What is The Future of the Hair Transplant Industry?

[Melvin- Admin]

Where do you guys think the industry is headed? I have a feeling there will be more FUT and FUE combos done at the same time. Meaning, one large strip and then another FUE to maximize the number of grafts done in one session. 

What is the Future of the Hair Transplant Industry in the Next Ten Years

[deitel130]

I agree there will ory be more FUT/FUE combos. I also feel like BHT will become quite common and many more clinics will be offering it in combination with scalp.

[Melvin- Admin]

1 minute ago, deitel130 said:

I agree there will ory be more FUT/FUE combos. I also feel like BHT will become quite common and many more clinics will be offering it in combination with scalp.

Can you imagine doing a tri-combo? It’s something I’m seriously considering. It’s the best way to get the most grafts.

[Gatsby]

It's already happening and I feel that the use of current and potentially better future pipeline DHT blockers will become part of a hair transplant plan. What I hope does happen in the next ten years is that start up third world chop shops disappear and that more regulation becomes part of a hair transplant plan as well. I also see a need for better counseling to be part of this industry too and perhaps laws and better recourse for improper practice.

[DrTBarghouthi]

I really hope hair "cloning" kicks off in the future. No need for any combinations or BHT. Just extract few grafts, replicate and transplanted on demand. Happy days. 

[deitel130]

1 hour ago, DrTBarghouthi said:

I really hope hair "cloning" kicks off in the future. No need for any combinations or BHT. Just extract few grafts, replicate and transplanted on demand. Happy days. 

@DrTBarghouthi when do you feel cloning may actually be an option. Do you see this in the next 5 years or are we alot further away?

[DrTBarghouthi]

3 hours ago, deitel130 said:

@DrTBarghouthi when do you feel cloning may actually be an option. Do you see this in the next 5 years or are we alot further away?

It's hard to know really. Hopefully the science will be more understood in the next 5 years. 

[UnbaldEagle]

4 hours ago, DrTBarghouthi said:

I really hope hair "cloning" kicks off in the future. No need for any combinations or BHT. Just extract few grafts, replicate and transplanted on demand. Happy days. 

Me too. I don't know whatever happened to HST, but it was a very interesting approach. According to Dr. Gho back in the days, only part of the entire follicle is needed to grow hair, thus partial extraction would lead to growth in both the donor area and the recipient. In theory you'd never run out of donor. 

Right now I'm hoping the Farjo Institute will come up with something.

Also, I'm wondering if there's a way to group body hair into follicular units? In my understanding the major issue with body hair is that it consists of mostly singles. I wonder if there's already a way to create follicular units of 3-4 hairs for density where needed. 

Edited December 23, 2020 by UnbaldEagle

[Melvin- Admin]

3 hours ago, qui bono said:

Imagine all the repair patients who could finally get their dignity back if cloning ever became an option.

I think BHT will become standard and FUT will become more and more obsolete (especially as the older generation of docs that still utilise the extraction method face retirement. 

I hope not, it’s still the best way to maximize the donor. Bloxham’s a young buck, we’ll have him at least 🤞 

[Melvin- Admin]

6 minutes ago, UnbaldEagle said:

Me too. I don't know whatever happened to HST, but it was a very interesting approach. According to Dr. Gho back in the days, only part of the entire follicle is needed to grow hair, thus partial extraction would lead to growth in both the donor area and the recipient. In theory you'd never run out of donor. 

Right now I'm hoping the Farjo Institute will come up with something.

Also, I'm wondering if there's a way to group body hair into follicular units? In my understanding the major issue with body hair is that it consists of mostly singles. I wonder if there's already a way to create follicular units of 3-4 hairs for density where needed. 

Dr. Gho was literally splitting hairs. Tsuji was a bust. I wouldn’t hold my breath on cloning.

[TorontoMan]

7 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Dr. Gho was literally splitting hairs. Tsuji was a bust. I wouldn’t hold my breath on cloning.

We didn’t need that much truths

[kirkland]

Honestly, for the life of me, I don't understand why more clinics aren't combining FUT and FUE in a single surgery. It opens up the market for higher NW's who don't think current options are viable. 

