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.

But unfortunately, for many patients deciding on and getting the hair transplant surgery can be seen as the only difficult part. This is a common mistake as a hair transplant process is not only comprised of surgery.

If you want to ensure that your new 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 proper washing and cleaning.

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 not 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 completely.

Lastly, we should remind you that you must follow this process for the next 15 days after the surgery for the ideal results.This overall process is a key 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 important 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. The most common side effect or complication that hair transplant patients experience after a hair transplant is experiencing 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. 

Rubbing your head to clean the scabs or interfering with them 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 them out 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 the first two weeks pass. 

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

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 for ensuring that each washing experience 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 in terms of your hand motions and what you use for cleaning are also essential factors:

💠 For cleaning post-surgery 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 stay 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 which product you choose, your technique for cleaning your head in each washing should be the same: Slow and 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. And for most ideal results, consider leaving your head to dry without rubbing a towel on it to minimize contact. But if necessary, you can use a soft towel to dry the hair so long it does not include rubbing; simply put the towel on your hair. Naturally, not all the scabs and crusts will be cleaned after a wash, so do not 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. And no patient should feel like they have questions in some parts or are alone after the surgery ends in finding the answers to them.

This is where we come in:

At UnitedCare, we begin your hair transplant process by offering you a one-on-one consultation with our expert doctors and dermatologists to find the best-suited option together. We will answer your questions regarding surgery and how you can best clean your hair post-surgery here.

Furthermore, our expert doctors check your scalp’s health and medical background during the consultation to decide which method suits you most. After you have decided on a technique, we begin the treatment with the utmost attention. But most importantly, we stay in contact with our patients even long after the treatment has already finished ensuring that the surgery succeeds in becoming a permanent one.

If you believe it is the right time to search for the correct method to bring back your shining hair to its deserving place, you can schedule a free call immediately. Regardless of which way you choose, one policy in our clinic stays the same. We value creating a balance between your comfort and your health.

Ready to begin the journey? Click here to start the first step: