Tip 1 of 10 To Insure You’ll Get The Best Hair Transplant Procedure:
Get It Done on a Friday
By Dr. John Frank, M.D. | IAHRS, ABHRS, ISHRS, AHLA, XM Radio: ‘The Bald Truth’, NYC, July 6, 2013
The best time to get your hair transplant has nothing to do with the time of year, the season, or the weather. The best time to get your transplant is when you can take some time off after the procedure to rest and recuperate, and for most people–that’s Friday.
Fridays are the Hottest Days.
You ideally want a few days to rest after your procedure and Friday gives you at least two days recovery, which is about all you need.
The first couple of days after surgery are usually the most uncomfortable for patients, and the amount of discomfort depends on the type of procedure you have: strip harvesting or FUE.
Strip harvesting tends to be the more invasive procedure, and therefore the recovery time may take a bit longer. Strip harvesting involves the excision of a single strip of scalp that contains healthy hair follicles and usually requires a suture to close the wound; FUE involves removing healthy follicles one at a time creating 1000s of tiny wounds but they close and heal on their own.
Because of these differences, strip harvesting may have a bit more pain a few hours after surgery then FUE, however, you’ll have pain killers in either case to minimize discomfort.
Another reason you ideally want a day or two off is that there can be some minor bleeding after surgery, especially with strip harvesting. With strip harvesting you’ll leave the doctors office with a bandage over the donor area. With FUE, however, noticeable bleeding is rare and you usually won’t be wearing a bandage.
Finally, after any surgery, infection (while rare) is always a concern, so you’ll want to rest for a couple of days in a quiet and clean environment.
How Much Time Do You Need To Prepare Before Surgery?
Most larger and experienced transplant offices will be prepared to get you in right away, sometimes within a day or two—rarely longer than two weeks. One of the great things about a hair transplant is that it doesn’t require an extensive medical work-up and most people can have the procedure right away. Of course, your doctor may need more time to get you ready for surgery if you have certain medical issues, like heart disease or if you’re taking blood thinners.
When Can You Expect to Fully Recover?
Barring the rare complication (which is rarely life threatening), you can expect to be back to normal after a few days. As far as when you’ll see noticeable results in terms of hair growth—that usually takes at least six months; don’t let anybody sell you on the promise that you’ll have great results in three to four months.
So — rest, relax, recuperate over the weekend after surgery, take care of yourself and your hair in the following weeks and months, be patient, and before you know it, you won’t even remember what it was like to suffer from hair loss.
Next Tip: How to Save Money On Hair Transplant Post Operative Care
