Delve into the recovery process after a hair transplant. From treating scabs to promoting hair growth, learn how to support your new hair growth with care and attention.
The course of recovery after a hair transplant
A hair transplant is a procedure that takes several hours. So unfortunately, you cannot leave our hair clinic with a new head of hair within an hour. After this procedure, the newly placed hair follicles have to recover, bond and start growing. This is a process that takes months and which you will notice especially in the first days after the procedure. We have years of experience in supervising hair treatments in Turkey and can therefore perfectly tell you how long recovery will take and what you should take into account.
Recovery of the donor area after hair transplantation
In hair transplantation, we distinguish between two areas, namely the donor area and the recipient area. In the donor area, the grafts are harvested for replanting in the recipient area. In the donor area, only some is removed. The skin needs some time to recover after the procedure. Nothing else needs to be placed and replanted in this area, as hair follicles have been removed. Only the first few days you have to be careful with cleaning this area to prevent infections. An infection can affect the remaining hair follicles that keep the back of the head covered. Other than that, the recovery of the donor area after hair transplantation is not that exciting. Therefore, the rest of this article focuses mainly on the recipient area.
This is because there are new hair follicles there that need to nestle in order to then grow into real hairs that will ensure that you can hit the streets again with a full head of hair.
Advice for the best results
Recovery after hair transplantation is very important mainly in the first days after the procedure. These days the new hairs have to settle in the scalp. Once this goes well then the rest will go by itself, so to speak. We take you with us:
The first days after hair transplantation
You undergo the hair transplant with our medical specialists in Istanbul, Turkey. We arrange the air travel and also the hotel. 3 days are booked for you where the second day is the treatment day. The following day you will return to the clinic where the first waxing will take place. We have professionals do this because when washing, because of the contact with the skin, a wound can quickly pop open. After washing, you fly back home. We will give you a list of advice and instructions to ensure the best possible outcome of your recovery. Handy to review on the plane, for example.
Back in the Netherlands
After returning home, it is important to rest. The first 10 days your skin and head are still clearly recovering. Then the scabs will fall off your head and it will no longer be noticeable that you have had a hair transplant. After that, you can slowly resume your daily life. Until then, it is important to avoid contact with the scalp, even while sleeping. You can do this, for example, by sleeping in a different position or with a neck pillow. Showering is also different because you can’t wash your head in the usual way. Keep in mind that hair follicles have been implanted and that they have to attach in order to take full effect. This requires some patience. As a rule, most people return to their normal routine after 2 weeks.
What not to do after a hair transplant
There are some important things you should especially not do when you have undergone a hair transplant, we are happy to list them for you:
- Smoking: It is advised to stop smoking in the weeks leading up to the transplant. It is also important not to smoke in the first week after the operation. This is because nicotine causes less oxygen to be present in the blood and thus the hair follicles have less oxygen to recover.
- Drinking alcohol: Alcohol thins the blood and interferes with the body’s repair mechanisms. So this also definitely does not benefit recovery. So be sure to wait a week after the procedure to do so.
- Sports: The first week it is advised not to exercise at all. Perspiration and increased heart rate make the wounds moist and vulnerable. Your immune system is also weakened by the exertion, which makes you extra vulnerable to infections. This also applies to sexual exertion, so leave that for at least another week.
- Seeking the sun: For the first few weeks, you definitely don’t want the scalp to burn. This can also affect the grafts placed. The first week you can only block the sun with an umbrella. After that, you can also use a cap or sunscreen.
- Hair styling: Leave gel and hairspray for the first 2 weeks. After that, you can use it again. You can also go to the hairdresser again. Above all, tell the barber that you have had a hair transplant and that clippers should not be used on the recipient area for the first 3 months. Dyed hair can be dyed again after 6 weeks.
How is recovery after a hair transplant afterwards?
So the first 2 weeks are the most important. After that, you can actually resume your routines as usual. During this time, the hair follicles nestle and the wounds in the recipient and donor areas heal. The grafts are then fully established. However, the hairs have gone into “shock. In this process, the hairs also suffer from “shock loss. This means that the hairs fall out first. This is not something to be alarmed by. With proper hair transplant recovery, this happens after 1 to 3 weeks. This leaves the hair follicle behind. This forms another new hair. This will be your real new hair. For the first few months, it will be a little flaxen, thin and blonde. Only after six months will you probably see real hair forming. After about a year, the hair will gain natural thickness and color. Probably at the last consultation, 12 months after the transplant, you will walk in with a full head of hair. Only then is the process of hair transplantation completely complete for us.
How long does it take to recover from a hair transplant?
The answer to this question is not unequivocal. Recovery after hair transplantation depends on the person, the operation and the behavior. However, you can speed up the process and you can ensure an optimal result by following the advice of our clinic as much as possible. As a rule, you can resume your “normal” life after 2 weeks and have a full head of hair after a year.
If you want to go through this process with a party that aims to take as much of the worry out of you as possible before, during, but certainly also in the year after the hair transplant, then we at Hair Clinic Wolf are here for you. We stand for optimal guidance during the process so that you can sit down in the treatment chair without any doubts. We also guide you in your recovery so that together we can look with satisfaction at your new head of hair.
