Yutongryeong Creator Hair Transplant: Why & How

Interest in hair loss and hair transplantation is increasing as kids creator Heijini (36, real name Kang Hyejin) revealed that she had undergone a hair transplant.

On the 7th, Heijini revealed her before and after surgery on her YouTube channel, saying, “After giving birth to my second child, I had the hair transplant that I wanted to do the most.” He said, “I originally wanted to do it since I was in my 20s, but I have to do it now due to pregnancy and childbirth. While working on the musical ‘Heijini Lucky Gangi,’ my hairline was damaged due to frequent changes in hair styling, so I decided to get a transplant.” After the surgery, he expressed satisfaction, saying, “There is definitely a difference before and after.”

On the 5th, Heijini also expressed her difficulties through SNS, saying, “I am very satisfied with the selfie I took with my bangs down on the 3rd day. Spraying saline solution every 15 to 30 minutes for 3 days was hell, rather than anesthesia and pain.”

Heijini, who has over 4 million subscribers on YouTube, has often shown flashy hairstyles like cartoon characters. In particular, during musical performances, he explained, “Every day, I tied my hair and sprayed it, and then sprayed it again while it was wet with sweat.”

In fact, using hair products incorrectly increases the risk of hair loss. Although the spray ingredients themselves are not toxic substances that destroy hair roots, incorrect usage habits can become an environmental factor. If you spray it directly close to the scalp, the sticky resin sticks to the pores and causes scalp inflammation or folliculitis. Repeated inflammation can damage hair follicle cells and lead to ‘telogen effluvium’, which causes hair to become thinner.

Also, if you comb too hard while the hair is fixed tightly, strong physical force is applied to the hair roots, which can cause ‘traction alopecia’, which causes hair to fall out. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) warns that tight styles such as ponytails or hair extensions, excessive heat styling, and use of strong products can cause hair breakage, and recommends loose styles that reduce pressure on the head.

The number of people choosing hair transplant to solve hair loss is increasing. In the past, it was the exclusive domain of middle-aged men, but recently, even young people in their 20s and 30s and women who want to correct their hairline have joined in. Hair transplantation can be expected to have permanent effects by transplanting hair follicles from the back of the head that are not affected by hair loss.

Surgical methods are largely divided into incision and non-incision. The incision method involves removing a portion of the scalp from the back of the head to separate the hair follicles. Mass transplantation is possible and the surgery time is short, but scars remain. The non-incision method directly extracts hair follicles one by one, leaving little scars and recovering quickly, but it is expensive and the surgeon’s skill greatly affects the engraftment rate. Recently, a combination of the two methods or the ‘no-cut non-incision’ method, which is performed without shaving, is also used.

Care is essential even after hair transplantation. The biggest side effect is a low engraftment rate, and inflammation or sensory abnormalities at the surgical site may occur. Above all, hair loss of existing hair continues even after transplantation, so consistent drug treatment must be used to prevent the awkward appearance of only the transplanted area remaining and the surrounding hair falling out.

Kim So-yeon, Hankyung.com reporter sue123@hankyung.com