Improvements in robotics and the introduction of AI: imagine a smart ARTAS which can both determine the right angle/depth at which to extract follicles and which can determine the optimal extraction pattern across the donor region to minimize visible over-harvesting. Transplant times could be dramatically reduced driving costs downward. I also really believe that improved extraction pattern recognition could yield hundreds more follicles in the same region without the appearance of thinning. 

[Britanium]

If I was to start over I would absolutely choose a triple combo FUT/FUE and BHT 😂 just get it done. So many years (and counting) of multiple hts. 

[DrTBarghouthi]

1 hour ago, UnbaldEagle said:

Me too. I don't know whatever happened to HST, but it was a very interesting approach. According to Dr. Gho back in the days, only part of the entire follicle is needed to grow hair, thus partial extraction would lead to growth in both the donor area and the recipient. In theory you'd never run out of donor. 

Right now I'm hoping the Farjo Institute will come up with something.

Also, I'm wondering if there's a way to group body hair into follicular units? In my understanding the major issue with body hair is that it consists of mostly singles. I wonder if there's already a way to create follicular units of 3-4 hairs for density where needed. 

I think a similar approach was employed by a clinic in Amsterdam that I came across that claims harvesting partial grafts. I had clients who went there but needed so many planned procedures to reach the desired density. I don’t think that was right. They all eventually had procedures with us and see that traditional HT delivered a more visible result. 

[DrTBarghouthi]

1 hour ago, UnbaldEagle said:

Me too. I don't know whatever happened to HST, but it was a very interesting approach. According to Dr. Gho back in the days, only part of the entire follicle is needed to grow hair, thus partial extraction would lead to growth in both the donor area and the recipient. In theory you'd never run out of donor. 

Right now I'm hoping the Farjo Institute will come up with something.

Also, I'm wondering if there's a way to group body hair into follicular units? In my understanding the major issue with body hair is that it consists of mostly singles. I wonder if there's already a way to create follicular units of 3-4 hairs for density where needed. 

Sorry I missed the last part: you can group singles in the same slit. You sort of double up 2 single units in one openning. We do that when we have a higher percentage of singles and and area that needs bigger grafts. 

[kirkland]

Isn't there a study showing that bi-sectioned grafts don't consistently cycle properly, if at all? Dr. Gho may have seen initial success with partially-transected grafts but over time, those grafts would fail.

[Melvin- Admin]

4 minutes ago, kirkland said:

Isn't there a study showing that bi-sectioned grafts don't consistently cycle properly, if at all? Dr. Gho may have seen initial success with partially-transected grafts but over time, those grafts would fail.

The issue is that he would use a really small punch, it would basically extract one hair out of let’s say a three-haired unit. So, yes there would be some hair that would grow on the recipient, and yes the donor looked like it wasn’t touched, because he left two hairs. But by no means was it donor regeneration, it was nothing more than splitting hairs.

[UnbaldEagle]

1 hour ago, DrTBarghouthi said:

Sorry I missed the last part: you can group singles in the same slit. You sort of double up 2 single units in one openning. We do that when we have a higher percentage of singles and and area that needs bigger grafts. 

Thanks, this is good to know @DrTBarghouthi  Would it be possible to create larger follicular units too, not just 2 single units in one opening? 

[UnbaldEagle]

1 hour ago, DrTBarghouthi said:

I think a similar approach was employed by a clinic in Amsterdam that I came across that claims harvesting partial grafts. I had clients who went there but needed so many planned procedures to reach the desired density. I don’t think that was right. They all eventually had procedures with us and see that traditional HT delivered a more visible result. 

Yes, Dr. Gho's HASCI is located in Amsterdam, I believe it was him then. Although based on what @Melvin-Moderator said, he never really multiplicated hair, he merely split multis in situ by using a really small punch. 😕 

Also he's charging something like 5 EUR per graft, don't think it's worth it. 

