You are requested to sleep with your head elevated on pillows for the first four nights following the procedure. This helps prevent any swelling which may occur post hair transplantation. The day following your surgery, you may shower as long as you do not wet your hair. Starting on the second day, you may shower and gently shampoo your scalp daily. Approximately 10 days after hair transplantation surgery, you will return to the office to have your stitches removed and to ensure there were no hair transplantation problems. By this time, there may be no trace you have hair transplants unless you brush aside the hair and closely inspect for visual changes. Roughly six months later, you are requested to return to the office to monitor your progress. At this follow-up visit, your newly growing hair should be visible and you should begin to enjoy your “after” photographs. We would also suggest having another follow-up about a year after the surgery. By this time, all of your newly grafted follicles should have begun producing hair.

Many patients retain some or all of the new hairs post hair transplantation. In these cases, the hair shafts do not fall out after surgery and begin growing longer from day one. However, most patients experience at least some portion of shedding from their newly transplanted follicles within the first few weeks after the procedure. These follicles often remain dormant for several months as they heal and become integrated into the surrounding tissue. By 3-4 months after hair transplantation, many follicles begin to produce new hair. Some follicles take even longer to begin their new growth phase, which explains why full growth usually takes a full year after the hair transplant. Once the follicles have started producing new hair, they should grow for the rest of your life.

If you have any questions the surgical procedure or concerns about possible hair transplantation problems, contact RMHRI in La Jolla, San Diego today. Medical hair restoration is very safe and the results often exceed expectations.