Living in the 21st century, it seems odd to hide hair transplant surgery. With the technological innovations making life easier for humanity by the day, techniques, such as FUE or FUT hair transplant, should be considered a blessing that many can benefit from. However, there still lingers a stigma about this surgery, although many have gotten wonderful results from it.
The procedure involves moving hair from one part of the head to another. There’s nothing artificial about it, anyway. The surgery tremendously impacts the physical appearance of an individual. While some may not mind the scrutiny, for others, it can be a bother. And so, we end up looking for “how can I hide my head after hair transplant” on the internet. Well, here’s your answer.
The way we look can have a huge impact on how we choose to behave in our social circles, perceive ourselves, or stay confident in our professional lives. Those experiencing hair loss seek hair restoration surgery to regain their confidence and self-esteem. It’s enigmatic that most patients look for ways to conceal the recovery process of a procedure whose results will improve their lives.
Telltale Signs Of Hair Transplant Surgery
Many factors can make the telltale signs of hair transplant surgery more prominent. These are the ones you may wish to hide. If you require greater coverage, the number of grafts required will increase, and thus more of your head will be shaved off. If you’ve never shaved your head before, that alone will bring a lot of attention to you.
With an FUE hair transplant, the size of the holes is quite small, and they can heal quickly. But if you’re getting a FUT hair transplant, the scarring will be more prominent. You will also get stitches in the donor area in this technique. Scabbing will also be quite visible to everyone for a few weeks.
Before modern technological advancements, the recovery process for hair transplant surgery was quite long. The scars were also visible. Most likely, everyone would find out about your procedure without having you tell them about it.
Techniques like follicular unit extraction (FUE) made it possible for patients to make it seem like almost nothing happened. As the puncture holes are quite small, they take a few weeks to heal, after which they are barely visible. So, let’s get back to the main question: how can I hide my head after a hair transplant?
How Can I Hide My Head After A Hair Transplant?
There are quite a few ways in which you can do just that.
Try Distraction
Did you know lizards lose their tails as a means of self-defence? It even wriggles after being cut off from the body. The idea is to distract the predator as they escape. You can also use distraction to draw away any attention being given to your head.
Confronting your colleagues about hair transplant surgery in the office can always be awkward, which is why if you try out a new style that involves a couple of changes, they might notice nothing. When all’s said and done, you could just say that the new style wasn’t working out for you.
However, make sure that you distract everyone before the hair transplant surgery. Just so that no one notices your hair anymore, try growing out a beard or a moustache. You can even start wearing caps or hats. Glasses might also work in this case. You can try making two to three changes at the same time so that they can all be considered a part of your “new look.” Your friends and family might notice your appearance, but not your hair.
Wash Your Hair
Washing helps with scabbing and crusts on the scalp, which is a sign that you had a hair transplant. If you want to hide your head after a hair transplant, follow the aftercare instructions.
When and how of the washing will be explained to you in your check-up appointment with your surgeon. Washing will help with the scabs by removing them and help with healing. The lotion will also help with this.
Therefore, say you’ve taken a couple of weeks of work, you can pretty much hide the evidence of a hair transplant in these 2 weeks if you wash your hair the right way. That can also help with hiding it.
Grow Your Hair Long
The best way to hide your hair after a hair transplant is to let it grow long. It’ll practically hide any temporary scars or scabs in the areas from where follicles are harvested. However, for your hair to hide the affected areas, start growing them weeks before the surgery takes place. You can even try styling it in a way that’ll cover up the scabs. Try parting your hair in a way that covers the front.
Elevate Your Head While Sleeping
This will help reduce the swelling. As patients commonly experience it in the face after the surgery, they are looking for ways to reduce it. If you keep your head at a 30 to 40-degree angle, it’ll be quite helpful for reducing the swelling. If your head does not swell up along with the rest of your face, it’ll be hard for people to know that you had hair transplant surgery.
Take A Small Vacation
Patients can return to work a day after their hair transplant surgery. Performing some light activities is normal. However, you can heal comfortably and calmly in the beautiful city of Istanbul or Izmir away from any work stress.
A 2-3-week vacation will take care of the most visible signs of hair transplant surgery. Your family and friends will not find out about anything either. You also don’t have to worry about growing your hair long as your scalp will feel okay after a few weeks.
A small vacation cannot harm. It’ll make you feel better than ever. You can do that or plan the surgery around the holiday season when you can take a short break from things around you.
Wear a Cap or Wig
Many people ask about wearing a hat or cap after a hair transplant. That’s because they want to hide the immediate aftermath of the surgery which includes bleeding, redness and swelling. However, it’s not a good idea to do that because the hair grafts are very sensitive and still need more time to firmly anchor themselves in your scalp.
The rubbing of the fabric of the cap, hat or scarf can dislodge the grafts. Now, even if you gently place the hat on your scalp, the closed-off environment with no oxygen and accumulation of sweat and bacteria can end up causing a hair transplant infection. That’s why it’s better to wait for at least 2 weeks before you can start wearing loose caps or scarves. This can include hoodies. However, do not wear any clothes that pass over your scalp and exert pressure on it, including any high-necks.
Keep in mind that even if you’re wearing hats, caps, or scarves, you shouldn’t wear them for a very long time, certainly not for the whole day. Any longer than a few hours, you’re increasing the risk of infection. Discuss these things with your surgeon.
After the first month has passed, you can use beanies or woolly hats to cover your head. Although people who need to wear scarves to offer their prayers can wear their scarves loosely (preferably made of silk fabric) after the surgery. However, they need to follow certain instructions.
Be Honest
Getting a hair transplant is a personal choice that you don’t have to hide. You’re doing it to make yourself happy and, in the end, that should matter the most. It is quite understandable that sometimes patients consider it inconvenient that they have to hide their heads after a hair transplant. It is, after all, going to do them good, so why cover it? You can start telling your family members, co-workers, or friends gradually about your plans for having a hair transplant.
You can tell them how you feel so they can better understand the reason for your decision. However, this isn’t something that you should get stressed about. People might notice it for a few days or even talk about it. Eventually, they won’t. You shouldn’t hamper your healing process because of such worries.
Conclusion
Understandably, you’re looking to hide your head after a hair transplant. Many people still see hair transplant as something “unnatural” even though your hair is simply being redistributed.
Some people will comment on the fact that you’re balding and they’re people who will talk about even the treatment of your balding problem. It’s hard to escape this kind of mentality even though more and more people are choosing to get hair restoration surgery.
Still, if you’re not comfortable with the way people will notice your hair transplant or talk about it, you can follow the tips above for a more comfortable and relaxing experience. Also, you can consider a more discreet hair transplant surgery, known as unshaven FUE (U-FUE).
Reviewed and Approved by Trichologist Yaprak Yazan
