The best position to sleep in after a hair transplant is on your back, with your head elevated above your heart. This will help reduce swelling but also prevent your head from turning and damaging grafts at night. Sleep on 1 pillow with a travel pillow around your neck to prop your head forwards and up.
'Sleeping after hair transplant' Experts do not recommend sleeping on your side in the first weeks after the procedure. Because the side lying position can cause swelling on the scalp. Side sleeping position should not be preferred especially in the first ten days.
After 5 days, it will be fine to sleep in your normal sleeping position again. That being said, we'd still advise you to use soft linens and avoid any friction when it comes to your scalp. Avoid all friction and abrasive materials – such as pillows with sequins, raised designs or raised textures.
For at least a week after surgery, sleep with your head and back slightly elevated, preferably on a recliner. The first three to four nights have the highest risk of swelling. Sleeping in an elevated position will keep the swelling in your scalp and forehead under control and speed up the recovery.
However, it is important to continue to use the neck pillow until the grafts are secure after five nights. By the sixth night, your grafts will be secure and you can sleep with a normal pillow. It's at this stage that you can also have your first contact hair wash.
After a hair transplant, you need to sleep on your back, facing up. You sleep with your head on a neck pillow to help keep your head elevated in the correct position.
After a hair transplant surgery, whether it is an FUE hair transplant or a DHI hair transplant, the optimal sleeping position involves lying on your back, with both your head and back elevated, ideally at a 45° angle. Avoid sleeping on your stomach, damaging the transplanted hair and exacerbating swelling.
Although the recovery process after hair transplantation varies from patient to patient, it covers a period of about 1 year. Following surgery, the first three days are crucial. There may be some pain on the first night, but if you use the painkillers prescribed by your doctor, you can have a comfortable night.
It takes 5-10 days for your grafts to become secure after your hair transplants. It's very important that you take care of your graft while they heal. Generally, after a hair transplant, newly implanted grafts take around 5-10 days to become secure.
In fact, they're so delicate that they can actually fall out if they're touched excessively, or if the treated area comes into contact with an abrasive or any type of friction. This is why it's incredibly important to avoid touching the transplanted area for at least 14 days once you enter the recovery period.
FUE hair transplants have one of the highest success rates at around 95% - 100%. This number works on the basis that a FUE hair transplant is considered successful when anything upwards of 60-70% of grafts survive.
Patients can immediately bathe after a hair transplant procedure but should keep their scalp dry. After 48 hours they can gently wash the transplanted areas but should not allow shower water to directly hit the new grafts. After one week, patients may shower and wash their hair normally.
When can I exercise after a hair transplant? Patients can exercise 7-14 days after their hair transplant. After 7 days patients can perform light exercises which don't make them sweat, e.g. walking, light cycle ride. After 14 days patients can perform heavy exercise that makes them strain and sweat e.g. weightlifting.
You may experience the hair in the grafts falling out over the first few weeks after the procedure. This is expected and your new hair will start growing approximately 4-6 months after your procedure. ACTIVITY: Avoid bending, lifting and straining for 1 week after your procedure.
Avoid Exercise and Strenuous Activities
While the first 72 hours of recovery after a hair transplant procedure are the most critical, you will need to take it easy for some time to come. Most doctors recommend avoiding exercise and other strenuous activities for about two weeks after a hair transplant.
Exposing your hair transplant to direct sunlight
Therefore, it is recommended that you wear a cap when going outside in the first 2 weeks following your hair transplant. After 2 weeks have passed you will only need to consider wearing a hat or a cap if your transplant still appears quite red.
It is important to remember that the transplanted region should not be touched or scraped as this may dislodge the grafts and introduce infection. After 12-14 days following surgery, patients might start touching the areas slightly.
Results can begin to show themselves as early as four to six weeks after the treatment, but your final result won't be noticeable until at least five to six months after. Some patients will take as much as 18 months, depending on their natural hair, to see the results they were striving for.
The best and easiest way to cover your head after a hair transplant is to use hats or headbands. Fishing and bucket hats are the safest choices to cover your head. Also, after the 10th day, you can start wearing more stylish hats that do not disturb the healing process.
At 3 weeks post-op we can see the coverage of the grafts, however, there is also evidence of some temporary post-transplant shedding. In this picture, we can see that by the 3rd week, any redness is beginning to die down, and any scabs are coming away.
You can usually wear a hat around 10 days after your hair transplant operation. 10 days is a good time period to wait as this gives the transplanted hair follicles a chance to take root in any balding areas without anything disturbing them.
Pain after hair transplantation
Some patients describe this as like the pain of a graze, or after you have mildly cut yourself. In fact, hair transplantation not a very invasive procedure that does not go deeper than the skin, so one would not expect serious pain.
There are certain things that should be avoided during these few days as they provide a risk post hair transplant, such as swimming, drinking alcohol, smoking, high-impact exercise and more. It is also crucial you keep your scalp well hydrated during this period with regular saline sprays.
Does coffee affect hair transplant? After hair transplant, clothing with a baggy collar or buttons is preferred to avoid damage to the donor and transplanted areas. Plenty of water should be consumed. It will be useful not to consume tea, coffee and cigarettes during the first 3 days.