After your hair follicles are grafted into areas where your hair is thinning, it takes some time for your skin to heal. In fact, it’s normal for some of your hair to fall out for the first three months after the procedure.

Healing can take somewhere between 6 to 12 months. But once the healing process is complete, the transplanted follicles begin to grow hair that will fill out the bald patches on your scalp. This is hair that will continue to grow naturally as you get older.

The movement of the hair follicles is permanent; there’s no way to return them to their previous position. But like the rest of your hair follicles, the transplanted ones have a lifespan. At some point, they may gradually stop producing as much hair as they used to.

You'll likely feel pain or soreness at the transplant site as well as in the area where hair was taken from. For the next few days, your surgeon may prescribe: pain medications.

• antibiotics to prevent infections
• anti-inflammatories, such as an oral steroid, to relieve swelling
• medications that help stimulate hair growth