Pre and Postoperative Instructions for Hair Transplantation
Instructions after ARTAS +Regen
Patient compliance with pre and postoperative care can influence their final results. Patients should make all post procedure visits and adhere to our instructions.
Pre–Operative Instructions
- 14 days prior to your procedure: Avoid blood thinners such as aspirin, ibuprophen or fish oil. Many herbal supplements can thin the blood as well so please check with our list of medications and herbal supplements to avoid. Patients should avoid overly tanning their heads. Patients who smoke should refrain from smoking 2 weeks prior and 2 weeks afterwards.
- Two days prior to your procedure: Do not drink any alcohol, and do not over-expose to the sun. Also, avoid caffeine for 2 days prior as it increases blood pressure and therefore bleeding.
- If you have gray hair, blonde hair, or red hair and you color it, make sure it gets colored at least three days prior to the procedure. We recommend the donor site to be dyed a darker color such as black or dark brown.
- Discuss with your hair stylist We can help you design your hair based on your type of procedure (temples, crown, etc). Some patients prefer longer hair versus shorter hair for transplantation. BEWARE we are not hairstylists and your donor site and recipient site will be trimmed to allow us to perform the procedure on your treatment day.
- Wash your hair with an antimicrobial shampoo the night before (Hibiclens is a good one).
- Continue Propecia before, during, and after hair procedure if prescribed.
Day of Your Procedure
- Please eat in the morning since your medications will be oral only.
- Wear clothes that do not need to be pulled over your head to prevent pulling out grafts immediately after your procedure. Please remove all jewelry.
- Feel free to bring an iPad, laptop and headset. We have Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services for your entertainment.
- Wash hair with an antimicrobial shampoo again but do not use hair care products.
Post-Operative Instructions
- Medications will be dispensed prior to the hair transplantation procedure. We typically give pain medication as well as an antibiotic by mouth.
- Antibiotic ointment will be provided to you to apply to the donor area twice a day for the first five days after your procedure. Please don’t take an antibiotic ointment if you have never taken prior.
Sleeping and Activity
- For the first night, sleep with your head elevated on several pillows or in a recliner chair to prevent swelling, and place a towel under your head in case of possible light bleeding.
- Avoid any strenuous physical activity the first weeks after your procedure to prevent increased swelling and loss or damage of grafts. After 2 weeks, you may resume moderate exercise, weight lifting and swimming.
- No direct sun exposure to the scalp for more than 30 minutes at a time for the first month. Wearing a hat provides adequate protection.
Caring for and Cleaning the Scalp
Your scalp is cleaned before leaving the office on the day of your procedure. Slight bleeding is normal for the first day after the procedure. To clean simply apply light pressure with a clean cloth or gauze for up to 10 minutes.
Most patients return to the office the second day after the procedure for a hair wash. If you are not coming to the office to have your hair washed, you may gently clean it beginning on the second day until five days later as follows:
- Wet your head in the shower with cool to warm water, pouring it over your scalp (top, sides, and back) using a bowl or cup.
- Using mild shampoo, lather it in your hands and gently pat it onto the graft areas while lightly rubbing it into other parts of the scalp, including the sides and back.
- Gently rinse off the shampoo, then pat dry.
- Combing is permitted on the third day as long as it is performed gently.
- Continue this routine daily for the first five days. On the sixth day, you may begin to shower normally, letting the water hit your scalp as usual.
- Any remaining crusts after nine days should be rubbed off. If you experience any pain or bleeding, stop and wait two more days before you begin rubbing again. It is very important that you rub all these crusts off by two weeks.
Aesthetic Scalp Rinse for Post-Procedure Care
- AS Rinse may accelerate the healing of the graft area with its combination of lactated ringers, liposomal ATP, and proprietary growth factors.
- Use AS Rinse every 30 to 60 minutes while awake for the first three days and then use for the first week several times a day.Hairs will fall out as crusts forms and is common. The actual hair bulb is below the scalp and will sprout between 3-8 months after the procedure. In some cases it can take up to a year for all of the hair to regrow.
- Hairs will fall out as crusts forms and is common. The actual hair bulb is below the scalp and will sprout between 3-8 months after the procedure. In some cases it can take up to a year for all of the hair to regrow.
- Patients can resume minoxidil (or formula 82m/ formula 82f) 3 weeks after the procedure to help the newly implanted hair growth accelerate.
- LASER caps and low light laser can be resumed the day after the procedure. Light therapy can decrease hair loss and thicken existing hairs.
- Hair coloring can take place 6 weeks after the procedure.
- Folliculitis is where ingrown hairs can cause pimple-like lesions. Apply a moist cloth to the area and if it persists contact the office.
- Numbness is common and can take several weeks to resolve.