Many patients say that the first week after their surgical hair restoration is the hardest, as they are waiting for their scalp to heal. So what can you expect from your hair transplant after 7 days? You’ll be happy to learn that pain and discomfort should be mostly gone by this time, and your scalp should be returning to its normal appearance. If you engage in diligent aftercare, watch out for complications and keep your grafts protected, you should be on smooth sailing towards a successful hair transplant recovery.
This article provides a detailed overview of what you can expect your hair transplant to look and feel like after 7 days. It shows you what is normal at this stage in your recovery process and what concerning signs and symptoms to look out for. Finally, it offers a list of activities that can be safely resumed at this time and some great aftercare tips you can use one week post-procedure to improve your chances for optimal results.
Key takeaways
One week after your surgical hair restoration, the roughest part of your recovery is behind you. You should already be feeling comfortable, and your scalp should be mostly healed and on its way to returning to its normal appearance. Here is a detailed account of what you can expect [1][2]:
At this time, you should no longer experience any scalp pain, itching or discomfort and your hair transplant swelling should have gone down. However, you may still have some scalp redness after the hair transplant, as it can take 10-14 days for your skin to return to its normal colour (sometimes longer) [2].
The small scabs that have formed at the base of your grafts should be coming off around this time as well. You can help them along by gently rubbing your transplant area with the flat side of your fingers while washing your hair.
Between 7 and 10 days after a hair transplant, the grafts become securely attached to your scalp. This means they develop a blood supply and become more difficult to pull out accidentally. However, you should still protect them and avoid any rough touching if it’s only been a week since your procedure. There is no telling if the attachment process has been completed yet, and your grafts are still sensitive. Their survival may depend on how well they are cared for during the healing period.
When it comes to appearance, your hair grafts should now be on the same level as the rest of your hair. While the remaining scabs can produce a more textured appearance, the areas where they fell off should look and feel smooth. Your grafts should not have a cobbled look, akin to goosebumps, nor should they appear pitted (buried too deeply into your scalp) [2]. If you notice any of these potentially concerning signs, be sure to address them with your surgeon. While they should not impact graft survival, they can play a role in achieving a natural-looking hair transplant.
The difference between FUE and FUT, the two major hair transplant methods, lies in the way that grafts are harvested from your donor area. Follicular unit transplantation (FUT) involves surgically removing a strip of skin from the back of your head and cutting it up into individual grafts. However, follicular unit extraction (FUE) harvests each graft individually from your safe donor area using a small tool called a punch.
While both these methods have advantages and disadvantages, FUE is recognised for its faster, more comfortable healing process. That is because it only involves very small puncture wounds on your donor area, which close up fast. FUT, on the other hand, creates a larger, linear wound that requires suturing.
FUT wounds take longer to heal, can be more painful and carry a slightly higher risk of hair transplant infection than FUE (although it remains overall low). And unless self-absorbent sutures are used, you will also need to visit the clinic 14 days after your hair transplant to have them removed.
If you’ve had a beard transplant or an eyebrow transplant, your healing process should be quite similar to getting this procedure on your scalp. By the end of the first week post-surgery, you should be mostly healed, though some redness and scabbing on the transplant area may persist.
Check out our articles on beard transplant timeline and eyebrow transplant aftercare to learn all you need to know about facial hair transplant recovery.
Here is how some of our patients recount their hair transplant and healing experience one week after their surgical hair restoration at the Wimpole Clinic (see all our Trustpilot patient reviews and verify our 4,9 Trustscore here):
Here are some real patient photographs, which can give you a better idea about what you can expect your hair transplant to look like one week after your procedure.
The picture above shows a patient who is 7 days post-hair transplant surgery. It is likely that the individual has received a hairline transplant which would consist of between 1000 grafts and 1500 grafts, which, according to the graft calculator, puts the patient at stage 3 on the Norwood scale.
As you can see in the picture, the transplanted area is starting to develop small, deep-red scabs, which is a completely normal and necessary part of the healing process.
Norwood 3 is a good stage to receive a hair transplant, as there is usually a good supply of harvestable hair follicles left in the donor area. This patient’s hair loss is due to male pattern baldness, which accounts for 95% of hair loss in men [3].
This picture is also 7 days post-transplant, and the scabs are a lot darker compared to the two previous pictures. This is normal, as scab appearance and hue can differ among patients.
The pictures above don’t yet count as a hair transplant before and after. However, the difference of 7 days is undeniably significant.
This patient received a crown hair transplant, working into the hairline and temples. These transplant areas can be common from Norwood 3 to Norwood 7.
This individual appears to be at Norwood 6, which means he likely needed between 4000 grafts and 5000 grafts.
