A hair transplantation is a surgical procedure. Unsurprisingly, your scalp will be extremely sensitive for a while afterwards. You need to take great care in the post op period, especially at night.
After a hair transplant, the skin will be reddened and scabbed in the area where the donor hair has been inserted. Furthermore, the leftovers of the local anaesthetic used are expelled by the scalp during the first night after the transplant.
This is a sensitive period. To prevent the wounds in the healing the skin from sticking to the pillow and tearing open, you must adopt a special sleeping position.
What is the right position for sleeping after a hair transplant?
For the first five nights, a headband will prevent more swelling on the forehead or around the eyes. If you experience swelling, you can apply ice to the head, but not to the area which has been operated on. Nothing must touch this area.
A pad, which must be changed every night, catches the remnants of the anaesthetic leaking from the skin. It also prevents the accumulation of moisture on the skin.
After a hair transplant, you need to sleep on your back, facing up. You sleep with your head on a neck pillow to help keep your head elevated in the correct position.
Avoid tossing and turning or sleeping on your stomach. Many people find that sleeping in a recliner is a good way to sleep after a hair transplant, while making sure that their head does not come into contact with any surfaces.
The newly transplanted hair follicles must not come into contact with your pillows, otherwise the hair roots, which are not yet well anchored, may be torn out again. If this happens, not only has the operation been wasted, but permanent scarring may result.
Many clients take a painkiller, if necessary, in order to help them get a decent night’s sleep in this unfamiliar position
After six days, the healing process has partially taken place. You can return to a side sleeping position and no longer necessarily have to lie on your back. To avoid direct contact with the pillow, you should continue to use disposable pads.
You should also continue to use a neck pillow to hold your head in an elevated position. When sleeping after a hair transplant, you should avoid rapid movements or jolts that could damage the hair follicles.
When can you start sleeping in a normal position again?
After around ten days, the scabs begin to fall off the recipient area and donor area. At this point, you no longer have to use the disposable pads.
You may also resume a sleeping position in the prone position. After two weeks, all scabbing should have disappeared. However, your scalp will still be sensitive to shocks, so you should continue to take care.
The healing process
Even though modern DHI and FUE hair transplants (Direct Hair Implantation and Follicular Unit Extraction) are minimally invasive, any surgical procedure is a strain on the body.
It is therefore important to recover after your hair transplant surgery with Dr. Levent Acar and to avoid physical exertion.
Sweaty activities or sporting activities can have a negative influence on the healing process and should therefore be reduced to a minimum for the time being after the procedure or, in the best case, avoided altogether.
This is because the sweat that accumulates on the scalp is a good breeding ground for bacteria. This raises the risk of infection of the hair grafts.
After the transplant, you will go back to the clinic for the first hair washing. After three days, the hair may be washed carefully with lukewarm water.
The scalp should be allowed to dry naturally in the hair, as the heat of a hairdryer causes the hair roots to die. To maintain the elasticity of the wound crusts, a moisturising spray is also applied several times a day.
After a week, you can wash your hair with a mild conditioning shampoo. A special lotion that promotes the growth of the hair roots is applied after shampooing and should be left on for 45 minutes.
For the first two weeks after the procedure, you should avoid consuming alcohol, nicotine and highly spiced foods so that blood flow to the scalp is not affected. Approximately three weeks after the hair restoration by Dr. Levent Acar, the hair will begin to grow vigorously again.
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