If a person gets to work with a reputable surgeon, things like this just do not happen. However, if someone has seen a person with this problem, it will likely turn them off to hair transplant surgery for good. 5. Old-Fashioned Plugs. People with the large plugs that look like doll's hair or toothbrush bristles are still around. However, the sides and back of the head are usually covered with healthy balding-resistant hair follicles. Men with this pattern of balding will have donor hair that survives the hair transplant process and flourishes long afterward. That is because a naturally-occurring enzyme in the body combines with testosterone to create a chemical called DHT. Facts about Hair Transplant Procedures It is getting more common for people to get hair transplant procedures as the methods keep improving. It is just less obvious than in earlier times when everyone could spot a person with bad hair plugs. Yet, there are still a few facts about hair transplant surgery that are not widely known. The hair forms a sharp angle so that it grows out and then flat to the face. Scalp hair has a much gentler angle. Eyebrow hairs do not grow in the same type of follicular units as scalp hair. Rather than growing in groups of one to four hairs, they are simply single strands of hair. You can see this if you look carefully in the mirror at your eyebrows. 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. It is discouraging, but do not give up hope until you investigate to find out if you are a possible candidate. You may be surprised. The most important thing to remember is that you need hair for the hair transplant to your balding areas. The hair has to come from somewhere on your body. Wherever you take the hair from is called the donor site.