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The First 10 Days After a Hair Transplant: Washing, Sleeping, Scabs and Precautions
What to do in the first 10 days after a hair transplant: a day-by-day care calendar, correct washing technique, sleeping position, swelling and scab management.
Contents
The operation takes hours, but the quality of the result depends greatly on care in the first 10 days, when grafts anchor and tissue heals. Proper care lowers infection risk, prevents graft loss and speeds healing.
This is a general guide; your clinic's written instructions come first.
| Period | What happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Tenderness, donor dressing | Rest, keep the head raised, don't touch the area |
| Days 2–3 | Swelling may start on the forehead and around the eyes | Cold packs only on the forehead; first wash usually at the clinic |
| Days 4–5 | Swelling eases, small scabs appear | Continue daily washing as instructed |
| Days 6–7 | Scabs soften | Leave lotion on before gently rinsing |
| Days 8–10 | Most scabs fall, redness fades | Don't pick scabs; let washing remove them |
Washing technique
- Apply the recommended lotion or foam with fingertips without pressing.
- Leave it for the stated time to soften scabs.
- Rinse with lukewarm, low-pressure water, ideally pouring from a cup rather than using the shower head directly.
- Lather shampoo in your palm and dab it on without rubbing.
- Pat dry with a towel without rubbing, or air-dry.
- If using a hair dryer, only cool and low, from a distance.
Sleeping
For the first 5–7 nights keep the head raised about 45 degrees, use a neck pillow to keep the recipient area off the pillow and avoid lying on the grafts.
Swelling
Common on days 2–4 with frontal work and usually settles in days. Keep the head up, take prescribed medicines and apply cold to the forehead only.
| Avoid | Why |
|---|---|
| Scratching or picking scabs | Graft loss and infection |
| Hats early on | Friction; use only when and as permitted |
| Smoking and alcohol | Impair healing |
| Intense sport and sweating | Infection, graft displacement |
| Sun on the bare scalp | Damage and discolouration |
| Pools, sea, sauna | Infection and heat |
| Bending to lift heavy things | Bleeding and swelling |
Contact the clinic for persistent bleeding, increasing pain, redness and warmth, yellow-green discharge or bad smell, fever, or severe swelling around the eyes.
Desk workers often return within a few days; for social appearance many wait 7–10 days. Plan heavy physical work with your doctor.
At our Istanbul clinic, the first wash and check-up are done after surgery, written care instructions are provided and a contact line is available throughout recovery. Clients from Yalova, Bursa, Kocaeli and Gebze can follow progress with photo check-ins.
