How to Care for Your Hair After a Hair Transplant

You’ve finally undergone the highly-anticipated hair transplant procedure and you are loving your new head of hair. Now all you have to do is maintain it, but the question is how? Implementing a hair care routine after your hair transplant with a few of the best practices listed in this post will allow you to accelerate healing, nourish and condition your new hair to look its best at all times. 

The first week following a hair transplant operation is the most sensitive. Your body is still recovering from the procedure and you may even still be wearing off the sedative medication (although this varies person to person). During this period, you want to make sure that you are handling your hair and scalp with caution to aid in the healing process of your scalp.

Keep Your Scalp Clean

It takes the hair grafts three days to connect with the blood vessels, so you are likely to be provided with a spray bottle of specially formulated solutions containing ATP of Lactated Ringer’s Irrigation to nourish help your grafts settle in with artificial energy and nutrients. Your doctor will give you a schedule to adhere to in regards to how often to use the spray bottle, but adhering to this schedule will keep your scalp nice and clean while helping your grafts to settle in your scalp. Unless your doctor has informed you otherwise, it is recommended that you stay away from experimenting with creams or oils. Because your scalp is still healing during this time, the focus should be on tending to your scar and scalp.

Hand Wash Your Hair

After using your spray bottle, wait 24-48 hours after completion of your procedure to wash your hair. Instead of placing your head directly underneath the showerhead, reduce the water pressure and hand wash your hair. In order to hand wash your hair, take a plastic cup, fill it with a light shampoo (baby shampoo or tea tree shampoo for example) and lukewarm water, shake the mixture together to make for a light foamy mixture. After this, gently massage the mixture into your hair and rinse with lukewarm water.

Sleep in a Semi Upright Position

Because your hair grafts aren’t set in yet, they are more capable to come out. Gravity will have an effect on the normal swelling that occurs postoperatively. Staying in the “lazy boy recliner” position, head back about 45 degrees, will allow gravity to pull the swelling back over your ears, rather than into your forehead. It is best to stay in this position as much as possible for the first 48 hours after surgery. When you are ready to sleep in your bed, take a few pillows and situate them so you are sleeping in the same 45-degree angle position upright rather than on your back or side. This will help to keep your hair grafts from being pulled or tugged on too much.

Dr. Carlos Puig prefers his patients to limit their physical activities for the first 5 days after the procedure to nothing that works up a sweat. Also, if stitches have been used no swimming in rivers, lakes, streams, or oceans until after the stitches have been removed.

Hair Transplant in Houston

Whether you are doing research on what to expect before and after your hair transplant surgery or you have already completed your hair transplantation process and have questions about it, Hair Restoration Houston is available to tend to your hair restoration needs. If you or someone you know, male or female, is in need of the hair transplantation procedure or has questions about it, contact none other than Hair Restoration Houston. Our hair restoration specialists will be more than happy to give a free hair transplant consultation or to assist you with your questions.