I apologize for the fearful title of this article, but unfortunately I have seen pictures of patients who have gone to the wrong hair transplant surgeon for a hair transplant.

The purpose of this article is to outline the process that should be used to finding a suitable doctor to perform your hair transplant.

Remember that a hair transplant is permanent, so you want to make sure that you pick a qualified artistic surgeon who will give natural looking results.

Nothing could be more devastating than having to live with a bad looking hair transplant for the whole world to see.

Here is a quick criteria list that you should reference before selecting a hair transplant surgeon.

1. Find out how long the surgeon has been performing hair transplants and how many actual sessions he or she has done. Nothing could be more scarier than finding out that you are only the third patient he or she has ever performed a hair transplant on.

2. Make sure that the surgeon you select does hair transplantation as a full-time profession. You do not want a doctor who does hair transplants in the morning, liposuction in the afternoon and then tummy tucks in the evening.

3. Make sure that you can have access to a real person who the surgeon has worked on. Pictures can be manipulated or photo touched to look much better. By seeing a real person who has had a hair transplant by that surgeon, you will also be able to see the surgeon's artistic ability in creating a natural looking hair transplant.

4. Make sure that the surgeon you select has the proper credentials. A hair transplant should be performed by a qualified physician who is a Doctors of Medicine (MD). They should be board certified by their respective country.

5. A hair transplant surgeon should not pressure you into doing a hair transplant procedure. If a surgeon starts sounding like a salesman, leave immediately.

6. Select a surgeon who can determine your long-term objectives. A good surgeon should be able to determine what type of hair loss you will experience in the future in order to give you a hair transplant that will look good and natural even 20 years from now.

7. Ask about the team that supports the hair transplant surgeon. Most hair transplant surgeons do not do the actual insertion of each hair graft, but rather uses a team of nurses. Ask about their experience and how many sessions they have done in the past.

Remember that there are limits to what hair transplantation can do for your looks and a qualified hair surgeon should be able to tell you what you should realistically expect.

Follow the above criteria and you should be able to get a good qualified surgeon who can give you a great looking hair transplant.

Andy Buna is webmaster of http://www.HairLossExplained.com, which is a content-packed web site dedicated to the study of hair loss, including a comprehensive section on hair transplantation.