What to Expect From Your Scalp After a Hair Transplant

Tiny graft sites may form crusts, and the donor area may feel tight, numb or sensitive. Swelling can move towards the forehead before settling. Some transplanted hairs shed after the procedure while follicles remain in the skin, so early appearance does not show the final growth pattern. Healing differs by technique, graft placement, scalp condition and personal response.

Follow the clinic’s washing instructions and handle grafts gently. Avoid rubbing, picking crusts, strenuous activity, direct sun, swimming and tight headwear until your surgical team allows them. Sleep in the position recommended by the clinic and take only the medicines approved for you. Keep follow-up appointments so the donor and recipient areas can be checked.

Contact the surgical team promptly for increasing rather than improving pain, spreading redness, worsening swelling, pus, foul-smelling drainage, fever, heavy bleeding, or grafts becoming displaced. Urgent help is appropriate for severe facial swelling, breathing difficulty, or a serious reaction after a medicine.

Ask when to wash normally, how to manage crusts and itching, when exercise and sun exposure are allowed, which symptoms are expected, and when early shedding should be reviewed.