Failed Hair Transplant? How to Reverse It and What To Do

Hair transplants are generally a safe and effective procedure, with a success rate of around 90–95%. However, in some rare instances, you may be unhappy with your FUE or FUT hair transplant, and this can be some of the following:

• Poor growth/ density
• Poor healing
• Incorrect angle and direction of implanted hairs
• Further hair loss following surgery
• Visible scarring in the donor site

Thankfully, there are options available that can help correct a hair transplant that doesn’t meet expectations.

In this article, we look at some of the most common reasons why hair transplants might fail, what to look out for if you think yours might have gone wrong and what you should do if a hair transplant doesn’t meet expectations. 

Why do some hair transplants fail?

At The Treatment Rooms London, we audit our success rates following hair transplant surgery. They tend to average above >95% with patients reporting positive changes in their mental health and hair following surgery.

Since 2021, our clinic has been collecting data on patients whose hair transplant surgery has failed. We have collected information on what has gone wrong and what may have been the reasons for their issue. It has helped to increase understanding of why a hair transplant might fail, which can help patients make a better-informed decision about correction going forward.

Here we’ll look at a few of the most common reasons why some hair transplants fail.

Hair transplant graft rejection

Graft rejection is a rare reason for hair transplant failure. This is often compared to kidney or heart transplant rejections and is usually interpreted as the body not accepting the transplanted hair. This can be down to a variety of factors, often secondary to a patient’s autoimmune condition. An example of this would include a condition known as lichen planopilaris.

This condition affects the hair by attacking and destroying the hair follicle, resulting in a degree of scarring. Another condition includes alopecia areata, which causes patchy hair loss. Both of these conditions can result in temporary or permanent hair loss and contribute to why hair transplants fail to grow in some individuals, often undetected before surgery is even performed.

Ineligibility for hair transplants

Your general level of health and hair loss cannot be overestimated when considering why hair transplants fail.

The ideal hair transplant candidate has a healthy donor area of hair and is generally below the age of 65. They would have often stabilised their hair loss with medications such as Finasteride or Minoxidil.

Sometimes, patients will naturally reach a point in their life where they are no longer losing any hair. It is essential to assess the potential risk of hair loss, as excessive hair loss after a hair transplant can compromise the appearance of the transplant result, making it look patchy.

Poor donor area for hair transplant surgery

Failure to have a thick, healthy donor area with hair that is viable for transplantation can ultimately lead to a failed hair transplant. Patients should have their donor site evaluated by their Surgeon to understand how much hair can be transplanted across their lifetime. This allows for future hair loss planning.

Poor hair transplant aftercare

The recovery and aftercare process is an essential part of any hair transplant. Correct post-transplant care helps support the transplanted hair follicles, promoting growth and assisting with the healing of both the donor and transplant areas.

Failing to follow optimal aftercare can result in a failed hair transplant. If you undergo a hair transplant, be sure to follow any advice your surgeon provides. This can include sleeping in a position that avoids friction in the transplanted area, as well as washing your transplanted area properly.

Inexperienced hair transplant surgeons or clinics

In some instances, a hair transplant may fail due to the use of poorly skilled or inexperienced surgeons or clinics.

While hair transplants are generally a safe operation, due to their popularity, many clinics offer the service but fail to meet the strict safety and hygiene guidelines required. An inexperienced surgeon may transplant the wrong donor grafts or over-harvest the transplanted hair follicles. Unhygienic clinic practices can also contribute to an increased risk of infection (folliculitis) post-surgery.

When considering a hair transplant, ensure that you choose a clinic registered with and inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This regulatory body ensures safe and quality clinical practice in every healthcare setting.

You should also verify that your chosen surgeon is registered with both the British Association of Hair Restoration Surgery (BAHRS) and the General Medical Council (GMC). These professional organisations ensure your chosen hair transplant surgeon is regulated and works according to their rigorous codes of conduct.

For more information and advice, visit our article on how to find a good hair transplant surgeon in the UK.

Can you reverse a hair transplant?

