The density of hair on these patients' heads is not commensurate with the number of grafts they supposedly got. The best hope a patient has of getting what he pays for in a hair transplant is to learn to calculate the number of grafts he needs to cover his balding area. If the surgeon he sees is not in that ballpark, it may be wiser to look for another surgeon. In this case, you might go to the telephone directory. This is just a starting point. Many of the doctors who advertise there are simply trying to start up a practice in the field. They may have little or no experience. This is just a way to get names that you can check out. When you contact a hair restoration surgeon, ask to see a portfolio of patients' photos before and after hair transplant surgery. You might be surprised at how soon you can use one. Then, your doctor will schedule other check-ups, which you should also attend. At first it may seem as if you have to be very careful with your hair - and you do! It does not make sense to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars having your hair transplant surgery and then not follow through with good care. If you are constantly thinking about your hair loss when you are with friends or colleagues, your social life will suffer. You will find it hard to carry on conversations with others on an equal level if your baldness is an issue. Hair transplant surgery can help you get back in the loop. 4. Do I spend too much time at the mirror? It certainly does not seem like a relaxing experience. Yet some feel that there is that degree of pain involved. The injections of the local anesthetic into the scalp before hair transplant procedures are definitely painful to some degree. Anyone who has had a tooth pulled knows that, if the tooth is deadened properly, it is not the tooth-pulling that hurts. The more hairs per graft that are used in your hair transplant, the less natural your hair will look. Many doctors still use grafts that contain up to eight hairs. These do not look as conspicuous as the hair plugs of earlier decades, but they do not look as natural as they can, either. Try to find a doctor that uses grafts that contain one to four hair follicles.