Can I wear a hat after a hair transplant?

We ask that you not exercise after a hair transplant for three days following the surgery. After three days feel free to return to your normal exercise routine without any worries. The only actions we would like you to avoid for 1 week are wearing a helmet and swimming.

We ask that you take the rest of the day off after your surgery. However, theoretically, you could return to work the next day. A high percentage of men take off at least a few days following their surgery, and/or schedule several consecutive work-from-home days after the surgery.

A very small percentage of men will experience a phenomenon called "shock loss" after their hair transplant procedure. It's an uncommon reaction that describes the temporary loss of hair that is otherwise healthy in your donor and recipient regions. Even in procedures that are executed correctly, shock loss can still occur in some men, although ultimately, the hair will regrow after several months.

Possible side effects include: (1) swelling of the forehead, which eventually disappears on its own after a few days; (2) temporary in-grown hairs, which can appear a few weeks after the surgery but are not permanent; and (3) shock loss — temporary hair loss of otherwise healthy hair in the donor and recipient regions. This happens in approximately 15% of patients, though using minoxidil for several weeks prior to your procedure can reduce the chance of it occurring by 50%.

In the first few days after a hair transplant, we ask that you use a neck roll for support while sleeping and keep your head elevated at 20-30 degrees. This stabilizes your head position and prevents you from rolling over in the middle of the night, protecting your newly transplanted follicles. The head elevation minimizes the risk of forehead swelling.

No — there is no correlation whatsoever between a hair transplant and dandruff. However, dandruff after a hair transplant can occur for other reasons, like beginning to use a new hair loss shampoo or a topical medication like Rogaine.