A crown / mid-scalp and frontal area transplant can be quite invasive, and depending on the method used, at 7 days post-op, it is essential that you have been taking downtime and practising good aftercare.
This patient had a beard transplant using the FUE method, which is less invasive. Between 1000 grafts and 1500 grafts were used to fill the patchy areas of the patient’s facial hair and to create a more natural appearance.
At 7 days, transplant scabs are present as well as redness. It is common to experience some lingering swelling in the area, and this can lead to post-op beard itch, which is normal. This can last for a month or so; however, it doesn’t mean that your transplant hasn’t been successful, though it is important to try not to scratch and disturb the transplanted hairs.
At 7 days post-eyebrow transplant, scabs and crusts that have formed should start to fall off. There will be some mild redness when left over for a while; however, this is completely normal.
You may also experience shock loss at this point, which should be expected. Though many people think this is a sign that something is wrong, it isn’t! The hair follicle may have fallen temporarily dormant in order to heal, which causes hair to fall out. However, the hair will begin to grow back within the next month or so.
Eyebrow transplant aftercare is essential to a successful result, which means that the 7 days after the transplant are very important. Be sure to follow your clinician’s advice for a speedy recovery, with excellent results.
Hair restoration surgery is normally very safe and minimally invasive. However, it can still carry risks. In some rare cases, patients will experience complications, some of which can occur as late as one week post-surgery. The most common of these are:
However, if recognised and addressed early on, most of these conditions can usually be treated and resolved without significantly impacting your results. That’s why it is important to know their tell-tale signs.
Here are some of the common, concerning symptoms that could indicate potential complications 7 days after your hair transplant [2][5]:
Many patients are concerned about draft dislodgement when they accidentally bump their head or touch their transplant area a little too roughly. However, you will probably be able to tell if your grafts have been pulled out. You may find 1-4 short hairs attached to a bit of tissue, where the hair follicle that produced them can be found. Your scalp may also bleed at the site from where the graft was dislodged, especially if it was pulled out by mechanical trauma (scratching, rubbing, head bump, etc.).
7 days after your hair transplant, visible hair loss from your recipient area may be a cause for concern. Your scabs falling out may leave your scalp looking different from the previous days. However, inexplicable, conspicuous holes or gaps between your grafts may be a sign that one or more grafts may have become dislodged without further symptoms.
By the time you approach 14 days after your hair transplant, though, hair loss from your recipient area may be part of a normal phenomenon called hair transplant shedding (or shock loss). However, the difference between graft dislodgement and shock loss is that a pulled-out graft has some visible tissue at the end of it, while a naturally shed hair fibre from a graft only has a small, white bulb. That is because during the shedding stage, only the hair shaft falls out, while the follicle remains in your scalp, ready to start producing new fibres in 3-4 weeks.
Normally, your clinic should be in touch with you on a daily basis during your healing period to make sure that everything is going well. Here, at the Wimpole Clinic, we ask our patients to send us photos of their scalp every day for the first 10 days, so we can track their progress and catch any signs of complications early.
It is best to report any of the red flag symptoms listed above (and all other questions or concerns you may have) to your surgeon as soon as you notice them. Remember that your surgical team is there to help and that it’s better to contact them about a normal hair transplant side effect than to hesitate and risk your hair transplant going wrong.
Caring for your transplant area is still very important at this time, even if your scalp appears to be mostly healed. Keeping your scalp clean, hydrated and nourished is a good way to support your hair grafts in becoming secure. It also helps avoid hair follicle infections that could endanger your hair graft survival.
For the time being, it is ideal to keep washing your hair daily. You can now use the shower on a low-pressure setting and gently massage both your donor and transplant area with your fingers in a circular motion. If you still have scabs on your recipient area, insist on softly rubbing this part of your scalp for longer, to help them come loose.
If your scalp gets particularly dirty or sweaty during the day, use some wet wipes to wipe it down. It’s good to prevent bacteria from growing on your transplant area, potentially causing infection.
Most surgeons recommend that you use hair growth treatments long-term after your hair transplant. They can support healthy graft growth and prevent further hair loss around your hair transplant area. The most widely prescribed are Minoxidil and Finasteride.
Minoxidil dilates the small blood vessels in the scalp, improving blood flow to your hair follicles and supporting healthy hair growth [6X]. Finasteride works by reducing the levels of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in your blood, which can curb or reverse male pattern baldness [7]. However, please be aware that premenopausal women can’t use Finasteride, even though it may also be effective against female pattern baldness. That is because it can cause them hormonal imbalances and has been linked to foetal malformations.
7 days after your hair transplant, it is once more safe to use topical hair growth medications (topical Minoxidil or topical Finasteride). The reason you had to wait is that applying these solutions to your sensitive, healing scalp could cause irritation. There were, however, no restrictions on taking oral Minoxidil or Finasteride tablets starting the next day after surgery.
