Spokane Hair Transplant & Restoration

Surgical and non-surgical hair restoration with Dr. Jordan Sand, a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon with fellowship training in hair restoration.

Procedures offered include: medical hair restoration therapy, nonsurgical hair restoration, and surgical hair restoration. Serving Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and the Inland Northwest.

How a Hair Transplant Works

A hair transplant moves living hair follicles from areas of the scalp that are genetically resistant to hair loss (the back and sides of the head) to areas where the hair has thinned or receded. Because these donor follicles retain their resistance to the hormonal signals that cause male and female pattern hair loss, the transplanted hair continues to grow in its new location as it did in its original one.

At Sand Plastic Surgery, the procedure takes place in our office under local anesthesia. Patients are awake and comfortable, can eat normally beforehand, and typically spend the day reading or watching movies while Dr. Sand and his team work. A full procedure takes most of a single day.

The steps:

1. Consultation and hairline design. Dr. Sand evaluates your hair loss pattern, donor density, and aesthetic goals, then designs a hairline that fits your facial proportions and will continue to look natural as you age. This is the step that most distinguishes a surgeon-led transplant from a high-volume clinic model.
2. Donor harvest. Follicles are harvested from the back and sides of the scalp using either FUE (follicular unit extraction, where individual follicles are removed one at a time) or FUT (follicular unit transplantation, where a thin strip of scalp is removed and dissected under microscope into individual grafts). The choice is discussed at consultation.
3. Graft preparation. Each follicular unit is examined and prepared under magnification. Most grafts contain one to four hairs grouped as they naturally grow.
4. Recipient site creation. Dr. Sand creates the recipient sites by hand, angling each one to match the natural growth direction of the hair around it. This is the step that determines whether the result looks natural or surgical.
5. Placement. The prepared grafts are placed into the recipient sites. Single-hair grafts go in the front to soften the hairline and produce a feathered, natural-looking edge. Two-, three-, and four-hair grafts are placed progressively further back to build density.

The result is a hairline and density pattern designed to look the way your hair would have looked if it had never receded.

FUE vs FUT: Choosing the Right Technique

Both techniques harvest follicles from the same area of the scalp and produce the same type of transplanted graft. The difference is how the follicles are harvested.

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) extracts individual follicular units one at a time using a small circular punch. There is no linear incision and no stitches. Recovery is quicker and the donor area heals as a pattern of tiny dot-shaped marks that are typically invisible once the surrounding hair grows back in. FUE is well suited to patients who wear their hair short, patients who want the fastest recovery, and patients harvesting smaller numbers of grafts.

Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) removes a thin strip of scalp from the donor area and dissects it under microscope into individual grafts. This leaves a fine linear scar at the donor site that is concealed by surrounding hair when the hair is worn at any length longer than a buzz cut. FUT is well suited to patients who need a high graft count in a single session, patients whose donor density is limited, and patients who want to preserve maximum capacity for future sessions.

The right technique depends on your graft count, donor density, lifestyle, and how you typically wear your hair. Dr. Sand discusses both options at consultation and recommends the one that fits your situation.

Am I a Candidate for a Hair Transplant?

A good hair transplant candidate has three things: sufficient donor hair density, a stable pattern of hair loss, and realistic expectations about what surgery can accomplish.

Most candidates are adults in their late 20s through their 60s with male or female pattern hair loss, a receding or thinning hairline, or a stable pattern of loss in the crown or temples. Patients in their early 20s are evaluated carefully because their hair loss pattern may not yet be stable, and operating before the pattern stabilizes can produce results that look unnatural as the surrounding hair continues to recede.

Candidates with diffuse thinning rather than pattern loss, very limited donor density, certain scalp conditions, or expectations that a transplant will restore the hair density of their teens are typically not good candidates and Dr. Sand will say so at consultation. Medical and non-surgical options (finasteride, minoxidil, PRP, low-level laser therapy) may be more appropriate, and are often recommended alongside or instead of surgery.

The goal of an honest candidacy conversation is to make sure the patients who proceed are the ones who will be happy with the result.

Recovery and Results Timeline

Most patients return to work and normal activity within 3 to 5 days after surgery. Strenuous exercise resumes around 2 weeks.

The first week. The donor area and recipient sites are tender. Small scabs form at each graft site and shed naturally over 7 to 14 days. Patients sleep with their head slightly elevated for the first few nights and avoid touching the recipient area. Detailed post-op instructions are provided.

