FUT Hair Transplant Recovery Process

FUT hair transplant is one of the oldest surgical hair restoration techniques, known for its efficacy and safety. Often patients worry how they will take care of their transplanted hair. In fact, no one wants to lose what he/she has received from a surgery after spending hundreds of dollars and going through a lot of pain and agony. Every individual, who has gone through the procedure, wants the pleasant change to his or her appearance to last for the rest of the life.

Patients are usually found worried about the recovery process after a transplant. Remember, the transplanted hairs are just like your natural hair, in fact, they are your natural hair. A little difference that the hair transplant has created is that they are relocated to a new place on your scalp. Otherwise they are just like your original hair and do not need any extra care or maintenance, but only after they have attached themselves to the scalp’s blood supply.You can use shampoo, gel, mousses or other hair care products that you use before surgery.

FUT Hair Transplant Post Operative Instructions:

Some careful measures that you must stick to during the FUT hair transplant recovery process are listed below. Go through these instructions so that you do not affect the results of your surgery even unintentionally:

1. Use Cold Compressions

Immediately after the surgery, your scalp will be sore and tender. The surgeon will prescribe you some pain medications for pain management; use them as prescribed by the doctor. Cold compressions also help a lot in minimizing the pain and discomfort. Use cold compressions every 3 to 4 hours, but be gentle and avoid applying pressure to the scalp.

2. Sleep With Your Head Elevated

The night after the surgery and next few nights, sleep with your head elevated at an angle of 40 degrees. Use pillows to elevate your head. This will not only help reduce pain but will also minimize chances of bleeding.

3. Do Not Wash Your Head For At Least 24 Hours

Wait for at least 24 hours before you remove the headband and shampoo your scalp. Keeping your scalp dry for 24 to 36 hours is recommended, and after that you can shampoo your scalp three times a day. For the rest of the week, shampoo your head twice a day, but be very gentle while applying shampoo to the scalp.

4. Rest For At Least 5 To 7 Days

Since Follicular Unit Extraction is relatively more invasive – courtesy cutting of liner strip from the donor area – it requires a little longer downtime and recovery time than the Follicular Unit Extraction technique. The doctor may ask you to take a week off from work. However, you will be allowed to resume almost all of your non-strenuous activities at most by the 7th day.

5. Avoid Alcohol And Smoking

While alcohol should be avoided for 3 to 5 days following the FUT hair transplant treatment, abstain from smoking for at least two weeks. Nicotine in cigarettes can hamper the healing process as well as hinder the growth of transplanted hair follicles.

About 2 weeks after surgery you will be able to go back to your normal hair care routine. You can also brush, style, perm and color your transplanted hair once they grow to sufficient lengths. Once the transplanted hairs have started growing normally, treat them just like the rest of your hair. You can blow dry, curl, straight or style them the way you want. They need your normal hair care routine and nothing else!

It is pertinent to mention here that it may take 12 to 18 months before you will be able to see complete results. So be patient and vigilant during the FUT hair transplant recovery process so that you could get the most out of the surgery.