Many people choose to have a hair transplant procedure to reduce signs of receding hairlines and help stimulate hair growth. This can be done to help boost confidence, especially in men who might have started to lose their hair at a young age.
If you are planning to have a hair transplant, or have recently had one and want to learn more about the healing process, see our timeline of hair transplant recovery below.
Before surgery
Before you have your hair transplant surgery, you’ll want to focus on keeping your diet as healthy as possible for optimum recovery and results. Steer away from drinking alcohol, smoking, and eating junk food where possible. Also avoid supplements that haven’t been prescribed by your doctor, as these can also affect your healing time. Don’t have any caffeine on the day of your surgery and make sure you get a good night's sleep the night before, so that you are prepared for the day ahead.
Immediately after surgery
Straight after surgery, you can expect to feel some soreness once the numbing has worn off and redness around the areas that have been treated.
This pain shouldn’t be excruciating and you should be able to manage with regular painkillers. It might feel unusual to sleep on for a few days, until you get used to the new sensation.
One to seven days after surgery
You may experience some initial swelling in the forehead area along with small scabs at the incision sites - these will normally flake off during the first week of recovery. Any remaining redness will have dissipated within the first seven days and you’ll be left with pinker tones to your skin for the next week or so.
It’s recommended that you should sleep on your back, somewhat upright for at least seven days - you can use a travel pillow to make this more comfortable. It’s important that, for the first few days, you use the saline solution provided by your surgeon to keep your new hair follicles moist and give them the best chance of successfully transplanting.
Seven to 14 days after surgery
Towards the end of your first week, you’ll start to see scabs forming where your new grafts are. It’s important that you don’t pick these scabs, as tempting as it may be, as this could cause some of the grafts to fall out and leave you with scarring and an undesired result.
Be sure to stick to the washing regimen recommended by your surgeon to avoid any damage to these sites, as they will still be quite delicate.
Two to four weeks after surgery
You might start to notice shedding at this point. Don’t panic, this is a normal cycle that the hair will go through due to the trauma caused by the procedure.
You’ll begin to see your receding areas again at this point, but try to remain positive and stay patient. Results won’t happen overnight and hair transplants require quite a lot of healing before the full effect is visible.
One to three months after surgery
During this time, you might not notice much change and it could seem like your transplant hasn’t been successful. As the hair follicles will have gone into hibernation mode to deal with the trauma caused to your scalp, you may not see any growth.
However, as the weeks progress, you will start to gradually see these hairs returning to the site. At this point, you can shave the hairs down so that they are level to avoid the appearance of unevenness around your hairline.
THREE TO FOUR MONTHS AFTER SURGERY
Now, you’ll begin to see your transplanted hair growing back and maturing. The hair will begin to grow thicker, rather than the fine hairs you might have noticed previously.
By the end of this time, you’ll have noticed transplanted hair has started to fill in the gaps between your receding areas.
Four months to a year after surgery
This is when you will really start to notice a difference in growth. Each month, your hair will grow thicker and faster, filling in the gaps where you have previously experienced balding. The finer hairs will begin to mature fully and you’ll begin to get an even head of hair.
Keep taking care of your new hair as best as you can, and remember to go for check ups with your surgeon to ensure that you are recovering well.