Weeks 2 through 4. The transplanted hairs themselves shed. This is the shedding phase and it is the part of the recovery that surprises patients most often. The follicles are healthy and in place; only the hair shafts are shedding. This is a normal part of the process and is followed by new growth from the same follicles.

Months 2 through 4. The transplanted follicles enter a resting phase. There is little visible change during this period.

Months 4 through 8. New hair growth becomes visible. The hair comes in fine at first and progressively thickens.

Months 8 through 12. Density builds and the final result takes shape. The hair behaves like the patient’s natural hair: it can be cut, styled, washed, and treated normally.

Month 12 and beyond. The final result is typically apparent at 12 months. The transplanted hair continues to grow for the rest of the patient’s life. For patients interested in additional detail, see our guide on what to expect during the hair transplant recovery process.

Medical Hair Restoration Therapy

Hair restoration for both men and women can be provided through medical therapy, minimally invasive treatments or surgical restoration. Finasteride (Propecia®) and minoxidil (Rogaine®) are the two most popular medical treatments for hair loss. Various vitamin and natural topical treatments can also be recommended. Medical therapy is often the right first step for patients with early thinning, and is frequently combined with surgical restoration to protect the patient’s existing hair while the transplanted hair establishes itself.

Nonsurgical Hair Restoration

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections are a highly effective treatment for stimulating hair growth and may be an excellent option for the male or female patient with thinning hair. In a recent review written by Dr. Sand entitled: “PRP for the Aesthetic Surgeon“, many uses for PRP are discussed. They include topical application to improve healing after skin resurfacing, injection into face to remove wrinkles, and injection into the scalp for hair restoration. In particular, the use of PRP for hair restoration has been studied by multiple global investigators and has shown excellent promise as a treatment for thinning or micronized hairs. High qualities studies have shown this product to thicken hair shaft size, improve hair quality, and increase hair density. This combined effect can lead to fuller, healthier appearing head of hair. Dr. Sand can discuss the benefits of this treatment with you during your consultation.

2. Genetic Testing for Personalized Hair Growth Solutions

Unlock the secrets of your DNA with advanced genetic testing. By identifying compounds that work best for your unique biology, we can target your hair restoration journey with precision and efficiency.

3. Clinical Hair Growth Laser

Boost hair regrowth with our Clinical Hair Growth Laser therapy. This safe, painless treatment stimulates the scalp to improve hair thickness and density by increasing blood flow and activating hair follicles.

4. Transdermal Infusion Treatments with PRP – No Injections Required!

Experience the regenerative power of platelet-rich plasma without the need for injections. Our transdermal infusion technology delivers PRP directly to the scalp, promoting hair growth and scalp health comfortably and effectively.

5. Dual Wave Energy Cap

Revolutionize your hair restoration with the Dual Wave Energy Cap. Using innovative light therapy, this at-home device enhances hair density and strengthens follicles in a convenient, easy-to-use format.

6. Hair Regrowth Shampoos

Support your treatment plan with specially formulated hair regrowth shampoos. These products are designed to nourish your scalp and strengthen hair, serving as an essential component of your daily routine.

Why Dr. Sand for Hair Restoration

Most hair transplants in the United States are performed by dedicated hair restoration clinics that operate on a higher-volume model. Dr. Sand’s practice is the opposite: a single double board-certified facial plastic surgeon who performs a smaller number of cases per year, designs every hairline personally, and creates every recipient site by hand.

The distinction matters because the hairline is the visible part of the result. A transplant performed by a technician under the supervision of a physician, on a clinic floor running multiple cases in parallel, can produce a clinically successful outcome. A transplant performed by a fellowship-trained facial plastic surgeon who treats hair restoration as a facial aesthetic procedure produces a different kind of outcome.

Dr. Sand’s credentials specific to hair restoration:

• Double board-certified in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ABFPRS) and Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
• Executive board member and fellowship director, American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Faculty appointments at the University of Washington School of Medicine and WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
• Surgical training at UCLA, Washington University in St. Louis, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Washington
• Published author on platelet-rich plasma in aesthetic surgery, including hair restoration applications

Hair restoration is one of three areas of focus in Dr. Sand’s practice, alongside facelift surgery and rhinoplasty. The face-and-scalp-only specialization is the structural reason the result is different.