You should wait at least 14 days before touching your hair grafts following a hair transplant. This is because the hair grafts will have built sufficient strength during the recovery period that any movement or friction isn't going to cause them to fall out.
After 2 to 5 days: any bandages can usually be removed, but you should not touch the grafts. Day 6: you should be able to wash your hair gently by hand. After 10 to 14 days: any non-dissolvable stitches can usually be removed. After a few weeks: the transplanted hair will often fall out, and later start to grow back.
You can touch your scalp after 72 hours, but only very gently [2]. Even if your head is itchy, it's important to avoid scratching your scalp or rubbing it until your grafts are securely in place. It usually takes about 14 days after your transplant for your grafts to settle in [3].
Yes, it is perfectly safe to touch your transplant area after 10 days. The initial scalp tenderness should have subsided and your grafts are starting to set now, so a soft touch should not do any harm. However: Resist the urge to use your fingernails on your transplant area, whether it is to scratch or massage it.
Generally, grafts are fully secure between 10 and 14 days after the hair transplant procedure. This is usually the time it takes for the scalp to heal around each new graft.
After 2 weeks have passed your grafts should be secure in your scalp. Contact sport is the only exercise you will need to wait a little longer for. If you are a rugby or football player you should avoid playing these sports or play a non-contact form for 4 weeks.
By day 10, the overall appearance of any transplanted area will still show signs of healing, but it should look much better than in the first few days after the procedure. The key indicators of ongoing recovery are mild redness, some minor flaking or crusts, and shedding of the transplanted hairs.
You may return to sleeping on your side 10 days after receiving your hair transplant procedure. Patients are advised to wait 15 days after the surgery before going back to sleeping on their stomachs. The initial 10-15 day window allows protective scabs to form over graft sites during the early healing phases.
If you do itch you scalp after your hair transplant, you risk dislodging a graft before they become secure. It takes 14 days for your grafts to become secure after your hair transplant. If you scratch your transplant after 2 weeks have passed, you increase the risk of having an infection.
So, do not wear a hat in the first 0-10 days after your hair transplant. From day 10, you can start wearing loose-fitting hats, but we recommend you wear a hat around 14 days after your hair transplant. Making sure your donor area and recipient area are fully healed is important.
In around two to three weeks, your scalp will have regained its previous appearance, with the initial redness, and scabbing having subsided, this is why a lot of our patients like to take two weeks off work after their hair transplant and then return around this stage.
After the first 10 days of hair transplantation, massaging the area will improve blood circulation, which will help the area grow and heal.
Usually, scabs fall off between 7 and 14 days. The scalp can be touched from day six– although the scabs should not be picked off. If you do need to touch them, you should pat them gently. Let them dry on their own and contact a doctor if they bleed excessively.
Results: For the first 2 days, pulling on a hair always resulted in a lost graft. By the sixth day, pulling on a hair no longer dislodged the graft. Pulling on an adherent scab always resulted in a lost graft through day 5. At 9 days postoperatively, grafts were no longer at risk of being dislodged.
Scalps usually heal around 10-14 days after a hair transplant surgery. At this time, it is generally safe to partake in more strenuous exercises other than gentle walking. When you do resume your workouts, start off with a lighter regime than you're used to and increase gradually over time.
Furthermore, nicotine can hinder post-surgery healing. It is highly recommended to abstain from smoking for at least 15 days prior to and 3 weeks following the procedure. For optimal results, patients are urged to consider quitting long-term, ideally starting 6 months before surgery.
10 days is the magic number
Of course, that area still needs to be properly maintained by following the post-op instructions that have been provided. However, after 10 days, there is very little that can be done to cause any damage to these transplanted grafts.
During this time, the board-certified plastic surgeon advises you to avoid touching your hair grafts to allow them to heal properly. On average, the transplanted grafts take around 10 to 14 days to become more secure and less prone to damage.
Days 4-10 after your hair transplant
At this point in the recovery period, you should no longer have a swollen scalp and all redness should be faint or completely gone.
While the grafts are secure after 2 weeks, it's important to remember that hair growth is a gradual process. You might experience some initial shedding of the transplanted hair, but this is normal. The hair follicle itself will remain in place.
Hair grafts are vulnerable to falling out – if touched or if they experience friction – for up to 14 days following your hair transplant. This is because the hair follicle isn't yet strong enough to withstand friction or tugging.
Around one week after hair transplant surgery, a patient's scalp will be well on the way to healing. During the healing process, scabs fall off the donor site and recipient area, itching should subside, and swelling on the scalp should be reduced.
Days 8-14: Returning to a Normal Position
Seven to fourteen days after a hair transplant, a patient can gradually transition into a more natural sleeping position, but it's still important to be cautious.
When is it safe to wear a hat after a hair transplant? Generally, most surgeons recommend waiting at least 7 to 10 days before wearing any form of headwear following a hair transplant.
Wear a loose-fitting hat
Whether you are a laid-back, baseball cap kind of guy, a hip beanie bro or prefer a stylish Panama, headwear can cover up any traces of a hair transplant. They can comfortably obscure any traces of shock loss, as well as any donor area scarring. They can also complete your overall style.