What to Do After Your Hair Restoration Surgery?
Upon the completion of the surgery on the same night and for the next few, sleep with your head elevated on pillows. If you are having problems with sleep due to pain, consult with us and we can prescribe appropriate medication for the same. Care of the follicles after the FUE hair transplant surgery begins with showering and shampooing of your hair every day. Use a mild shampoo to clean the transplanted area. Johnson and Johnsons – No tears is what we recommend to our patients. To ensure that the follicular units in the transplanted region are not dislodged you can also use a spray bottle as an alternative to the shower. Usually, after the first shower, no further bandages are required. Dry up using a clean cotton towel by patting your hair. Take care not to rub hard over the grafted area. Apply Neomycin ointment over the donor area for five days after the transplant procedure is complete to enable faster healing.
The normal way of cleaning your hair, just like you are used to, must be resumed after no lesser than ten days from the day to the hair transplant procedure is complete. In case you are looking to dye or color your hair, you can do so only after four weeks after the FUE hair transplant. Avoid the consumption of alcohol for two days after the day of the surgery. Strictly refrain from smoking for at least two days. Do not expose the transplanted area to strong sunlight. You should protect yourself by wearing a hat or by using an SPF 30+ sunscreen.
The FUE Hair transplant procedure will not affect your daily routines and you can resume them almost immediately, provided that you follow all the instructions mentioned above, religiously. You may resume your exercise schedules taking care that you avoid strenuous exercise for two weeks following the surgery. Ideally, we would like our patients to follow up with us after a week from the day of the surgery. But for patients who stay considerably far from the clinic, we will assist with consultation over the phone as well.
What to Expect After Your FUE Hair Transplant Surgery?
If you follow the post-operative procedure carefully, almost always the transplant is minimally detectable after a few days and usually after 10 -14 days it becomes completely undetectable. We administer medication to prevent swelling at the time of surgery. Despite medication, some patients experience swelling near the forehead that usually settles across the bridge of the nose and around the eyes. In case this occurs, it usually goes away by the end of the first week.
In about three months, you would be able to spot growth in the newly transplanted hair. Generally, the new hair would grow long enough for grooming within six months and after a year of the procedure, a set of fully grown hair can be seen. Some original hair might fall in the first few months after the procedure and you might observe that the hair are slightly thinner in the transplanted area. This phenomenon is temporary and common before the growth of the new hair kicks in, so this phase should be expected and not cause alarm. Other common signs of healing, pain, and some sensations that you might experience are:
- There may be some bleeding from the donor area right after the surgery. Apply pressure to this area with medical gauze for as long as it takes to stop the bleeding.
- There can also be some pain in the donor and the transplanted area. Solpadeine and Nurofen are the recommended medications for this, to be taken every three hours, alternatively.
- In case you feel numbness or a tingling sensation in the transplanted area, this is perfectly normal and it will resolve without any intervention at all. It can last from a few weeks to a couple of months.
- Upon the completion of the surgery, there is very little scope for infection. Despite this should you see any signs of infection or if you have a suspicion of the same, you should reach out to us immediately.
The graft sites will tend to form scabs in about 24-72 hours and they usually fall off in three to ten days. Usually, the hair may also shed with the scabs. This is completely normal. Make sure you do not scratch or pick at the scabs. This will only endanger the survival of the grafts. In case the scabs persist beyond 14 days, you just need to rub the shampoo on the scalp a little more vigorously. Remember that the critical period after surgery is the period of five days that follow it.
Here are a few additional details, the usual course of predictors of treatment that are expected after Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) procedure. The course might not be exactly as mentioned, as it differs from one person to another; hence do not be concerned about minor discrepancies:
THE TRANSPLANTED AREA | THE DONOR AREA | |
---|---|---|
The Day Following Surgery | The dressing is removed and apply anti-biotic ointment in the donor area. | Soreness, and possibly some numbness are expected. There will be some discharge the donor area. Clean it gently. |
Days 2-3 | After cleaning the whole scalp using spray bottle, Moderate redness and scabs may be present. The face might also show some signs of swelling. By and large, any discomfort in the recipient area is less likely. | There is a gradual decrease in the magnitude of soreness in the donor area. Likely to continue experiencing some numbness. |
Days 4-6 | Swelling, if any, will settle around the eyes, cheeks, and across the bridge of the nose. | You may get rid of residual crusting in the donor area with running shower water. |
End of Week 1 | Swelling if any usually subsides. Redness is usually absent or faint. The hair transplant appears and feel like a week-old beard. | The donor area is usually healed from the FUE and the soreness is generally gone. |
Day 10 | Grafts take a firm grip. Gently scrub off residual crusting, if any. | |
End of Week 2 | You cannot dislodge the grafts as they are permanently in place at this stage. The transplanted hair starts to fall. Returning to normal routine is effectively feasible. | Numbness is uncommon |
End of Week 3 | The shedding of implanted hair is noticeable. | |
End of Month 1 | The hair follicles go into a resting phase. You will look almost like you did before the FUE procedure. Patients can dye their hair should they choose to. | |
Months 3-5 | The growth of newly transplanted hair kicks off, initially as very fine hair. Some, or all of the original hair that fell, now start growing back. | |
Months 6-9 | Hair grows long enough to be groomed, but it continues to grow and thicken. Minimal changes in the texture of hair occur sporadically. | |
Month 9 | A follow-up consultation is arranged to evaluate results and discuss if a second session is required. | |
1 Year | The final look of the hair transplants is fully ready to be appreciated. | |
1-2 Years | There is a possibility of additional fullness. Recent changes in the texture of hair usually return to normal, if any. |