46 Comments

• Kathryn May 19

  I have a physical job that requires heavy lifting and standing on my feet for long periods of time. I took a week off, because I didn’t want to do anything to compromise the grafts or cause complications. Though I felt okay soon after the surgery, I’m glad I gave myself time to heal. By the time I went back to work ten days later, the scabs were completely gone. I had no trouble hiding the fact that I had undergone hair transplant surgery.

• Tracy Thomas Apr 30

  I work two jobs and I can’t afford too much down time. I was back to work on the forth day after the procedure. Both of my jobs I wear a hat as part of my uniform. No one noticed at all. That’s the part I love the most.

• Jim Winders Apr 13

  I work in communications and have to be in the field subjected to the elements daily. Fortunately for me I was back to work dawning my hardhat within a week. Most of my work was to the front hair line and top which allowed me to wear my safety gear.

• Jack C. Mar 15

  I am particularly sensitive to anesthesia and medication but the only side effects I had were very mild. I was fine after a week or so. I’m sure this was atypical.

• salesman Feb 27

  It depends on location of transplant and amount that is transplanted. My frontal hairline was done; therefore i took off a week of work to be safe, but was comfortable enough to go back to work 3 or 4 days post.

• Larry Y. Feb 21

  I had a large area done on the back of my head. Swelling was not a concern and I could have gone back to an office job in a few days. I planned my procedure around a long weekend. Talk to Darren at PAI, and he will tell you exactly what to expect and what to do about work , which will depend on what you do for a living, etc. Do just what PAI tells you and everything will go great for you and you will be very happy and amazed with the great results you will see in just a few months.

• Shaun N Feb 7

  I had a level 12 performed on a Monday. I took the medication only on Tuesday and by Thursday evening, I felt 100%. The pain level was minimal. I was away from work for 10 days and I wore a hat after primarily because I felt self conscience. I chose to wear mine because I experienced a little of “shock loss” and my scalp was a little pink. At work, I told people that I had a minor procedure and that is why I was wearing the hat. Nobody questioned or said anything to me about it.

• Adam Schwartz Dec 25

  I had my transplant on a Monday morning and stayed home from Monday to Friday. Physically, I was probably strong enough to show up at my office by Thursday, but the little crusts from the grafts were still visible, and I didn’t want people to see them.

• R Sharma Dec 24

  Couple of days. Ideally more. Darren and team does outstanding job in share details (day by day) on what to expect after the procedure. Things work out exactly as per these instructions.

• jim colson Dec 22

  I have a physical job so I went back to work after several days and wore a hat to keep the dust out of my scalp

• Pilot Nov 14

  This depends on the individual but, because i am in front of people a lot as a pilot, I actually took 10 days off after the procedure. I had from the hair line back to couple inches short of the crown transplanted.

• Muz Oct 8

  I had a level 12 done so it was a week for me. I wore a hat quite a bit for the first week or so. There was no pain at all during the day. It was uncomfortable sleeping the first few nights. I’m glad I made the decision to do it.

• Jon Oct 3

  This answer depends on the individual. I was very conscientious about my appearance and didn’t want to answer a bunch of questions about it. If you are similar to me, I’d take a few days off. I had the procedure done on a Saturday and worked from home most of that following week. I did return to work on Friday. With me it did take 7 to 9 days for the procedure to not be visible at all.

• Scott Oct 2

  I had over 6000 hairs transplanted on May 26th. The new hair was trasnplanted from my hair line back to the beginning of the crown. I know each person is different but for me persoanlly, because I am in front of a LOT of people every day, I did have some challenges with covering the impact of the procedure in the intial week or so after it. However, now I’m at month 4 post procedure and my hair couldn’t look any better. It has come in so nice and still has 8 more months to grow………..best decision I have ever made.

• DF Oct 1

  I had the procedure done on Monday of this past week. I felt as though I could go to work on Wednesday but had scheduled vacation time for the entire week and thus took it easy. My energy level was very good the very next day and could have worked if I needed to. There was no issue with discomfort or other issues which would have kept me from going back to work the very next day but I chose to rest for the entire week.

• Kevin Aug 13

  My opinion on this is that this differs depending on if you want to discuss it with other people or not. It depends on how much hair you have to start with but I think that if you go back to work within the first week people may notice a redness or some indicator that something happened to the top of your head. This may not be the case for everyone but it would have been for me. If you don’t care about people noticing, I’d say you could go back sooner.

