Beard Hair Transplant Patient Instructions

Pre-Operative Instructions

• Ten days prior to your procedure: do not take aspirin, vitamin E, gingko biloba, or any multivitamins (as these contain vitamin E). Many medications also contain aspirin, so please be sure to read all medication labels. You may take acetaminophen (Tylenol).
• Three days prior to your procedure: do not take any anti-inflammatory medications (e.g. Ibuprofen), do not drink any alcohol, and do not over-expose to the sun.
• Make arrangements for transportation from the office after your procedure if you will be receiving any sedation. The type of sedation you receive will be decided upon by you and the doctor, but many patients choose to take an oral sedative to make the procedure more relaxing and comfortable. Procedures typically take four to eight hours, sometimes a bit longer or shorter, depending on the number of grafts.
• If you are traveling from out of town, please make the necessary arrangements for your hotel, flights, and transportation. Our office is here to assist you with your accommodations.
• If you have gray scalp hair and you color it, make sure it gets colored within three days prior to your procedure to permit better visualization of the hairs. You will be able to color your hair again two weeks later.
• Your hair in the donor area (back and possibly sides of the head) will be trimmed quite short to permit the extraction of hairs. Depending upon the number of grafts being transplanted, this may involve trimming a small area on the back and/or sides of the scalp that that can easily be covered up by surrounding hair, or require sharing the entire back and sides of your head in the case of a larger procedure (800 or more FUE grafts). You should plan accordingly and discuss this with your doctor as to what is recommended for you. The hair on the rest of your head can be any length.
• If you are having the No-Shave FUE technique, your hairs in the donor area (back and possibly sides of the head) will not be trimmed, and we recommend you let your hairs grow out to as long a length as you feel comfortable with.
• If you are also having BHT (body hair transplants using the beard, chest, abdomen and other areas of the body) being done, you must refer to the specialized instructions.
• For best healing, please refrain from smoking for at least one week before and one week after your procedure.
• Taking vitamin C 1000 to 2000 mg a day for one week prior to your procedure may help with healing. To reduce bruising, vitamin K, 100 micrograms a day can be taken starting five days before surgery and continuing for two days after.

Post-Operative Instructions

Medications: These are the medications that will be given to you by the office. If you are not able to take any of them (i.e. due to allergies) please let us know before your procedure. This will allow us to properly call in a different prescription to your local pharmacy.

• Cefadroxil – antibiotic to prevent infection. Take one pill twice a day for three days.
• Percocet – strong pain pill should you need it for the first day or two.

These are the medications that are available over the counter that will help you during recovery.

• Tylenol – mild pain pill. Take one to two pills every four to six hours as needed for any discomfort.
• Antibiotic ointment – Apply to the scalp donor area twice a day for the first five days after your procedure.

Caring for the Transplants

• There will be tiny crusts where each graft was placed that will fall off at four to six days. Gently rub off any remaining crusts at one week. If there is any discomfort or bleeding, stop rubbing and begin to rub again two days later. There will also likely be a mild amount of pinkness to the area for a few days after the crusts fall off.
• You can begin to shave eight days after the procedure.
• Most of the transplanted hairs will fall out typically by two to three weeks. This is normal, as the hairs will start to grow back four months later. Once the hairs start to grow back, you can shave them normally.
• Most patients are presentable at five to seven days after without any obvious signs of having had a procedure other than they will have new hairs and possibly some mild flaking. There is a chance you will have prolonged pinkness. We recommend you take Benadryl 25 mg twice a day to treat this.
• For the first five days after the procedure do not get the transplanted areas wet. On the sixth day, you can begin to wash your face normally, and full exercise is permitted. Normal hair shampooing is permitted the day after your procedure.
• If your procedure is done by the FUE technique, no sutures are used. If your procedure is done by strip, you can receive absorbable sutures and thus do not need to have them removed as they will dissolve. If nonabsorbable sutures are used, they can be removed at 10 to 12 days by a family member, friend, or local doctor using the kit provided by the office. If you live close to one of our offices, you can return for suture removal at 10 to 12 days.