placing grafts in the skin. Claims that a surgical hair transplant is completely scarless deserve scrutiny.

“Unlimited” grafts

Your donor hair is a limited resource.

You can't get a clear answer about who performs the procedure

You should know who is responsible for your care and who will perform the different parts of the procedure.

Pressure to book immediately

You should have enough time to understand the recommendation, cost and procedure before making a decision.

Unclear pricing

You should understand what you're agreeing to pay and what the quote includes.

We've already done some of the searching.

Clinics must meet MyHairPath screening standards before they're eligible to appear in our network.

Our screening is designed to give you a better starting point by reviewing basic clinic information and looking for obvious concerns before a clinic is included.

• Reputation & patient feedback
• Provider credentials
• Professional standards
• Transparency

Screening is a starting point — not a substitute for your consultation.

You should still ask questions, understand the treatment being recommended and decide whether a clinic feels right for you.