I recently had a hair transplant about 1 month ago.  The top of my scalp where the hair grafts were inserted is still a bit pink.  Is this normal?  How long will this last?

Thank you for your inquiry.

Yes, it is normal for the recipient area of the scalp to become discolored (red or pink) even up to several months after a hair transplant.  I have found that the length of time of postoperative redness is dependent on a number of factors including:

  • Number of follicular unit grafts transplanted
  • How densely packed is the transplanted hairs
  • Patient physiology (healing time, skin characteristics, etc)
  • Size (circumference) and type of cutting instrument (blades, needles, etc) used to make recipient sites by the hair restoration physician
  • Depth of the incision made by the hair restoration physician

Everyone will heal at different rates and times based on the above variables.  I’ve seen some hair transplant patients heal entirely within a couple weeks while yet others are experiencing discoloration of the scalp for almost 5 months.

Bill – aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

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