How Do Patients Deal with The Redness Right After Transplant Surgery?

My question is about coping with hair transplants. It seems like one of the biggest challenges/inconvenience of transplants is for patients to go out in public and resume their daily responsibilities after surgery because of the physical appearance of the scalp and how it initially is red, scabby, and punctured after surgery. I find this a very unappealing aspect about transplants and Im wondering how do patients cope considering the gruesome appearance of the scalp after surgery- do they take time off work and just lock themselves in their house until their scalp starts healing?

The scabbing can be easily addressed with good techniques and small wounds by the surgeon. Add good daily washes and most patients will have no significant crusting after the surgery. Everyone is different, but in regards to redness, only a few patients develop this. You can usually find out if you are one of them by performing a scratch test on the skin of your forehead. If it turns red 2-5 minutes after the scratch is performed, then you run a high risk of redness after surgery. The scratch incites histamine release at the skin level.

Remember, no matter how you want to look at it, a hair transplant is a cosmetic surgery. Just like any nose job, face lift, etc, there will be healing time needed. Some patients might get permission to wear a hat to work, others might adopt a new styling method to cover any initial redness from the surgery. Many of our patients go back to work fairly quickly after surgery (usually 2-5 days).