Sapphire FUE Hair Transplant
The most widely used hair transplant technique in the world is FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction). This technique consists of harvesting hair follicles, opening channels and implanting the follicles, known as grafts, into those channels.
Special sapphire-tipped blades were developed to minimise tissue trauma and allow channels to be opened as densely as possible during the channel-opening stage of FUE. Sapphire FUE is therefore an FUE procedure performed with blades whose tips are made from genuine sapphire.
During a hair transplant, a cutting instrument called a slit is used to open the channels. With conventional steel slits, however, tissue damage is greater, so healing takes relatively longer. Because sapphire-tipped blades can open dense channels at a micro level, a dense and natural-looking transplant becomes possible. As the channels are opened at a micro level, healing is much faster than with other hair transplant techniques. Crusting after the procedure is minimal, which also makes the process more comfortable for the patient.
How is a sapphire hair transplant performed?
In the Sapphire FUE technique, the hair follicles are still harvested using the FUE method. However, the channels in the recipient area are opened not with steel, as in standard FUE, but with a pen-shaped sapphire blade.
Sapphire tips create much smaller, smoother and denser micro-channels in the recipient area than steel. Opening the channels at a micro level minimises tissue deformation and reduces crusting, so the scalp heals quickly after the procedure without leaving visible marks. These micro-channels also allow the follicles to be implanted densely and in line with the natural direction of hair growth. Thanks to this technique, people with hair loss can achieve hair that looks as natural as their own.
Sapphire FUE can also be combined with other methods that increase comfort and patient satisfaction, such as hair transplantation under sedation and unshaven hair transplantation.
Advantages of sapphire hair transplantation
The modern sapphire tips used in Sapphire FUE deliver more aesthetic and healthier results than steel tips. Because the channels opened with a sapphire blade are much smaller and smoother, this method causes less tissue damage than other hair transplant techniques. As a result, the tissue heals quickly after the procedure without leaving visible marks.
The very fine sapphire blade allows the channels to be opened to match the size and angle of the hair follicles. This means the follicles can be placed in the channels at a natural angle, helping the transplanted hair anchor more firmly in the scalp and creating a very natural appearance.
The sapphire blade used in the Sapphire FUE method creates micro-channels the size of a hair follicle. This allows channels to be opened closer together in the recipient area and grafts to be implanted nearer to one another. By implanting the follicles densely, Sapphire FUE achieves a much more natural and fuller look than other techniques.
Who is a suitable candidate for a sapphire hair transplant?
Women and men aged 20–60 who have a sufficient number of follicles in the donor area can restore lost hair with the Sapphire FUE technique.
Sapphire FUE can be used for severe hair loss over a large area, and it is also a permanent solution for typical patterns of hair loss such as receding temples, a receding hairline, thinning at the crown or diffuse thinning.
After a sapphire hair transplant
After the hair transplant is complete, patients stay in Turkey for at least two more days until the first wash has been done. Patients need to rest after the procedure, but from the following day you can go out and explore Istanbul, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. This tourist atmosphere is one of the most notable advantages of having a hair transplant in Istanbul.