FUE Hair Transplant

Your journey begins with a detailed hair transplant consultation.

The medical team assesses your pattern of hair loss, scalp, donor area and existing hair density. Your goals are discussed before determining whether FUE is appropriate and approximately how many grafts may be required.

On procedure day, the donor area is prepared and local anaesthetic is administered.

Individual follicular units are carefully extracted from the donor area before being prepared for transplantation. Recipient sites are then created according to the planned hairline, density and natural direction of growth.

Each graft is carefully placed into these recipient sites.

Larger FUE procedures can take many hours. Cocoon’s current hair transplant programme describes the procedure as a full-day treatment, typically beginning around 8 AM and finishing around 7 PM, depending on the number of grafts required.

Before leaving, you will receive instructions explaining how to protect the newly transplanted grafts during the important first days of recovery.

Your consultation should include your medical history, medications, supplements, allergies, previous hair treatments and family history of hair loss.

The donor area must also be assessed carefully. A high graft number is only appropriate when sufficient healthy donor follicles are available.

Tell the medical team about any scalp conditions, previous hair transplant surgery, abnormal scarring, bleeding problems or health conditions that may affect healing.

You will receive specific instructions about hair washing, medications, alcohol, smoking and preparation before your procedure.

Do not stop prescribed medications unless specifically instructed by the appropriate medical professional.

The newly transplanted grafts require particular care during the first days following your procedure.

Avoid rubbing, scratching or picking the recipient area. Follow the specific washing instructions provided by Cocoon and use only recommended products.

Sleep with your head elevated during the initial recovery period if advised to help minimise swelling.

Avoid strenuous exercise, swimming, saunas, steam rooms and excessive sweating until your medical team advises that these activities are safe.

Protect your scalp from direct sun exposure and avoid wearing anything that could rub against or disturb the newly implanted grafts.

Small scabs should be allowed to loosen according to your washing and aftercare instructions rather than being picked away.

Take prescribed medication exactly as directed and attend your scheduled follow-up appointments.

FUE is a surgical hair restoration procedure, even though it is minimally invasive.

Potential complications can include bleeding, infection, swelling, temporary numbness, folliculitis, scarring, poor graft growth and an unnatural appearance if hairline design or graft placement is inappropriate.

FUE does not mean scar-free. Individual extraction sites generally leave tiny round scars rather than the linear scar associated with strip harvesting.

Over-harvesting the donor area can also produce permanent visible thinning, which is why graft numbers should be based on the available donor supply rather than simply choosing the largest package.

Hair transplantation also does not stop future hair loss. Non-transplanted hair may continue thinning, so long-term planning is important.

The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery emphasises that hair restoration surgery requires medical expertise and that diagnosis, surgical planning, donor harvesting, hairline design and recipient-site creation involve important medical decisions.