Immediately after your hair transplant procedure you should notice some swelling, bruising and scabs that have formed. This is totally normal and it should go away completely in as few as two days. It’s usually a good idea to take these days off work if possible to give your body lots of energy to devote to the healing process.
If your scalp starts to feel tight or itchy, this is completely normal and it will go away in time. Just try to resist the urge to scratch as much as possible. Be aware that immediately after your surgery you will need someone to drive you home safely – driving on sedatives is not recommended under any circumstances.
After this phase, all of your precious, new, implanted hair will fall out, leaving you looking exactly the same as you did before. This is also completely normal and it’s what’s known as ‘thermal shock’. This is because the hair follicles die during the very rough procedure. However, this leaves the hair’s stem cells perfectly intact, ready to sprout beautiful, new hairs in their place. Then, a few cycles of hair loss and shedding will take place which can have quite a toll on people’s emotions. This is all to be expected however so don’t fret too much.
Your surgeon will no doubt have given you a post-care regimen to follow which would include antibiotics, scalp-cleaning techniques and any follow-up consultations that need to take place:
- For the first few nights you will need to sleep in an upright position so use pillows or construct an upright bed if necessary.
- Make sure you do not drink any alcohol for the first two days after your surgery.
- Don’t smoke cigarettes for a month afterwards. Even better would be to give up. Smoking is terrible for circulation and even worse for hair growth.
- Sometimes a growth spray is prescribed which you need to use on your head to promote hair growth. This must be done every half hour for the first day.
- Only after a few days will you be able to shampoo and clean your head. Then you need to repeat it every few days.
- Avoid playing any sports for the first week.
- If you were given antibiotic cream, make sure you apply this twice a day for a week.
- Avoid any sun during the healing process or wear a cap.
This is the best way to make sure your healing process is swift and your hair grows back with vigor.
