After undergoing a hair transplant procedure, your main concern will be to rest as much as you need to, for your sake and the sake of the results. This includes refraining from all forms of intense physical activity for six to eight weeks minimum.
One physical activity that you should do is walking as a way to remain active. Another thing you can do is yoga after a hair transplant, but with some considerations.
When Can You Perform Yoga after Hair Transplants?
The recovery period for hair transplant surgeries is 10 weeks until you can fully return to most of your normal activities. In the case of doing yoga after hair transplant, you can do so after 4 or 6 weeks, depending on how much your swelling has subsided.
If you have no swelling, no itching, and no infection, you can safely do yoga after a hair transplant as long as you avoid certain poses.
Yoga after a hair transplant is a perfect way to exercise the body since the movement is light, it requires little exertion, and it does relax the body a lot. You should not perform the more advanced yoga poses, however, if you want your hair grafts preserved.
Yoga poses that require your head to hang low or for you, lean on it or stand on it are out of the question. Performing them risks tension to the hair grafts which are just starting to take on.
Safe Yoga Poses after Hair Transplant
These are the most basic and therefore safest poses a hair transplant patient can engage in 10 days after the surgery.
- Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
- Vrikshasana (Tree Pose)
- Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)
- Kursiasana (Chair Pose)
- Naukasana (Boat Pose)
- Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
- Utthita Ashwa Sanchalanasana (Crescent Lunge)
- Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II)
- Natarajasana (Dancer’s Pose)
- Sukhasana
Any other pose not on the list that you wish to perform, research first and make sure it does not remotely engage your head.
Why Can’t I Immediately Do Yoga after Hair Transplants?
Even if you were limiting your performing to the most basic poses, yoga and every other form of exercise remains discouraged.
There are many reasons for it. First of all, you are extremely likely to sweat, and sweating is to be avoided when recovering from a hair transplant. A drop of sweat is more than likely to carry bacteria with them as they slide on your skin and your scalp. Sweating excessively after a hair transplant increases the chances of an infection on the hair follicles
Infections lead to swelling, and that can severely affect the health of the hair follicle, compromising the results. Refrain from any situation likely to result in sweating for the first 10 days after your surgery, including yoga of course.
Secondly, you are likely swollen for the first 10 days after the surgery. Even an exercise as light as yoga risks the swelling going down your scalp and into your brow and eye area, risking serious complications. Thus, avoid all exercise and yoga after hair transplant surgery for at least 10 days.