I am considering a hair transplant but am trying to get an idea of how long it takes for you scalp to heal post-surgery? I assume most people wear ball caps until their head feels "presentable"....lol

What experience have you guys had? How long did it take for you head to not be pink or sore looking?

Scott,

Welcome to our community.

You can technically go "hat-less" anytime you want...however...

I think this thread will give you a better idea of what you will experience and when after an HT. Then you can decide from there when you want to go hatless.

When will I look “normal” after a hair transplant?

http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=569...911028023#7911028023

Hope this helps,

Falc

It varies person to person. there are a lot of variables.

1. How much you have before the surgery.

2. THe number of grafts.

3. Your skin color.

4. Individual rate of healing.

I had a 1700+ graft procedure done on June 11. About half of my scabs are gone. My doc says 7-14 days befor ethey fall off on their own. He told me to keep them moist with a saline solution he provided, which I think helped dramatically. Also, a mild shampoo 'dotted' around the grafts helps to break them down so you can return to normal sooner. Of course, there is some other stuff, dry skin, different color from the implants, so it will be a while before you are 100% normal, but I hope top be hatless by the end of the week.

I hope that helps.

Another thing, if you don't wear a hat often, start some before the transplant so people don't notice you all of sudden started wearing one and are doing it constantly.

From falcs thread.

4. Recipient area redness/pinkness can last anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months.

Thanks for the comments, guys. I was recommended to go with 2500 grafts fro my first time. I'm having a hard time finding time to do this. I have a job where I can't really wear a hat at work.

Thanks for the advice

Hey,

I hate to hear that you are in a difficult spot. I will tell you, I had mine a week ago today, and I look pretty much normal now. Also, if your situation bothers you as it does most people, who cares what others think.

I had my first one when I could not wear a hat to work. I had the surgery on a Saturday and returned to work on Friday. No one noticed it, but I also kept a low profile. I hope that helps.

I've just had mine last Thursday. I, fortunately have been planning this surgery for a while and have the luxury of not going back to work for a entire month. I'm at 4 days post op and the scabs are just starting to form. One word of advice, be really careful with the new transplanted hair, especially when you are taking off or putting on your shirts. I got all excited with the transplant and went out shopping for some new clothes and lost a couple of grafts while trying on clothes. I'm pretty much hat-less around the family, but out in public I keep a loose hat on to hide the redness and keep the grafts away from direct sun light. Good luck.

Hi

Depending on the surround area on the recepiant area ( i.e. hairs to cover the grafts) You should be ok in a week to 10 days..
In my three HT's I have gone back to work around 10 days with no problem.. Here was my plan

1- Leave the hair on top a little longer
2- Use Dermatch to cover up the grafts
3- Wash hair good and soak after a week to get grafts to fall of

that's it

Health reasons, you could go without immediately. Cosmetic reasons, about 4-6 months ought to be enough for you to start looking natural enough to not stand out.

As far as hiding it, just tell people what you're going to do and go without a hat after a week. Save yourself a ton of hassle in the long run. It's not like anyone's going to care, really.

For some reason other than keeping the receipient area from sun light, my receipient area was not red at all, since day 1 post op. So I'd say your skin complexion may have be a big factor on how red it will be post op. It does still feel a little bit numb in the receipient area, other than that it's not that noticeble at all.