Most people open this page twice. Once before the procedure, to know what the days after will ask of them, and once at three in the morning in their own time zone, to check that what the mirror shows is normal. It was written for both. You will find what each day of the first week looks like, when it is normal to fly home, how the day-ten wash is guided over WhatsApp wherever you are, why the hair sheds between the third and eighth week and why that is a good sign, and a map of all twelve months. The Istanbul team answers the WhatsApp number within an hour on working days.
Your body knows how to finish what we started
Sima, the Aleppo clinic of Your Hair Center, Istanbul
Recovery is not a test. It is a phase your body leads, and our role is to walk it with you, from the first night in Aleppo to the twelfth month at home, so you know what is happening, why, and when to message us
You will find the donor and recipient areas slightly red, with a feeling of tightness rather than pain. It is a normal part of hair transplant aftercare, and it starts to ease within 48 hours. The dressing stays on the donor area for your first night, and we ask you to sleep on your back with your head slightly raised. A WhatsApp message reaches you in the evening with the first-night instructions and a direct number for whenever you need it. Your English-speaking coordinator is on the same number. The first night asks nothing of you beyond rest, a light meal and a film you like. Hair transplant aftercare begins the moment you lie down.
The dressing, if one was placed, comes off at the clinic the next morning, and the first wash begins there
What happens each day, what is expected of you, and what is not, including the flight home
Complete rest, sleep on your back with your head raised, no washing and no water on the scalp
We show you the movement, you repeat it in front of us, and we film a short clip you keep for every wash that follows
Around the forehead and upper face, normal and temporary, easing within two days
The swelling recedes and light desk work is fine. From today the flight home is normal, and most visitors leave on day four or five
Fine scabs form on the recipient area and are left alone. In the cabin, keep the transplanted area off the headrest, drink water, and stay out of direct sun between the car and the plane
Sleep is back to normal wherever you are, and the tightness has almost gone
A photo over WhatsApp in daylight. The team checks the healing and sends the self-wash guidance for week two, ahead of the day-ten wash
Two short lists, the daily side of hair transplant aftercare, which we go through with you at the first wash and repeat in the daily WhatsApp messages. Not rules so much as company for your body while it does its work
For the first 5 days, pray seated, or make sujood with a gesture so that the forehead and hairline do not touch the ground. From day 6 until the scabs fall, make a light sujood, about one tasbiha long, on the nose and lower forehead with the grafted hairline kept off the ground; if the hairline is low or the scabs reach where the forehead rests, stay with the gesture until the doctor allows. In wudu, keep water off the grafts for the first 2 to 3 days and leave the first wash to the team at the clinic. Wash the rest as usual and wipe what is safe of the head, since wiping part of the head is enough; if wiping itself would harm the grafts, scholars allow tayammum for the head instead. From day three, wipe the head gently with a wet hand without rubbing, and return to normal wudu once the scabs have fallen, around day 10 to 14. Full sujood returns after that, on the day the doctor confirms in writing over WhatsApp. The same applies to women. This guidance is general, gathered with scholars and the clinic’s doctors, so ask us about your own case.
Somewhere between the third and eighth week, usually once you are back home, you notice short hairs falling from the transplanted area. The worry is natural. The phenomenon is more natural still, and it has a name, shock loss, or telogen effluvium. The old shaft sheds so that the transplanted follicle itself can enter a new growth cycle. The follicle has not gone. The visible shaft is what changed over. This phase lasts a few weeks, and new hairs begin to appear gradually in the third month. The rule we repeat on WhatsApp through these weeks is not to judge the result with a daily eye. Photograph the area once a week, in the same light, and send it to us. The picture changes under your hands without you noticing it.
If you notice sudden heavy shedding, redness or persistent pain, send us a photo over WhatsApp straight away, whatever the time zone. Do not wait for the next scheduled review
A transplant is not one day but 12 months in which the hair takes shape gradually, and hair transplant aftercare runs the whole length of it. Follow-up is included in the original price, daily in the first week and then in scheduled reviews until the twelfth month, in the clinic while you are in Aleppo and over WhatsApp once you have flown home, with one photo in the same light at each review. Your figure is confirmed in writing after the consultation, by graft count and donor area, and nothing is added for the follow-up.
We gathered the two questions that come up most often in the weekly WhatsApp photos and put the answers here, for whoever is reading at three in the morning, in whichever time zone.
Many people link the shedding in week three to a failed transplant and rush to a verdict
What falls is the visible shaft above the skin. The follicle itself stays settled beneath the surface and prepares a new hair, which usually begins to show in the third month
The itch between day ten and the first month worries many people, who assume it needs strong treatment
The skin is renewing itself, and a tolerable itch is a sign of that. We give you a simple spray to calm it before you fly, and the rule is never to scratch with your nails. If the itch stays severe for more than three days, send us a photo
Flying is normal from day four or five, once the first wash is done at the clinic and the swelling has settled. On the flight, keep the transplanted area off the headrest, use a loose neck pillow if it helps, drink water, and keep the scalp out of direct sun between the car and the plane. If anything about the flight worries you, message the team the evening before and the reply comes in writing. Most Western governments advise against travel to Syria; their advice is linked on the travel guide, with the journey in, the visa and the money.
The second wash falls on day ten, and most visitors are home by then. The team guides it over WhatsApp wherever you are, using the clip filmed at your first wash. After that, hair transplant aftercare moves to scheduled reviews, one photo in the same light and a written reply from a doctor, until the twelfth month. If you are Syrian and coming home, time the procedure with the visit; the team stays with you over WhatsApp after you fly back.
Office work after 3 to 7 days, or 2 to 3 days with an unshaven technique, including from a laptop at the hotel or on the plane. Physical work after 10 to 14 days. For work that puts your head in direct sun, we prefer that you wait until the eighth week.
A light walk from day three. Moderate exercise after the second week, heavy exercise, weightlifting and contact sport after 3 to 4 weeks, and swimming after the fourth week. Heavy sweating in the first two weeks is postponed because the area has not yet settled.
Mild swelling on days two and three is normal and expected. Cool compresses on the forehead, without pressing the transplanted area, and two pillows at night. It settles within 48 hours. If it persists, send us a photo over WhatsApp.
We give you a gentle medical shampoo to use until the end of the second week, and enough of it to take home. After that you return gradually to your usual shampoo, starting with one free of heavy fragrance.
In the first week nothing tight should touch the grafts, so at the airport use shade rather than a hat, and the clinic gives you a soft medical band for the first days. Men can wear a loose cap that does not press from about day ten, and tight hats and helmets after 3 to 4 weeks. Women can wear a loose, light headscarf from about day seven to ten, and a normal, firmly wrapped hijab after about 14 days. Once a loose hat is allowed, wear one in the sun to protect the scalp.
A moderate itch between day ten and the first month is normal and a sign of sound healing. We give you a simple spray to calm it, and the rule is not to scratch with your nails. If you have persistent pain, or an itch severe enough to stop you sleeping, send us a photo over WhatsApp straight away, whatever the hour where you are.
A doctor answers within an hour, on any working day
Send your photo or your question over WhatsApp. A doctor replies with a written assessment. No question is too small, and no hour is too late in your time zone
