182,025 surgical hair restoration procedures were performed in the United States and Canada last year. This data comes from the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS). It represents a 29 percent increase from 2016 to 2019.
As hair transplants are becoming more popular, the techniques have also become more advanced.
The best hair transplant procedures don’t require general anesthesia. You can recover quickly after surgery with very little downtime. Hair transplant scars and painful incisions are a thing of the past!
However, it’s still surgery and shouldn’t be taken lightly. The recovery period after the operation is crucial. It’s all up to you to take care of the graft sites to ensure proper healing.
What should you do after surgery to guarantee the best results? Here are some post-op care routine tips that you should follow.
1. How to Wash Your Hair After a Hair Transplant Procedure
You should refrain from washing your hair for two to three days. After that, you can safely wash your hair. Your doctor might also schedule an appointment to have your hair washed for the first time by trained professionals.
You’d want to take it easy with hair washing during the first week. Avoid aggressive shampooing, rinsing with high-pressure sprays from the shower, and blow-drying. Instead, you can pour warm water with shampoo over your head, rinse with more water, then pat your hair dry with a paper towel.
After one week, you can typically return to your normal hair hygiene routine.
2. Keep Your Head Elevated
You can expect some swelling after the surgery usually at around day three or four. This is quite normal but rare nowadays. If your hair transplant was performed with cutting edge robotics, you’d hardly see any swelling.
As a precaution to reduce and prevent swelling, keep your head elevated when you sleep. Use a recliner or a stack of pillows to achieve a 45-degree angle. You only have to sleep like this for the first week after surgery.
3. Best Hair Transplant Tips to Promote Healing
Two factors are important in the healing process for your hair grafts. These are preventing infection and improving blood flow.
Because sweat increases the risk of infection, you should avoid exercise in the days following your surgery. You can start to work out ten days post-op. You should also avoid any activity that can make you sweat such as going to the sauna or going out in the sun.
All of the heart-healthy habits that you hear about will improve your circulation and are good for the survival and growth of your grafts. Stop smoking entirely (or at least hold off on the cigs for four weeks) and refrain from consuming alcohol for five to ten days. Regular exercise is also one way to improve blood flow and health overall.
4. When Can You Wear a Hat?
Frankly speaking, your hair isn’t going to look great for a while. It may take about a year before you see the full results of your hair transplant.
That’s why a hat will be your best friend during these trying times.
You can wear a loose-fitting hat after three days. After five days, you can wear any type of hat that suits your style.
Back to Full Glory
Taking good care of your hair during recovery is critical to getting the best hair transplant results. Follow these tips so you can restore your hair back to its original, splendid self!
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