Undoubtedly, the most common question we’re asked about hair transplants is “how long does a hair transplant take to heal”? The initial healing process takes two weeks and it’ll take around 1 year for your final result to take shape. On this page, we’ll walk you through the entire hair transplant recovery timeline and guide you through the major milestones. Keep reading to find out more!
Contents
Key Takeaways
- Hair transplant recovery can be split into two parts: the first two weeks post-surgery (sometimes called the “initial recovery period”) and weeks 3-52 where your new hair begins to grow.
- The initial recovery period takes around two weeks to complete. During this time, a patient will be waiting for their scabs/scars to heal, new hair follicles to fully bed in, and recover from the medical procedure.
- For around one year after a hair transplant, the patient’s transplanted hair will grow naturally. A patient can expect a “final result” around month 9-12, at which point the recovery process will be complete.
Hair Transplant Recovery Process: The Full Rundown
A hair transplant procedure is the only long-term solution to hair loss that enables a patient to regrow hair in areas where they have previously experienced balding or recession. At Harley Street Hair Transplant Clinics, the main question we’re asked about this “how long does a hair transplant take to heal”?
Every hair transplant takes time to recover. Initially, the scalp needs time to heal to enable new hair growth to begin. We call this part of the aftercare the “initial recovery process” and it refers to the first few weeks after a hair transplant procedure.
After this, your new hair follicles will grow into maturity in the first year, post-surgery. Making sure hair transplant aftercare goes well is vital in ensuring a great result and continued hair growth many years into the future.
Hair Transplant Healing vs Hair Transplant Hair Growth
Before we cover the entire aftercare process, it’s important to first cover the differences between the “healing process” and the “hair growth process”.
As part of the “healing process”, a patient is usually required to stay at home for two weeks after a hair transplant surgery. This is mainly to limit the chances of infection post-procedure. Of course, this does temporarily disrupt a patient’s daily routine while their scalp heals and recovers.
After the “healing process”, a patient will then go through the “hair growth period”. This is when a patient’s routine can return to normal, but they are waiting for the final result to come to fruition.
So the question of hair transplant recovery time is dependent upon your definition. You should ask yourself, am I asking about “the time needed for my scalp to heal” or “the time needed for my final result to become visible”?
The “Initial Recovery Process” (Weeks 0-2)
The initial recovery period refers to the first couple of weeks after a hair transplant. This part of the healing process is focused on getting the scalp and skin to heal quickly in the immediate aftermath of a hair restoration surgery.
During a hair transplant, hair follicles are taken from a “donor area” (the back and sides of a patient’s head) and implanted into a recipient area (usually the temples or crown area). As part of the procedure, local anaesthetic is administered tiny incisions are made, causing a small amount of bleeding, swelling, and bruising around the patient’s head.
To combat this, patients are required to follow an aftercare routine. As part of this, a patient is required to keep their head elevated, stay at home to limit chances of infection, avoid strenuous exercise, and alter how they wash their hair.
It usually takes around 7-14 days for the initial recovery process to be completed. By the end of this period, scabbing and swelling should have subsided and your newly implanted grafts will be bedded into the recipient area.
Outline of the Initial Recovery Process: The Day-by-Day Guide
The first two weeks following a hair transplant are critical for the healing process and ensuring the success of the procedure. Here’s a detailed outline of what to expect during this period:
Day 1 (Evening of Your Procedure)
After your hair transplant, the transplanted area will be bandaged and you may experience a small amount of swelling and bleeding. This is completely natural and your hair transplant surgeon will walk you through how to deal with this.
Usually, patients are prescribed painkillers, antibiotics to prevent infection, and anti-inflammatory medications to reduce swelling. Information about these medications will be provided in your hair transplant aftercare package.
Your surgeon’s instructions will also say that a patient needs to keep their head in an elevated position (45 degrees) during the first couple of nights. This is to prevent the scalp from getting sweaty and dislodging any newly implanted hair grafts.
Day 2-7 (Increased Scabbing & Swelling)
For the next couple of days after surgery, a patient’s main concern is keeping the scalp clean while scabbing and swelling heal. Around day 3-4 after your surgery, swelling and redness may peak. This is where scabs also begin to form.
These are the hard yards in the healing process and may be where your head feels the sorest. This is completely normal and a sign that your swollen scalp is on the path to full recovery. Swelling is a sign of increased blood flow, which means your hair follicles are receiving the nutrients they need to bed in and thrive.
