Before your operation
Good preparation is boring, specific and worth real percentage points of graft survival. Here is the complete countdown — and the short list of things we need you to tell us honestly.
Two weeks to the chair
- 12 weeks before
Cut the healing killers
Stop or seriously reduce smoking — nicotine constricts the tiny vessels your grafts will depend on. Pause aspirin, ibuprofen and supplements like fish oil, vitamin E and ginkgo only after checking with your prescribing doctor; never stop prescribed blood thinners on our say-so alone.
- 272 hours before
No alcohol
Alcohol thins the blood and increases bleeding during extraction. Seventy-two dry hours is the minimum; a dry week is better.
- 3The night before
Wash and sleep
Wash your hair normally — no gel, spray or powder fibres afterwards. Don't cut your hair; we shave exactly what the plan needs on the day. Sleep properly; it's a long, boring day for you and rest makes it easier.
- 4The morning
Eat breakfast, dress smart
A normal breakfast — you'll be under local anaesthetic, not general, so there's no fasting. One coffee is fine; six is not. Wear a shirt that buttons or zips: nothing that pulls over your head for the next week.
The honesty list
None of these cancel your procedure by default — but every one of them changes how we plan it safely. Surprises on the day are the only thing on this page that can actually hurt you.
- Every medication you take — prescribed, over-the-counter and supplements
- Heart conditions, blood pressure, diabetes, clotting disorders
- Allergies — especially to anaesthetics or antibiotics
- Previous scalp procedures, anywhere, by anyone
- Skin conditions on the scalp — eczema, psoriasis, folliculitis
What to pack
Button-front shirts, a loose cap for the flight home (we'll tell you when it's safe to wear), your medications in their original boxes, and space in your bag for the aftercare kit. That's genuinely the whole list — everything else is provided.
Quick answers
The honest answer: every cigarette works against your graft survival, and the fortnight around surgery is when it matters most. If total abstinence is not realistic, cut as far down as you possibly can and be straight with us about where you are — we plan around truth better than around optimism.
No. Leave it as it is — we shave exactly what the technique requires on the morning, and for unshaven procedures your length is precisely what we need to work with.
Tell your coordinator immediately. A mild cold is usually fine; an active infection, fever or antibiotics course means we reschedule — at no cost. Operating on an unwell patient is exactly the kind of corner-cutting we built this clinic to avoid.
Keep taking finasteride as normal. Pause minoxidil from three days before the procedure and restart when we tell you during aftercare — usually around two weeks after.