Preparing for Surgery Day

The weeks before

Medication first. Tell the clinic everything you take, including supplements. Blood thinners, aspirin, anti-inflammatories, fish oil, vitamin E, ginkgo and some other supplements can increase bleeding, and clinics often ask you to pause some of them for a week or two beforehand. Do not stop a prescribed blood thinner on your own. That decision belongs to the doctor who prescribed it, together with your surgeon.

Hair-loss medication is different. Most surgeons want you to carry on with finasteride throughout. Many ask you to pause minoxidil for a few days to a couple of weeks before surgery, because it can increase bleeding and irritate the scalp. Ask rather than guess.

Alcohol thins the blood and adds to swelling, so clinics usually ask you to avoid it for several days before. Smoking and nicotine reduce blood flow to the scalp, which is exactly what new grafts depend on. Stopping for a couple of weeks either side helps, and stopping completely helps more.

If you have a medical condition, such as high blood pressure, diabetes or a heart problem, the clinic needs to know well in advance. Some will ask for blood tests or a letter from your own doctor.

The haircut question

For FUE, the donor area is usually shaved short so the surgeon can see each follicular unit. That makes the back and sides visibly short for a few weeks. Some clinics offer "unshaven" or partly shaven FUE, where only strips under longer hair are shaved, which is slower and often costs more.

The recipient area may or may not need shaving, depending on how much native hair is there and the technique. With FUT, the back is usually left long enough to cover the strip scar while it heals.

Ask the clinic exactly what will be shaved, and whether you should arrive with your hair at a particular length. Do not have a short cut yourself the week before unless they ask. Longer hair at the sides and back can hide a lot in the first fortnight.

What to arrange

Time off. Most people with a desk job take somewhere around a week to ten days, longer if their work is public-facing or involves heavy lifting, helmets or dust. The limiting factor is usually how you look, not how you feel. Scabs and redness last around a fortnight, and swelling can drop to the forehead and around the eyes for a few days.

How visible you will be. Think through the first two weeks: video calls, school runs, family events. A loose hat is often allowed after the first few days, but check with the clinic. Some people tell everyone. Others book the time off quietly. Either works.

At home, have button-up shirts or loose tops ready, so nothing gets pulled over your head. A travel neck pillow helps you sleep semi-upright for the first few nights. Old pillowcases are useful, because there will be some oozing. Have the clinic's spray bottle, shampoo and any prescribed tablets somewhere easy to find.

And a lift home. After a long day and some sedative tablets, you should not drive, and you will not want to sit on a bus with a fresh scalp.

A week before

Put your shirts with buttons at the front of the wardrobe, and set up the place where you will sleep with the pillow already there. On the first night you will be tired and in no mood to search for anything.

If you are travelling

Going abroad covers whether to travel and how to judge a clinic remotely. If you have decided to go, a short packing list helps:

• Button-up shirts and a loose hood or hat the clinic has approved.
• Your medication, in original packaging, with a written list of names and doses.
• Copies of the clinic's written plan, quote and aftercare instructions, and their contact number.
• Your own doctor's details, and any letters or test results the clinic asked for.
• A neck pillow for sleeping and for the flight home.
• Travel insurance details. Check what it covers, because many policies exclude elective surgery.

Plan to stay until after the first wash and the clinic's check, often a few days after the operation. Ask what the clinic advises about flying in the first days, and sit with your head clear of the seat back on the plane if you can.

What the day is like

Expect a long day. A large session commonly runs six to ten hours, sometimes longer, with breaks for food and the toilet.

It usually starts with photographs and a final check of the plan, then the hairline is drawn on your head. This is the moment to ask anything you are unsure of, because the drawing is what the team will follow. You may be offered a mild sedative to help you relax.

The local anaesthetic injections are the most uncomfortable part for most people. After that, the scalp should be numb. You lie face down or on your side while the grafts are extracted, then sit or recline while the incisions are made and the grafts are placed. Expect pressure and odd sounds rather than pain. If you feel pain, say so. Topping up the anaesthetic is routine.

Most clinics let you watch a film, listen to music or nap. Moving your head when asked, and keeping still otherwise, is your main job.

When the hairline is drawn

Stand up, look at it in a mirror from the side and from a distance, and ask what it will look like if the loss continues. Changing the line takes a minute now and a second operation later.

The morning of

• Wash your hair as instructed, usually that morning, with no gel, wax, spray or fibres.
• Eat a normal breakfast unless told otherwise. This is a local anaesthetic operation, not a fasting one.
• Avoid coffee and energy drinks if the clinic asks. Caffeine can increase bleeding and make the anaesthetic feel worse.
• Wear a button-up shirt and comfortable trousers.
• Bring your medication list, glasses, phone charger, headphones and a book or something to watch.
• Confirm who is collecting you, and when.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to stop finasteride before a hair transplant?

Usually not, but some clinics have their own advice, so ask yours. Minoxidil is more often paused. See the weeks before.

Will my whole head be shaved?

Usually only the donor area for FUE, and sometimes the recipient area. Unshaven options exist. See the haircut question.

How much time off work will I need?

Often around a week to ten days for desk work, more for physical or public-facing jobs. See what to arrange.

Is a hair transplant painful?

The local anaesthetic injections sting. After that, most people feel pressure rather than pain. See what the day is like.

Can I drive home after a hair transplant?

No. You may have had sedative tablets, and you will be tired. Arrange a lift or a taxi. See what to arrange.

What happens in the weeks after?

Scabs, swelling, a shed of transplanted hairs around the first month, and slow regrowth after that. See recovery and the growth timeline.