Days 0–30
Month 1 after a hair transplant
Days 0 to 30. What month 1 usually looks like, what's normal, and what deserves a call to your clinic.
What you can do now
On day 0
Call your clinic this month if you notice
- Bleeding that keeps going after 15 minutes of gentle, steady pressure.
- Chest pain, trouble breathing or fainting: call your emergency number.
- Pain that gets worse each day instead of easing.
- Fever, pus, a bad smell, or redness and warmth that spread.
- Swelling around the eyes with blurred vision, or any trouble breathing.
- Swelling on one side only that is hot, red and painful.
- Grey, purple or black patches bigger than the small crusts around each graft.
- Fresh bleeding from a spot where a crust came off.
- A wound edge that opens or a stitch line that leaks.
- New bumps that are painful, hot or spreading.
- Patches of scaly, red or very itchy skin.
- Painful or spreading bumps.
- Bumps that are painful, hot or spreading.
- Hair loss outside the treated area with red, scaly skin.
In the GraftKeeper app, Check a symptom walks you through what to do.
Day 0
Surgery day
The grafts are in. Your scalp may feel tight, numb or sore as the local anaesthetic wears off, and a little oozing from the donor and recipient areas is expected. Tonight is about rest, keeping your head still and keeping the grafts untouched.
What's typical
- Numbness, tightness or aching in both areas
- Spots of blood or pinkish fluid on the dressing or pillow
- Feeling tired after a long day
Chest pain, trouble breathing or fainting: call your emergency number.
Day 1
The first morning
Some oozing overnight is common, so an old pillowcase helps. Many clinics see you today to check the grafts, change or remove the dressing and show you how to wash. Keep spraying saline as your clinic says and don't touch the grafts.
What's typical
- Small spots of blood or fluid on the pillow
- Tightness and tenderness, mostly in the donor area
- Mild headache or tiredness
Day 2
Swelling may start
Swelling usually starts on the forehead around now and can move down towards the eyes over the next days. It's fluid from surgery settling with gravity, not a problem with the grafts. Many people have their first gentle wash today or tomorrow.
What's typical
- Puffy forehead
- Small crusts forming around each graft
- Itching starting as the skin dries
Day 3
Swelling at its peak
For many people swelling is at its most visible around days 3 and 4, sometimes with puffy eyelids or a little bruising. It usually settles within a week. Keep sleeping propped up and keep up the gentle washes.
What's typical
- Swollen forehead or eyelids
- Crusts around the grafts
- Tight, sore donor area
Swelling on one side only that is hot, red and painful.
Day 4
Settling in
Swelling usually starts to ease from here. The crusts are drying and may itch. The grafts are still delicate, so stay gentle when you wash and keep hats loose if you wear one at all.
What's typical
- Swelling starting to go down
- Itching
- Pink skin around the grafts
Day 5
Crusts and itching
The grafted area is covered in small crusts and the itch can be strong. That's dried blood and skin healing around each graft. Keep washing as your clinic says; it slowly softens the crusts so they come away on their own.
What's typical
- Crusts on the grafted area
- Itching in both areas
- Less swelling
Day 6
Almost a week
Most of the swelling is gone for most people. The donor area is healing quickly and may look like small red dots or a short-cropped patch. The grafted area is still crusty and still needs a light touch.
What's typical
- Itching and tightness
- Donor area red but drying
- Feeling more like yourself
Day 7
One week
A week in. The grafts are settling into the skin, but the first two weeks are when they are most easily dislodged, so keep everything gentle. From around now many clinics let you use light fingertip circles during the wash to help crusts lift.
What's typical
- Crusts starting to loosen at the edges
- Itching
- Some numbness on the top or back of the head
Day 8
Crusts loosening
Crusts often start to come away during washes now. A short hair may come out with a crust; the follicle under the skin usually stays where it is. Steady, gentle washing does the work.
What's typical
- Crusts lifting in the wash
- Short hairs coming away with crusts
- Pink skin underneath
Fresh bleeding from a spot where a crust came off.
Day 9
Lighter every day
Each wash should leave fewer crusts. The skin underneath is pink, which is normal new skin. Swelling and bruising should be gone or nearly gone.
What's typical
- Fewer crusts
- Pink skin
- Mild itching
Day 10
Most crusts gone
For many people most crusts are gone around days 10 to 14. What's left is pink skin with short hairs. If your stitches or staples need removing, it's usually around now; check with your clinic.
What's typical
- Pink recipient area
- Short hair stubs
- Donor area mostly healed
A wound edge that opens or a stitch line that leaks.
Day 11
Pink and short
The grafted area looks pink with short hairs. Pinkness can last weeks, and longer on fair skin. That's healing, not damage.
What's typical
- Pinkness
- Short hairs
- Occasional itching
Day 12
Nearly two weeks
You're close to the end of the most delicate phase. The grafts are much more secure now, but keep washing gently and avoid anything that rubs or presses on them.
What's typical
- Pink skin
- A few last crusts
- Numb patches
Day 13
Clearing
Most or all crusts are gone. Any that remain usually come away in the next few washes. Numbness and tightness can carry on for weeks or months as nerves recover.
What's typical
- Last crusts
- Numbness or tingling
- Pink skin
Day 14
Two weeks
The first two weeks, the most delicate part, are behind you. The grafts are secure. Next comes a quieter phase where the short transplanted hairs usually shed. That's expected, and the follicles stay under the skin.
What's typical
- Pink recipient area
- Short hairs
- Donor area healed or nearly
Days 15–17
The quiet phase begins
From here the changes are slower and mostly under the skin. Pinkness fades gradually. Shedding of the transplanted hairs may start any time in the next weeks.
What's typical
- Fading pinkness
- Short hairs still in place, or starting to shed
- Numb or tingly patches
New bumps that are painful, hot or spreading.
Days 18–21
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's typical
- Short hairs coming out when you wash or touch the area
- A thinner look in the grafted area
- Pinkness fading
Patches of scaly, red or very itchy skin.
Days 22–25
Shedding, and back to normal life
Shedding often picks up around now. Most daily activities are back, but sun, saunas and contact sports still need care. Check "Can I…?" before anything new.
What's typical
- Shedding transplanted hairs
- Light pinkness
- Numbness easing slowly
Painful or spreading bumps.
Days 26–30
One month
A month in. The grafted area may look much like it did before surgery, or even thinner. This in-between time can feel discouraging. It's also exactly what a normal recovery looks like right now.
What's typical
- Most transplanted hairs shed
- Pinkness fading
- Donor area looks almost normal
Bumps that are painful, hot or spreading.
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
- Hair Transplantation: Preventing Post-operative OedemaJournal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, 2010