It in a sense bucks the trend a little bit because in the cosmetic surgery industry, the costs associated with cosmetic surgery procedures don’t seem to be coming down on any scale, if at all, but the cost of a hair transplant on the other hand seems to be headed ever lower. Okay, perhaps a hair transplant is a much more “natural” form of cosmetic surgery, so that’s probably one of the reasons why the costs of such a treatment seem to be headed in the opposite direction to some treatments in the same field. It’s good news all round for the average-Joe on the street however, because this means that more people with hair loss issues can actually get the help they need without breaking the bank. It makes for some interesting reading to explore the exact reasons behind the falling costs of a procedure which would otherwise see a rise in costs, in line with other treatments offered by the cosmetic enhancements industry.
Mass consumer-based payment models
It used to be that if you wanted a cosmetic procedure done, your medical insurance would not cover it and you had to pay out of pocket, which is why cosmetic procedures are generally associated with celebrities and other financially elite members of society. Now because of the widespread need for procedures such as hair transplant, establishments like UK Hair Transplants UKHT Hair Loss Clinic (or similar ones elsewhere) are offering these specialised services, opening up to a more mass consumer-based system of payment. You can get your hair transplant at a reasonable fee which can be paid over a period of twelve months, for instance, interest-free as well if you get it done via the likes of Harley Street Hair Clinic.
Cheaper, more effective hair transplant procedure
Many of the costs associated with the medical industry as a whole are escalated as a result of some form of scarcity. Developing new medication for instance takes a lot of money and effort to eventually have a tablet or any form of treatment hitting the OTC medications shelves or forming part of a doctor’s prescription stock. There are a lot of regulations to get through, in addition to clinical trials and extensive research, but when the new treatment eventually circulates, the consumer effectively retro-pays for all the investment which went into its development.
A great example of this could be Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), which has replaced Follicular Unit Transplantation (it was based on strip harvesting). FUE transplant involves extracting hair follicles from identified donor regions and transferring them to the areas identified as “needing to be replenished”. The technological advancements associated with this procedure make it much more effective and affordable, resulting in lower costs for the patient.
In the case of the hair transplant field, however, the costs are mostly based on how long the surgical procedure is. So, the surgeon is typically compensated for the amount of time they take complete the procedure. That’s one of the main reasons why, a hair transplant is effectively more affordable than just a few years ago, in that the procedure has become more effective, requiring much less time than previously.