Two months after your hair transplant, you may be hoping to see results. Some people will start to see some new hair growth coming through at this stage, especially if they’re using additional treatments like Finasteride, Minoxidil, or PRP hair treatment after a hair transplant. However, 2 months after your hair transplant is still very early days.
Wondering what your hair transplant should look like after 2 months? In this article, we’ll explore:
Key takeaways
Around 2 months after a hair transplant, you’re likely in what many people call the “ugly duckling phase”. Post-transplant hair shedding may be at its peak, and your hair may look even thinner or more patchy than before surgery.
However, you should also have some promising signs of recovery. Scabs should be long gone, and some people may even have signs of early new hair growth.
Number of grafts: 3,800Areas covered: temples, hairline, mid-scalp, crown
This patient had fairly patchy hair loss across his scalp before his hair transplant. The areas affected are typical for a person with male pattern baldness, which includes thinning hair across the crown and mid-scalp along with a receding hairline.
2 months after a hair transplant, his new hairline is still visible, but there’s very little growth among the newly implanted hair follicles. This is completely normal post-hair transplantation, as it usually takes 3-4 months for new hair to start growing from the transplanted follicles [1].
Number of grafts: 3,500Area covered: hairline, temples
The patient shown above has a typical M-shaped hairline caused by androgenetic alopecia. This is characterised by recession at both temples.
This patient hasn’t seen much new hair growth in the last 2 months. But the hair transplant redness, scabbing, and swelling have completely faded, leaving just a faint outline of his new hairline.
The patient also reports that most of his post-transplant shedding (shock loss) happened in the first month after his hair transplant. Shock loss is a normal part of healing in both recipient and donor areas. Now, in month 2, there are a few visible new hair follicles growing through when you look at his hair transplant close up, but not enough to create any real density.
Number of grafts: 500
This Wimpole Clinic patient had a 500-graft FUT Afro hairline transplant because he was concerned about his receding hairline. As is the case for many patients, he had less visible hair at 2 months post-transplant than before the procedure.
This is, again, due to shock loss and is nothing to worry about. Within a month or two, new hairs will begin to grow from the transplanted follicles and within a year, he’ll have a thick, lower hairline that blends seamlessly with the rest of his natural hair.
Number of grafts: 5,000Area covered: hairline, temples
This patient saw more shock hair loss in month 2 than in the first month after his Afro hair transplant. Like most other patients, he has only seen minimal Afro hair growth in the two months post-transplant.
He’s also not planning to use male hair loss treatments like Minoxidil or Finasteride to stimulate hair growth, although he is taking biotin supplements for hair. Every patient is free to choose the right treatment path for themselves.
Many hair transplant surgeons recommend using prescribed hair loss drugs to prevent any ongoing loss of hair. Without this, you may find you need a second hair transplant further down the line.
Number of grafts: 1,194Type of surgery: FUE
This Wimpole Clinic patient had an FUE (follicular unit extraction) hair transplant, and these images show his results before and nearly 2 months (7 weeks) after the procedure. At this point, any scabbing and redness has disappeared and his transplant is healing well, but he has less visible hair than before the procedure due to shock loss.
This patient also had low-level laser therapy to help with hair growth and recovery post-surgery, and his surgeon recommended Finasteride and Minoxidil to improve growth as much as possible.
It can be frustrating in the early days when you’re recovering from a hair transplant, especially when you appear to have less hair than ever. However, it’s worth the wait.
The photo above shows the same Wimpole Clinic patient 14 months after his successful hair transplant. While he doesn’t have total coverage on his crown area, his hair looks a lot thicker and results look very natural.
Number of grafts: 4,345Area covered: hairline, mid-scalp, crown
This patient’s hair transplant journey is slightly different from others here, as he spent 3 months using a combination of Minoxidil, Finasteride, and derma rolling to stimulate hair growth before undergoing an FUE hair transplant procedure. The first photo shows his hair prior to this treatment.
The second shows his hair following these non-surgical interventions but before his transplant. As you can see, these treatments can have a massive impact on the thickness and density of your hair, so they’re worth considering before you opt for surgery.
Following his surgery, the hair density is very limited, which is to be expected at this early stage in the hair transplant timeline.
Number of grafts: 6,335Area covered: hairline, temples, crown
This patient has an M-shaped hairline but is also developing a bald spot on the crown. Due to this extensive hair loss, he was prescribed a substantial number of grafts. Some research suggests it’s only safe and effective to harvest up to a quarter of the available grafts in your donor area [2].
6,000 grafts in a single session are likely to be more than this, which may lead to hair transplant complications [3]. It’s important to get quotes from several clinics so you can avoid those that artificially inflate the number of hair grafts you need.
