Hair transplant provides a very natural and effective appearance when performed by a medical team specializing in the field in people with hair loss problems in the most appropriate way. However, another issue that is as important as the success of transplantation is what should be considered after hair transplantation.
Hair transplant is typically more successful than over-the-counter hair restoration products. But there are some factors to consider:
- Anywhere from 10 to 80 percent of transplanted hair Trusted Source will fully grow back in an estimated three to four months.
- Like regular hair, the transplanted hair will thin over time.
- People with dormant hair follicles (sacs that usually contain hair beneath the skin but no longer grow hair) may have less effective transplants, study suggests that plasma therapy can help up to 75 percent or more of the transplanted hairs fully grow back.
Hair transplant may not work for everyone. They’re mainly used to restore hair if you’re balding or thinning naturally or have lost hair due to an injury.
Most transplants are done with your existing hair, so they’re not as effective for treating people with:
- widespread thinning and baldness
- hair loss due to chemotherapy or other medications
- thick scalp scars from injuries
Expectations
After the surgery, your scalp may be very tender. You may need to take pain medications for several days. Your surgeon will have you wear bandages over your scalp for at least a day or two. He may also prescribe an antibiotic or an anti-inflammatory drug for you to take for several days. Most people can return to work 2 to 5 days after the operation.
In order for the hair transplanted by hair transplantation process to begin its development by holding on in a healthy way, sensitivity should be given to the recommendations to be given by the physician after the application.
Performing a Hair Transplant
Simply put, a hair transplant takes hair you have and transfers it to an area where you don’t have hair. It’s typically taken from the back of your head, but can also be taken from other parts of your body. Before starting a transplant, your surgeon sterilizes the area where the hair will be removed and numbs it with a local anesthetic. You can also request sedation to stay asleep for the procedure.
Your surgeon then performs one of two transplant methods: FUT or FUE.
Follicular unit transplantation (FUT)
FUT is sometimes known as follicular unit strip surgery (FUSS). To perform a FUT procedure, your surgeon follows these steps:
- Using a scalpel, the surgeon removes a piece of your scalp, usually from the back of your head. The strip size is typically about 6 to 10 inches long but can stretch from ear to ear.
- They close the area where the scalp was removed with stitches.
- Your surgeon and their assistants separate the scalp strip into smaller pieces with a scalpel. They may split the piece up into as many as 2,000 smaller fragments, called grafts. Some of these grafts may contain only one hair each.
- Using a needle or blade, the surgeon makes small holes in your scalp where hair will be transplanted.
- The surgeon inserts hairs from the removed piece of scalp into the puncture holes. This step is called grafting.
- They then cover the surgical sites with bandages or gauze.
The specific number of grafts you receive depends on the:
- type of hair you have
- size of transplant site
- quality (including thickness) of hair
- hair color
Follicular unit extraction (FUE)
To perform an FUE procedure, your surgeon takes these steps:
- They shave off the hair on the back of your head.
- The surgeon then takes the individual follicles out of the scalp skin. You’ll see tiny marks where each follicle was removed.
- As with the FUT procedure, the surgeon makes small holes in your scalp and grafts hair follicles into the holes.
- They then cover the surgical site with bandages or gauze.
Things to pay attention in the first week after hair transplant:
The first 15 days after hair transplantation, and especially the first week, play a key role in the success of the operation. The area where the planting is carried out should be protected with great precision during this period, and operations such as washing and maintenance should be carried out correctly. Otherwise, the transplanted hair follicles may be damaged and the success rate will be reduced. In the first week after hair transplantation;
- Crusting and redness occurs on the scalp. How to pour these shells is explained to you in detail by your physician.
- Usually the hair should not be washed for the first 3 days. The first hair wash should be performed by the medical team where the transplantation is performed if possible, and you should be taught the correct way of washing. In the future, the hair transplantation area should be gently washed without interventions that can damage the new transplanted hair follicles such as rubbing and fibering as described in the following process.
- Heavy work should not be done, sexual intercourse and sports should be avoided during the period recommended by the physician.
- According to the method of transplantation, your physician will inform you about what your lying position should be. In accordance with these instructions, attention should be paid to the overnight lying position.
- If there are medications prescribed by the physician after hair transplantation, they should be used regularly.
In addition to all this, you should avoid alcohol use, stress, blows to the transplantation area and heavy physical activities in a week after the procedure for a successful hair transplantation.
What to look out for 1 month after your hair transplant:
As a result of taking measures to protect the transplantation area in the first weeks after hair transplantation, a complete improvement in the scalp is realized. From the tenth day, the shells began to fall out, and on the fifteenth day, usually the shedding was completed. At the end of a month, it is not easily noticed that you have had hair transplantation anymore. At this stage, it should be noted that:
- Daily life, exercise and social life can be returned, but care should be taken to treat the head area gently and not to take a hit.
- The sowing area should not be shaved with a shaver until it is three months old, hair should be shortened only with scissors.
- From the fifteenth day after the procedure, the so-called shock shedding begins and almost all the transplanted hair is shed. This condition is normal and with the third month after transplantation, these hairs begin to grow again.
Newly released hair can be as thin as baby hair, with a few abbreviations, these hairs will look the same as your other hair. In the sixth month, more than half of the hair and 90% of the hair will be healthy by the end of the year.
Recovery after Hair Transplant
FUT and FUE may each take several hours to several days to complete. In part, this depends on the amount of work performed by the surgeon. You will go home the same day of the procedure.
Once the surgery is done, your surgeon carefully removes any bandages. The area may be swollen, so your surgeon might inject triamcinolone into the area to keep the swelling down.
Within 2 to 3 weeks after surgery, the transplanted hair will fall out, but you should start to notice new growth within a few months. Most people will see 60% of new hair growth after 6 to 9 months. Some surgeons prescribe the hair-growing drug minoxidil (Rogaine) to improve hair growth after transplantation, but it’s not clear how well it works.
You’ll likely feel pain or soreness at the transplant site as well as in the area where hair was taken from. For the next few days, your surgeon may prescribe:
- pain medications, such as ibuprofen (Advil)
- antibiotics to prevent infections
- anti-inflammatories, such as an oral steroid, to relieve swelling
- medications such as finasteride (Propecia) or minoxidil (Rogaine) to help stimulate hair growth
Here are some aftercare tips for hair transplant surgery:
- Wait a few days after the surgery to wash your hair. Only use mild shampoos for the first few weeks.
- You should be able to return to work or normal activities in about 3 days.
- Don’t press a brush or comb down over the new grafts for about 3 weeks.
- Don’t wear any hats or pullover shirts and jackets until your doctor says it’s OK.
- Don’t exercise for about a week.
Don’t worry if some hairs fall out. This is part of the process. The transplanted hair may not grow much or seamlessly match the hair around it for a few months.
Where should you get your hair transplant?
Most of the patients are looking for answers to questions such as “Where should I have hair transplantation?, “Where should I have hair transplantation?” Hair transplantation is a treatment that requires a certain budget, time and effort. It should be carried out by specialists and experienced physicians in order to achieve both the success of treatment and the desired appearance from a cosmetic point of view.