Do You Have To Shave Your Head Before Getting A Hair Transplant?

I’m a 32-year-old male, and I’ve been dealing with hair loss for the past ten years. I want to get a hair transplant, but I don’t want to shave my head. Do I have to shave my head before the procedure? If so, why is it necessary.

Shaving your head before surgery is not a mandatory requirement. However, you may need to shave your head depending on the harvesting technique partially. Follicular Unit Strip Surgery (FUSS) does not require a patient to shave their head.

Follicular Unit Excision (FUE) requires the donor area to be buzzed down to a zero guard in most cases. A select few hair transplant surgeons offer ‘no-shave’ procedures, which involves them extracting the follicular units individually without trimming the donor area (sides and back of scalp). Unfortunately, this technique does have a significant drawback; surgeons are not able to extract as many grafts using this technique

Why Do Surgeons Recommend Shaving

Surgeons recommend shaving because short hair keeps them from causing damage to surrounding hair follicles. When your hair is long, it is challenging to create micro-incision sites to place the new hair. Long hair can also get stuck to the freshly transplanted grafts, which can cause the grafts to become dislodged.

The few surgeons that perform this ‘no-shave’ technique or ‘Hollywood’ procedure spend a very long time extracting and implanting the hair follicles. If the surgeons become fatigued, the entire surgery could be compromised.

In closing, shaving your head makes the surgeon’s life more comfortable, and any bit can help. Follicular unit grafts are living organisms, and if the grafts are healthy, they will grow. Damaged grafts will not grow. Buzzing your head increases the chances of having more hair transplanted and better hair growth. It’s a no-brainer.