The Ins and Outs of FUE Post-Operative Care

Individuals thinking about undergoing FUE hair transplant surgery often worry about returning to normal life following their procedure, and what they can safely do without impacting the overall result. Luckily, the comforts of daily living can soon be integrated back into your routine following surgery, with the first two weeks of aftercare being the most crucial time to be cautious. 

In this article, we will cover the ins and outs of FUE post-operative care following a procedure, as well as address common concerns our patients have to ensure those considering surgery are feeling confident in their aftercare. 

Understanding Your Scalp Post-Procedure

There are two areas that you will need to be aware of, and look after, following FUE surgery. These areas will be sprayed, cleaned and looked after for the first two weeks of recovery. 

1. Recipient Area: This is the area into which new hairs have been transplanted. Your surgeon will have indicated the areas operated on. Additionally, on the day of your procedure this area may be tinted blue, due to the dye we use to see the recipient sites during the operation. 
2. Donor Area: This is the area from which the hair grafts were taken on the back and the sides of your head. On the day of the operation this may have a bandage on it. 

Medications and Pain Relief

For 7 days following your procedure, medication will be provided to help reduce the chances of infection, reduce swelling and provide pain relief. 

Your medication regime will be as follows: 

1. The antibiotic – this is given prophylactically for 7 days to help avoid infection. Such as clarithromycin (non-penicillin), flucloxacillin (penicillin) or doxycycline (non-penicillin). 
2. The steroid – this is given for 3 days to help reduce swelling. Such as dexamethasone or prednisolone. 
3. The stomach protector – this medication is also given for 3 days, to avoid indigestion from the steroid. Such as omeprazole. 
4. Pain relief – on the evening of surgery you may experience some mild pain resembling a “sunburn”. Taking simple pain relief will usually be sufficient to manage this, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen. You may find it helpful between paracetamol and ibuprofen throughout the day to achieve more consistent pain relief.
   Aloe Vera gel/cream can be applied to the donor area 4 days after surgery, for those experiencing pain/sensitivity. It is fairly common to experience this, so applying aloe vera gel/cream liberally to the area can help soothe these sensations. 

Sleeping

During the first 4 days of surgery, the newly implanted grafts are the most delicate. At this time period, sleeping arrangements must be made to ensure your head isn’t bumped or scraped during the night. 

Donor area: There are no issues with sleeping on your donor site throughout the night (with or without the bandage), however in some cases, special care must be taken if the donor and recipient areas are in close proximity. 

Recipient area: This is the area that we must be cautious with for the first 4 days. Different types of sleeping positions can be used to help keep this area safe, which are highlighted below:

• On your back:
  • Suitable for frontal, midscalp, facial (beard, moustache, eyebrow) and forward crown procedures. 
  • A neck pillow is a simple way to prevent rolling onto your side. However, if you move a lot at night, you might need to build a pillow fortress or use a U-shaped pregnancy pillow to keep yourself from rolling over.
  • Elevating your head with pillows can be beneficial to avoid contact with the crown and can also help prevent rolling.
• On your side: 
  • Suitable for narrow frontal, midscalp and crown procedures. 
  • Adding in elevation may be beneficial to ensure no contact with the recipient area.
  • A U-shaped pregnancy pillow can help to keep yourself from rolling onto your back.
• On your front: 
  • Suitable for midscalp and crown procedures. 
• Upright: 
  • Suitable for most procedures.
  • This position is not essential unless it is preferred to the positions above.
  • Using a reclining chair/sofa or folding bed can be used to achieve this position.

Covering Your Head

For those worried about being seen soon after their hair transplant surgery, a cap will be provided to help cover and protect the area from damage and sun exposure. 

You will be allowed to wear a cap after your procedure. However, we would encourage you to stay cap-free due to the risk of dislodging grafts.
After Day 4, we encourage you to wear a cap while outdoors to prevent sun damage, for up to a month. 

Details of what caps are suitable to wear after your procedure will be highlighted to you, as certain materials and sizes will be suitable. Further information about head coverings can be found in our article here. 

Hair Washing Guide

Hair washing takes up the largest portion of time during aftercare. It involves a step-by-step guide on how to care for your scalp and grafts every day for up to two weeks, with the aim to have all scabbing from the procedure washed away by Day 14. 

