Michigan Hair Transplant Recovery | Dr. Pramit Malhotra

Hair Treatment Recovery

Hair Treatment Recovery After FUE in Ann Arbor, Mi

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) transplants have become quite popular with both men and women over the last several years. These transplants provide natural-looking results with the ability to hide where the hair has be donated from. If you’re considering a hair restoration procedure, it is important that you learn what to expect during your hair treatment recovery in Ann Arbor.

We are one of the top providers of hair transplantation in Michigan. Our patients travel to Ann Arbor Plastic Surgery from across the state to restore their hairline with us. We’ve developed our recovery protocols to minimize the chance of swelling, to hide the donor scalp, and speed the uptake of the hair grafts.

Dr. Malhotra uses the latest techniques often learned from bigger plastic surgery procedures to speed your recovery and maintain the health of the grafts. If you have questions about your procedure, please call our office in Ann Arbor at (734) 436-2186.

Your FUE Hair Treatment Recovery is Unique

First, it’s important to know that everyone is slightly different, and that your hair treatment recovery process will be unique to you depending on a number of factors, including:

  • the number of hairs you will need for your transplant
  • your body’s typical healing ability
  • any medical conditions you have

Following the procedure, hair treatment recovery times can vary, however most patients just take a few days off from work.

Minimal Restrictions

Typically with a FUE, you’re able to return to work within one to three days depending on the number of grafts and whether your hair requires shaving. Some people choose to take a week off from work.

Overall, recovery restrictions are limited. They may include:

  • Avoiding exercise and strenuous activity for 10 days
  • Limiting sexual activity for 10 days after treatment
  • Avoiding hair washing for three days

Minimal Pain

FUE hair transplants involve very little pain. This has been a revolution compared to the old strip (FUT) procedure. The difference in sensation is due to the fact that there is no scalpel or stitches involved in a FUE procedure. Mild swelling and soreness may last for two days to two weeks of your hair treatment recovery period.

Some patients report itching, tightness, and throbbing after their surgery, but these sensations can be controlled with pain medication. Our doctors will provide a prescription for pain medication if needed and can advise you on the best over-the-counter pain medications to use during recovery.

FUE donor post op

Schedule A Consultation

Our Michigan plastic surgery specialists understand that the difference is in the details when it comes to achieving your desired results. Visit Dr. Malhotra and Dr. Ballard at Ann Arbor Plastic Surgery, schedule your consultation today.

No Linear Scar

Since no stitches or scalpel are used in Follicular Unit Extraction, there is no linear scar. Because micro-surgery instruments are used to replant each individual hair one by one in the treatment area, patients not only enjoy a more natural look, but also faster healing during hair treatment recovery.

Immediate Changes

After your FUE procedure, you’ll need to follow post–procedure instructions. These hair treatment recovery guidelines include sleeping with your head slightly elevated and directions on how to wash your hair. You’ll see an immediate change in your appearance; however, the implanted hairs will fall out in a few weeks and new ones will grow beginning in the 4th or 5th month after surgery.

Complications

Every medical procedure has potential risks, though hair restoration surgery is one of the lowest risk cosmetic procedures performed in our practice. During hair treatment recovery, you may notice a lack of hair growth if you’re a heavy smoker. In addition, people with diabetes should have good control of their blood sugar level to minimize risks of FUE, which may include poor wound healing. Infection is another risk, although quite a small one. There is a risk of “shock loss” for the surrounding hairs, which is when existing hairs fall out around the grafts due to swelling from implantation during hair treatment recovery. This is more common in female patients. The implantation technique can influence this, as can the density of newly placed hairs.

Progressive Results

Immediately following your FUE procedure, you’ll notice the outline of your new hairline in your treatment area. Five to ten days into your hair treatment recovery, you’ll begin to see hairline changes in your FUE transplant outline as tiny scabs are shed. After two to three weeks, you may see some shedding of the tiny graft hairs, which is normal. Your new hairs will begin to grow around the fourth month after the procedure and continue to thicken your hair for 12 months. You’ll need to be patient, as hair grows around 1.25 centimeters (or half an inch) per month, on average.

Remember, each patient is different, so it is essential that you realize that some cases could take up to 18 months before revealing the best hair transplant results. Although an ideal look takes some time, the transplanted hairs are permanent.

