Dermatologist Explains How You Should Wash Your Hair After a Hair Transplant

Your hair is not a hat; it’s a part of your body, a part of looking great in the way you deserve. It deserves more than surgery alone.

Unfortunately, for many patients, deciding on and getting the hair transplant surgery can be seen as the only tricky part. This is a common mistake as a hair transplant process is NOT only comprised of surgery.

If you want to ensure that your newly transplanted hair stays there permanently, instead of falling off at the first inconvenience, like a hat, you have to look after your hair even after the surgery. 👈

And the best way to do that is by washing and cleaning properly.

In this blog, I will explain how you should wash your hair when you should wash your hair, and what happens if you do not wash your hair after a transplant:

Let’s start by going over the process step-by-step:

First Wash: When, Where, How 🩺

So you have just had your hair transplant surgery, and you are prepared to carefully go on with your post-surgery process, starting with washing your hair.

Then, there are two critical points you should know about washing your post-surgery:

1️⃣ When/how often should you wash your hair,

2️⃣ How should you wash your hair?

These are crucial for ensuring that you don’t damage your newly transplanted hair during washing, so to learn them properly, your first wash should be done a day after your surgery and with your physician in the clinic. Until then, don’t let water get anywhere near your scalp.

⚠️ If necessary, you can carefully wash your body with slow movements (to avoid accidents), but you can’t wash your head for at least 24 hours. 

You can see this first wash as an instruction manual for your long-term hair transplantation process. Since it will be done carefully under your doctor’s supervision, they will teach you how to properly clean your hair without damaging the transplant and how often you should repeat this process.

Although we provide a more in-depth explanation in our face-to-face examination, here is a fundamental process of how to wash your hair:

1️⃣ Fill a cup or a water spray with warm water and a few drops of shampoo your doctor approves.

2️⃣ Gently pour or spray the water onto your hair.

3️⃣ Apply low pressure on the transplanted area. Make sure not to dislocate the transplanted hair in any way, and avoid picking or contacting any scabs.

4️⃣ Apply water once more to clean the shampoo thoroughly.

5️⃣ Let your scalp dry on its own entirely.

Lastly, we should remind you that you must follow this process for the next 15 days after the surgery for the ideal results. The overall process is a crucial point for determining whether your hair transplant will succeed and be permanent.

That is why, during the first washing process, an expert dermatologist should be present for supervision.

When Should I Wash My Hair After a Hair Transplant?

So, after you have had your hair transplant surgery, you must wait for a day to pass. Then, you will have your official first wash in the clinic. 

As I have mentioned, this first experience is vital for learning how to properly clean your scalp without damaging your transplanted hair. However, after having your first wash under your doctor’s supervision, you will be responsible for having safe hair washing and following a schedule.

Ideally, we advise our patients to wash their hair every day after the first wash made in the clinic until at least 15 days have passed. After that, you can return to your normal hair care routine.

Do I Need to Wash My Hair Every Day After a Hair Transplant?

Ideally, yes.

According to research, it is an accepted fact by over 50 experts globally that washing your hair every day until after the initial 15 days heavily supports your transplant’s success and healing process. 🧑‍⚕️

That way, you can minimize the potential side effects or complications:

What side effects can occur if I do not wash my hair every day after surgery?

*️⃣ The most common side effect or complication that hair transplant patients experience after a hair transplant is scabs.

Scabs are a naturally occurring phenomenon of hair transplant surgeries. They will continue to stay on your scalp following the surgery and will likely cause further infections if you don’t clean your scalp daily. 

*️⃣ One other likely scenario is experiencing itchiness.

As your scalp will still be in the healing process, the donor and the recipient areas will itch to some extent. These, too, are completely natural. However, they won’t go away unless you wash your hair regularly every day.

⚠️ Ultimately, rubbing your head to clean the scabs or scratching to get rid of the itchiness will likely ruin and dislocate your newly transplanted hair altogether. So, the best thing you can do is gently clean your scalp by pouring water daily until after 15 days, as the water will clean and remove them over time.

So, How Often Should You Shower After a Hair Transplant?

Cleaning your scalp every 24 hours by gently pouring the water on the transplanted hair will be enough until after the first two weeks pass. 

This is crucial as rubbing or pressuring your newly transplanted hair can directly affect whether it will be permanent.

💡 Once you pass the two week limit, your transplanted hair will be securely anchored by that point. So, there will be NO risk of dislodging grafts during washing, even the water flow directly hits your scalp during a usual shower.

Washing Your Hair After a Hair Transplant – Everything You Need to Know 🧼

Now that you know how often you should wash it, let me delve a little deeper into critical points to ensure that each washing effectively supports your hair transplant in fighting male pattern baldness.

First, aside from fundamental points for washing your hair correctly, the method you use for cleaning, such as your hand motions and what you use for cleaning are among the essential factors:

🔵 To clean without damaging the hair, you can use a softening lotion on both the transplant and donor areas. Make sure the lotion reaches all your hair roots and stays there for at least 45 minutes. Alternatively, you can use shampoo by mixing it with a cup of water before applying it to your scalp.

• For each method, consult with your doctor to guarantee that you are using a safe product for post-surgery, such as Bepanthol.

🔵 Regardless of your chosen product, your cleaning technique in each washing must be the same: Slow and with gentle hand motions.

⚠️ Avoid any type of rubbing action.

• In fact, not pressuring your scalp is so significant that we advise our patients that they can even use water sprayers instead of pouring over the planted area. After using the water, try reaching the entirety of your scalp without making any sudden or rough movement.

• For most ideal results, consider leaving your head to dry without rubbing a towel on it to minimize contact. If necessary, you can use a soft towel to dry the hair as long as it doesn’t include rubbing; simply put the towel on your hair. Naturally, not all the scabs and crusts will be cleaned after a wash, so don’t try to clean them or pick them up. They will be cleaned and disappear over time.

🔵 Lastly, when all of these things are considered, you can see that the quality of washing your hair carefully in the post-surgery process can affect the quality of your hair transplant. What will happen if you don’t wash it well and properly is that this key factor will directly determine whether the surgery will be a success or a failure at fighting androgenetic alopecia. 

☘️ As the essential points of washing your hair show, post-surgery is crucial for preserving your hair’s excellent health. So, no patient should leave the clinic with unanswered questions or feeling alone.

That is where we come in:

How to Achieve a Healthy and Clean Scalp – With UnitedCare

At UnitedCare, we begin your hair transplant process by offering you a free one-on-one consultation with our expert doctors to determine your suitability. 

💊 If so, our holistic approach provides advanced technologies and bio-enhancements to ensure you do not need another surgery.

Once you have decided on a method, we begin the treatment with the utmost attention. 💉

But most importantly, we stay in contact with our patients even long after the surgery, ensuring that your transplant becomes permanent. 🍀

Affordable hair transplant costs, a holistic approach, and experienced dermatologists on-site are here to provide you with the right solution.

Ready to begin the journey? Click here to reach out for a FREE consultation: