15 Side Effects Of Hair Transplantation


If you are the one suffering from hair loss and want to get out of this situation to live a life of confidence and to look good then you should briefly study hair transplant first. Along with a good look don’t overlook the side effects of hair transplantation.

A hair transplant is performed to add hair to those areas of the head where either the hair is thin or the head is bald. These additional hairs are taken from the areas of the head where thicker hair is present or from other parts of the body.

Hair transplantation 6th edition
Click the image to buy on Amazon

Types Of Hair Transplant Surgeries

Hair Transplantation Surgeries Can Be Either Fue Or Fut. Let’s Go Into Detail, Please

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)

In this procedure of surgery, a strip of hair from the scalp is removed from the back of the patient’s head and then the surgeon doctor separates the strip of the scalp into smaller pieces called grafts. A graft contains between one and four hair follicles. 

Next, these grafts are inserted into small holes made by the surgeon in the balded scalp.  then the surgical site is covered with bandages or gauze. 

Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)

The FUT procedure involves removing a long strip of the scalp, separating the follicles, and then transplanting them on the balded area of the scalp.

both the procedures either FUE and FUT have advantages but we can’t neglect their serious side effects as well. Anyhow, it depends on the health condition of the client. This article will give you an insight into the side effects of hair transplantation surgeries only.

Also Read:- What’s The Best Weight Loss App That’s Free?

Side Effects Of Hair Transplantation

Doctors are transplanting the hair

 About 60 percent of men and 50 percent of women face the issue of hair fall. Most people use different hair products to get rid of it but a hair transplant is another restoration technique. It is more effective than other hair products but also has some side effects.

So let’s examine all the side effects of the FUE as well as FUT hair transplant surgeries.

  1. Hair shedding
  2. Bleeding scalps
  3. Pain 
  4. Infections
  5. Itching
  6. Hiccups
  7. Swelling
  8. Scarring
  9. Cysts
  10. Numbness
  11. Hair curl
  12. Short-term side effects
  13. Long-term side effects
  14. Side effects for women
  15. Side effects for men
  16. Hair shedding

Without the detail of the above-enlisted side effects are felt purposeless. So, go ahead and read the detail of these 15 side effects of hair transplantation.

1. Hair shedding

When a person gets a hair transplant, he thinks that his hair will grow and become thicker with time. But it is not true in all cases. Most people face hair fall first. This process is called shedding and it’s a normal condition after hair transplantation.

This is because when the hair root gets intact and the shaft falls, new growth starts from the root again. The transplanted hair falls in 2-3 weeks and the new hair growth is seen in 3-4 months.

However, in some cases, the surgery causes a sudden loss of the existing hair but this condition is rare and the hair will regrow back in a few months.

2. Bleeding scalps

Whether you have gone through follicular unit extraction or a follicular unit transplant, there are always some cuts and scratches that result in some blood loss.

Mostly experienced surgeons ensure that the bleeding should be minimized to the minimum possible level but there is always some bleeding after the surgery which can be controlled by pressing a gauze piece over the affected area.

It is important to note that one should tell his doctor if he is taking any blood thinning supplement or have some blood-related diseases right before the transplant to prevent himself from any severity.

Also Read:- Best Omron Blood Pressure Monitor For Home Use

3. Pain

Like other surgeries, there is also some pain in hair transplants, especially in FUT. Doctors mostly give sedatives and anaesthesia before the surgery but in some cases, there is pain even after the completion of the procedure, or some patients face stretching sensations after the transplant.

Doctors usually recommend some painkillers like paracetamol to lessen this pain.

4. Infections

There is a very rare chance of having an infection if you are taking the services of an experienced doctor in a well-managed clinic. But still, there is a risk of infection through the hair transplant.

Such a patient is subjected to a short course of antibiotics in the case of infections. But it occurs once in a thousand cases so there is no need of worrying about it.

5. Itching

It’s a very basic side effect and is felt by almost everyone who undergoes a hair transplant procedure. This itching occurs due to the formation of dry crusts at the transplant site. The most convenient way of curing it is the spraying of solution given by your physician over the implanted area.

It can also be handled by washing the head with a medicated shampoo after the first week of surgery. Like other side effects of hair transplant, itching also dissipates with time. Sometimes, it can also be caused by minoxidil, which must be stopped if one faces itching. 