• Brian G Aug 13

  I took the day of the procedure off from work. I took the morning of the following day off, so that I could go back to PAI for my checkup and shampoo. But I did go into work the following afternoon of my procedure. I went about my regular work functions as normal from the afternoon on in the professional office environment that I work. I still dealt with all my responsibilities of customer, bosses, and vendors as nothing had happened. Thank you PAI for such a great job… Brian G.

• David Aug 10

  I work from home so work wasn’t an issue for me. It really depends on your hair type and how large of a procedure you have. I had a lot of hair loss so I had a level 12, and transplanted over 6000 hairs in that one procedure. My skin and hair color is very fair so I did wear a hat for a little while so as to mask the light redness on my scalp.

• Diane Jul 16

  I was off for summer vacation, but I was able to style my hair so it wasn’t very noticable.

• Steve Jul 3

  Unfortunately, there is a short period of time where the procedure is noticable. I had mine done in the winter. It takes about 7-10 days before it isn’t noticeable at all. I didn’t have any issues with activity though…just don’t push it as that is not healthy for the grafts. All in all, that short period of time is forgotten about when you see the results and you won’t regret it!

• Jack Trudeau Jun 20

  Personally I took a couple of days. I did have some redness up there for a liittle while but i was able to cover that up. I was also able to wear a ball cap right after the procedure so the interuption to my regular schedule was minimal.

• Mark H Jun 20

  I had the procedure on Thursday and took Friday off. I returned to work on Monday wearing a baseball cap for a few days. When people at work asked me about the hat I just told them that I had a minor medical procedure done to my scalp but it was not serious.
  The hair grows back so gradual nobody ever noticed. It is amazing how gradual it comes back. I even forgot how much hair loss I had until I saw the ‘before’ photos taken by Darren.

• Dale Feb 29

  I had the largest procedure done on a Friday and returned to work on Monday with some discomfort. However, I had the benefit of working from a home office. If I had to “go to work”, I would have needed a few more days before returning. I had some discomfort for a few days and some of the little scabs up there. Wore a ball cap for about 7 days until scabs and redness subsided. The suture line gave me some mild discomfort and was glad to get the sutures out at 10 days. After that, it was clear sailing. For me, it was well worth the slight discomfort and wearing a hat to get 6000+ new hairs!

• Soldier Jan 26

  Being in the military I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to keep my hair short or be able to have my patrol cap on anymore. It turns out that I had nothign to worry about at all. I was able to wear my cover within a few days, and able to cut my hair short still. This was becasue Dr Waesche did a great job on the suture area. So it is very possible to get right back to work without anybody knowing or being able to notice that any surgery had even taken place.

• Tuhin S. Jan 10

  I went back to work about 3-4 days after the procedure. I did have a little discomort in that 3-4 day timeframe after the procedure, nothing major, but i wanted to take a little time out so took the 3 or 4 days from work. My routine was completely back to normal in about 6 – 10 days after the procedure.

• scientist Dec 28

  For me personally I took 2 days off after the procedure to relax and have some time to myself. After that I did wear a slightly loose fitting hat for a few days. I did have some little dots (crusts) on my scalp for a few days after the procedure (im told this is normal) but my hat covered those and they were gone about 6 – 8 days after the procedure. It’s well worth taking a few days off to get your hair back!

• Jason W Dec 1

  Depending on the individual circumstances , I would tell folks to give themselves 5 – 7 days but you could return to work a little sooner if necessary. Using “Toppik” helps.

• Lee W Nov 9

  I was able to return to work a couple days after the procedure. My scalp was a bit red for several days, but this did not constitute a significant problem for me.

• Matt H. Sep 22

  My procedure was on a Wednesday and I returned to work on Friday!

• Chris W Sep 11

  I returned to work about 4 days later. I had a small amount of mild swelling but little to no discomfort to speak of. I did wear a hat for about a week and then it was back to business as usual.

• Mike McConnell Aug 18

  I had the procedure done on Friday and went back to work Monday. There was a little redness but nothing dramatic. I was amazed!

• Bob G Aug 14

  I had my procedure on a Thursday and went back to work on Monday. I was told my hair might be a little thinner for a little while right after the procedure and i did notice that but not so much so that I was concerned about going back to work.

