3 October 2026

Équipe Body Expert

15 min de lecture

Scalp injury after a hair transplant: are your grafts at risk, and what should you do?

Two side-by-side overhead views of a man’s shaved head: on the left, a largely bare crown; on the right, the apparent same area dotted with many small red marks among very short hairs.

A knock to the scalp after a hair transplant mainly puts the grafts at risk during the first five days, while they are held in place only by clotted blood and scabs. The risk then falls quickly: in a study that tested graft anchoring day by day, no graft was still at risk of being dislodged by day nine, and the NHS asks patients to treat transplanted hair with great care for two weeks. After that, a moderate knock will no longer dislodge the transplanted follicles; it can still break the skin or raise a lump, and shedding in the weeks that follow is not enough on its own to conclude that grafts have been lost.

Your general condition comes first: being knocked out, even briefly, vomiting or a wound that will not stop bleeding under pressure all need urgent medical help, however long ago the operation was. Otherwise, press gently on anything that bleeds without rubbing, put nothing on the area unless your clinic has approved it, and send clear photos to the team looking after your recovery.

This guidance applies whether you had a hair transplant in Turkey or closer to home. It matters most when the accident happens after you have flown back, far from the clinic: knowing what can wait for remote advice and what needs to be seen in person spares you needless worry as well as delays in care.

How long can a knock dislodge your grafts?

Each graft is a small unit of skin containing one to four hairs, which the surgeon inserts into an incision in the area being restored. Clotted blood and the scab above it keep it in place at first, until the surrounding skin heals and takes over. How serious a knock is therefore depends less on how hard it felt than on the number of days since the procedure.

Time since surgery	What a knock can affect
Days 1 to 5	The grafts and their scabs
Days 6 to 14	Mainly the scabs and the skin
After two weeks	The skin and the head

During the first five days

This is the window in which rubbing, or a knock that catches a scab, can pull a graft out of its incision. Bernstein and Rassman (2006) checked this by pulling on grafts by hand at different points of recovery: up to day five, removing a scab that was still stuck down took the graft beneath it every time. A firm bump against a car door frame or a kitchen cupboard deserves a careful look at your scalp, even if it did not hurt.

Kerure and Patwardhan (2018) note that bleeding after a hair transplant usually comes from accidental trauma to the scalp that has pushed out one or more grafts. A spot that starts bleeding again, a small empty hole among the grafts or a graft found on the pillow all point to a localised loss, whereas an area that is not bleeding and whose scabs are intact is broadly reassuring. A photo sent to the team lets them settle the question.

Close-up of a shaved head whose front area is covered with many tightly packed small red and whitish dots, edged by a purple line, with a few traces of blood

Between day six and day fourteen

In the same study, pulling on a hair no longer dislodged the graft from day six, and by day nine the authors judged every graft out of danger. They conclude that scabs prolong this fragile period. This is one reason the washing routine you are given aims to soften them gradually; how scabs after a hair transplant heal, and when they can safely come away, is explained in a dedicated article.

The NHS allows a wider margin, describing the grafts as not yet secure during the first fortnight, when transplanted hair needs very careful handling. The aftercare plan from your clinic gives the date from which normal habits can resume.

Close-up of the front of the scalp of a person with blond hair lying on white fabric, showing an area covered with many small red dots and crusts

After two weeks

By now the grafts have healed into the scalp like the hair around them, and an everyday bump is no longer enough to pull them out. What remains to watch is the skin: a graze, a cut, a lump or a bruise is cared for like any other head injury, with particular attention to infection until the grafted area has finished healing. The complete hair transplant guide follows healing from the day of surgery through to regrowth.

What if the knock hits the donor area?

The donor area, usually the back and sides of the head, has no grafts left to lose. A knock there can still reopen a few tiny wounds, make them bleed or loosen scabs early. Kerure and Patwardhan (2018) report localised infections at extraction sites too, not only among the grafts, so these small openings call for the same watch and the same care as the recipient area.

Two side-by-side rear views of a man's head. On the left, very short shaved hair, with many small red dots and crusts on the back of the head between the nape and the tops of the ears, plus a few purple marker lines. On the right, more even short hair, without those visible marks.

Which signs mean you should go to A&E?

Two situations call for prompt medical assessment, before you have even heard back from the clinic: a head injury and a wound that home care cannot bring under control. The criteria below apply however long ago the procedure was, and your transplant team can be told afterwards.

Signs of a head injury

The NHS asks you to call 999 if, after hitting your head, you cannot stay awake or keep your eyes open, have a seizure, have problems with your vision or hearing, notice clear fluid coming from your nose or ears, feel new numbness or weakness, or have trouble walking, keeping your balance, speaking or understanding. NICE guidance (2023) also asks NHS 111 to send to A&E anyone who was knocked out, even briefly, cannot remember events around the injury, has had a persistent headache or has vomited since, or takes anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicine other than aspirin alone.

