Other Types of Hair Loss

• First Few Days After Hair Transplant
• One Week After Hair Transplant
• Four Weeks After Procedure
• 3 Months After Surgery
• 6 Months After Surgery
• 1 Year After Surgery
• After The First Year of Surgery

First Few Days After Hair Transplant

Pain and discomfort There may be some aching on the donor area, which starts within the first few hours after hair transplantation. Pain medicine is generally provided to alleviate the discomfort during the first night. After the first night, pain should be well controlled. Most patients do not need any medications for pain after the first night, but if there is any remaining pain during the second day, mild pain medications such as Tylenol, in most cases, is enough to bring more comfortable results.

Swelling
It is common for the first four days after hair restoration surgery for there to be some swelling around the transplanted area. Swelling is due to the process of healing and may range from non-existent to severe in which the subcutaneous fluid descends from the forehead area to around eyes. The maximum swelling is generally seen in days 3 and 4 after hair transplantation. Patients may need steroids to prevent swelling after their hair restoration. It is good to sleep in semi-sitting position and keep the upper body elevated which will help minimize the swelling, or shorten its duration.

Bruising
Bruising or discoloration of skin around the transplanted area might be present for the first few days after hair restoration surgery. This may involve the recipient area, and at times, may extend to the forehead. We usually give a baseball cap to our patients that will help to cover the transplanted area, but those with existing hair can use it to cover the bruised areas of the transplanted sites.

Scabbing
Scabbing is common during this time period. They should flake off within one week if patient properly wash the transplanted areas. We generally bring patients back for the first day after hair transplantation to give them a hair wash and teach them how to wash their head for the first few days. Special shampoo and sponge will be provided as well. We recommend washing transplanted areas twice a day for the first 4 days. Patients can go back to their routine hair wash after that time unless they continue to have scabbing. They need to continue washing their head twice a day, as long as they still have scabbing in the area.

Itching
Itching is a common symptom after any type of wound healing. Hair transplantation is not an exception to that reality. Patients may feel itching on transplanted and donor areas for the first few days. This may extend to the second week after hair transplant, but should be mild and does not require any treatment for most patients. If itching was significant, a prescription of a mild steroid cream might help.

Washing Hair After Hair Transplant
The first 4 days after surgery are most critical as hair transplant patients need to be extra careful about washing their hair, especially the transplanted areas. There is a special “hair washing” appointment the day after surgery designated to show you how to properly wash, with critical care of the transplanted areas. After 4 days most people can return to a normal hair washing routine.

Returning to Work After Hair Transplant
You can return to work as early as the day after hair restoration surgery, but if the job requires any kind of lifting, bending, stretching, physical strain or being touching chemicals, patient can take a few days off until the acute phase is over. Some patients may need to take days off only because they want to keep their hair transplant surgery confidential. In these types of cases patient can take 1 to 2 weeks off work. The first four days are the most critical when being extra careful to avoid any type of strain, after four days the transplanted grafts are usually well settled.

Physical Activities After Hair Transplant
No physical activity that can cause strain on the back of head, sutured, or stapled area should be done. There are no limitations for mild exercises as long as the patient does not bend his/her head aggressively or touch the transplanted area. Contact sports should be avoided for the first month in most patients who had a transplant surgery.

One Week After Hair Transplant

Redness and Inflammation The inflammation and redness should be subsided at this time, but a mild pinkish discoloration of the transplanted area may remain. This can be visible for a few weeks comparable to a sun burn, especially in patients with lighter skin.

Physical Activity
It is okay to resume exercise more than two days after hair transplant. It is critical to be selective about the types of exercises are done (such as not doing squats, bent rows, lifts, etc.) for the first four days after surgery. Always aim to keep your head elevated/upright. Bending head may increase the tension of the donor area that may increase the chance of stretching of the scar.

Itching
Itching is still common during this time as the surgical areas will continue healing during the first few weeks.

Four Weeks After Procedure

Redness and Inflammation The inflammation should be subsided by this point in most patients. Transplanted hair generally falls out in the first two to three weeks and patients go back to where they were before hair transplantation at this point.

Physical Activity
Patient should be able to resume most physical activities they used to do before hair transplantation. The key is avoiding strain on the scar area if a strip, or FUT, hair transplant was performed. If an FUE procedure was performed, then more intense exercises are permitted.

Hair Growth
Transplanted hair grafts should have set in their new location on the scalp and the hairs attached should have fallen out. After being replanted, the stubby hair falls out and then the new strands of hair begin to grow after a couple of months.

3 Months After Surgery

Appearance Patient's appearance should be as it was during the pre-transplanted time. Patients generally don't keep the newly transplanted hair, and commonly lose the shaft of hairs while the follicles become part of the scalp and generate new hairs.

Shock Loss
This is the worse period after hair transplantation due to the fact that some patients may lose some of their native hair due to shock loss after their hair transplant. This happens while they still do not see the bulk of the transplanted hair grown in yet. Some patients may feel the bulk of their hair is lessening more than what it was before the hair transplant. This does happen at times until the next few months after hair transplant when the patients can see the newly transplanted hair along with regrowth from some of the hair that has gone through shock loss.

New Growth
Patients who have complete baldness (no visible hair before hair transplant), should be able to see some very small hair in the transplanted area. Folliculitis or pimple shaped lesions may be noted in some patients at this time. They are generally forming because of the collection of sebum (oily secretions of the hair follicles) and might be more than one. Folliculitis lesions usually drain spontaneously without any need for any interventions. If folliculitis lesions are more than two or they are painful, you need to see your surgeon to have those lesions drained for you. Drainage of folliculitis is generally simple and painless.

6 Months After Surgery

Sudden and usually stress related hair loss, which presents itself as general thinning throughout the scalp. Telogen Effluvium occurs after any sever and sudden stress. In Telogen effluvium a large number of hair follicles go to sleep phase at once causing hair loss or thinning all over or in a large area of scalp. In most cases the hair loss recovers spontaneously and completely. Telogen effluvium can be seen in patients who are prone to male or female patterned baldness and stress cause accelerate hair loss that may be not reversible due to underlying conditions. The most common form of telogen effluvium is seen after childbirth or pregnancy termination for other reasons in women.

1 Year After Surgery

Hair Growth The final results from the Hair Restoration should be obvious and noticeable. At this time the new hair will have grown to its normal thickness. Although most patients may see most of their results at this time, more improvement in fullness and thickness should be expected up until 18 months from hair transplant. The size of the donor scar will mature during the first year and should be at its final size at this time in patients who had the strip hair transplant procedure.

After The First Year of Surgery

More fullness should be expected at this point through 18 months from the hair transplant. This case is especially true for the patients who grow their hair long. Many patients at this time can see their final result and determine whether a second hair restoration procedure is necessary or not.

It is crucial to stay in touch with your hair transplant surgeon during the entire time after your hair transplantation if you have any concerns or questions. We at US Hair Restoration usually want to see our patients after their hair transplantation for 4 standard follow up visits.

Those are: