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Avoidance

• No aspirin, aspirin containing products, ibuprofen, Aleve, alcohol, tobacco-products, fish oil, or vitamin E for 1 week following your procedure.

Activity level

• When bending down, bend at your knees only, keeping your head above your heart.
• No exercise, sports, sex, or other vigorous activity for 1 week following your procedure.

Pain level

• The donor area will feel like a dull throbbing headache and the implanted   area will feel like a sunburn; prescription pain and sedative medications are provided.

Sleep

• Sleep in an upright position at a 45 degrees the first 3-5 nights after your procedure.
• Prop your head up with 2 pillows or sleep in a recliner; an airplane pillow around your neck can also help to hold your head in place.
• A surgical hat will be provided to help avoid any inadvertent rubbing of the grafts while you are asleep.

Bleeding

• Minor bleeding may occur from the donor area, and can be controlled by applying gentle but firm pressure with a dampened gauze; do not rub.
• Contact the office if there is significant bleeding from the implanted area.

Swelling

• Swelling of the forehead and around the eyes often occurs 2-3 days after the procedure and lasts for a few days.
• Begin using ice packs immediately after the procedure, for 20 minutes every hour while awake, and continue for the next 3-4 days; do not touch the grafts.
• Hot compressions will worsen swelling.

Showering

• Do not wash your head for 24-48 hours after the procedure.
• Wet your head by pouring a few cups of water from the middle of your forehead back; do not let the shower hit your head for the first 6 days, this can dislodge the grafts.
• Using a non-medicated shampoo, get a good handful of lather and gently pat the implanted area; do not rub the grafts.
• Then apply shampoo to the donor area with gentle rubbing; this will break up the scabbing and help the back of your head to heal within 1 week.
• Rinse the shampoo off, again pouring cups of water from the forehead back.
• On day 6 of showering, you should begin to use the pads of your 2 index fingers to gently massage away the scabs around your new grafts; you may also begin to allow the shower to hit your head as tolerated.

Scabs

• Only massage your scabs while they are wet in the shower; do not pick or scratch at these scabs at any time, this can endanger the healing of your grafts, cause scarring, or promote infection.
• The scabs in the donor area should be gone in 1 week; the scabs around the grafts will be gone within a few days after you begin to massage them in the shower on day 6.
• There may be an occasional hair shaft in a scab that falls out, however the hair follicle/bulb is still in the scalp.

Hats

• If necessary, hats may be worn after day 5; Only a loose cap with the brim not touching any of the grafts.

Hair growth cycle

• 3-4 weeks after the procedure, all of the hair shafts will fall out.
• New hair growth will begin between 2 and 6 months, with all of the hairs coming in at different times.

• Between 6 and 12 months the hairs will all have time to fully grow and fill in; 12 months after your procedure is considered your final result.

Follow up

• Follow-up visits will be by appointment at 1 week, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months post procedure; after photos will be taken at each visit.

Misc

• Take your antibiotic prescription until it is gone.
• No medicated shampoo for 3 weeks after the procedure.
• No hair products or hair dying for 8 weeks after the procedure.
• Prescription for Propecia/finestaride is available by request.