How Long Until the Donor Site is Concealed after a Follicular Unit Extraction Hair Transplant?

These questions, from members of our Hair Loss Community and Discussion Forums, was answered by Coalition hair transplant surgeon Dr. Glenn Charles:

I am planning a small follicular unit extraction (FUE) hair transplant in a month or so (approx. 1500 hairs). I have a good head of hair and it’s just to fill in a small amount of recession. My hair is also fairly long on top and should have decent hair growth at the back by the time of the procedure.

I know an area of approx. 15cm x 3cm needs to be shaved at the back. My question is, will 10 days off work following the procedure be enough time for healing and enough regrowth in the donor area so that it does not look like I have had a procedure? This is the only aspect that I’m worried about (I had follicular unit strip strip surgery (FUSS) before but had over three weeks off work). Also, will the donor area be left noticeably much less dense when it grows back? Thanks

If you still have good donor density above and below your previous donor strip, then there is a good chance that the FUE procedure will not be noticeable after the hair grows back.

Getting a shorter hair cut in the donor area at the end of the 10 days post-op may help to make the transplanted area less noticeable. If your hair is longer in the donor area, ask if they can do 2x 15cm x 1.5 cm shaved areas, leaving some hair above, in between, and below the shaved area to help camouflage the FUE donor sites.

Dr. Glenn Charles
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David (TakingThePlunge)
Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.
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