Recovery after a Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) Hair Transplant

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FUE (or Follicular Unit Extraction) Transplants have become extremely popular over the past few years with a wealth of famous faces including Wayne Rooney and Calum Best undertaking the treatment. Less invasive than the traditional ‘strip’ method of hair transplantation, pioneering surgeons have developed the treatment to produce the most natural results with minimum trauma to the donor area, but what is the recovery process like?

It’s important to remember that every single person will have a different experience from their transplant; firstly the number or hairs will differ massively depending on your needs, and secondly your body reacts to things in different ways to other people. There are no set guidelines on how long any sensitivity may be there, nor an exact date that you’ll see your final results, but there are things you can be aware of to make sure you’re fully informed and prepared for changes.

Hairline design transplant results before transplantation — Before hair transplantation begins, your doctor outlines a new hairline.

Before your FUE Hair Transplant procedure takes place your doctor will design a hairline that they believe will both suit you, and make the most of the donor hair you have. Or – they will mark where they plan to treat if treating the mid scalp or crown for example. This will be something they will discuss with you during consultations and meetings so you’re fully aware on what to expect – it might be that your original idea won’t look natural or full enough, their job is to give you the greatest success.

FUE treatment itself is minimally-invasive and performed entirely under local anaesthetic. It begins with your doctor extracting individual follicular units (complete with necessary glands) from your donor area using a specialist punch device that’s only around 0.6mm to 0.9mm in width. This creates minimum trauma to the area as surrounding tissues are not damaged and there is no need for any incisions – as a result your risk of any scarring is significantly less and your immediate recovery is much more comfortable. Likewise only minuscule instruments are used to replant each hair one-by-one in the treatment area, allowing for faster healing and a more natural look.

Immediately after hair transplantation to the area — Immediately after transplantation to the area.

Immediately after your hair transplant you will be able to see the outline of your new hairline, or the amount of area treated, however it won’t necessarily be the result you want to show off. In theory, as the treatment is not invasive, you can return to work the day afterwards, but we’d always advise taking a couple of days off to recover and allow yourself adequate space to complete the post-operative instructions. Your doctor will provide aftercare advice on specific directions for you, but a couple of key points may be sleeping with your head elevated and direct instructions on how often to wash your hair and keep it clean.

Four days after hair transplant treatment — Four days after treatment.

A couple of days after treatment, you will already see a huge difference to the original outline, and may begin to experience a little bit of swelling or soreness. However it is important to remember that this will not be your final result and any tenderness will eventually go.

After a couple of weeks, some of the hairs in the area will normally shed – this is a completely normal part of your recovery and nothing to be afraid of and does not pose any risk to the success of your treatment.

It’s after this that your final hair will begin to make itself known. Remember hair grows at an average of around ½ an inch to 1 inch per month and your transplanted strands will be no different. Hairs are asynchronous (meaning they grow at various stages from one another) so it is impossible to have luscious locks after just a few days. Results begin to show themselves properly after about four to six weeks, but a final result won’t become noticeably clear until about five to six months after.

Find out more about the FUE Hair Transplant Growth Cycle here.

5 months after hair transplantation procedure — 5 months after hair transplantation.

Every single patient is different so it’s important to remember that sometimes it may even be up to eighteen months before you have the finished result. The process is one of length – while it may take a while for results to be clear, they should be long-lasting and worthwhile in return.

FUE Hair Transplants at The Private Clinic

The Private Clinic of Harley Street offers the latest and most advanced FUE Hair Transplant procedures available, including hair transplants to the beard and eyebrows. Hair Transplants are the only permanent hair loss solution.
The Private Clinic prides itself on ensuring you have the best quality and most comprehensive care:

You will be treated by highly experienced Doctors who are highly skilled in FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) and treat hundreds of patients every year.
FUE is a minimally invasive treatment (meaning there is no cutting of a strip), and carried out under local anaesthetic – many patients either watch TV, or even fall asleep during the procedure.
You won’t require any stitches after your treatment. This means that the recovery time is also reduced when compared to the Strip surgery (FUT).
We use the finest instruments, resulting in as minimal trauma to your scalp as possible.
Thanks to our advanced skills and techniques, our team ensure that the donor looks intact after the hair transplant procedure and you can keep your hair really short if you prefer without any obvious scarring.
Following treatment, there will be no linear scarring across the back of your head as seen with the strip method (FUT) – you’ll be free to wear your hair long or short.
We choose the best follicular unit (a group of hairs), this ensures that only the strongest, healthiest grafts are used for your hair transplant procedure. See our Hair Transplant videos here.
Your results will look natural, with denser packing – the hair is implanted in the direction that matches your hair growth.
We are one of the very few clinics able to offer the Unshaven Hair Transplant (U-FUE) (the long-hair hair transplant), to those who prefer not to shave beforehand. At your consultation, we will be able to advise you on whether an unshaven procedure is suitable for you.
Scars resulting from injuries or previous surgeries can also be corrected. In fact 30% of all patients that come to us have been somewhere before and need further work to improve on a disappointing result. This could be a previous bad hair transplant or we can cover linear scars caused from FUT hair transplants. Find out more here.
We treat Afro-Caribbean hair loss, as well as eyebrows, beard and facial hair.
View our FUE Hair Transplant before and after photo gallery
Read our extensive hair transplant FAQs
Find out more from our informative Hair Transplant blogs
Hear from previous hair transplant patients