Hair implant or hair transplant: what is the difference?
In everyday speech the two words are used interchangeably, but clinically they describe different things. A hair transplant redistributes the patient's own living follicles — usually from the back of the head — into the thinning area. A hair-fibre implant places biocompatible fibres into the scalp one by one, without relying on your own follicles.
The choice is not a matter of preference: it depends on the donor area, the degree of thinning, age and whether the loss has stabilised. A patient with a dense donor area is almost always a candidate for FUE; someone whose donor area is exhausted, or who has had previous transplants, may find Biofibre® the only way to regain density.
| FUE transplant | Biofibre® implant | |
|---|---|---|
| Source of hair | Your own donor follicles | Certified biocompatible fibres |
| Donor area required | Yes | No |
| Visible result | Progressive, from month 3 | Immediate, in the session itself |
| Growth | Hair grows and needs cutting | Fixed length, no growth |
| Maintenance | Medical treatment of native hair | Periodic fibre top-ups |
| Session | Day case, 6 to 8 hours | Short, staged sessions |
Who is a candidate for a hair implant
Candidacy is always clinical. Before discussing technique, we assess the cause of the loss: androgenetic alopecia, telogen effluvium, alopecia areata or a treatable medical cause each call for a different answer — and some resolve without any surgery at all.
- Receding hairline and temples with a stable donor area — the typical FUE indication
- Progressive thinning at the crown, usually combined with medical treatment
- Diffuse female thinning, assessed case by case on the Savin scale
- Exhausted or scarred donor area — where Biofibre® is the alternative
- Active shedding — here we stabilise first with mesotherapy or PRP
How the process works at Replace Clinic
Everything starts with the trichology assessment: clinical history, scalp examination and density analysis. Only then do we define the technique, the number of grafts or fibres, and how sessions are staged.
- Free initial assessment, in person in Lisbon or by video consultation
- A written individual plan covering technique, staging and aftercare
- Day-case procedure under local anaesthetic, discharged the same day
- Scheduled reviews over 18 months, with comparative photographic records
Results: what to expect and when
With an FUE transplant, the implanted hairs shed between weeks two and four — this is shock loss, and it is normal. Growth restarts around month three, density is visible by month six, and the result settles between 12 and 18 months.
With a Biofibre® implant, density is visible at the end of the session itself, which makes it an option for patients who want an immediate result or are not suited to surgery.
In both cases the surrounding native hair remains subject to the same hormonal influence. That is why we almost always pair the procedure with medical maintenance treatment — without it, the treated area holds but the surrounding hair keeps thinning.
Safety, regulation and who performs the procedure
Replace Clinic is licensed by the Portuguese health regulator ERS (registration E161863) and procedures are performed by Dr Fátima Garcês, with 20 years of experience in hair restoration and recognised as a pioneer of the FUE technique in Portugal.
A hair implant is a medical procedure. It should be carried out by a doctor, in a licensed facility, with informed consent and a follow-up plan — criteria worth confirming at any clinic you are considering.