So HOW does one BECOME a hair technician ?

[EpilepticSceptic]

Since reading the other thread entitled "How does one tell the quality of hair technicians ?", I have become fascinated with this subject. Since I will be undergoing a procedure in the near future, this seems to be the only gray area that I still have not been able to find enough information on to truly settle my nerves. I know that many say just choose a top 5 clinic (whatever that means) and don't worry; but from time to time I see patients with poor yield on the personal blogs who went to a top 5 clinic, and I can't help but wondering if they just somehow were unlucky enough to get some techs "in training" that the clinic wasn't completely forthcoming about.

 

I absolutely do not want any but the very best and dedicated techs from my clinic of choice working on my head; and that means my ENTIRE HEAD, including the crown! So I am VERY curious to know more particulars about how one BECOMES an experienced hair technician ? It stands to reason that for them to really get good at dissecting and implanting grafts that there had to be some unlucky human lab rats along the way they were allowed to train on. Were these perhaps discounted procedures ? Or did the patients simply not know that "newbie" techs were working on them ?

 

This is a HUGE issue IMO that has on some nights caused me to lose sleep lately. Some of these clinics have 15 to 30 girls on staff who all look to be in their early 20s. How is it possible that they have at least 5 years of experience doing this if they are so young ? HOW do they find these techs ? Are they found in medical schools, or are they girlfriends of the more experienced techs who get referred because the job is so good ?

 

I mean, these young women are slicing up pieces of your scalp and then inserting tiny refined grafts into very small holes in your skin with forceps. Their job is in many ways as detrimental to the success or failure of your HT outcome as the doctor's is! And since cloning is not around yet, we only have so many precious donor grafts available. It seems like a skill that would take at least 3-5 years to get good enough at to be considered a "black belt" instead of a "yellow belt". HOW can one know for certain that he/she is getting ONLY the "black belt" techs on that particular day, and that they are not recovering from an illness or fatigued from a long stressful week ?

 

HOW do they really ever get good at this if they haven't already had a substantial number of human guinea pigs to experiment on ?

 

And HOW does a potential patient know that HE will not end up being that guinea pig for a "newbie" tech in training that the clinic fails to inform you about ?

[Ozguy]

I know exactly how you feel. I had at least four inexperienced techs work on my head when I had my transplant, out of the six all up, and, unsurprisingly, I have had a rather low yield in the recipient area. And when I say inexperienced I mean they were being trained on the day and on my grafts and head. At least one of them said that the task of cutting up grafts "was not for me" and wouldn't do it again.

 

After reading this forum for the last year (discovered it the day after my transplant) I now know I made all the classic rookie mistakes in my decision.

[hairthere]

I had my first HT with Dr. Feller 4 years ago. I just had my second (a small fue) and the three techs who worked on me were the same as four years ago, and they all remembered me. I think one of the techs has been with him 9 years.

 

I think it comes down to trusting your doctor: if he's meticulous chances are his staff will be too. If you feel uneasy I would just ask about the techs and their experience. Considering the amount of money you're about to spend, I think you have every right to do so.

[azn_guy]

I hear it's quite easy. Without naming names, I know a tech that simply applied via Craigslist (I would like to point out that this tech was not part of Dr. Cooley's team)

 

It's a bit sketchy in my opinion.

 

Keep in mind that the placement of graft in the recipient area is left for the most experienced technicians, while the slicing of FU's are left to the not so experienced.

[EpilepticSceptic]

I sure hope that this thread invites a more open and transparent discussion of this issue.

 

I fully understand that a successful UR FUT megasession HT today requires a large and dedicated staff of technicians along with the doctor to pull it off. I also have no problem with the youth of the technicians, because a person in their early 20s will indeed probably have better endurance and sharper motor skills than somone older. But HOW did they get the job, what was their previous background, and how many years have they been doing this ?

 

In that other thread there was a post where Dr. Lindsey mentioned his techs in training practice on fruit -- but it was a VERY vague explanation.

