DHI HAIR TRANSPLANT

WHAT IS DHI (Direct Hair Transplant) ?

More than 85 percent of men have thinning hair by age 50. More than 50 percent of women will also experience a noticeable amount of hair loss in their lifetime.

Several types of hair transplant surgeries have been developed to help regrow lost hair. Follicular unit transplantation (FUT) and follicular unit extraction (FUE) are the two most common techniques.

During FUT, a surgeon cuts a strip of hair from the back of your scalp and extracts individual hair follicles. During FUE, a surgeon removes follicles directly from your scalp. In both surgeries, they implant the  follicles into balding parts of your scalp.

Direct hair implantation (DHI) is a modification of the FUE technique created by the company DHI Global Medical Group.

In FUE, a surgeon manually cuts channels in your scalp before implanting hair follicles. During DHI, they use a specialized pen-shaped tool that can do both at the same time.

DHI is a modified version of FUE hair implantation and follows a similar procedure. Your surgeon will remove hair follicles from a part of your scalp, usually the back of your head, and implant them into balding areas. These hair follicles will eventually grow new hairs.

Here’s what you can generally expect during the procedure:

1. Your surgeon will shave your head and apply local anesthesia to numb it.
2. The surgeon will extract hair follicles from the back of your head using a tool with a fine tip.
3. The hair follicles will be loaded into a pen-shaped tool and implanted into the balding part of your scalp.
4. The surgeon will apply an antibiotic cream and apply a bandage to all sites.

FUE and DHI surgeries generally take about 8 hours to complete, but the exact time can vary depending on the number of hair follicles being transplanted. It can take 12 to 18 months to see the full results of the surgery.

DHI vs. FUE and FUT hair transplant

DHI, FUE, and FUT all involve taking follicles from one part of your scalp and implanting them into balding areas.

During FUT surgery, a surgeon cuts a long and narrow strip of skin from the back of your scalp. Individual hair follicles are removed and implanted along your hairline. This method is usually the quickest and cheapest, but it can leave a long scar. The scar may be noticeable if you wear your hair short, but longer hair usually hides it.

In DHI and FUE surgeries, individual hair follicles are removed directly from your scalp. During FUE, a surgeon manually cuts a series of canals in your scalp to insert the hair follicles. The DHI technique allows surgeons to make these incisions and implant hair at the same time.

DHI and FUE avoid the long scar caused by FUT, however, these surgeries generally take longer and are more expensive.

Companies that offer DHI claim that it’s the most advanced and effective hair treatment option. However, there haven’t been any studies comparing the results to other hair treatment techniques.