Another factor to consider during this period is hair washing. As part of your aftercare guide, you will be provided with a “how to wash your hair guide”. In the immediate aftermath of a hair transplant, contactless washing is recommended. As the scalp begins to heal, a patient can gently wash their hair and scalp with a sponge and fingers.
Day 8-10 (Reducing Scabbing & Swelling)
As a patient reaches the second week of FUE hair transplant recovery, their appearance will begin returning to normal and they can begin washing their hair normally. As patients can start washing their hair with their fingers, many of the scabs will begin to fall off the scalp naturally.
As the local anaesthesia wears off, swelling should also begin to go down. It is still vital that patients don’t take part in contact sports or strenuous exercise. Neither should a patient spend too long in direct sunlight.
Day 11-14 (Falling Scabs & No Swelling)
By day 14, the recipient and donor area should have healed fully. Many of the scabs that have formed over the last two weeks should have fallen off and swelling should have largely subsided.
By the end of the recovery period, a patient will likely look like they did immediately before their surgery. This is because the implanted hair grafts will have bedded in but not started growing yet.
Usually, the end of the 14-day recovery period is marked by a free consultation. This is where the patient can speak with their hair transplant surgeon or consultant. At this point, hair loss medications such as finasteride, dutasteride, or minoxidil may also be recommended.
The Hair Growth Period: The Major Milestones
From the moment the initial recovery period ends to around 1 year after your hair transplant surgery, a patient will be in the “hair growth” stage. Predictably, this is where the newly implanted hair follicles will go through their first shed and then grow naturally over the next 9-12 months.
By 12 months, the hair follicles will have reached full maturity and the final result should be visible. A patient’s hairline and/or crown area will look visibly thicker and fuller. The new hair grafts should blend seamlessly into the pre-existing hairline and the donor area should not look over-harvested.
Your hair follicles grow around 0.05cm each day. That translates to 0.5cm of growth every ten days, and 1.5cm in a month. Of course, the speed of hair growth can differ from patient to patient.
Here are the major milestones a patient will experience in the first year after their hair transplant.
Week 2-8 Post Surgery (Initial Growth Phase)
After your initial recovery period has finished, a patient’s hair will grow at a quickened rate. This hair may initially be thin and fine to the eye and touch. This is not a problem as these hair follicles will naturally shed between 4 and 6 weeks post-surgery.
By week 6, a patient will have experienced a full shedding of the recipient area. This is completely normal and is required for your new hair follicles to reach full maturity.
Week 9-26 (Significant Hair Growth)
After the initial shedding phase (and up to around 6 months post-surgery), a patient will see noticeable hair growth in the transplanted areas. The hair will continue to thicken and mature over time. This is where the results of the hair transplant will begin to take shape and the patient will be able to gauge the overall outcome.
Week 26-52 (Full Maturation)
The transplanted hair will continue to mature and grow. It will begin to look visibly thicker and fuller, taking on the same characteristics as the surrounding natural hair that was there before.
By the time the entire recovery process has concluded, it should not be obvious that a patient has had a hair transplant. The final look should be completely natural.
FAQs
Sometimes, it can be difficult to know if your hair transplant recovery is going well or badly. A good hair transplant clinic will always remain in close contact with their patients, arranging multiple follow-up consultations during the recovery period.
This way, a patient can receive constant help and guidance through the recovery process and remain informed on the hair transplant healing process.
There are some minor differences in the initial recovery periods of FUE, DHI, and FUT. In short, DHI boasts the quickest recovery time (around 10-14 days), closely followed by FUE hair transplants (around 14 days). The FUT procedure does have a longer recovery time as the linear strip in the donor area does take more time to recover.
All hair transplant methods take around 12 months for the final result to become visible. The biggest difference in the final result would be that FUT leaves a patient with a lifelong linear strip scar, while DHI and FUE do not. So this is something to consider.
If your scalp isn’t healing or your swelling isn’t going down, the safest thing to do is to contact the hair transplant clinic that performed your procedure. They will be in the best place to guide you through the aftercare process and determine is further medical action is required.
Aside from the usual soreness in the days after your surgery, you should not be experiencing large amounts of pain. If this persists, contact your hair transplant clinic and they should walk you through the next steps.
The hair transplant recovery process isn’t always as simple as made out. Sometimes, a patient may suffer from redness, itchiness, or soreness to the scalp in the first two weeks post-surgery. All patients are provided with a saline solution to alleviate the desire to itch and scratch.