• Kathy G Jul 7

  I had the week off after the procedure, however it was Christmas week. All my family was in town and never noticed that I had anything done. I am in the medical field and could have gone back to work after3 days. I have to admit, it was a little more painful than I had thought, although I only took the pain medication for the first two days. What bothered me the most was the initial discomfort from from the donor area.

• John C Jun 29

  I had the highest level of transplant and they transplanted a LOT of hair! I did have a little swelling that was evident around day 3 or 4 , but after a week I was out and about and pretty much back to my normal duties. No one suspected anything out of the ordinary.

• Todd Jun 6

  I’m in sales and this was my number one concern (even over pain). I have to present in front of people and was concerned about how long I would take to get rid of the scabbing/redness. I’m glad to say that it only took a little over a week before there were really no visible signs that I had the procedure done. As far as returning to normal activity, I did that within the first couple of days (minus working out). No problems at all.

• Judy May 14

  The procedure was easy to camoflauge afterwards. I definitely followed the basic instructions that I was given. Little post procedure attention was needed in the first few days but nothing that was too intense.

• J. Daniel Mar 29

  Ice and rest are your two best friends in the first 2 days after the procedure. The more hair you have transplanted the more time it will take to recover. With that said, I had a the biggest level 12 and I was almost back to normal activity within a week. The best advice I can give, listen to the PAI team and follow their advice to the letter and you’ll be more than fine.

• John S Mar 25

  I was fortunate in that I had my procedure right before going on Spring Break. I experienced some puffiness around my eyes and forehead, but nothing devastating. I was still able to enjoy myself in Florida, after having my procedure, just 5 days prior.

  I would like to add, as the front man for a band, I performed for a crowd of nearly 700 people, just 3 days after my procedure, with no ill effects.

• Jason A Mar 20

  I took a week off but went back to work after 4 days. Some redness and puffiness for the first few days but by the 2nd week there was no soreness to speak of. I’m an avid weightlifter so taking 2 weeks off the gym was probably the hardest part for me. Took no pain medication the entire time, and truefully felt 100% after 3 days.

• Louise G. Jan 11

  This was not really a concern for me because I was retired so I didn’t have to plan around it. I did have some redness and a some small little crusts up there for a few days afterward but I was able to cover them with my existing hair.

• Donna E. Jan 4

  I felt well enough to go back within a few days, but had taken the week off as a precaution. Since my transplant area was right across the front, I mainly didn’t want to disturb other folks. My hair dresser created a cut and style that helped disguise the transplant area, which worked well, and I don’t think too many people noticed. Wearing a hat or scarf in the office would have brought more attention to something being different, so I just used my new hair style to the best of my ability and feel it worked very well. I was completely honest with folks about the procedure, because most were very interested. Most people don’t realize how common hair transplantation is, so it’s unique and interesting to most.

• Craig B Dec 31

  I had my procedure done on a Tuesday and did a boardroom presentation on the following Monday. I did have to use toppik though to cover the redness.I did have some very mild redness for the next few weeks but it was very easy to cover and no one ever noticed it.

• Jerad A. Dec 31

  I had my procedure on Thurs. Had the entire family over for my kids birthday party on sat. and went back to work Mon. However, experienced a little swelling Mon. afternoon in my forehead so took it easy for the next few days. I think if I were to do it again, I would schedule a vacation week and just relax during recovery. I had almost a level 12…..I would do it again tomorrow without hesitation. The results are very much worth a few days of discomfort.

• Larry Dec 30

  I think it depends on how much hair loss you have had and how many grafts you have placed. I had the procedure on Thurs. and went to work on Monday. I had some redness and bumps which were visible, but I had significant loss from the front of my forehead back. If my loss had been from the crown, no one would have seen anything. As it was, I wore the head scarf, “du rag” and told people that I had some minor surgery done and that the doctor wanted the stitches to be covered. Not a lie and that explained the scarf. Once I took it off, no one said a thing.

• Rich Dec 30

  I had a level 12 done so it was a week for me. I wore a hat quite a bit for the first few weeks. There was no pain at all during the day, just a little uncomfortable sleeping the first few nights. I’m glad I made the decision to do it.

• Amran Dec 28

  My procedure was on a Thursday and I planned to take Friday off too so I had three full days of recovery before I went back to work. I have long hair, so I was able to cover up the spot so it was less noticeable. No one said anything about it, which made me happy!