 

HOW do they practice on fruit ?

 

WHAT do they use to insert into the fruit to simulate the delicate nature of actual dissected human grafts ?

 

He also mentioned that once they pass the fruit stage, then they place grafts in the crown of an actual patient. WHO is that patient ? Is it somebody who pays the normal price and has no idea that a tech "in training" is working on him ? Or is it a special discounted surgery ?

 

IMO if ANY techs "in training" are involved in your surgery you should have full disclosure of this fact, and you should be offered a reduced price for the procedure. If these clinics expect us to be lab rats for inexperienced techs then the procedure should be discounted. This is how it works in the dental schools (some are even FREE surgeries !!!), and IMO it should be the same in this business too. I guess I am beginning to understand a little better now what the meaning of "unregulated" is when applied to this industry.

 

If I was in a surgery and by the end of it had some of the techs telling me "planting grafts is just not for me" that would make me extremely angry at the clinic if they had not informed of this in advance. IMO my head (and my precious grafts) are worth 100,000 times more than the cost of the surgery!

 

I would gladly even pay double the normal price just to know in advance that ONLY the most experienced and seasoned techs would be working on me.

[Bill - Seemiller]

I must admit as a new hair transplant patient back in 2004, I became a bit nervous when the physician left the room and only his technicians were left to place the fragile follicular units into the doctor's pre-made incisions. It was only until later that I realized this was common practice. And since I had quality growth from all my hair transplants, I didn't spend a lot of time pondering the matter.

 

The reality is however, that the technicians play a major role in the success or failure of a hair transplant. If a physician isn't overseeing every move they make during the entire procedure, there is no way they can truly know whether or not follicular units were damaged just by evaluating a patient's scalp after they've been placed into recipient sites.

 

That said, each physician has their own practice and method of training and supervising their staff. I can only imagine how rigorous the training has to be since ultimately, consistent poor growth reflects on the doctor and his/her reputation.

 

Regarding new technicians, it will be interesting to hear from a physician about their hiring and training process. At what point does a physician trust a newer technician to work semi-independently without 100% direct supervision from either the doctor or the head nurse/technician?

 

That said, a physician is always responsible for supervising and overseeing their staff's work in addition to his/her own. The ultimate evaluation of the doctor's technicians is in consistency in results. This is why patients should educate themselves as much as possible about a physician and their staff prior to undergoing a procedure.

 

There is nothing wrong with asking a physician to share his/her staff's experience and credentials with you. After all, patients are paying a lot of money to get the best results.

 

Labrat, since you started this topic, you may want to consider sending a private message to a few well respected physician members of this community for their input. It would be interesting to garner their feedback on their hiring and training process.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Forrest Gump]

Labrat69, good post... you raise some good points.

 

The techs can play an influential role in determining the final outcome. I'll admit that I was a bit naive when I did my HT, and did not try to find all the details regarding the techs. I did casually ask about the techs, but did not have a thorough query regarding their experience/qualifications, etc.

 

If I ever do another procedure (hopefully not...), I'll definitely inquire about the techs more thoroughly.

[Megatron]

Another taboo Q I know, but I'd also love to hear what hair techs get paid. I ask because salary usually salary has a direct relationship with skill. In other words, if it paid minimum wage, no one would want to do it. If it paid decently, people would invest time/effort to learning the trade.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Megatron,

 

While I can't speak for all clinics, I know from speaking to a few leading physicians that they're technicians are well taken care of. I don't feel it's appropriate to post the salaries I've been quoted, but the technicians of the physicians I've talked to are paid quite well if you ask me.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[EpilepticSceptic]

Bill,

 

I am really glad to know that! I WANT those sweet little angels to get paid well. I think young women are the perfect types to be hair techs, and as long as the job pays really well then they are likely to be real committed and dedicated to be perfectionists at it. THAT is what I am looking for in the techs that work on me. They have the motor skills, great vision, can handle long hours without major fatigue problems, and have a natural gentle "touch" in handling grafts.

