Hair Transplant and Smoking

Smoking is a major health concern all over the world since it is associated with a variety of diseases, including cancer, COPD, gastrointestinal issues. Smoking is a concern for those who would like to have a hair transplant. You should avoid it before and after hair transplantation due to its possible adverse effects on the whole hair transplantation procedure. Its adverse effects may lead to the failure of the hair transplant procedure. So if you find yourself asking ‘’can I smoke before and after a hair transplant?’’, the answer is no. You should avoid smoking at least for a week before and after a hair transplant procedure to minimize its negative effects on your hair.

Smoking And Hair Loss

Smoking generally has unpleasant effects both on your hair and skin. It may cause premature skin aging. Plus, researchers say that there is a relationship between smoking and hair loss. Smoking has adverse effects on the microvascular system of the dermal papilla. It will accelerate the progression of male-pattern baldness. It also destroys the grafts due to the toxic chemicals it contains. Also, it limits the supply of blood to the hair follicles because it disturbs blood circulation. Therefore the scalp and the hair follicles cannot receive the necessary nutrients to be healthy.

Why Should You Avoid Smoking Before And After A Hair Transplant

Smoking can adversely affect the hair transplant process because of its widespread effects throughout our bodies. Here are the reasons why you should avoid smoking before and after a hair transplant:

• Smoking has detrimental effects on blood vessels, hence on the cardiovascular system. So it causes the blood vessels to constrict, leading to poor blood circulation to the scalp and hair follicles. Plus, carbon monoxide may reduce the amount of oxygen in the blood. If the hair follicles cannot receive an adequate blood supply, then they lack the essential nutrients for healthy growth. The newly transplanted hair follicles may not hold on to the scalp without the necessary nutrients.
• With reduced blood supply to the scalp, the newly transplanted hair follicles will heal slowly. So smoking will cause a prolonged period of recovery. If the hair follicles take a lot of time to heal, then they may get infected, and scarring may occur. Scarring will cause and unpleasant look on the area of surgery; however, infection is a more severe complication as it puts your health at risk.
• Smoking also increases the risk of necrosis. Skin necrosis means tissue death. Research shows that people who smoke can have more skin necrosis following a hair transplant procedure. The severity of tissue death depends on how long you have been an active smoker and how many cigarettes you smoke a day.

When Can You Smoke After A Hair Transplant Procedure?

As we mentioned above, smoking before and after a hair transplant procedure has many negative effects on the whole hair transplant process. So you should avoid smoking at least a few weeks before and after the hair transplant procedure. It would be best if you could completely quit smoking both for your general health but still, you will benefit from avoiding smoking a few weeks before and after the hair transplant surgery.

According to the findings obtained from a scientific study, nicotine injection into the scalp caused a significant reduction in the hair density of the participants. So smoking will cause harm to your scalp and hair follicles in the long run. Considering all of the factors we mentioned above and this study, we can conclude that smoking will only adversely affect your hair and scalp.

So it is very important to stay away from smoking especially in the days following the surgery to minimize the risks and complications from a hair transplant procedure. You will not only minimize the possible risks and complications from the surgery but you will also help speed up the healing process. Plus, you should not smoke the day you are going to have the procedure. If you smoke hookah, you should avoid it too. You should avoid any kind of material containing tobacco.