Some people simply cannot wait to dye their hair, even after undergoing a hair transplant. It’s understandable. After all, what is to some a fun, cosmetic procedure to try something different, for others could be a way to mask something. Hair can fall as we age. It can also turn grey. Or it can do both.

Many patients of hair transplants are also afflicted by greying hair when undergoing the procedure. If you are one, you would often want to know how soon until you can dye your transplanted hair. There’s a waiting period until it is ideal for dyeing your transplanted hair.

But first, make sure you understand hair transplants properly.

Hair Transplants and Dyeing Hair

In a follicular unit excision (FUE) hair transplant, our surgeon extracts healthy hair follicles from the back of the scalp. After extracting as many as required, he proceeds to graft them into your balding area through microincisions.

The hair from the back of the scalp is ideal due to its thinning-resistant properties. It does not thin at the same rate of the regular hair from the top of your hair; it’s way more durable. Therefore, so are the results of the surgery. 

They will grow just as if they were still in their former place, thanks to a feature called “genetic memory.” Our surgeon grafts your hair by following your hair’s growth pattern, so the results blend in seamlessly.

Now, what does that have to do with dyeing your transplanted hair? A lot, actually. See, first of all, your transplanted hair needs a recovery period from the surgery. In this said recovery period, the hair follicle will take to the receiving site to start growing there. 

Exposing the grafts to the kinds of chemicals required to dye your transplanted hair is a big no-no. You should wait at least four to six weeks before attempting to dye your transplanted hair. Possibly even more, depending on what your surgeon recommends. 

Dyeing Your Transplanted Hair before the Surgery

Believe it or not, there are people that like to dye their hair right before the surgery, and believe it or not, this actually has some advantages. Most people who dye their hair before the surgery do so out of the habit of concealing their grey hairs. Nothing wrong with that.

What is important is that they do so a couple of days before the surgery itself. Hair dyes most of the time colour the scalp in addition to the hair when applied. The colouring of the scalp fades in two or three days completely, which is important for the surgeon to extract hair as he normally would.

A coloured scalp with the same colour as the hair makes it difficult to discern where the root of the hair is at all. Once the colour fades from the scalp, we are good to go. Additionally, there’s a little advantage of dyeing before the surgery.

Conversely, in light-coloured scalps, discerning grey hairs from it is difficult as it’s extracting them. By dyeing their hair a few days before surgery, the patient makes it easier to see them, thus making the extraction of those grey hairs for grafting more viable. 

Once in place, you can proceed with dyeing your transplanted hair after the advised period of time so you can continue to mask the greys.

Dyeing your transplanted hair is just a matter of proper timing. If you are gonna do it postsurgery, remember to wait for the advised time.