Hair transplant is the best technique to get rid of baldness. This procedure’s results are natural-looking and long-lasting. However, they are not instant, and many patients wonder what to expect from a hair transplant after one week. What does it look and what are the results?
Here is everything you need to know!
What to expect from a hair transplant after 1 week: are the final results visible yet?
After a week, the results of the hair transplant are far from being visible yet. The scalp has to heal, and the grafts have to set in. This process is quite long, and patients need to be… patient! A hair transplant result is not visible before at least six months after the procedure. The final results can be seen 12 months after the surgery.
The results take a long time because the hair falls about a month after the transplant and is not visible until they grow back. Grafts are natural hair, so they follow the hair life cycle. This cycle counts three steps:
- The anagen phase, when the hair grows, it lasts 2 to 7 years.
- The catagen phase, when the hair follicles prepare for their rest phase. The hair stops growing, and the follicles retract. It lasts about three weeks.
- The telogen phase is the rest of the follicles. The hair stays attached to the follicles for about three months before falling, and the cycle starts over.
This cycle is why the results of a hair transplant take so long to be visible. Right after the surgery, the follicles enter the catagen phase. The grafted hair falls about three weeks after the transplant and needs 3 or 4 months to grow back enough to be visible.
However, once the hair has grown back, it acts as natural hair, and the patient is free to adopt any hairstyle as the grafted hair will grow back like natural hair.
What to expect from a hair transplant after 1 week: what to do or not?
A week after the transplant, the grafts are still fragile, and patients must be careful not to damage them. The healing process is not complete yet, and there are still scabs on the recipient area. Patients should not touch those scabs or the skin to avoid bringing germs that may cause an infection. Scratching the scab could pull out the grafts. The healing process takes approximately ten days and finishes when all the scabs fall by themselves. To help the skin heal faster and avoid infections, patients must carefully follow the surgeon’s guidelines to wash their heads with a special shampoo.
In addition, a week after a hair transplant, patients should refrain from doing sport or any activity causing significant sweating or increasing blood pressure. Patients must stay away from any wet activities such as the pool or the ocean. They should also make sure not to expose the grafts to direct sunlight as it may damage them.
Patients should not use the showerhead to wash their heads in the shower because the water pressure could damage the grafts. Better use a bowl to pour water on the scalp gently. Do not rub a towel on the head but gently pat dry the area with a disposable paper towel to avoid pulling out the grafts or causing an infection.
What to expect from a hair transplant after 1 week: is it painful?
Many patients wonder about the pain from a hair transplant after 1 week. Depending on the hair transplant technique, the post-surgery recovery period is more or less long and comfortable for the patient. The less invasive the method is, the faster the recovery period will be. With a DHI hair transplant, patients need just one day of rest to be back to normal. The healing period may be uncomfortable as many patients feel itching on the recipient area when the skin is healing. They can use natural moisturizers such as aloe vera to relieve the itch.
However, if the patient observes painful and hot swelling, fever, and sharp pain, he must seek medical attention as it may be an infection.