Eating a well-balanced, nutrient-rich diet can help speed up your healing process and support graft attachment at this time. Here are some minerals and vitamins for hair growth [8] that you should get enough of for optimal hair transplant results, and some of the best foods to source them naturally from:
One week after your surgery, your scalp healing process is almost complete. However, you still need to keep your grafts safe, as they may not be securely attached just yet. Here is what to do to help increase your graft survival rate:
Now that the hardest part of recovery is behind you, you are probably eager to return to your normal daily routines. Here are the ones that are safe to resume at this time:
A little patience can go a long way and help you get the best hair transplant results possible. That is why you should wait a little longer before resuming the following activities:
If you are searching for an excellent surgical team that will guide you through every step of your surgical hair restoration procedure and recovery, you have come to the right place. The Wimpole Clinic is a 4-time laureate of the Hair Transplant Clinic of the Year Award (2021-2024). We take great pride in our highly skilled surgeons and flawless patient-centred care. Try our excellent services for yourself: book a free, no-strings hair transplant consultation with us at your earliest convenience. We will be happy to answer all your questions and offer personalised recommendations and advice for optimal results.
Check out the answers to the frequently asked questions below to find out more about what to expect from your hair transplant after 7 days:
If 7 days have passed since your surgery and your scabs don’t seem to be coming loose, you can try softening them up with some emollient hair conditioner or diluted hydrogen peroxide. Leave the softening substance on for a few minutes, then wash your hair, gently rubbing the scabs with your fingers. Make sure you are not scratching them with your nails or forcefully picking them off, as your grafts can come loose and fall out with them [2].
Some patients’ scabs can take a bit longer to fall out than others’. However, if more than 10 days have passed since your surgery and you still have scabbing on your scalp, talk to your surgeon about it, as they may need to be professionally removed. Leaving them on longer than this can affect your grafts’ hair growth pattern [2].
Yes, it is safe to go out at this time, provided that you don’t expose your scalp to the hot sun or freezing temperatures (it is not yet safe to cover your head). However, your hair transplant may still look conspicuous at this point, and you won’t have many options for concealing it. So if you are still experiencing some scalp redness or scabbing and you were planning to get a hair transplant without anyone knowing, you may want to wait a few more days until you can safely wear a hat.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do to mask a hair transplant after only one week post-procedure. It is still a few days too early to resume wearing hats. So, unless you had a hair transplant without shaving your head in an area that can be easily covered by the surrounding hair, tell-tale signs may still show.
What you could do to keep your procedure discreet is plan a vacation somewhere where nobody knows you until the healing process is over. Alternatively, you can simply rest at home for 10 days after your surgery, avoiding social calls during this time.
Normally, your FUT stitches need to be removed 14 days post-transplant. However, your surgeon can provide guidance in this matter, as it depends on the particularities of your wound and the types of sutures they are using. Some sutures are simply absorbed into your body and never require removal.
While it is safe to touch and gently rub your hair at this time, do not scratch it using your nails. Some of your grafts may not be securely attached yet and may get accidentally pulled out if you scratch them. Moreover, vigorous scratching can cause minor lesions to the skin, allowing bacteria to get in. This could lead to a hair follicle infection, such as scalp folliculitis.
Wimpole Clinic Services:
Hair Transplants, Beard Transplants & Eyebrow Transplants.
Talk to a specialist
Dr. Michael May (GMC No: 1642315) is the Medical Director and Principal Surgeon of the Wimpole Clinic. He has 25 years experience in the field of hair transplant surgery has completed over 10,000 hair transplant procedures, accumulating an unmatched breadth and depth of experience that is exclusively available to Wimpole Clinic patients.
Dr. May entered private practice in 1982 when he first became involved with hair surgery, since then, he has dedicated his career exclusively to the science and practice of hair transplant surgery and hair restoration.
He qualified at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London after which he trained and registered as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. Dr. May was instrumental in developing the revolutionary technique of follicular unit transplant (FUT), and subsequently he also presented papers and lectures in the UK and Europe to professional colleagues. He quickly became recognised by his peers and colleagues as a leader in the field of follicular unit hair transplantation. He specialises in hair restoration surgery covering; FUE, FUT lateral slit, eyebrow, eyelashes, beards, side burns, burns, repairs
As a leading authority in his field, Dr. May became a founder member and past President of the BAHRS and is the current president of the European Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons. In addition, Dr. May is a registered member of The Trichological Society and a Diplomat of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS) in 2002. Dr. Michael May full list of associations are as follows:
Dr. May is available to prospective Wimpole Clinic patients during their consultation and carries out many of the hair transplant procedures at the clinic.