 

My girlfriend is pretty young at 25 (16 years younger than me!), and she has a magic touch with living entities that really boggles my mind. This applies to plants as well as people and animals. Plants INSTANTLY become healthy and spring back to life just being around her, no joke! It's hard to explain, and it almost borders on the supernatural. And it's the same with animals -- if she is happy and beaming then they are also happy and beaming.

 

I've even seen her bring several animals LITERALLY back from the grave. One was a kitten who looked to be completely lifeless when he was born. I mean, he really appeared dead and was just laying there motionless for at least 1-2 minutes. I handled him a bit and to me there was no life at all in his body; but as soon as she handled him and gave him a little heart massage he instantly sprang to life. It really was like witnessing a miracle. And I've seen her do the same thing with several dogs who were so mangled from fights that they appeared to be right on death's door, with no chance of recovery. But after 3 days with her one of them in particular looked like a completely healthy dog. Fricking amazing! She's a guru at massage as well. I kind of view my grafts as little individual life forms, so I want them to be handled by magic hands.

 

Anyway, it's good to know the girls get paid well -- they deserve it!

[Romeono1]

Excellent thread guys, this is very interesting. I recently had a hair transplant but I was happy because the senior technician that was carrying out the work me had more than 9 years experience. I'm not sure how much experience the other two technicians had.

 

I think the quality of the technicians can determine whether the Dr is world class or just average. So they need to constantly asses the qualitry of work by the technicians and most importantly provide them with continous training so they can improve their skills.

[Forrest Gump]

Originally posted by labrat69:

My girlfriend is pretty young at 25 (16 years younger than me!), and she has a magic touch with living entities that really boggles my mind. She's a guru at massage as well. I kind of view my grafts as little individual life forms, so I want them to be handled by magic hands.

 

 

Labrat, you lucky bas****!!! How did you manage to get a girlfriend 16 yrs younger than you? That gives me inspiration to ask out a girl I know, who is also about 15-16 yrs younger than me.

 

On a more serious note, I agree that females in general, and especially those who are younger tend to be more patient, caring, and nurturing, overall. In addition, if they are also paid well, that'll get positively reflected on their work outputs.

[Guest wanthairs]

This is an interesting topic. In my first hair transplant in 2007, one of the techs looked like she partied all night and they both kept gossiping about extremely personal details. Their lack of focus alarmed me. I was not surprised when 80% of my grafts did not grow a year later

 

I had a second procedure in 2008 with Hasson and Wong and noticed the stark difference between their techs and my first experience with techs...Dr Hasson told me how it takes him yearts before he can trust a tech on someones hair and the dilemmas he faces if he tries to get a new one becase he cannot afford to have a single bad result....Needles to say, I had a very successful result from his procedure, thanks to his expertise and his techs, who all appeared to pay far more careful attention to everything and took their time doing what they do, without bags unbder their eyes from a heavy night of alcohol abuse......

[mahhong]

This is an interesting topic! I haven't had an HT before and although the experience of the techs would be an important factor to me I must admit I'd never have thought about it from the angle of what it takes to become a tech and do it successfully.

 

I don't know if this happens already but, when you think about it, it would be good if HT surgeries gave a minimum guarantee about the experience and position of the techs to be used in your HT procedure. If you knew, for example, there were going to be 3-4 techs, one of which was trained with good experience (say 3+ years) and perhaps one of which was a trainee or 'junior' technician who was being overseen.

 

I would imagine for the majority of reputable HT institutions (like H+W, Feller etc.) there are pretty strong rules and regulations in place about the experience and professionalism of their techs. They're definitely a huge part of the procedure and not just "minions" who are there to do the groundwork. I'd wonder if there was any sort of pledge in the contract between you and the surgeon that his assistants would be suitably trained (it's an assumption you would make, but it's not worth making assumptions on such important things I guess!).

 

Anyway it seems that, true to form, the most reputable places also have the friendliest and most professional techs. I'm sure the doctors at these places have proper regulations for training techs and implementing them into the team without compromising any individuals' procedure.

