1000 Dove St #250, Newport Beach, CA 92660
Honest answers
Nearly everything that happens in the first month is expected and temporary. Here is the short list of things that are not.
Days two to four, sometimes tracking to the eyelids. Elevation and cool compresses on the forehead — never on the grafts — shorten it.
Patches of reduced sensation in the donor or recipient area for weeks to a few months as small nerves recover.
Peaks in week two as healing progresses. Wash as directed; do not scratch.
Some existing hair around the grafts sheds temporarily and returns within a few months.
The recipient area stays pink for several weeks, longer on fair skin.
Occasional ingrown hairs as grafts break through; usually resolve on their own.
Possible infection — treatable and uncommon, but do not wait it out.
Call us rather than pressing harder on grafts.
Any time in the first fortnight.
Discomfort should be improving, not worsening.
Early review lets us address it before it heals badly.
Sleep elevated for the first five nights, keep cool compresses on the forehead rather than on the grafts, avoid salt-heavy meals in the first few days, and take any prescribed steroid exactly as directed. Patients who follow all four rarely get significant swelling at all.
Consultations are free, measured and without obligation — in Newport Beach or by video.