6. Hiccups

It’s strange to know that hiccups and hair transplants are co-related to one another but they occur in rare cases like just 5 out 0f 100 people face this issue.

They hinder the restoration of hair and once they start, they can last up to a few days. This is serious about the side effects of hair transplantation.

7. Swelling

Swelling is another common side effect that occurs in most people who have undergone a hair transplant. The transplanted head usually swells due to the formation of a specific fluid. It might be painful and causes inconvenience to the patient.

This swelling usually ends in a few days but it is more convenient to consult the doctor if one faces such an issue. It’s not 100 percent true that the swelling only occurs on the head but its location varies from person to person. Some have on the forehead while some have swollen eyes.

Even some patients face the issue of dark circles around their eyes as a side effect of surgery. But it’s not a panic situation and it heals in a few days.

8. Scarring

If a person has undergone FUE, he has minute scars on the donor areas of the head. These scars usually disappear with time and also the growth of new hairs hides these dot-like marks. But in the case of FUT, patients have linear thin scars that disappear as time passes.

But their disappearance depends upon the type of patient’s scalp and the rate of the healing process. If you have chosen a good style for your hair and its growth is proper, then you don’t need to worry about these scars.

Also Read:- Top 10 Personal Health monitoring devices

9. Cysts

It’s a very harmful side effect because cysts are membranous pockets having fluid present in them. They can be grown under your skin but are non-cancerous. These cysts occur due to some hidden outshoots that are not withdrawn from the head properly.

They appear like pimples or in the form of bristles but become harmful in very rare conditions. These cysts usually disappear after a few days of surgery but you have to consult the doctor if any severe condition occurs.

10. Numbness

Numbness is associated with the cutting of nerves in the FUT procedure. In well-organized hospitals, the surgeons take special care of not having any nerve damage during surgery that’s why it’s very rare.

But in any case, if numbness prevails, it usually lasts 18 weeks and one should consult the doctor if this period prolongs.

11. Hair curl

The hair follicles that are transplanted may get curled resulting in the improper growth of hairs. These curly hairs look unnatural if compared to the other hairs on the transplanted head. They can also cause infections and irritation on the scalp.

Among all the side effects of hair transplantation, hair curl is considered the ugly effect. 

12. Short-term side effects

Problems like numbness, slight infections, redness of scalps, and crust formation are included in short-term side effects while the cysts that occur due to the plantation of hair follicles too deep or by the opening of channels can also be healed in a short period.

13. Long-term side effects

The areas of the head where new hairs are transplanted or from where the hair follicles are taken for being transplanted can also suffer from environmental hair loss due to the damage to hair follicles present in that area of skin.

Moreover, the growth of new hair in a false direction due to a faulty transplant is also a long-term side effect.

Also Read:- What Is The Future Of Health Technology?

14. Side effects for women

For women, the hair transplant is done in a single session in which the operation lasts for one to two hours, and then the patient is discharged without any hospitalization. The side effects like crusting, swelling, and redness that appear right after the surgery are the signs of healing and are normal to occur.

If these side effects prevail for a long time, the patient should go to the doctor for a check-up.  But as a general practice, these side effects end in a few days and the female patients can continue their daily life. 

15. Side effects for men

The side effects that male patients face after transplant are not very different. In the first few days of transplantation, common symptoms like redness and crusting along with the risk of slight infection appear. It can be cured with proper care.

But the symptoms like infrequent hair growth and the growth of hairs at a false angle tell that the transplant is not done correctly and the patient may need new transplantation again.

Conclusion

Many products promise to increase the volume of your hair but the results are not the same as they said. So, a hair transplant is the most authentic way to increase the volume of your hair.

There are a lot of different hair transplant methods that depend upon the physical structure of the patient concerned, and these transplants last longer than any other hair restoration method.

 About 10 to 80 percent of the transplanted hairs grow back in the next 3 to 4 months but like natural hairs, transplanted hairs also get thin over time. The total cost for one session of hair transplant ranges from $4000 to $15000.

In this article, I have discussed some of the common hair transplant side effects and I hope that this article will be helpful for you if you are also going to have hair transplant surgery.

Read More

Recent Posts