Hair transplant after 1 week

What the scalp looks like

• A field of pinpoint crusts over the recipient area, one per graft, with redness between them. The donor area is a band of small dots after FUE or a closed line after FUT, usually under a dressing for the first day.
• Forehead swelling in roughly 40% to 50% of patients. It starts on day one or two, peaks on days two to three and can slide down to the eyelids before it clears by day five to seven.
• The transplanted hairs are still attached at this point, standing as short stubble in the crusts. They have not started growing; they are the hairs that were moved.

What is normal at week 1

• Pain in the first 24 to 48 hours, settling by day three to five. Around 6% of FUE patients report pain beyond the routine discomfort, and the ISHRS notes FUE is generally less painful afterwards than FUT.
• Tightness, tingling or numbness in the donor area. Altered sensation affects about 2% of FUE patients and usually resolves within four to eight months.
• Swelling that moves downward. Puffy eyes on day three or four after a clear forehead on day one is the expected route, not a new problem.
• A little oozing or pinpoint bleeding from recipient sites on the first night, stopping with gentle pressure on a clean gauze.

When to call the clinic

• Bleeding that does not stop with a few minutes of gentle pressure.
• Spreading redness with heat, yellow discharge or a fever. Infection affects under 1% of patients and shows in the first one to four weeks, which is exactly why it is worth catching early.
• Pain that is getting worse rather than better after day three, or that the prescribed medication does not touch.
• Any area of the donor or recipient site turning dark, grey or black. Necrosis is rare but it is an emergency for the clinic, not something to watch.

These are the signs the published series associate with complications that are easier to treat early. They are not a diagnosis, and a clinic would rather take a call about nothing than miss a call about something.

Aftercare commonly given

The ISHRS notes that postoperative instructions vary among surgeons. What follows is the common pattern, and the clinic's own sheet takes precedence wherever it differs.

• Sleep with the head raised for the first few nights, which most clinics advise to limit the swelling. Many also give a short steroid course for the same reason.
• Do not touch, scratch or pick the recipient area. The Bernstein and Rassman anchoring study found pulling on a hair always dislodged the graft in the first two days, and pulling an adherent scab lost the graft through day five.
• The first wash is usually done at the clinic or at home from day two to four, by pouring or spraying rather than rubbing. Protocols differ and the clinic sheet wins.
• No hats that touch the grafts, no exercise that makes you sweat, no alcohol, no swimming and no sun on the scalp. Most clinics allow a loose cap that sits clear of the recipient area after the first few days.

Hair transplant after 1 week: frequently asked questions

Is a hair transplant painful afterwards?

For most people the worst of it is the first 24 to 48 hours and it settles by day three to five. A 2026 review of FUE complications puts pain beyond routine discomfort at about 6% of patients, and the ISHRS notes many patients report less postoperative pain after FUE than after FUT, where the donor is a closed incision rather than individual punch sites. The donor area tends to ache more than the recipient area, which mostly feels tight.

When are the grafts secure after a hair transplant?

In the one study that tested it directly, Bernstein and Rassman pulled grafts on 42 patients at intervals after surgery. For the first two days pulling on a hair always lost the graft. By day six pulling on a hair no longer dislodged it, and by day nine grafts were no longer at risk. Pulling on a scab that was still attached lost the graft through day five, which is why the crusts are the thing to leave alone.

When can I wash my hair after a hair transplant?

Most clinics do a first wash between day two and day four, either in the clinic or with instructions to pour or spray water and a mild shampoo over the area without rubbing. The 2024 folliculitis study of 1,317 patients found a first wash later than day three was itself a risk factor for folliculitis, so the wash is not something to put off. Rubbing the scabs is what to avoid, not washing.

When can I wear a hat after a hair transplant?

Clinic instructions vary, which the ISHRS acknowledges. Most allow a loose cap that does not touch the recipient area after the first few days, and a normal hat once the grafts are anchored, which the anchoring study puts at day nine. A tight hat on day two can remove grafts; the same hat on day ten cannot.