YOUR RECOVERY, STEP BY STEP
After your transplant, focus on the right actions. This article summarises the updated NOVA postoperative guide. It supports the centre’s patients without replacing their prescription or individual instructions.
Day 0 is your final transplant day. The donor area is the back and sides of the head; the transplanted area is where hair was implanted.
See care for my periodClean hands. Do not touch your head.
The first reflex before all other care.
Even if it itches, do not touch.
- Except for prescribed care, do not touch either the transplanted areas or the back and sides of the head.
- Do not scratch, rub, or pick at scabs, even with clean hands.
- If itching bothers you, contact NOVA. Do not add products without advice.
Before and after each care
- Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds : palms, backs of hands, between fingers, and under nails.
- Dry with a clean cloth. Keep nails short and clean.
- Repeat if you touch your phone or a surface during care. Perform only actions shown by the team.
Why? Hands and nails can carry germs. Infection can slow healing and require additional care. These simple actions help reduce this risk.
Returning home
On the evening of your final transplant day, have someone take you home or take a taxi. Do not drive yourself. Keep the dressing in place until the following evening; donor-area care starts after it is removed.
Protect the treated areas from bumps and friction. For the first ten days, choose a shirt or a fully zipped top rather than clothing pulled over your head. Ask the team when you can drive again, taking your condition and medication into account.
The showerhead remains directed below the shoulders, away from operated areas.
Getting comfortable at night
From the first night, raise your upper body and head to around 30°, as pictured and demonstrated by the team. The guide recommends this precaution from your return home and during the first five days after the final procedure. It may help limit swelling but cannot prevent it in every case.
Use the travel pillow and the two side towels recommended to limit movement. Avoid pressure or friction on the grafts. If you turn over, gently return to the demonstrated position and reposition the supports, without touching the grafts to check them.
Position your torso and neck as directed by the team.
A rolled towel under each forearm can help you stay on your back.
For the first night
Keep your supports in place without pressure on the grafts. Contact the team for bleeding or an unusual symptom.
Do not wrap it around the head. If bleeding is heavy, contact the team promptly.
Shampooing: two areas, two routines
The donor area: from the evening of day 1
Remove the dressing on the evening of day 1 as demonstrated by the team. Gently clean the back and sides with a small amount of Bioderma Nodé and lukewarm water, keeping shampoo and rinse water away from the grafts. Let the donor area air-dry, then apply a thin layer of Cicaplast Gel to that area only. Leave it uncovered.
From day 2, repeat cleaning, drying and application morning and evening until the final scheduled application on the evening of day 7. Do not apply Cicaplast to the grafts or extend this schedule without instructions.
The grafted area: first shampoo on the evening of day 3
The guide specifies one shampoo on the evening of day 3, then one daily from day 4 to day 7. From day 8 to day 10, shampoo twice daily if crusts remain; on day 11, shampoo once if crusts remain. Stop daily shampooing once all crusts have fallen off. On day 12, contact the centre before starting a cream for persistent crusts.
Once the crusts have fallen off, the centre recommends Bioderma Nodé, up to three shampoos per week until month twelve. Your individual instructions take priority.
Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, then dry them with a clean towel.
Lather a small amount of Bioderma Nodé in your clean hands.
Gently dab the foam onto the grafted area without rubbing.
Leave the foam in place for two minutes.
Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water and a very gentle stream.
Follow the drying method demonstrated by the team, without rubbing or handling the grafts.
Your products and prescription
Do not scratch the treated areas or pick scabs. At NOVA, refrigerated La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water spray helps soothe itching in the donor and transplanted areas, without touching the skin with the nozzle. On the procedure day, follow the hourly spraying schedule until bedtime, then 4 to 6 times a day for the following six days. If itching continues afterward, spray whenever it occurs to help soothe it. Do not pop bumps. Contact the team promptly if discomfort worsens or comes with pain, increasing redness, fever, or discharge.
For medication, follow your personal prescription. Do not change the dose or duration, repeat a dose already given at the centre, or improvise an extra dose after a missed dose. Ask your pharmacist or prescriber if you are unsure.
Do not automatically add creams, oils, lotions or antiseptics. If crusts remain on day 12, contact the centre before starting glycerol / vaseline / paraffin cream. After day 12, do not continue intensive care without individual instructions.
Follow the spraying method shown at the center.
Crusts, itching and swelling
Do not scratch, squeeze small spots or pull off crusts. Follow the washing instructions and application time without rubbing harder to remove them sooner. Contact the centre if crusts remain on day 12. Seek advice sooner for any worrying symptom.
Simple postoperative swelling is usually temporary. Keep your upper body and head elevated, hold your phone at eye level and avoid bending forwards for long periods. Drink regularly without excess and follow any fluid restriction. Do not massage treated areas or apply ice or pressure to the grafts.
Contact the team promptly for marked or worsening swelling, increasing pain, redness, warmth, fever or discharge. Reduced vision, eye pain or difficulty opening your eyes requires urgent medical advice. Call 15 or 112 in France for breathing difficulties, swelling of the lips or tongue, or sudden loss of vision.
Work, walking and exercise
The NOVA protocol allows walking, with no weight training during the first month. Adjust the pace and duration to your recovery. Day 15 does not automatically mean you can resume sport. Avoid activities involving friction, helmets or a risk of impact to the head.