There’s some lingering redness around the patient’s graft area, but it doesn’t appear inflamed or infected. This patient encourages others at the 2-month stage to focus on the final results they’ll achieve, rather than worrying about how their hair looks right now.
At around 2 months post-transplant, you may experience some thinning in the donor area. This is a normal part of healing and is often due to shock loss. In some cases, harvesting a large number of grafts from the donor area may leave the area looking permanently thinner, although this is unusual when surgeons follow guidelines for best practice.
A skilled surgeon will remove follicles in such a way that your donor area will look thick and healthy again once shock loss resolves. Your donor area will look different at 2 months depending on whether you have had an FUE or FUT (follicular unit transplantation) hair transplant.
An FUE transplant leaves you with tiny dot scars in the long term, while FUT leaves you with a linear hair transplant scar which can be concealed by growing hair longer in the donor area, using scalp micropigmentation, or having a minor follow-up FUE procedure.
At two months, both FUE and FUT wounds should have healed, leaving only scars which will become less obvious (and often invisible) as new hair growth comes in.
A study on male patients with androgenetic alopecia found that patient satisfaction rates were incredibly high, exceeding 98% [4]. This matches the Wimpole Clinic’s hair transplant success rate of 97-100%. Learn more here about the differences between FUE and FUT.
To promote new hair growth and help with the healing process, this patient lives a healthy lifestyle which includes eating healthily and exercising regularly. He also gave up alcohol for six weeks to ensure his transplant healed well. Learn more about the link between hair loss and alcohol.
There’s still some thinning in the patient’s donor area at 2 months post-op, but there’s enough remaining hair that it’s hardly noticeable.
This patient’s donor area is substantially thinner than that of other patients at this stage. While this may be due to a naturally slower hair growth cycle, it’s also possible that this has been caused by hair graft overharvesting.
Taking an unnecessary amount of follicles can make the donor area permanently thin. That’s why it’s so important to choose a reputable clinic with experienced surgeons who will avoid harvesting excessive graft numbers.
Overharvesting is a common problem seen in patients of some Turkish hair transplant clinics, who are notorious for prescribing unnecessarily high graft numbers to make the transplant cost appear good value for money. Learn more here about Turkish hair transplant clinic red flags.
If you’re at 2 months post-transplant, you’re likely keen to get to the ‘good bit’, when your hair starts to look thicker and you start seeing significant new growth in your areas of hair loss. But when will your hair look like you imagined?
Here are some photos of Wimpole Clinic hair transplant results at later stages which may give you an idea of what to expect. If you’d like to see more before and after photos, or ones closer to your hair type and colour, check out our extensive before and after hair transplant gallery.
This patient had a 900 graft FUT hair transplant to address male pattern baldness. By 4 months post-transplant, the start of new hair growth is clear and his overall look has already improved greatly since pre-transplant.
This patient had a 1600 graft FUT hair transplant to treat female pattern hair loss. By 6 months post-transplant, her hair density is already looking a lot better and this should continue to improve over the following 6-12 months.
This patient had a 400 graft FUT Afro hair transplant to cover noticeable hair loss on his scalp. By 6 months, his transplanted hair blends seamlessly with his existing hair and it is impossible to tell that he ever had hair loss, or has had a transplant.
This highlights how much results vary by person and hair type — for most people, it takes 12-18 months to see final results, but this patient has already achieved the results he wanted.
This patient had a 2500 graft FUE hair transplant to cover a bald spot on the crown. By 12 months post-transplant, his overall look has significantly improved, although he still has slightly reduced density around the crown area.
His total density may continue to improve up to 18 months or this may be his final result. With significant hair loss, it’s often not possible to regain complete coverage over the entire scalp, but major improvements can usually be made.
This patient had a 2000 graft FUT Afro hair transplant to treat a high hairline. At 12 months, she has a brand new hairline which looks incredibly natural. Again, she may continue to gain density in the transplanted area for another 6 months.
For most people, it takes 3-4 months to see new hair growth after a transplant [1]. However, some people experience early regrowth at 2-3 months [5], particularly people using additional treatments like hair loss medication or PRP [6].
Most people are more likely to experience post-transplant shedding at month 2 than new hair growth. This can be unsettling, but it’s a normal part of the hair transplant recovery process. Your clinic may reassure you at month 2 by:
Remember, it’s normal to have no visible growth by 2 months post-transplant. It’s not usually a sign of poor graft survival as long as there are no signs of complications.
While 8 weeks is usually plenty of time for any hair transplant side effects to subside, you may see some lingering effects. Here are some of the potential side effects to expect:
Shock loss is a very common side effect at 2 months post-transplant. It happens because the scalp undergoes trauma during the surgery, pushing transplanted hairs and some native hairs into the telogen (resting) phase of the hair growth cycle. Usually, on a healthy scalp, 90-95% of scalp hairs are in the anagen (growth) phase, with around 5-10% in the resting phase at any time [7].
