I smoked right after transplant have I ruined the new hair or will the results be bad? (photo)

Smoking after hair transplant can damaged your new grafts. It can occur vasoconstriction and reduce the blood and oxygen on your head.

Dear sanfrandisco85Thanks for the question. Smoking reduces the blood circulation and this can effect the hair grow of the new hair. We know that stopping smoking is not easy for the patients and this is why we recommend to consume not more than 5 cigarettes per day if the patient can not stop. I wish you all the best.

Was smoking one cigarette worth $7,000?  You can say only time will tell. In general, smoking causes blood vessels to constrict and limit the oxygen reaching your oxygen hungry transplanted hair follicles struggling to survive.  One cigarette may not be a make it or break it deal, but several over time will add up.

It would be difficult to know for sure what impact your smoking had on your hair transplant results. Nicotine does constrict the blood vessels which reduces the availability of oxygen to the newly inserted hair follicles. This can have a negative impact on wound healing as well. Under normal circumstances patients will notice that many of their hair shafts will start to shed in the next few months following their surgery. This occurs to make way for new hair growth. The first signs of new sproutings are usually evident at around the fourth month following your surgery. So you may want to be very vigilant about your results at this time. No growth by the twelfth month will certainly be a sign that your grafts may have been impacted by the intake of nicotine. 

 Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor that causes the blood vessel walls to contract. This results in decreased blood flow and diminished distribution of oxygen throughout the body. Without the proper amount of  oxygen, the transplanted hair can take longer to heal and grafts are less likely to survive. This means by continuing to smoke you may be wasting dollars and limited donor hairs needed for your transplant.In order for the new hairs to grow, there must be ample blood supply available in the recipient area for each   graft. If there is not enough blood to support the grafts being transplanted, they will compete against each other for the blood supply. Without proper nutrients, there could be less hair growth due to compromised blood flow. In some cases the entire graft might fail to survive. This could result in undesirable gaps or spaces throughout the transplanted area. For smokers who continue to smoke after the surgery, their hair follicles will continue to be compromised creating density issues that could have been avoided. Blood flow is vital to a successful transplant.The fact remains you will not be able to tell if damage has been done until the hairs are mature which usually take 8 to 12 months.I would have your Doc take a look at you during that time period and look at before pictures etc...Best of luck!

No you will be fine as there will not be any major issues with smoking just after a transplant. Good Luck.

It is never a good idea to smoke after a hair transplant but it will probably be ok. Try to keep the smoking down or switch to eCigarettes. 

Smoking effects the amount of blood flow to the grafts that is why most doctors suggest that clients stop smoking a few days before and until a fee days after the transplant.

You need to stop all smoking. Any smoking will compromise the grafts. The damage done is done. Only time will tell how well you will do. I would stop the vapor smoking too, because that is pure nicotine, and causes vasoconstriction and minimizes the amount of blood and oxygen that can reach the hair grafts. You spent all this time and money, please dont smoke in the first month before and after the surgery.