Skilled surgeons, such as the experienced team at The Treatment Rooms London, can reverse or repair a poor hair transplant. Many patients visit us with unsatisfactory hair transplants that require repair, and we have successfully performed hair transplant repair surgery numerous times over the years.

There are several methods for corrective hair transplant surgery, but the most common and practical approach is to undergo a second hair transplant. This is one of the reasons why having a hair transplant in an inadequately regulated country is not always worth it; you may have to pay for another transplant to correct it. 

How to tell if you’ve had a bad hair transplant

Although they’re usually successful, bad hair transplants can happen. There are several ways you can tell if you’ve had a bad hair transplant. These include:

• Excessive scarring is usually caused by the use of substandard surgical tools or an incorrect technique performed by an inexperienced surgeon.
• Unnatural direction of hair growth: identified by transplanted hair growing in the wrong direction, this is often caused by poor surgeon technique.
• Infection: Excessive swelling or redness around the transplanted area may be a sign of infection, typically caused by unsanitary surgical tools.
• Unusual hairline: often characterised by an unnatural angle, this is also due to poor technique or inexperience.
• Insufficient hair growth: Typically measured 12 months after surgery, poor hair growth can be attributed to various reasons, including inadequate aftercare.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms after your hair transplant, do not be disheartened — it can take 9-12 months after your surgery to start seeing real results. Be patient and wait for at least a year before thoroughly evaluating the results of your hair transplant.

What to do if a hair transplant doesn’t meet expectations?

Sometimes, hair transplants don’t quite meet the patient’s expectations. If you feel that your hair transplant doesn’t meet your expectations and you’re unhappy with the results, several options are available to you.

A second hair transplant

If your first hair transplant didn’t deliver the results you expected, a second hair transplant is still an option.

A second hair transplant can help improve follicle density in the affected areas and add coverage to large balding spots. Many patients choose a second hair transplant if they feel their first one failed and they are not happy with the results.

Before you get a second hair transplant, your surgeon will first need to assess your eligibility.

Scalp micropigmentation

Scalp micropigmentation, also known as a hair tattoo, involves carefully filling up and completing any balding areas of the scalp with a coloured pigment to give the appearance of hair follicles.

These can be customised to suit the patient’s unique hair type and style, with adjustments for depth and angle available to help deliver a natural result. Scalp micropigmentation is often considered when it is not possible to achieve high-density hair transplantation.

Second hair transplant surgery

Revision or having a second hair transplant surgery typically takes place following a failed hair transplant that occurred as a result of the surgeon’s poor performance.

If you are not happy with your original clinic and are looking for a different clinic, Treatment Rooms London offers four types of revision surgery.

Unnatural hairline repair

If your hairline looks unnatural after your hair transplant, this can be corrected with a follicular unit extraction (FUE) transplant or FUT hair transplant. This involves taking hair from the donor area and then transplanting it to create a new hairline or mask an unnatural one.

Poor follicle quality repair

If a poorly performed procedure results in insufficient hair follicle quality, these can be removed and replaced with new grafts taken from a donor area. This is also performed using the FUE procedure to extract poorly implanted follicles.

Poor hair density repair

Poor hair density is usually a result of insufficient hairs being transplanted during the original procedure. This is repaired using the FUE or FUT technique by implanting extra hairs into the affected area.

Wide FUT Scar repair

Wide scarring can occur after a follicular unit transplant (FUT), but it can be remedied by repeating the FUE procedure or using scalp micropigmentation. The replaced hair helps cover the worst of the scarring, while a hair tattoo helps blend it in, disguising any remaining scar tissue. To find out if you’re eligible for a hair transplant scar repair, please visit our page.

Book a consultation

If you are unhappy with your hair transplant, Treatment Rooms London offers a range of corrective techniques to help disguise and remedy any unsatisfactory results or poor transplants. Our procedures are safe and effective, helping you achieve the look you want.

Book your consultation with Treatment Rooms London today. 

Sources

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2956960/
• https://www.bad.org.uk/pils/lichen-planopilaris/
• Can you reverse a hair transplant? – Treatment Rooms London