Today signifies my first check-up at the clinic since my FUE hair transplant. As part of the aftercare regimen, I must send photographs at predetermined periods and maintain communication with the clinic.
You have to do this at 2 and 3 weeks, and at 3, 6 and 12 months. The feedback I have from the clinic so far is that everything is progressing as expected.
At this point, there is still redness and bruising, but it is not sore. For the last week, I have been applying aloe vera gel to the back of my head and hairline.
This is helping with any irritation and it’s reducing the redness.
You have to be careful not to apply too much as it can dry into a thin hard layer and can cause a little irritation. Small amounts frequently work well.
Some of the hair has started to fall out. This is as expected. The newly transplanted hair follicles basically have the reset button hit on them. The hairs drop out but the follicles remain intact.
The follicles then go into a short resting phase before going back into the growing phase. This is called the ugly duckling period. This lasts for around 3 to 4 months on average, but everyone is different.
It gets worse before it gets better, but this is what I expected from my research and from the advice of the clinic.