If you’re considering a hair restoration procedure, you’re probably wondering, “do you have to shave your head before a hair transplant?” The answer depends on the technique.
In this article, we explain when shaving is required for hair transplantation procedures like FUE and FUT and discuss the feasibility of unshaven transplants. You’ll learn the pros and cons of each approach so you can choose the right hair restoration method to get your hair back.
If hair loss or hair thinning is impacting your confidence, Philadelphia Hair Restoration can help you restore the full head of hair you’ve always wanted. Contact us today to speak with our hair restoration specialists about the right hair transplantation procedure for you.
Which Areas of the Head Need to be Shaved Before A Hair Transplant?
While you won’t need to shave your entire head before a hair transplant, we do need to shave certain parts of your scalp in order to identify each hair follicle.
Pre-Transplant Shaving for Women
If a woman has hair that’s long enough, we can lift the hair to access the donor site in the back of the scalp, and we shave about an inch across this area. We take the follicles from there, and when the hair drops down, it covers this shaved area, so it won’t be noticeable.
Pre-Transplant Shaving for Men
For men with short hair, the shaved area isn’t too noticeable. If your head is already shaved, we’ll need to shave a bit more, but the hair grows back. If needed, you can also wear a hat while it heals.
Why Is Shaving Necessary Before a Hair Transplant?
The reason we need to shave the head before a hair transplant is for visibility. We must be able to see each of the hair follicles, so we need to get the rest of the hair out of the way to isolate the follicles we need to extract. This allows us to extract hair follicles precisely, reducing the risk of damaging the surrounding hair.
Is It Possible to Perform a Hair Transplant Without Shaving?
You may have heard of something called a “partial hair shave” or cutting the hair shorter before a hair transplant. This is misleading — it’s impossible to have the hair shaft at any length at all and still perform an effective hair transplant.
For effective hair follicle extraction, the scalp must be shaved, but just in the regions that we talked about.
Will the Shaved Area Be Highly Visible on The Scalp?
You don’t have to worry — we’re not going to shave very visible areas of your hair. The only area that will be shaved is in the back, and the other frontal areas will not be touched.
When it comes to shaving the donor site, the back of your head must be shaved in order for hair follicle harvesting to be done. However, the recipient site—including the hairline, front, corners, and crown — does not need to be shaved at all.
If you’re worried about shaving your head before a hair transplant, the only area that will be affected is the back of your head. If you have long hair, we can always cover the shaved area by leaving the top portion of the hair intact.
We will shave as little as possible, only the area we need to extract the necessary follicle grafts. Once the hair is put down, the shaved area will be covered.
Restore Your Look With Philadelphia Hair Restoration
If you’re looking to revitalize your hairline with a hair transplant, Philadelphia Hair Restoration can help. We offer FUE and FUT hair transplants to restore your confidence with a thicker, fuller head of hair.
Contact us today to speak with our hair restoration specialists about the right hair transplantation procedure for you.
