What to expect 2 weeks after an FUE hair transplant

The recipient area may still look pink or darker than nearby skin, while the donor sites can have small dots, tightness, itching or altered sensation. These changes should trend toward improvement rather than becoming more painful or swollen.

Transplanted hair shafts can shed even when follicles remain beneath the skin. That early shedding does not by itself show that grafts have failed; visible growth follows the clinic's longer recovery timeline and varies between people.

Follow your surgical team's washing instructions, using gentle fingertip contact and avoiding scratching with nails. Do not force off crusts, apply unapproved oils or dyes, or expose the scalp to tanning. Wear headwear only in the manner your clinic permits so it does not rub the graft area.

Ask before returning to strenuous exercise, swimming, helmets or close haircuts because technique and healing can change the timing. Continue only medicines and sprays included in your plan, and send the clinic clear photographs if one area starts looking different from the rest.

Contact the transplant team promptly for increasing pain, warmth, spreading redness, new swelling, pus, unpleasant odour, persistent bleeding or a fever. Sudden facial swelling, trouble breathing, faintness or another severe reaction warrants emergency care.

Ask whether the remaining crusting matches expected healing, when normal shampooing and exercise can resume, and how to manage itching without disturbing grafts. Confirm the planned review schedule and which photographs or symptoms should trigger an earlier visit.