Hair Treatment Recovery Faqs

Hair loss can happen for a number of different reasons. Environment, emotional state, eating habits, and illness can all contribute to hair loss in men and women. Genetic pattern baldness is also a common reason for hair loss in both sexes.

It is normal to lose a certain amount of hair (as much as 100 strands a day), but that loss should be replaced by healthy, new growth. In cases where hair loss is not replaced, patients may seek hair transplants or pursue other regrowth solutions.

The most important thing to realize is that hair loss isn’t your fault. The factors driving your hair loss may be beyond your control, but you do have options for treating it. Ann Arbor Plastic Surgery in Michigan has helped countless men and women to restore a full head of hair.

While hair loss in women may be less common than it is in men, it is still more widespread than many people realize. Women make up 40 percent of hair loss sufferers in the United States. The reason for female hair loss may be environmental, emotional, dietary, physical, or genetic. Some women also experience hair loss during pregnancy. Female hair loss is different from male hair loss because it usually doesn’t result in total baldness, but it can still cause significant distress. Female hair loss is often treatable, and hair transplantation is just as effective in women as it is in men.

It can be difficult to definitively determine whether you’re suffering from hair loss. Some patients realize that they are starting to lose their hair when they notice extra strands in the sink drain, on their pillows, or in the shower. Other people start to notice hair loss visually, for example when they realize that their part is wider than it used to be. Women may notice that their ponytail is thinner and seek hair loss treatment. Extremely rapid hair loss usually has a specific cause and should be addressed immediately. Slower hair loss is harder to track, but it also has a cause and needs to be addressed. Many of our patients don’t realize they are experiencing hair loss until they have lost a significant amount of hair. It is easier to treat hair loss in its early stages.

FUT (Follicular Unit Transplant) is a technique that excises a strip of hair from the posterior scalp. Hair from the strip is then transplanted into the area where hair is missing or patchy. FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) is a technique that harvests individual hair follicles from the donor area and implants them individually into the area with missing hair, avoiding a scar on the patients’ scalp.

The transplant time varies for each person, since everyone needs a different amount of follicles transplanted. The majority of hair transplants will run six hours or less. For very large or complicated transplants, the surgery may take longer, however patients often pass time by watching movies or television.

While the scarring is typically very minor, the FUE method of hair follicle transplant can leave tiny, almost invisible scars. With the FUT hair transplantation technique, there will be a long linear scar in the area where the donor hair is taken. However, this scar is very thin and is typically easily concealed quickly by short hair growth. Many hair transplant patients, whether using the FUE or the FUT method, have scars that are nearly impossible to see except by hairdressers.

In most cases, hair transplants grow over a period of around eight months, at which point the majority of the new hair growth will be evident. Hair growth often starts at four months.

The donor zone is the area from which healthy hair follicles are taken to be used in the areas that lack hair. This is usually at the back and sides of the head. Hair there is genetically programmed to not fall out, leading to the “horseshoe” of remaining hair that many balding men still have.

Hair transplants look extremely natural, because they use your own hair. Most people can’t tell the difference between the hair that was transplanted and the pre-existing hair.

There is no need for anyone to know unless you want to tell them. Many people choose to keep the transplant a secret. As long as you can schedule a small amount of time off from work to allow any slight swelling or redness to abate, you can typically resume normal life right away, but with a much-improved head of hair.

The FUE process causes very little pain. Hair loss patients are often surprised and sometimes shocked at how easy the procedure is. Many patients simply take Tylenol for pain control. Some patients may need stronger pain relief options. If you do, we can provide a prescription and instructions for using these pain control options safely.

The hair plugs of the 1970s are long gone. The modern hair transplant, when done well, is indistinguishable from hair that never fell out. We focus on creating natural-looking hairlines and distribution patterns. Our patients are generally delighted with their results after FUE hair transplantation with Dr. Malhotra.

Hair restoration costs vary significantly, depending on the number of hair grafts you receive and other factors. We provide each patient with a personalized quote for their estimated surgical costs during their consultation at our Ann Arbor or Jackson locations.

We provide our patients with detailed recovery instructions, but as you heal, additional questions may arise. If you do have questions, we want to know. Call our office and a member of our team will assist you. Dr. Malhotra makes himself readily available to his patients after hair transplantation surgery in Michigan.