In fact, when getting a hair transplant, the longer your hair is, the better it often works. It hides the sutures and eventually hides any scars you might have. You will be told to use your normal shampoo before the hair transplant surgery. No special scalp treatment will be needed. Do not worry about any scraggly hair on top of your head. You should have a basic idea of the going rates before you make this decision. On the other hand, if the doctor talks about how little it will cost and how quick and easy it will be, be suspicious of that too. The answer should lie somewhere in the middle. 7. Not all hair transplant stories are good ones. There is disagreement as to whether hair transplant surgery is painful, though. Some say that hair transplant surgery is similar to a visit to the dentist. This does not seem like a description of something that is pain-free. It certainly does not seem like a relaxing experience. Yet some feel that there is that degree of pain involved. You need to let the plug sites heal as well as the new insertion sites and possible new donor sites. It may take special post-operative care and longer down-time. Ask your doctor if she expects you to have more than one surgery session. You may need to have the plugs removed in one session and allow that to heal before going on to the next phase. Some people believe that hair transplant grafts using cloned hair would be about the same cost as the usual hair transplants that are available today. Other experts believe that the price will be much higher - perhaps three or four times per graft higher - because of the specialized methods required to do the work. Only about 5% of the patients have this problem, but it can be troublesome if it lasts more than a few days. It can keep you from eating or sleeping properly. Doctors have medications they can prescribe to help with this. 8. Infections. Infections are rare with hair transplant surgery, but they can happen.