When Can I Start Washing My Hair Normally after Hair Transplant Surgery?

This question, from a member of our hair loss social community and discussion forums, was answered by a staff physician from Coalition hair transplant clinic Feller Medical:

Went and got my hair transplant done 5 days ago. I’ve just been gently patting the shampoo on the recipient area for the last few days and pouring cups of water to wash it off but how long can I start properly washing it with a shower head and how best is it to wash it when I start washing it properly?

The simple answer is: when your hair restoration clinic tells you you can. This is because almost all clinics have slightly different instructions when it comes to post-operative washing.

I tell my hair transplant patients to use the cup method for 3 days (starting the day after surgery) and avoid direct water pressure from the shower head during this period as well. Starting day 4, I tell them to start gently massaging with fingertips — not fingernails — to wash and break up any scabbing that is forming. I further tell them to use the scabbing as an indicator of how well and aggressively they are washing. If the recipient area looks like a clean “buzz cut” without scabbing, then you’re watching correctly. If you have a lot of scabbing building up, scrub harder. However, sometimes you do get a few stubborn scabs, and its okay to leave these guys alone if they don’t break up with reasonable fingertip washing.

Shoot your clinic and email and see when and how they want you washing. But hopefully the above is a helpful “general” idea for post-operative cleaning.

Grow well!

Feller Medical
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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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