Regenera Activa Vs. Hair Transplant: Which is Right For Me?

Regenera Activa

Regenera Activa enters the market with the promise of being different from frustrating hair growth treatment packages. It is also a minimally invasive option for patients suffering from androgenetic alopecia, or pattern hair loss, who prefer not to go down the surgical route.

This 3-step process uses your own cells that are taken from areas of the scalp that are unaffected by hair loss. The skin graft is processed to extract the necessary components that will be administered to stimulate hair growth. Overall, it takes approximately 60 minutes to finish and the restorative process occurs on a cellular level.

The Right Candidate

This treatment is suitable for healthy men and women who don’t have diseases of the scalp or the skin. It is also appropriate for patients with hair loss that is up to Norwood IV in men and Ludwig II for women.

The Process

The procedure starts with the doctor injecting a local anaesthetic to the nape area to prepare it for the extraction of a few micro grafts. This area is chosen because it is the least susceptible to androgenetic alopecia. Once the anaesthetic has taken effect, 4 skin samples with a diameter of 2-2.5 mm each are extracted.

The samples collected undergo mechanical processing using a special device. Important components of the hair follicle in the skin extracted are harvested and injected into the thinning areas of the scalp, signaling these areas with genetically weakened hair to regrow thicker and denser hair.

 

Advantages

• Generally safe: It is less invasive compared to a hair transplant and it also doesn’t come with surgical incisions.  

• Less scars: The wound created by the instrument is small which means any scarring will be less visible. However, do note that the scars created will be larger than those in FUE (twice the size). There is a serious risk of future donor depletion and scarring with this technique if done by an inexperienced doctor.

• Natural-looking results: It creates natural-looking results because there is no need to arrange hair follicles at certain angles or distribution.

Contraindications 

This treatment is not advised in the following cases:

• Hair loss caused by other factors aside from androgenetic alopecia

• Hair loss that stems from cancer treatment

• Hair loss caused by psychological issues

• Active local or systemic dermatological diseases of the scalp

Results

The effects may vary depending on the extent of hair loss an individual has and the body’s own regenerative capacity. The results are also influenced by your age and genetic input.

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Regenera Activa helps stabilise the progression of androgenetic alopecia and improves the vitality of affected hair. You can expect to see results after 1-2 months. Patients notice an increased volume and doctors will observe an increase in hair count and individual hair calibre. Since these are not permanent, you may have to come in once a year or every two years for a touch-up session.

 

Hair Transplant Surgery

Hair transplant is a treatment that has come a long way in terms of creating quality results. Similar to Regenera Activa, it also uses your own hair follicles to restore lost hair.

There are two main techniques used in surgical hair restoration: Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). While these two achieve the same results, they differ significantly in terms of how the donor grafts are harvested.

Follicular Unit Transplantation

This is the traditional approach in hair transplant surgery which is also called the “strip method.” It got its name from the linear incision made on permanent hair-bearing skin at the back or the sides of the scalp. The incision is necessary to take out a portion that contains donor hair grafts. After it is removed, the doctor dissects the individual hairs (follicular units) under magnification.

This technique is the reason why hair transplant earned its reputation for being an invasive treatment. Even though it requires less shaving to the donor area, it involves an incision, stitches, and a more evident scar. However, this approach minimises the risk of damaging surrounding follicular units.

Follicular Unit Extraction

FUE is a popular approach because it is less invasive compared to FUT. In this process, the surgeon directly removes follicular units from the donor site using a special tool. There are no incisions and stitching required, hence recovery is faster. However, those who prefer to be discreet about their treatments may have to wait for their hair to grow longer because this procedure requires a fully or partially shaved head, revealing all the work done.

Both techniques involve a lengthy time off from work to ‘hide and recover’ after the procedure, which may be a concern for working professionals.

At The Aesthetics and Hair Clinic, we offer the non-shaved FUE technique which allows patients to return to work earlier with hardly any detectability that a surgical procedure was done.

Process

The two techniques only differ in terms of how the donor hair grafts are obtained. FUT is more invasive because of the linear incision created across the scalp. In FUE, the doctor removes the follicular units directly from the scalp. While this may cut back the number of steps, it makes your grafts susceptible to damage.

Transection, or the unintentional severing of the hair during the procedures, is more likely to occur especially among inexperienced doctors. This is why FUE takes more time to finish because extra care, time, and skill is needed. One advantage is it allows the doctor to “cherry pick” healthier hair compared to FUT where all you have are the donor hairs within the piece of scalp that was removed.

Advantages

• Does not leave prolonged side effects: Hair transplant spares you from certain chemicals or medicines which may leave you with lasting side effects.

• Creates natural-looking results: This advantage comes with conditions because natural-looking results can only be achieved with a trained and experienced doctors.

• Long-lasting results: It will require just one to two sessions at the most. You don’t have to get more procedures in the coming years if you follow your doctor’s advice on hair care to prevent the genetic progression of non-transplanted hair.

Contraindications 

• It is not advised if patient suffers from certain active skin diseases that affect the scalp such as scarring alopecia.

• The patient should not be in the active phase of alopecia areata.

• Any systemic conditions that may affect your safety during the procedure and its results (e.g. bleeding disorders, uncontrolled diabetes, poor wound healing, or the tendency to form keloid scars).

Results

FUT and FUE are reliable approaches in surgical hair restoration. FUT takes more time to heal than FUE, but both will allow you to achieve the desired results when done by a trained and experienced hair transplant doctor.

It will also take some time before you can finally observe significant hair growth with a hair transplant technique. You can expect to see results after 1-2 months and maximum results within 12-18 months.

Both techniques have their own strengths and they have been proven to create the desired results. It is unnecessary to compare them to see which is more desirable. Your choice should depend on your preference and suitability.

For more information, please read our latest blog >> The 12 Basic Questions To Ask Before Getting a Hair Transplant

Choosing the Right Fit

Regenera Activa is appropriate for patients who are at the early stages of hair loss. It is for those who are up to Norwood IV in males and Ludwig II in females with pre-existing hair follicles in the treatment area. Meanwhile, a hair transplant is something you can consider if there is significant hair loss, areas of baldness, or if there is a complete receding of the peaks as these will not respond to Regenera treatment.

Donor Scars

In terms of donor scarring, FUT creates the largest scar, especially in the hands of an inexperienced doctor. However, with the development of a new closure technique, scarring can be made finer and inconspicuous.

Although Regenera Activa is less invasive than FUE, the biopsy creates larger scars. However, these are easy to conceal since you only need 4 small specimens.

Cost

In Singapore, a session of Regenera Activa is around $3,500-$4,000. Hair transplant can start at $6,000 for a one-time procedure and it can go upwards depending on the extent of the work you need.

In line with this, you must also consider the cost of maintenance. A hair transplant doesn’t need succeeding procedures to maintain results. If ever a secondary procedure is needed, the only reason would be a botched treatment or if the doctor deems it necessary. In Regenera Activa, the procedure needs to be done once every 1-2 years.

Through personal communication in Spain with the doctor who originated Regenera Activa, it is suggested that hair loss medications should be continued on top of touch-up sessions to ensure optimal results.

The information provided here are just general facts. We encourage you to come in for a personal consultation so you can be assessed properly. This allows the doctor to advise you on these two treatments and how it relates to your situation. For concise information on these two treatments, please download our infographic here.

Do you want to know which of these two would be the suitable option for your hair loss problem? Book a consultation with Dr. Tyng Tan today.