Once you have had the hair transplant surgery, it’s time you wait for your scalp to recover and start growing hair. You’d need to do that for at least 12-18 months, after which you will have your hair back. However, that doesn’t mean that you should stop caring for your hair. You need to make sure that they keep growing healthily. Many people ask, “how to increase hair density after hair transplant?”
Those people who aren’t even actively losing their hair because of any reason do a lot to make sure that their hair looks dense and voluminous. That’s because there are still a lot of internal and external stressors that your hair has to deal with, like environmental pollution, dryness, seasonal changes, free radical damage, and ageing.
Now that you have your hair back, it’s only natural for you to wonder how to increase the hair density. Fortunately, there are more than a few things that you can do about that. So, let’s learn more about them.
How To Increase Hair Density After Hair Transplant?
The following things will help you keep your hair healthy after transplant surgery.
Follow the Aftercare Instructions
This is the most important thing that you need to do. And it is the most important to “how to increase hair density after hair transplant.” That’s because if you don’t follow them, you’re likely to damage the hair grafts. If that happens, they won’t be able to grow new hair, and you’d already have decreased the natural hair density following the restoration surgery.
Things such as your sleeping position, your eating/drinking habits, lifestyle, hair washing, and other activities can significantly impact your overall results. If you dislodge the grafts, delay the wound healing process, decrease blood supply to the grafts needed for hair growth (by smoking or alcohol intake), the hair density will be negatively impacted. So, if you want to know “how to increase hair density after hair transplant”, follow the aftercare instructions.
PRP Injections
The concentration of platelets in PRP can rejuvenate your scalp and promote hair growth. The concentrate containing proteins and growth factors will be injected through needles, and it will use your own blood, so you don’t have to worry about any adverse side effects damaging the results of the hair transplant.
Getting it with a hair transplant is beneficial in that it will promote the healing of the puncture wounds while making it possible for the existing and newly transplanted hair grafts to grow quickly. It’s a good way to increase hair density after a hair transplant.
Eat Healthy Foods
There’s no better way to support the growth of thick healthy hair while ensuring its high density than by eating foods that are good for your body. What you eat will be used by your hair for its development and growth. And since it’s mostly proteins, having a lot of those in your diet will certainly help. That’s why you’re recommended to consume meats, fish, eggs, leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.
A lot of people turn to supplements thinking that they provide that extra nourishment to the hair that’s needed to increase the hair density. However, that’s only true if your body is deficient in the nutrients and minerals that it needs for normal growth. If you are giving it everything that it needs through your diet, you don’t have to bother taking any supplements.
Still, if you have a severe nutritional deficiency, the food you eat might not be enough. In that case, you may be recommended supplements by the doctor. It depends on you. But if you’re wondering “how to increase hair density after hair transplant” when everything’s good with your health, you should just make sure to eat good foods. Many foods keep the hair nourished and moisturized so that its structural integrity is maintained, and you don’t end up losing them because of dryness or weakness.
Use Gentle Shampoos
Once you’ve grown your hair back, you might be tempted to get the “best anti-hair fall shampoos” that are almost always expensive and full of fragrances. Here, you need to make sure that you’re gentle with your hair. You need to be familiar with the type of hair you have. If it’s thick, thin, coarse, curly or textured.
There’s no one size fits all shampoo. Some suit some hair types better than the others. It’s up to you to find a shampoo that’s made for your hair. The main purpose of a shampoo is to cleanse the scalp and the hair. Shampoos with simple, gentle formulas can also do that for you.
Although for some time you’d be using a special shampoo provided by the clinic to you for hair washing, once you’ve finished the bottle, you can use your shampoo. But if it’s too drying and stripping, you’re going to weaken the hair, and it’ll be easier for them to break. So, “how to increase hair density after hair transplant?” Use the right shampoo.
It’s a good idea to talk to your surgeon in advance if you plan to use dry shampoo after a hair transplant to avoid damaging the grafts due to clogging the pores.
Avoid Excessive Styling
Again, having your thick mane back, you’d want to experiment with a bunch of different hairstyles. However, it’s probably not a good idea to overdo it. This goes for everyone who has hair and not just those who have had a hair transplant. That’s because hair straighteners, curlers, blow dryers, and dyes can result in chemical and heat damage. These can result in permanent hair loss.
And if you already have limited hair in the donor area, it might not be possible for you to get revision surgery. Therefore, you must take good care of the hair that you have. That is one way to ensure good hair density.
Try Stress Management
It’s hard enough to have a day in which you don’t find yourself stressing over something. Stress is another reason why you can lose your hair. Soon after the hair transplant, you might experience shock loss because of the stress the surgery has put on the body (this is normal). After that, as you grow your hair, you need to make sure that it goes on uninterrupted. However, stress can hamper normal hair growth from taking place. This can affect your overall hair density.
So, if you’re wondering “how to increase hair density after hair transplant”, you need to try techniques for better management of stress. In this regard, you should also consider getting professional medical advice.
Scalp Massages
Those asking “how to increase hair density after hair transplant” can benefit from scalp massages. Now, you can’t do these right after the hair transplant because the grafts are delicate, and any pressure can dislodge them. However, after some time, you can start them.
Scalp massages are a great way to promote blood circulation to the scalp, providing them with nutrients and oxygen that they need for hair growth. It’s always a good idea to combine scalp massages with hair oils like olive oil, argan oil, coconut oil, or almond oil, as they can provide that extra nourishment and moisturization that your hair needs to stay healthy and grow. This may be the answer for you if you’re thinking about “how to increase hair density naturally at home.”
Can the Surgical Technique Affect Hair Density After Hair Transplant?
Yes. Although most of them use the follicular unit extraction technique, the use of specialized tools can make a difference. So, this will also determine your answer to “how to increase hair density after hair transplant.” Let’s see how different surgeries affect your overall hair density.
FUT
Although FUT isn’t that commonly used as much, some surgeons recommend it for patients who have weak donor areas. The surgery itself ensures a better survival of the grafts, which may be the reason why some get it. However, it’s easy enough for things to go wrong with this. The stitched-up skin in the donor area results in a larger wound on the scalp, which is at a higher risk of infection. If you do end up developing it, it can decrease the hair density after a hair transplant.
FUE
The size of the incision made into the scalp ranges from 0.6mm to 1mm in the traditional FUE. Smaller wound size means faster healing and a speedy recovery process. It also lowers the risk of infection, which ensures higher hair density.
Sapphire FUE
The more precise, sharper blade used in Sapphire FUE allows the surgeon to make incisions without causing much damage to the skin of the scalp. Again, this ensures quicker recovery due to smaller wound size while lowering the risk of postoperative complications. This also helps with hair density.
DHI
The Implanter pen used in DHI shortens the time for which hair grafts stay outside of the body. This ensures a high survival rate, which increases hair density. In fact, this surgical technique is specifically employed for people for whom density is a big concern.
Conclusion
Countless factors can contribute to a lower survivability rate of your hair grafts. Any blunt trauma, injury, poor extraction technique, dehydration, depletion of ATP (cell food) needed for metabolism in the hair shafts, and poor handling and storage facilities, in general, can cause the hair grafts to die. That means on implantation, many might not grow hair. Thus, overall hair density will decrease.
Your clinic is to blame if any of these problems arise. Of course, a 100% survival rate is not something of a common occurrence. But a significant number of grafts can survive if the surgeon is experienced and proper care is taken of the grafts. If you follow the tips above, you’d know “how to increase hair density after hair transplant.”
Reviewed and Approved by Dr. Cagla Yuksel.