Some of these signs, such as drowsiness or a change in behaviour, are easier for someone else to notice, and the NHS recommends that an adult stays with you for at least the first 24 hours after a minor head injury. If you are told to go to A&E, do not drive yourself there.

Close-up of a man with his eyes shut and a pained expression, pressing the fingers of both hands to his temples; a red highlight is overlaid near one temple.

A wound that needs more than home care

According to the NHS, a cut that will not stop bleeding, blood spurting out bright red, a very large or deep wound or something stuck in it all call for 999 or A&E. A cut longer than about 5 cm, a wound still dirty after cleaning or a bite should be seen urgently by a GP, or discussed with NHS 111. A simple surface graze, by contrast, can usually be looked after at home.

At A&E, mention the transplant and its date. NHS guidance explains that a cut is cleaned and then closed with stitches, staples, adhesive strips or special glue, and the clinician choosing the method should know that recently transplanted grafts lie close by.

First steps once an emergency has been ruled out

Ask someone to look at the spot that was hit, or photograph it with your phone, without touching it. What comes next depends on what you find: broken skin, a lump without a wound or a graft that has come out.

If the skin is bleeding or broken

Wash your hands, then press gently on the wound with a sterile gauze swab, without rubbing or sliding it, because sideways movement is what can dislodge fresh grafts. Kerure and Patwardhan (2018) report that steady pressure for 10 to 15 minutes usually controls bleeding after a hair transplant.

For cleaning, follow the routine your clinic gave you for the first two weeks, usually a saline spray and a rinse with no pressure on the scalp. If you have no saline to hand, the NHS advice on cuts is to rinse with bottled or tap water. On a grafted area, any other product, whether alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or a cream from the bathroom cabinet, should wait for the team’s approval.

Avoid any adhesive dressing on the grafted area, because removing it would tear off the scabs and, with them, any grafts that have not yet anchored. If the wound is weeping, a non-stick sterile pad placed loosely over it will protect it until you hear back from the team. Other causes of bleeding after a hair transplant, beyond a knock, have a dedicated article.

If a lump appears without a wound

A lump is a small collection of blood or fluid under the skin. After a head injury, the NHS recommends short, regular applications of an ice pack, or a bag of frozen peas, inside a tea towel to reduce swelling. On an area grafted less than two weeks ago, keep the ice pack off the grafts, as its pressure and friction could disturb them, and ask the team whether anything else would help. A lump that grows quickly or becomes more and more painful needs medical advice the same day.

If a graft has come out

A graft that has fallen out looks like a short hair with a small fragment of pale tissue at its base. A hair that comes away on its own, without that fragment, is most likely the shaft shedding, which is expected in the weeks after a transplant. Do not try to put a graft back yourself: re-implantation needs surgical conditions, which rarely makes it possible once you have left the clinic.

Report the loss with a photo of the spot and, if you kept it, of the graft itself. The effect of one or a few lost grafts is judged across the whole area, once regrowth becomes readable at your follow-up checks.

What information should you send the medical team?

A precise message lets the team place the incident in your healing timeline and answer you from the first exchange. Include the date of your procedure, the time and circumstances of the knock, what you noticed straight afterwards, any care you have already given and the medicines you take, especially an antiplatelet drug, which makes bleeding more likely (Kerure & Patwardhan, 2018).

Add two or three sharp daylight photos, without flash or filters: one of the whole grafted area and a close-up of the spot that was hit. If soil got into the wound, or it is still dirty after cleaning, the NHS advises getting it checked urgently by a GP or through NHS 111, where treatment can include a tetanus injection, so tell the team whether your tetanus vaccinations are up to date.

Depending on what the photos show, the team suggests simply keeping an eye on things, local care or an examination in person. If your symptoms get worse over the following hours, a doctor who can examine you in person takes over from remote advice.

Bearded man holding his phone and touching his hairline, looking concerned

Watching for healing and infection in the days that follow

Over the following days, mild tenderness, a little swelling and a scab on the spot that was hit are part of normal repair, and they should ease from one day to the next. Let any new scabs come away with the washing routine you were given, without scratching them, and carry on with your hair transplant aftercare as the clinic explained it.

Any break in the skin can become infected. The NHS lists a cut that becomes swollen, red and more painful, or that starts to discharge pus, among the reasons to get urgent help from a GP or NHS 111, as well as feeling generally unwell or running a high temperature after a cut. Spreading redness, pain that increases over the hours or a discharge of pus should be reported the same day, to the team and to a doctor who can examine you.

