FUE Recovery - What advice would you share with a first timer?

[Rec.M]

For those more experienced members, what advice would you give to someone, to help recover with a fue procedure.

Could be related to the hairline design, recovery the first day or first wash. Airport transfer etc.

For example, sleeping..do you tie your hands down or something to avoid accidentally touching the grafts 😅

[AB2000]

My first FUE procedure took place over four days.  I had no idea that I needed to buy my own pain killer after the surgery, and when I was driving across half the country the pain really kicked in, and I had trouble sleeping the first night after.  A fair amount of numbing injections were used and these don't deplete from the body immediately so my face was swollen up quite a bit too.  What's funny is that subsequent surgeries I bounced back much easier, as if the body knew how to recover easier.

If it's your first time going into this, I've read that either best to either fly back home relatively soon, or give yourself a few days afterwards to recover at a hotel near the site of surgery.  Grafts going into the crown probably mean using a neck pillow so it might also help getting used to sleeping with one if that's the case.

[jjalay]

No smoke, no sweating for the first 4 weeks at least. Use a baby shampoo for the first 2-3 months, no scratch for the first 4 weeks.

[AB2000]

12 hours ago, jjalay said:

No smoke, no sweating for the first 4 weeks at least. Use a baby shampoo for the first 2-3 months, no scratch for the first 4 weeks.

That's another point, it's good to have baby shampoo ahead of time.  The protocol I was given post surgery was to avoid running water the first couple of days, and use a spray bottle to keep the scalp moist.  The transition was a couple of days of pouring just a couple of cups on the head, and when starting showering about five days out, just a gentle setting on the shower head.

The scabs shouldn't be peeled off.  They can be massaged with fingers under running water, and they'll come off on their own.  In my case I believe I was told they shouldn't be coming off the first week after the surgery.  On the other hand, if the scabs from the transplanted hairs are still there a couple of weeks out that can be bad for the HT outcome as well.

The place you go to should have written instructions for you to follow.

 

[Rec.M]

Great advice @AB2000 and @jjalay. Did you wake up during the first night to saline spray?

[AB2000]

I'd have to go back and check when I get a chance, but I think I had a Bactine wound healing spray from a Walgreens for the early post op care.  The distilled water was for moisturizing and was applied periodically but not in the middle of the night.