A highly detailed hair washing guide and aftercare pack will be provided to you on the day of your surgery, but the general gist of what it will entail can be found below. Care can be divided into how you will be looking after your Recipient area, and how you will be looking after your Donor area: 

1. Day 1 (Day of Procedure): Your grafts are extremely delicate at this stage.
   Recipient area: You will be spraying your recipient area with saline solution every 30 minutes for the next 4 days, in waking hours. This is to ensure the scabs stay soft and easily mobile in preparation for washing later in the week.
   Donor area: This area will have been bandaged after your procedure, and will remain so on this day. There is no action needed here at this time.
2. Day 2: Your grafts are still extremely delicate at this stage.
   Recipient area: You will continue to spray the recipient area with saline solution every 30 minutes, during waking hours.
   Donor area: On the evening of this day, you will soak off the bandage at the back of the head with warm water, and can begin your first gentle wash of the area using baby shampoo. 
3. Day 3: Your grafts are still quite delicate at this stage.
   Recipient area: You will continue to spray the recipient area with saline solution every 30 minutes, during waking hours.
   Donor area: You will continue washing the area gently with baby shampoo. 
4. Day 4: Your grafts are delicate at this stage, but are beginning to embed into the skin.
   Recipient area: You will do your first gentle wash of the recipient area using a foamy mix of baby shampoo and water, which you will pour over the site. You will not need to spray with saline again after this point.
   Donor area: You will continue washing the area gently with baby shampoo, incrementally applying more pressure with the pads of your fingers each day as you massage to encourage the scabs to fall away. 
5. Day 5:
   Recipient area: You will do a gentle wash of the recipient area, now using the pads of your fingers to gently massage in the foamy mix of baby shampoo and water.
   Donor area: You will continue washing the area with baby shampoo, incrementally applying more pressure with the pads of your fingers each day as you massage. 
6. Day 6-14:
   Recipient area: You will continue to gently wash the recipient area using the pads of your fingers, incrementally applying more pressure each day to encourage the scabs to fall away.
   Donor area: You will continue to gently wash the recipient area using the pads of your fingers, incrementally applying more pressure each day to encourage the scabs to fall away.
   In both the recipient and donor areas, the aim is to apply a gradual increase in pressure each day in order to be scab-free by Day 14. If you are not scab-free at the 14 day mark, it suggests you may have been too gentle in your hair washing.

Returning to Daily Life

The aim of our detailed hair washing guide is for you to be completely scab-free in the recipient and donor areas by Day 14 after surgery. If some scabs are still clinging to the scalp, we would encourage you to be less gentle in your hair washing technique, and to get in contact with us with any concerns. 

Time Off Work: There is no set time period for how long you need to be off work following your procedure. The majority of patients take at least 3-4 days off, up to two weeks before returning to the office, with others taking significant time off to allow for scabbing and redness to fade. The choice is yours, and depends on what you are comfortable with.

New Hair Growth: After an initial shedding period, hair will begin to grow through at the 3-4 month mark after surgery.
At the 2–6 week mark, it is completely normal for only the transplanted hairs to shed. The transplanted roots remain under the surface of the skin resting and repairing for new hair growth. 

At the 5 month mark, 15%-20% of the new hairs will begin to come through the skin. You should then expect an additional 20% (approximate) hairs to come through each month following that.
We expect to see the full 100% of growth at the 12 month mark, but it may take as long as 18 months for the results to fully mature and densify.

A detailed timeline on what you can expect your hair to look like weeks to months to a year after surgery can be found in our Hair Transplant Timeline section.

Conclusion

While post-operative care can feel detailed and daunting, at The Treatment Rooms we are happy to assist all the way along the journey. Hair growth and care requires time, dedication and most importantly, patience. As this is a marathon and not a sprint, patients can expect results to take time to come through, and the healing process can vary from individual to individual.

As long as care is taken in the recipient and donor areas, each day forward after surgery can be a positive one towards fuller, thicker hair. 

For further information, please read the following articles below:

A Guide To Hair Transplants and Donor Area Recovery

An Extensive Guide to Hair Transplant Aftercare and Recovery

Frequently Asked Questions about Hair Transplants

5 Tips For A Successful Hair Transplant