After the first month, resume light exercise gradually with the centre’s agreement. Ask specifically about weight training and lifting loads. Returning to work depends on your duties and recovery: discuss heat, dust, helmets and lifting with the team.
The guide specifies two months without swimming, hot baths or head immersion, and six months without a sauna, steam room or solarium. Confirm any return with the team: the skin must have healed; the date alone is not enough.
Everyday precautions
With clean hands, clean and dry the arms of your glasses before wearing them. Avoid pressure or friction on treated areas.
At NOVA, wait until the first ten days after your final transplant day have passed before wearing a cap or hat: from day 11, choose a loose-fitting one that does not rub the treated areas. Wait three weeks before wearing a beanie or helmet. Keep items clean and dry, especially after sweating: follow their cleaning instructions and let them dry fully. Do not modify a helmet’s safety components. If an item presses on an area that is still sensitive or has not healed, ask for advice before wearing it.
At NOVA, we recommend allowing 7 to 10 days before flying after your hair transplant. Slower recovery, significant swelling, or unusual symptoms may require postponing departure. Plan your journey so you can continue aftercare and avoid friction or impact on treated areas.
Keep healing areas out of direct sunlight. Ask when you can wear a head covering without friction and when sunscreen is appropriate. Do not add products to damaged skin without advice.
Choose a varied diet with sufficient food. Supplements should address an identified need; do not combine multiple courses. Get support for smoking cessation and do not change prescribed cessation aids yourself.
NOVA Capillaire does not prescribe minoxidil or finasteride and does not recommend finasteride. If you already use a treatment, consult its prescriber before changing it. For first-time use, consult a dermatologist; do not apply minoxidil to an unhealed grafted area.
When can you cut your hair?
Distinguish the grafted area from the back and sides. For the grafted area, the guide allows clippers from day 60 on well-healed skin. At the back and sides, do not cut before day 30; from day 30, clippers with a guard may be used if the skin has healed well.
Use a clean guard without pressing or scratching. Avoid irritated, painful or crusted areas. Tell your hairdresser about the transplant. Wait for complete healing and the centre’s agreement before colouring your hair.
Regrowth takes time
Some implanted hairs may shed temporarily between two and eight weeks. In typical temporary shedding, the hair comes away while the follicle remains beneath the skin. This does not explain every case remotely: report associated pain, spreading redness, bleeding or discharge.
Early signs of regrowth may appear gradually. From four to six months, length, thickness and coverage can develop at different rates. From seven to twelve months, review your progress with the team using comparable photos. Month twelve is a follow-up point, not a guarantee of final results; maturation may continue beyond it.
The gallery also lets you view results with their follow-up timing. For the procedure behind this recovery, explore the stages of Sapphire FUE.
Your follow-up photos
This follow-up is for patients operated on at NOVA Capillaire. It helps the team monitor your progress but does not replace an examination.
Every day, from day 1 to day 10
Send your first photos on the evening of day 1, after removing the dressing. Then send the three views every day through day 10 inclusive.
Then monthly until month twelve
After day 10, send photos once a month until month twelve. Also follow the appointment schedule agreed with your team.
Head straight, face centered, and hairline visible.
Show the entire back of the scalp and donor area.
Tilt your head to show the entire grafted area.
Take front, rear and top views with dry hair, in clear light and without filters. Keep the distance and framing consistent; ask for help without handling the treated areas. Send them using the follow-up WhatsApp link in the guide and state your day after the transplant.
Never wait for the next scheduled photo submission if you have a worrying symptom. Messages are not an emergency service.
Have a doubt? Call us.
Do not wait for the next follow-up photo if a symptom worries you.
Contact NOVA promptly.
- Increasing pain, significant heat, or spreading redness.
- Discharge, fever, skin reaction, or significant bleeding.
- Worsening swelling or marked visual disturbance.
Frequently asked questions
When should I wash the grafted area?
The first shampoo is scheduled for the evening of day 3, with a two-minute application time. Then follow your day’s instructions and the condition of the crusts.
When should I send photos?
Every day from day 1 to day 10 inclusive, starting after dressing removal on the evening of day 1. Then once a month until month twelve.
When can I use clippers?
The guide specifies day 60 for the grafted area and day 30 for the back and sides, using a guard and only on well-healed skin. Ask for individual advice if unsure.
What if the guide and my prescription differ?
Your personal prescription and surgeon’s instructions take priority. Ask the team to clarify any difference before changing your care.
Further reading
Vitamins After a Hair Transplant: Useful Follow-Up Questions
Vitamins after a hair transplant: what to take, when, and how? Practical guidance on iron, zinc, biotin, food, and prescribed supplements.
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Flying after a hair transplant: strongly discouraged
Discover why flying after a hair transplant is discouraged, how long to wait, and precautions to respect.
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Choosing a Hair Transplant Center in Paris: Your Guide
Technique, donor area, a clear graft count, results, and follow-up: practical questions for choosing a hair transplant center in Paris.
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Crown hair transplant: planning for the vertex
Thinning at the top of your head can become an everyday concern. A crown hair transplant may be an option in some situations, following an assessment of your hair loss…
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