Take advantage of cost-effective financing options to fund this hair-replenishing surgery.
Hair transplants can be a pricey elective surgery. If you don’t have all the available funds right now, there are several options you should know about that can help you finance the procedure. Just be aware of your budget and know which type of transplant you want when you’re ready to compare loans.
Learn more about financing a hair a transplant...
How can I finance a hair transplant?
You have several options when it comes to paying for your hair transplant.
- Personal loans. Personal loans can be borrowed from traditional financial institutions like a bank and from non-bank providers. These can be secured or unsecured, and many providers offer loans between $5,000 to $50,000 to finance anything, including hair transplants.
- Medical loans. A number of standalone providers offer financing for medical procedures like hair transplants. The terms may differ from provider to provider, and options generally include personal loans or payment plans. You can generally borrow as much with a medical loan as with a personal loan, but you may be limited to how you use your funding.
- Credit cards. Credit cards are a flexible way to finance a hair transplant, but they often come with higher interest rates than your other financing options. However, you may qualify for a 0% APR introductory rate, which could significantly reduce the cost of your hair transplant if you can pay off the balance within the first 12 to 18 months.
Compare loans to finance a hair transplant
What types of hair transplants are available?
- Follicular Unit Grafting (FUG). This technique involves taking a strip of skin (full of healthy donor hairs) from the back of a patient’s head and then transplanting it into bald spots through tiny incisions made into the scalp.
- Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). This is a refinement of the FUG technique and is one of the most widely used hair restoration techniques in the world. FUE involves the surgeon removing healthy donor hairs one-by-one. The hairs are then transplanted into balding spots without incisions. The entire procedure leaves no visible scars, unlike with FUG.
- Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) hair restoration. Also known as vampire hair restoration, this method involves using a patient’s own blood as the source of hair restoration. PRP is what heals our wounds and forms our cells (think of the yellowish fluid forming on a scab). For hair restoration, PRP is infused into balding areas of the scalp, which then creates new cells to regrow hair naturally. Blood is initially extracted from the patient and then inserted into a centrifuge machine to extract the valuable PRP which is then injected into the scalp.
- Combination of techniques. More and more surgeons are using a combination of grafting techniques, such as FUE, with newer techniques in PRP, to combine the strengths of the two procedures. While a combination of techniques may get the best results, they’re usually more expensive.
How much does a hair transplant typically cost?
The cost of a hair transplant varies widely depending on several factors, including the unique goals of each patient, the particular area treated, the treatment or combination of treatments used and the biological makeup of each patient.
For follicular unit grafting (FUE), price is largely determined by the number of grafts you undergo. The price per graft can range anywhere from $4 to $14, and the number of grafts needed for a routine hair transplantation can also vary widely, typically anywhere from a few hundred grafts for small bald patches to several thousand.
Besides FUE, there are other procedures like platelet-rich plasma (PRP), or even a combination of techniques. Therefore, the total cost can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $30,000 — or more.
How to compare financing options
Take the following factors into consideration when comparing your options:
- Interest rate. Look for a competitive interest rate on your loan and make sure you’re aware of the difference between a fixed and variable interest rate. For variable rates, make sure you’re able to afford repayments if the rate increase during your loan term.
- Fees and charges. Pay attention to one-time fees like application fees and early repayment penalties. There may also be ongoing fees, such as monthly service charges.
- Total cost of the loan. APR takes into account both the interest rate and fees for the loan. Knowing the total cost of the loan will help you compare options across lenders and products, helping you make a better decision.
- Minimum loan amount. Pay attention to the minimum loan amount for each lender and make sure whatever option you’re considering provides the correct amount you need to finance your hair transplant. Over-borrowing can lead to financial strain down the road.
- Payments. Make sure you’re able to make the required payments and check to see if your lender provides any type of repayment flexibility.
- Secured vs. unsecured. Many personal and medical loans tend to be unsecured. However, some lenders require collateral, such as your home’s equity, to secure your loan. Before you commit to either type, weight the costs and benefits carefully.
What to watch out for
Borrowing for a hair transplant can be just the thing to reconnect you to your youth, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t risk that come with borrowing.
- Avoid falling into a debt trap. It can be easy to find yourself with too much debt, so make sure you account for the cost of your loan in your budget. Just because you can afford it now doesn’t mean you’ll be able to in the future. If you lose a source of income or fall on hard times, you’ll want to know that you can still pay for this — and other — debts.
- Applying too many times. When a lender checks your credit, it can see that you’ve applied multiple times with other lenders. Although several preapproval applications will be seen as “rate shopping” and not harm your score, too many hard pulls on your credit can be considered overextending yourself.
4 ways to get the most out of a hair transplant
- Avoid quotes that seem too good to be true. Sometimes doctors don’t include all of the costs that come with a hair transplant. If your doctor gives you a price per graft, ask for the full cost. They won’t? Consider going to another doctor.
- Don’t wash your hair right away. Typically doctors recommend that you give your head of hair a rest for at least 48 hours and only gentle washes with shampoo and lukewarm water for at least two weeks before the transplant. Follow your doctor’s directions.
- Stay away from the gym. Increasing your heart rate can affect the healing process. Try to stay from physical activity for at least the first week after you get your hair transplant, or longer if your doctor advises it.
- Take your medication. Often doctors prescribe medication to help with the healing process and reduce irritation and scarring. You should also try to avoid touching your head as much as possible if this is a concern.
Bottom line
A hair transplant can help make you feel better about yourself and give you more confidence to take life on. Not having the money for the surgery right now doesn’t mean you have to wait, but it does mean you’ll end up paying interest. After you’ve found the right doctor and know your costs, compare your personal loan options and other financing methods to find one that bring you closer to that new head of hair.
