23-year-old Annabelle began her hair restoration journey here at HHC Hair Clinic back in August 2020
She came to us after many years of feeling self-conscious about her hairline and hair thickness at the front of her head, feelings that were intensified by being part of the performing industry.
Our leading team of hair restoration experts worked with Annabelle, offering tailored advice and procedure options that would guarantee results that met her desired outcome, and restore her confidence.
We then met with Annabelle 15 months after she underwent FUT hair transplantation to discuss her experience at HHC Clinics.
In this video, Annabelle discusses the difficulty of finding hair transplantation advice relating to her circumstances, and how she discovered that a lot of the information online about hair transplants is aimed at male pattern baldness or those suffering from hair loss conditions.
At HHC, we offer bespoke hair advice, treating every patient as an individual and exploring, in detail, what options are available to improve hair density and combat any hair concerns. Following detailed analysis and discussions with one of HHC’s top-class surgeons, Annabelle opted for Follicular Unit Transplantation, also known as a “strip” hair transplant, to lower the hairline.
What is FUT/strip hair transplantation?
FUT hair transplantation is regarded as the gold standard hair transplant procedure.
Carried out under a local anaesthetic, grafts are obtained from a strip of skin which the surgeon removes, the strip is dissected into thousands of individual grafts using an intricate dissection process.
The follicles are then transplanted into the donor area, the area of the scalp where the hair requires thickening, which in Anabelle’s case was the front of the hairline, here we were able to transplant 1763 grafts.
Annabelle discusses how she found the procedure at HHC Clinics, explaining that she felt she was in safe hands and that, despite her reservations, it was ‘virtually painless’. She also describes the amazing level of aftercare she received from the team.
Following her procedure, Annabelle returned to receive 3 sessions of Platelet Rich Plasma hair strengthening treatment.
What is PRP Hair Strengthening?
PRP is a minimally invasive treatment using a sample of your own blood spun using the latest, advanced technology that separates the blood plasma. This plasma contains a large number of growth factors which, when reinjected into the scalp, have been found to stimulate dormant hair follicles and produce an increased amount of collagen, which in Annabelle’s case supported her new hair follicles and optimised the overall results of her procedure.
At HHC Clinics, our goal is to help our patient’s get back to feeling their best, sadly, we see the impact hair thinning, loss, or simply dissatisfaction with the natural hairline can have on our mental health and quality of life. Annabelle describes the impact of her hair restoration and how it has dramatically improved her self-esteem; thanks to the natural-looking results, she now feels she has the freedom to wear different hairstyles that she didn’t feel able to previously.
For more information about hair transplants or to see one of our expert hair restoration clinicians for tailored hair loss advice, get in touch with our friendly team today.
What Annabelle had to say about her experience at HHC...
How did you find the procedure, Annabelle?
The procedure for me was really surprising. I was really, really nervous, like, worryingly nervous. But I really had nothing to worry about, to be honest. I was so looked after that I actually didn't want to go home after, I made friends with all the technicians and Dr. Krishnan and I just felt really, really lucky. It was nowhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be and virtually painless really, so I was really grateful for that.
And how was your PRP sessions? How was the experience of that?
The PRP sessions were also really nothing to worry about. I think you kind of think of blood and needles, and it's a little bit nerve wracking, but there's nothing to be worried about. Regina was brilliant and yeah, really, really pain free. No problem at all.
And how were your follow-ups with the clinic? How did you find us keeping in touch with you?
The follow-ups have been amazing, really. I have had so many thoughts and worries and times when I've overthought, and the clinic have just been amazing. They answer questions so, so quickly. They're always on the other side of the phone prepared to speak to you, and nothing's too much. Nothing is too much to ask them. They're just fantastic. Really, really good.
So, Annabelle, if you just tell us what was the reason you decided to go for a hair transplant procedure?
Yeah, of course. I'm quite young, I'm 23, and I do a lot of dancing and a lot of performing. And it's a difficult industry to be in because there are a lot of expectations on looks. So I had a kind of far back hairline, not through any hair loss, just naturally it was that way, but It wasn't really preferable for me and just being in this industry really, really intensified that. So, yeah, it was quite a heavy decision to get a hair transplant, but it's literally probably the best thing I've done for confidence.
Amazing, and how has it changed your confidence and self-esteem?
It's changed my self-esteem so dramatically, really. I'm at a point now where I can't actually believe that there was no hair there in the first place. It's so natural to me that it feels like it's always been there. And I've literally never been so confident. I absolutely love it.
Perfect, and has it given you different options, the way you style your hair and get more freedom?
Yes, massively. I would never, ever have my hair up before or in kind of pull back off my face. And it makes me very emotional, actually. I do that often now. And what's really, really nice is sometimes when I don't feel like washing my hair, I can pull it all back and slick it all back and not be worried about it, but I would never have done that before.
So tell us about your experience, from consultation to actually going into the procedure, and why was it that you chose Hillside hair clinic?
Yes, of course. My consultation was perfect, really. It was in Covid times, which obviously makes things a lot difficult. And I had sort of shopped around. I wasn't 100% sure where I was going to go. I wasn't sure what exactly I needed. I didn't really know what people were offering. And after considerable looking around, Dr. Ali actually got in touch with me personally, which was really, really important to me because as a 23-year-old girl, there's not a lot of information about hair transplants out there, especially as I hadn't lost any hair. I just wanted a different hairline. So he got in touch with me personally, which I was really grateful for. And then I actually had a personal FaceTime call with Dr. Krishnan, which was invaluable really, because obviously he did my procedure, and there's no one with such fantastic expertise, so I'm really grateful for that.
So I really had all the treatments explained in depth to me. Obviously, I haven't lost any hair. It was just hair that wasn't there before, which I personally have no idea how you could treat and that I really associated hair transplants with men and obviously hair loss. So I was really lucky to find Hillside with fantastic expertise that just explained everything to me. And I then had some PRP sessions to really boost the impact of the grafts that I had in my FUT transplant.