It usually starts within the first few weeks and may peak around month 2. It doesn’t mean the grafts have failed; it’s actually a normal part of recovery. By 3-4 months, most people start to experience new hair growth.
Studies show that in the first 2 months after a transplant, shedding happens in about 40% of scalp grafts, 30% of beard grafts, and just over half of body hair grafts. The good news is that most of these hairs grow back, with around 89% survival for scalp grafts, 95% for beard grafts, and 76% for chest hair grafts after a year [8].
Hair transplant pimples are fairly common 2 months after surgery. It’s a symptom of folliculitis, which is a relatively common side effect that can occur up to 4 months after a hair transplant.
Pimples typically develop from 2 weeks to 2 months after surgery. If you just have a few spots that last a few days, you can ignore them and wait for them to go away by themselves.
If they linger or seem to be getting worse, speak to your hair transplant surgeon. This can be a sign of an infection, which needs to be treated.
Redness is a very common side effect of a hair transplant. It affects almost all patients in the days after their procedures, but usually subsides within 4-6 weeks. If you still have substantial redness from your hair transplant after 2 months, it may be worth raising this with your clinic, as it can be a sign of infection.
Looking for the best results possible by your second month? There are ways to encourage your hair transplant to recover quickly and pave the way for new growth. These include:
At the Wimpole Clinic, awarded best hair transplant clinic for four years running, the care you receive will be top-quality. We have an expert trichology team and work with some of the best hair transplant surgeons in the UK, so you can rest assured you’ll be in good hands.
At your initial consultation, one of our hair doctors will assess your hair loss. They’ll ask for a comprehensive history and can use diagnostic trichology tests to identify the reason your hair is falling out.
They’ll discuss your symptoms and preferences to determine whether you’re a good candidate for a hair transplant. If so, you’ll be referred to one of our hair transplant surgeons to start the process.
Our team has performed more than 20,000 hair transplants, giving thousands of people hair they love. Book your free consultation to start your hair transplant journey, and make the most of it by reading our guide to the key questions you’ll want to ask before surgery.
Yes. In fact, you don’t have to wait this long — you can typically cut your hair around 3-4 weeks after a hair transplant, provided you haven’t experienced any complications. Learn more about getting a haircut after a hair transplant.
It’s generally fine to wear a cap 2 months after your hair transplant. In general, we recommend waiting at least 10 days before you start wearing a hat post-surgery, as this gives the transplanted follicles time to settle in before being disturbed. Start with a loose-fitting hat and wear it only when you need to in the early days but by 2 months, you can wear a cap as often as you like.
Yes, you can have more than one hair transplant. In some cases, this will be part of your surgeon’s plan with you to manage hair loss long-term or achieve the results you want. In fact, celebrities like Calum Best are known to have had six procedures to successfully maintain a full head of hair.
Scabs usually fall off within 7-14 days after a hair transplant. If scabs last longer than this, check in with your clinic; delayed shedding is usually nothing to worry about, but can be a sign of complications in some cases.
If you have a high-quality hair transplant, it should be impossible to tell apart from your natural hair in the long term. However, it may be noticeable during the growing-in phase, and a hair transplant gone wrong can be easily spotted.
Wimpole Clinic Services:
Hair Transplants, Beard Transplants & Eyebrow Transplants.
Talk to a specialist
Dr Meena Zareie (GMC number 7722917) is the first female member of Wimpole Clinic’s Hair Transplant Surgeons team.
Dr Meena started her journey in the hair transplant industry 8 years ago, where she worked closely with leading surgeons to hone her skills, having conducted more than 1,000 FUE hair transplants.
Starting as a technician and nurse while working simultaneously for the NHS, she decided to take her passion for helping patients with hair loss further.
Her qualifications include an MD doctorate from the prestigious Medical University of Warsaw, and a Master’s degree in Drug Toxicology with the institute of cancer therapeutics. She has previously completed a bachelor’s in Biomedical Science, and is qualified in minor aesthetic and dermatological procedures for the face and body. She is a member of the British Medical Association and is a registered doctor on the General Medical Council.
Her passion for perfection and attention to detail is what drew Dr Meena to the aesthetic industry. She has completed additional FUE Hair transplant training with renowned hair transplant doctors in Georgia and Iran, and has developed a fine motor skills which serve to produce outstanding results, as each procedure is carried out with ultimate care and meticulous attention to the detail. Dr Meena’s care for her patients and work shows in her results is a real credit to the hair transplant industry.