[Enhancer]

The hair transplant industry needs a technological shift very soon.  The general consensus is that results are just not up to par for the cost, and the procedure is terribly risky.  Hair systems have made an aggressive comeback in recent years, and if they have their technological shift first, hair transplants may be a procedure of that past or a very niche procedure for those with minimal hair loss.

[Melvin- Admin]

4 minutes ago, Enhancer said:

The hair transplant industry needs a technological shift very soon.  The general consensus is that results are just not up to par for the cost, and the procedure is terribly risky.  Hair systems have made an aggressive comeback in recent years, and if they have their technological shift first, hair transplants may be a procedure of that past or a very niche procedure for those with minimal hair loss.

I don’t think that will ever happen, the hair transplant industry is a spectrum in terms of cost. You can get dirt cheap procedures in countries like Turkey and India. The social stigma isn’t anywhere near as bad as hair systems.  Overall, hair systems remain an option for a niche crowd, movie stars with hair needed at the drop of a dime, and those who aren’t hair transplant candidates. 

Given the option, almost everyone would prefer to grow their own hair back, as opposed to wearing a toupee. I just don’t see hair systems ever getting mainstream. The stigma of a hairpiece is horrible. It’s unfortunate.
 

[UnbaldEagle]

8 minutes ago, Enhancer said:

The hair transplant industry needs a technological shift very soon.  The general consensus is that results are just not up to par for the cost, and the procedure is terribly risky.  Hair systems have made an aggressive comeback in recent years, and if they have their technological shift first, hair transplants may be a procedure of that past or a very niche procedure for those with minimal hair loss.

Even if hair systems reach the pinnacle of naturalness, I reckon there will always be an associated stigma, just like with breast augmentation, etc. Whereas hair transplants are natural, it's your own hair. 

[aaron1234]

Hair cloning in five years.  🤣

[Enhancer]

3 hours ago, UnbaldEagle said:

Even if hair systems reach the pinnacle of naturalness, I reckon there will always be an associated stigma, just like with breast augmentation, etc. Whereas hair transplants are natural, it's your own hair. 

By what I've seen, it already has reached that pinnacle.  Yes currently there is the stigma you guys talk about.  But I don't know - I didn't even know about hair systems 3 years ago, and now I know two guys who wear them proudly - one who I didn't even know was wearing until he brought it up, and he was even my housemate for a year.  I never thought I'd say this, but I think this stigma is breaking a little.  I don't know anyone who has got a hair transplant, though I do know a few bald guys with suspiciously linear scars on the back of their heads.

It's still in its infancy, if they can find a way to get those things to stay on your head for a good 6 months worry free, I think more people will opt for that rather than hair transplants.  Transplants have hit their peak, provided you go to the best doctors, but are still capped by that donor supply - conservative hairlines, non-native density, partial coverage, etc..  If hair transplants can break this donor cap (or we find an actually reliable way to stop the progression of baldness), then I think the industry will survive.

[Melvin- Admin]

2 minutes ago, Enhancer said:

By what I've seen, it already has reached that pinnacle.  Yes currently there is the stigma you guys talk about.  But I don't know - I didn't even know about hair systems 3 years ago, and now I know two guys who wear them proudly - one who I didn't even know was wearing until he brought it up, and he was even my housemate for a year.  I never thought I'd say this, but I think this stigma is breaking a little.  I don't know anyone who has got a hair transplant, though I do know a few bald guys with suspiciously linear scars on the back of their heads.

It's still in its infancy, if they can find a way to get those things to stay on your head for a good 6 months worry free, I think more people will opt for that rather than hair transplants.  Transplants have hit their peak, provided you go to the best doctors, but are still capped by that donor supply - conservative hairlines, non-native density, partial coverage, etc..  If hair transplants can break this donor cap (or we find an actually reliable way to stop the progression of baldness), then I think the industry will survive.

Well the industry has been growing and continues to grow each year. I don’t think hair transplants are going anywhere. Projected to be a 40 billion dollar industry by 2026. 
 

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/10/26/2114083/0/en/Hair-Transplant-Market-revenue-to-cross-USD-40-Bn-by-2026-Global-Market-Insights-Inc.html