Physician Answered Q & As

Can You Wear A Hairpiece While a Hair Transplant Grows In?

I’ve been wearing a hair piece for almost 5 years and I am getting sick of the constant maintenance and cost associated with being a member of The Hair Club. I was speaking to my stylist the other day complaining about the situation and she suggested that I try a hair transplant. She told me that they have doctors who work at the Hair Club but I find that very suspect so this is why I am coming to you. If I have a hair transplant can I wear my hairpiece until the transplanted hair grows in? Will this damage the new hair in anyway and have you ever had any clients who have done this? This whole wig thing is starting to get me down and I would just like to chuck it. Thank you in advance.

It is generally speaking possible to wear a hair piece shortly after a hair transplant surgery. However it is very important in which manner the hair piece is fixed on the scalp. High quality hair pieces are mostly manufactured in a thin skin-like material, in which the hairs are interwoven or even glued. The hair piece is mostly fixed on the available hairs or on the skin itself, nevertheless it may on no account be fixed in the recipient zone after surgery. The fixing can be done by means of clips or adhesive tape on the not- treated parts of the scalp.

A close cooperation between the hair piece manufacturer and the hair surgeon is in this case of utmost importance. I would personally recommend to look for an experienced hair surgeon, which is basically specialized in hair transplantation. You could search for a reliable hair surgeon on websites of societies like IAHRS, as they require outstanding and high quality hair restoration surgery of their members. Another option is to do some research on discussion forums to hear about the experiences of former hair piece wearers.

I have treated several patients myself who decided to step over to a hair transplant after they have been wearing a hair piece for many years. It reminds me of one of my patients in particularly as his hair situation was not that good for hair restoration. His baldness was already far advanced and his Norwood classification before surgery was type VI. However he was so tired of wearing a hair piece that he wanted to take this challenge by all means. Before his first procedure in 2005 we decided on a treatment plan that was going to run over a period of 2 to 3 years. A reconstruction of the entire hair line and the top of the scalp was planned in the first FUS procedure. During this procedure I managed to transplant 2930 follicular units.

The intention of the patient was to continue wearing his hair piece during the process of growth, he also planned to wear a smaller hair piece afterwards to cover up the non-treated areas. In a second procedure, which was planned one year after the first, I successfully managed to increase the density of the hair line and top of the scalp with 2485 follicular units in total. It was again the patients intention to keep on wearing his hair piece during the process of growth and to reduce the hair piece afterwards in order to cover the remaining non-treated area.

A third treatment is still necessary to complete my work; a combination of a FUS procedure, to fill in the crown area, and a scalp reduction is still planned, but the patient has decided to delay this last procedure while he is already so happy with the results of the first and second procedure that he’s not so bothered with it any longer.


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The International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons is a consumer organization that selectively screens skilled and ethical hair transplant surgeons. The IAHRS does not offer an open membership policy to doctors practicing hair transplatation, and is the only group that recognizes that all surgeons are not equal in their skill and technique. Its elite membership seeks to represent the best in the discipline, the true leaders in the field of surgical hair restoration.