After a hair transplant, infections remain rare, below 1% of cases in the review by Kerure and Patwardhan (2018), who list poor hygiene and excessive crusting among the causes. An accidental wound adds an entry point to watch until it has closed; if an infection sets in, the same authors recommend a suitable antibiotic chosen after sensitivity testing. A dedicated article explains how an infection after a hair transplant is recognised and treated.

Can hair fall out after the knock?

If the knock happens during the first month, shedding in the weeks that follow coincides with the normal course of a transplant. The NHS explains that it is common for transplanted hairs to drop out a few weeks after surgery before regrowing. Existing hair in the recipient area can shed too: this postoperative effluvium usually begins 2 to 6 weeks after the procedure and is most often temporary (Kerure & Patwardhan, 2018).

The word “shock” can be confusing here: shock loss refers to that postoperative shedding, not to a blow to the head. The two overlap when the accident happens in the first month, so a thinner-looking scalp at that stage tells you nothing yet about the fate of the grafts.

To judge the affected spot, you have to wait for regrowth. The NHS expects new hair to start showing at around 4 months, while the full result takes 10 to 18 months to assess. A patch that remains clearly less dense than its surroundings at those milestones should be raised at your follow-up checks, with comparison photos.

Overhead view of a man's lowered head, divided by a vertical line: the left half is bare, the right half is covered with denser short hair.

Will a scar remain visible?

A graze only affects the surface of the skin, whereas a deep cut may need to be closed by a clinician and leaves a linear scar. On the scalp, hair grows back along that line only where the follicles have survived the injury, so a thinner strip may remain, more or less visible depending on its width, its position and the length of the surrounding hair.

If you tend to form thick scars or keloids, tell the team as soon as the injury happens. Kerure and Patwardhan (2018) describe such scars as rare after a hair transplant and treated with steroid ointment or injections. Who is concerned and which precautions apply are explained in the article on hair transplants and keloids.

A scar takes weeks or even months to mature (Kerure & Patwardhan, 2018). If a hairless line is still visible once that time has passed, the surgeon can discuss the options suited to your case, including targeted density work where the scar tissue allows it.

Person in a white coat pointing a pen at a cross-section skin model showing the skin layers, blood vessels and a hair follicle with its shaft

How can you avoid knocking your head while you recover?

Knocks in the first days happen in ordinary situations: getting into a car or taxi, a wall cupboard door left open, a low ceiling under the stairs or the bed frame when you wake up. The forehead swelling and scalp numbness that sometimes follow the procedure make these movements less precise, so it is worth deliberately slowing down during the first week.

On the journey home, the headrest and overhead luggage are typical ways to bump the grafted area; the precautions for the trip are gathered in the article on flying after a hair transplant. At night, sleeping on your back with your head slightly raised, as your clinic advises, limits friction against the pillow. The NHS mentions that exercise may need to be reduced during the first month; contact sports, activities in which your head could strike an obstacle and wearing a tight helmet resume on the date set by your surgeon.

Body Expert follow-up after an accident, in Istanbul and back home

If the accident happens during your stay, your first wash at the clinic, scheduled before the flight home, gives you a chance to show the affected spot directly to the medical team. Your dedicated English-speaking patient coordinator accompanies you for the whole stay and liaises with the clinical staff if a concern arises at the hotel.

After your return, the 12-month post-operative follow-up included in our packages also covers this kind of situation: you send your photos and questions, the team tells you what to do, then compares regrowth at that spot during later check-ups. For a wound or head injury that needs to be examined, a doctor near you remains the first person to see, and their report, once passed on to our team, becomes part of your follow-up.

If you are planning your own procedure, the page on hair transplant in Istanbul sets out each step of the stay, from the on-site assessment through to your first clinic wash. Send us your photos and our team will reply with a free, no-obligation quote within 24 hours.

Close-up of the top of a man's head, covered in very short hair on reddened skin, with an index finger pointing to a specific spot.

Sources

Bernstein, R. M., & Rassman, W. R. (2006). Graft anchoring in hair transplantation. Dermatologic Surgery, 32(2), 198-204. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1524-4725.2006.32033.x

Kerure, A. S., & Patwardhan, N. (2018). Complications in hair transplantation. Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, 11(4), 182-189. https://doi.org/10.4103/JCAS.JCAS_125_18

National Health Service. (2023). Hair transplant. https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/cosmetic-procedures/cosmetic-surgery/hair-transplant/

National Health Service. (2025). Head injury and concussion. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-injury-and-concussion/

National Health Service. (2026). Cuts and grazes. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cuts-and-grazes/

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2023). Head injury: Assessment and early management (NICE guideline NG232). https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng232