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Simply because you are losing hair, seeing hair on your towel or noticing bald spots, does not make you an eligible candidate for a hair transplant. A transplant is not a decision that you can take in an instant – it is a decision that you need to take after a lot of consideration and you will need expert advice from a surgeon too. For a hair transplant, you need to have a certain extent of hair loss, your hair loss should have stabilised and you should have a clear recipient as well as donor area.

Here are some of the questions that you need to ask first and foremost:

• The first thing that you need to ask yourself is when you started losing hair – balding is not age specific; it can happen at any age. For some people, especially if there are the genetics running in the family, balding could start as soon as the 20s. However, before you can become an ideal candidate for a transplant, you will need to meet a doctor, who will have to ensure that your hair loss has stabilised.
• For people who have a profession where looks are important, losing hair could be quite tough, as this could have a direct influence on your job. You need to ask whether the hair loss is starting to affect your job or your chances of getting a job.
• Similarly, you also need to ask whether this hair loss is affecting your personal life – are people making fun of you or are your marriage prospects dwindling because of this condition?
• When the hair loss would have first started, you would have probably tried out some other methods of hair regeneration, which could vary from oils to medications. In case, none of them seemed to have worked for you, you could consider a transplant.
• Perhaps the most important question that you need to ask yourself is whether you are mentally and financially prepared for a hair transplant surgery,because it will need investments of time and money.

Now, let’s say you have answered all the above mentioned questions and come to the conclusion that you should get a hair transplant, it does not mean that you will be an ideal candidate for the same. Here are the factors that will determine your eligibility for a transplant:

• Your age will be the first matter of consideration – if you are still in your teens, chances are that your hair loss has not stabilised. The median age for transplants is often considered to be around 25 years, but normally, most surgeons will prefer patients who are in the mid-thirties, because in such cases, the hair loss would have stabilised, leaving clear donor and recipient areas.
• Your expectations are essential – you need to have realistic expectations. If you have extensive hair loss, then the chances of you getting a full head of hair in the very first sitting are next to impossible. You need to understand that the first step should be getting full coverage on your head and then you can look for density.
• If you are genetically predisposed to hair loss (most people in your family have hair loss) chances are that you will have hair loss too, and this is something that you need to keep in mind while considering a transplant.
• The severity and the speed at which you are losing hair will also determine whether you are an ideal candidate for a transplant – if hair loss has just started, one sitting might be enough, but for severe loss, you might need anywhere between three to five sittings. This is something that you will need to talk to with the surgeon and he or she will be the best person to advice you on the same.
• Perhaps the most important factors that will help determine whether you are an ideal candidate for a transplant or not, will be your donor area. When you first meet with the transplant surgeon, one of the first things that they will do is check your donor area, because if there is not sufficient hair in the donor area, a transplant might be a tough ask. There has to be a sufficient amount of density, the texture needs to be right and of course, there needs to be sufficient flexibility on the scalp.

No matter which transplant surgeon you go to, they will keep a transplant as the last resort and you too should not consider one, without having a proper discussion with an expert surgeon first.