Is Smoking Electronic Cigarettes Safe after Hair Transplant Surgery?

I’m just wondering if smoking an electronic cigarette after a hair transplant is OK. Is it the nicotine that’s bad for the healing process of a hair transplant or is it the smoke? Any answers would be helpful to me thank yo.

This is a great question given that electronic cigarettes are increasing in popularity and are considered by many to be a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes.

Risks to general health aside, when it comes to healing after a surgical procedure it’s the nicotine and not the smoke that is the greatest concern. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor which is to say that it causes blood vessels to constrict, thereby restricting blood flow and impeding the delivery of oxygen to the tissue. This, of course, has the potential to harm the newly transplanted grafts and affect hair growth.

I’m not aware of any studies conducted on the effects of smoking on hair transplant patients and I have no statistics to offer. I can also say that I’ve heard a number of guys state that they continued to smoke after surgery with no ill effects.

Hair restoration surgery is a huge investment in money and time and I believe that most would recommend that anyone quit smoking at least temporarily for a period of time after surgery.

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David

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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