Post Hair Transplant Do’s And Don’ts: The First Two Weeks
Aftercare following a hair transplant is fairly light, but the first two weeks decide how well the grafts take. This is the short version, as two lists. For the full recovery timeline including the shedding phase and when the result actually arrives, see our hair transplant aftercare guide.
Where this page and your surgeon disagree, follow your surgeon. They have seen your scalp.
Do
- Arrange a lift home. The local anaesthetic may not have worn off, so driving yourself is not advisable.
- Follow your surgeon’s written instructions first. General guides are useful, but yours were written for the procedure you actually had.
- Keep the clinic’s number to hand. Problems are rare, but nobody should be sitting at home guessing.
- Keep the scalp dry for the first 24 hours. This is when healing starts and the grafts are least secure.
- Keep the area clean after that, washing gently and exactly as instructed, avoiding chemicals and strong shower pressure.
- Sleep semi-upright for the first two or three nights. It makes a real difference to forehead and eye swelling.
- Take ordinary painkillers if you need them. Most people describe tenderness rather than pain.
Do not
- Do not expose the scalp to direct sunlight. It irritates skin that is already sore, and sunburn on a healing scalp is genuinely unpleasant. A loose hat if you have to go out.
- Do not scratch or pick. Itching and scabbing are normal healing, but interfering with them can pull a graft out before it has anchored.
- Do not drink alcohol or smoke. Both restrict blood supply to the scalp, which is exactly what the new grafts rely on.
- Do not do anything that makes you sweat heavily. No gym, running or swimming. Sweat raises infection risk and exertion raises blood pressure at the scalp.
- Do not use styling products. No gel, wax or spray until your clinic says the grafts are secure.
- Do not panic when the transplanted hair falls out. It sheds between two and eight weeks in almost everyone. The follicle stays, the visible hair regrows.
When the restrictions lift
Most of the list above applies for around fourteen days, which is roughly how long the grafts take to secure themselves. Light activity usually returns after a week, full training at two to three weeks, and scissors on the hair at about three weeks. Your clinic will confirm the timings for your own procedure at your review.
After that the transplanted hair behaves like the hair it came from. It came from the back and sides, which are not sensitive to DHT, so it does not fall out the way the original hair did.
Not had the procedure yet?
If you are still deciding, a free assessment gives you a graft count and an exact price with no obligation, and an honest answer on whether surgery is right for you at all. Book a free video assessment or call 0800 043 0993.
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