Following a hair transplant operation, patients should follow post-operative care instructions to ensure successful results. Postoperatively, your skin is prone to sun damage now more than ever.

With that in mind, sun exposure or sunbathing is a no-no for the first few months after a hair transplant procedure. Your scalp has undergone trauma following surgery and would need time to recover and for hair follicles to burrow and grow.

A newly transplanted hair graft isn’t capable of protecting itself from the harmful rays of the sun.

Chromatophores, responsible for skin pigmentation, which are present in our skin, helps protect the skin from too much sun exposure.

But, during a hair transplant, the chromatophores die and would take some time to regenerate following the surgical procedure. In effect, your skin does not have natural protection following this cosmetic procedure.

Is it Safe To Sunbathe Following a Hair Transplant Procedure?

Heat exposure can damage not just the topical layer of the scalp but also permeates deep within the layers of the skin, which can cause irreversible tissue damage. This can mess up with your hair transplant outcome.

No, it is not safe to sunbathe after a hair transplant operation. Doctors would recommend staying away from direct sunlight or refraining from sunbathing for at least 4 to 6 months following the hair transplant procedure.

In addition, you should also wear a protective hat or cap to provide full coverage and protect the transplant region while it’s still at the healing and recovery stage.

Using sunscreen isn’t recommended at this time because it could cause skin irritation or could get in the way of the incision’s healing process.

Patients would often complain of scalp hypersensitivity following hair transplant procedure after sun exposure.

Reasons to Avoid Sunbathing or Direct Sun Exposure after Hair Transplant

Although it’s fun to be sun-kissed and getting a tan could be tempting, you must avoid the sun for a couple of months following a hair transplant. Here’s why:

• Hair transplant patients experience extra sensitivity to direct sunlight.
• This can result in excessive scalp scarring.
• The incision site would need several months to heal and recover completely.
• Newly transplanted grafts have not yet developed immunity or defences against the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
• This can lead to hair transplant failure.

It’s not just about sunbathing but excessive sun exposure, in general, that can get in the way of your hair transplant’s success rate. Putting a cap or a hat on will help shield your newly transplanted hair from harmful damage.

If not taken seriously, prolonged sun exposure can cause severe sunburn, which would stop hair growth. You cannot afford to risk it and go out in the sun for long hours following a cosmetic surgery done on your scalp and especially without sun protection on.

Further, this can even lead to complications or having a partially successful or complete failure of a hair transplant procedure.

Being aware of the damaging effects of being in direct sunlight will help you with post-operative care. Even though you are a sun or beach lover, staying away from sun exposure for just a couple of months will help you get perfect results from your hair transplant procedure.