Your Esthetic
Journey Starts Here

Thanks to local anaesthesia, a hair transplant is virtually painless. You do not feel the procedure itself — the only moment you notice anything is the small injections of the anaesthetic at the start, and they are over quickly.

What you can expect:

• During the procedure: your scalp is fully numbed. You stay awake, you can talk, listen to music or watch a film. You feel neither the extraction nor the implantation.
• The anaesthetic: modern clinics use very fine needles (and sometimes pressure anaesthesia) to make this step as comfortable as possible.
• After the procedure: mild tenderness and sometimes some swelling around the forehead for two to three days. An ordinary painkiller such as paracetamol eases it well.

Most people are mainly surprised afterwards at how manageable it all was. During a free advisory consultation at NIVA CARE, Nico takes you through exactly what to expect, step by step, so you start your treatment with peace of mind.

In both methods your own follicles are harvested one by one from the donor area (the back and sides of the head), without an incision and without a visible scar. The difference lies in how the hairs are implanted.

• FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction): small channels are first made in the area being treated, after which the grafts are placed into them. A proven, widely used technique.
• DHI (Direct Hair Implantation): the follicles are implanted directly with a precision implanter (the Choi pen), without channels made in advance. The doctor therefore sets the exact angle, depth and direction of every single hair.

The advantages of DHI:

• More control over direction and density, for a very natural hairline.
• Higher density is possible, ideal for the hairline and the crown.
• Faster recovery, because the scalp is put under less strain.

The doctor and the university hospital NIVA CARE works with deliberately choose to work with the DHI method only — because it gives the most natural and the densest results. That way you know your treatment uses the most advanced technique available. During a no-obligation advisory consultation, Nico is happy to explain what this means for your situation.

The full result of a hair transplant is visible after roughly 12 to 14 months. Patience really is your best ally here: hair grows at its own pace.

This is how the journey runs, including with DHI:

• First 2 to 4 weeks: most of the implanted hairs fall out. This “shock loss” phase is entirely normal — the follicles simply stay in your scalp.
• From 3 to 4 months: the first new hairs come through.
• Around 6 months: the difference becomes clearly visible and your hair grows fuller.
• 12 to 14 months: the final result, with full density and a natural hairline.

With DHI in particular you often see a beautiful, dense front edge, because the hairs are implanted precisely and close together. At NIVA CARE, Nico follows your recovery and your hair growth personally until long after you return home, so you always know whether everything is going as it should. Questions about your situation? Feel free to book a no-obligation advisory consultation.