[EpilepticSceptic]

Originally posted by wanthairs:

This is an interesting topic. In my first hair transplant in 2007, one of the techs looked like she partied all night and they both kept gossiping about extremely personal details. Their lack of focus alarmed me. I was not surprised when 80% of my grafts did not grow a year later

 

This is one of the big reasons I started this thread. I actually scheduled my surgery for middle of the week because it seemed the best time to avoid the weekend party thing, and also the later week fatigue factor. But I still don't know if I did the right thing or not. It just seems that young women under 30 will inevitably do some partying on the weekends, and I couldn't handle the thought of being the guy whose grafts are being sliced up by a girl recovering from a hangover.

 

I have to admit that I am not impressed with the responses to this thread so far. There still seems to be alot of silence concerning tech qualifications, prior experience, educational background, etc... It still seems very much like the wild west indeed out there in the HT world, minus maybe 2 or 3 clinics with the very best reputations. I find it hard to believe some of the stuff I am reading here like girls gossiping about last night's party whilst operating on somebody's head, and the 80% of the grafts don't grow -- WTF ?? Had that happened to me during the procedure I would have sprung out of that chair like the Hulk and demanded some answers, and probably a refund on the spot as well. IMO there should be 0 tolerance for a lack of professionalism when you are paying these kinds of prices for a permanent cosmetic surgery. I can understand a little humor, but last night's party gossip ? Gimmie a break!

 

The more this hole opens up the more confused I get.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Labrat,

 

Since you aren't satisfied with the responses on this topic so far, why not take my advice from my first post and send a private message to a few leading hair restoration physicians for their input?

 

In my opinion, I have no problem with the girls doing some socializing while their working as long as they're diligent and careful in what they do. I admit however, I would be uncomfortable if technicians working with my grafts were talking about last night's party and the hangovers they still have. However, a qualithy physician's technicians are usually highly professional and I've only ever heard one case of technicians talking about the previous night's party during a session - which in my opinion, was irresponsible.

 

As for the qualifications doctors look for and the rigorous training process they go through, I'd encourage you to contact a few physicians for their input. After all, each doctor's training process is unique and distinct from others.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Jotronic]

If any of our technicians came in hung over, they would not have the opportunity to come back hungover again. It is as simple as that.

[EpilepticSceptic]

Originally posted by Jotronic:

If any of our technicians came in hung over, they would not have the opportunity to come back hungover again. It is as simple as that.

 

Now I know why Hasson & Wong is #1 and IMO 10 horse heads ahead of the pack in this race. BTW they definitely have some of the most beautiful looking technicians I have seen from any clinic, not that that matters. But those photos sure are impressive and the girls look very happy too! They should be because they are working for (IMO) the very best HT clinic on the planet.

[EpilepticSceptic]

Bill,

 

I didn't mean to imply that I would mind the girls talking with each other and even making some jokes to make the very tedious work they do more pleasant. Heck, I'm sure I'd make them giggle a bit because I can be a pretty funny guy. That's all good and well, and people should feel comfortable around each other (patient and techs) while doing a tedious procedure like this. Nothing wrong with that.

 

But a tech with sunken, bloodshot eyes and smelling of alcohol breath and then boasting about last night's wild frat party while handling my grafts with forceps and implanting them into my scalp -- yikes, I don't think that would sit very well with me. So to set the record straight this is what I was referring to.

 

It definitely seems like "wanthairs" experience was less than ideal to say the least!

[Time to do something]

Originally posted by wanthairs:

This is an interesting topic. In my first hair transplant in 2007, one of the techs looked like she partied all night and they both kept gossiping about extremely personal details. Their lack of focus alarmed me. I was not surprised when 80% of my grafts did not grow a year later

 

I had a second procedure in 2008 with Hasson and Wong and noticed the stark difference between their techs and my first experience with techs...Dr Hasson told me how it takes him yearts before he can trust a tech on someones hair and the dilemmas he faces if he tries to get a new one becase he cannot afford to have a single bad result....Needles to say, I had a very successful result from his procedure, thanks to his expertise and his techs, who all appeared to pay far more careful attention to everything and took their time doing what they do, without bags unbder their eyes from a heavy night of alcohol abuse......

