Shedding
Month 1 of 18
Days 18–21 after a hair transplant: Shedding may start
Many of the transplanted hairs fall out between about week 2 and week 8. It can look like you're losing grafts. You're not: the hair shaft sheds while the follicle rests under the skin before growing a new hair.
What you can do now
On day 18
What's typical
- Short hairs coming out when you wash or touch the area
- A thinner look in the grafted area
- Pinkness fading
Call your clinic if you notice
- Fever, pus, a bad smell, or redness and warmth that spread.
- Patches of scaly, red or very itchy skin.
- Pain that gets worse each day instead of easing.
In the GraftKeeper app, Check a symptom walks you through what to do.
Not yet reviewed by a doctor — verify with your clinic.
Sources
- Hair transplantNHS, 2023
- A hair transplant can give you permanent, natural-looking resultsAmerican Academy of Dermatology, 2026
- Hair transplantation surgeryIndian Journal of Plastic Surgery, 2008
- Complications in Hair TransplantationJournal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, 2018