hair transplant pain

Hair Transplant Pain

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Is a hair transplant painful?

Hair restorative surgery is, after all, a surgical procedure. Therefore, you would expect there to be at least a degree of pain during the operation. However, the most modern operations can be pain free with the innovative Comfort In system. This makes a hair transplant pain free.

Hair transplant pain is avoidable and rare. Read on to find out more.

Pain during the hair transplant operation

During the procedure, there are three stages which might result in pain. Depending on the individual, these could be described as ranging from slightly unpleasant to stabbing:
  • During the follicular unit extraction from the donor region
  • During the insertion of the grafts in the recipient region
  • During the injection of a local anaesthetic
To keep the entire hair transplant process as painless as possible, the best clinics will use the Comfort In system. Local anaesthetic is injected into the scalp without a needle. This prevents the pain of an injection and during the procedure the anaesthetic acts directly where the pain would otherwise occur.
The Comfort In pressure injector uses pressure to push the painkiller through the tissue of the outermost later of skin, the epidermis. In this way it goes straight to the nerve endings and anaesthetises them reliably.
An unpleasant feeling of pressure, which many people are familiar with from the dentist, does not occur with the pressure injector because as soon as anaesthetic comes into contact with the skin, it is already having an effect. It is immediately distributed in the tissue. It is a more effective way of stopping pain than a normal injection.

Anaesthetised in this way, the patient experiences the procedure completely without pain. Both the removal of the follicular units from the donor region, and the implantation with a hollow needle into the recipient region, are thus completely painless.

Some patients even do without the local anaesthetic and describe the pain as comparable to slowly pulling out a small tuft of hair.

Pain after hair transplantation

When the anaesthetic wears off, there may be a little post operative pain. Some patients describe this as like the pain of a graze, or after you have mildly cut yourself. In fact, hair transplantation not a very invasive procedure that does not go deeper than the skin, so one would not expect serious pain.
If the pain becomes too uncomfortable, it can be easily alleviated with a mild painkiller. Older transplantation methods, in particular, often left a pain, that felt as if the skin was overly stretched, in the donor area. However, modern FUE hair transplant and DHI methods, such as Sapphire FUE and Sapphire DHI, do not do this, as individual hair follicles are transplanted and no skin strips are removed.
In most cases, patients describe the sensation after the local anaesthetic has worn off as a tingling sensation. This is largely because nerve endings have been irritated by the surgical procedure. These all report the stimulation to the brain at the same time, which then constantly switches back and forth between the impressions. However, for most people this is a mild and short term experience.

Pain during healing

If the irritated scalp is handled carefully, there should be no pain during healing. The initial healing phrase is roughly 14 days.
In rare cases, scratching or excessive touching of the procedure sites can cause irritation of the skin. This can be somewhat painful.
Direct exposure to sunlight in the first weeks after surgery can also cause painful skin irritation.
Contact with impure substances or dirty fingernails can allow pathogens and germs to enter the healing wounds and lead to a painful infection. Inflammatory processes during infection can lead to redness and a burning sensation in the operated areas or form itchy or painful pimples.
To prevent pain due to irritation or infection, the affected skin areas should only come into contact with clean fabrics during the healing phase. For example, pillowcases and head coverings should always be freshly washed.
Appropriate ointments can help against itching and bacteria, which are recommended to patients by Cosmedica Hair Clinic according to their individual needs.
An allergic reaction during the healing phase can also lead to a painful rash. This can be prevented with suitable ointments or hypoallergenic fabric covers and headgear if the patient is prone to allergies.

Pain after the healing phase and during shedding

Itching of the scalp may occur during shedding, when the hair follicles enter the resting phase after transplantation and shed the hair that was transplanted over. Scratching can cause skin irritation or infection, which can also be painful. This can be avoided by simply rinsing off any hair that falls out with lukewarm water. Cream or ointment can also reduce skin irritations.

A pain-free hair solution to hair loss

If you follow instructions carefully, the entire procedure, from the anaesthetic to the new head of hair, is completely painless. Almost none of our patients feel any pain.

Pain can occur in rare cases, even in these situations it is very rarely serious, and is a short-term symptom.
If you feel uncomfortable or unsure, please feel free to contact us at any time. If you have any known allergies or intolerances to the painkiller or to any of the ingredients in the recommended care products, please let us know. We will be happy to recommend a hypoallergenic alternative.
Any questions? Interested in revitalising your hair growth pain free? Get a free consultation with Dr. Acar today.