 

Wanthairs, I'm glad to hear you had great results with another doctor. You and I went through hell with the same doctor at about the same time. Dr. Shapiro did a free procedure on me due to the mess I was left hanging in. It was done in November so I'm not quite at five months yet. I can already see hair surfacing though.

[Bill - Seemiller]

But a tech with sunken, bloodshot eyes and smelling of alcohol breath and then boasting about last night's wild frat party while handling my grafts with forceps and implanting them into my scalp -- yikes, I don't think that would sit very well with me. So to set the record straight this is what I was referring to.

 

Well that certainly wouldn't sit well with me either. In fact, I would expect a quality physician to terminate any staff member that came into work in this condition. And God forbid anyone has experienced this with a staff member of one of our recommended physicians, I hope the patient would report it to the physician. Or, you can contact me and I'll be happy to contact the physician.

 

Thankfully, every hair transplant technician I've had personal experience with was highly professional and dedicated to their work and patient care. I trust that the all technicians working for quality physicians who hold their standards high and pay their staff well are likewise.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Megatron]

Originally posted by labrat69:

BTW they definitely have some of the most beautiful looking technicians I have seen from any clinic, not that that matters. But those photos sure are impressive and the girls look very happy too!

 

in the absence of any info I'd choose an older, motherly looking lady over a hot young girl to be my HT tech. hot young girls aren't usually synonymous with long hour, meticulous labor. but, I digress.

[Ozguy]

It sounds like the better clinics have a high retention rate of hair technicians. Which is pretty impressive if given that the demographic seems to be young women in their 20s and 30s.

 

Employers would have to face both supposedly the "Gen Y" ethos (all the Gen Y people I know think two years of employment at the same place is too long), and maternity leave. I don't know what it's like in the US and Canada, but we're having a baby boom here in Australia and a great deal of corporate knowledge and experience is at home raising children. Not that there is anything wrong with that but there is a noticeable lack of women in that age group in the work force at the moment.

 

Are there many male technicians? There was at least one during my procedure, but most were young women, the head two techs were older women though, probably in their 50s I would guess.

[Guest wanthairs]

Hey Time to do something....

 

im sorry about the experience you had. Yes you and I definately did suffer right at about the same time. Im glad Dr. Shapiro was such a gentleman with you......

 

Dr. Hasson was absolutely first rate with me. He pulled out some old grafts that had been placed by the previous Dr. 18 months earlier and showed me how they had mostly all been pushed in too hard and were "kinked" at the end, leaving them with no chance of growing......That was when he mentioned this was the fault of the hair techs and talked to me about the training he gives to hair techs.

 

His hair techs told me many things the other ones did not. They told me that my grafts were very weak and needed much more careful handling then normal. The other techs were a bunch of load-mouthed gigglers with their minds seemingly elswhere and the end result showed.

 

From what I understand (and I may be incorrect) the hair techs do not need any specific acedemic qaulifications, but rather a very long time of hands on training and monitoring, doing tiny amounts of grafts placement until they can really prove their skills.Based on my results at Dr. Hasson and many other good results form many Dr's, im sure they have it figured out correctly. Would be great to hear their input.

[Time to do something]

Hey wanthairs,

 

Yes, Dr. Shapiro really came through where the other doctor did not and he didn't owe me anything. I'm glad you had a good experience with Dr. Hasson. However, I am extremely disturbed to hear that he said your grafts were pushed in too hard and kinked at the end leaving them no chance to grow. Could I be examined to find out if this is what also happened to me since we had the same doctor at the same time period? Maybe it is possible that I too have grafts under the surface that aren't dead but unable to surface because of the way they were placed.