4 Reasons To Avoid Smoking Before You Go For Hair Transplant

  • Hair Transplant is an effective treatment option for those suffering from thinning hair, baldness or hair loss. It not only offers you a permanent solution but also gives you natural looking results with improved hair growth.

    But the outcome from a hair transplant procedure differs from person to person. Firstly, you have to be qualified to undergo this procedure and secondly, you need to follow a set of instructions after the procedure in order to get optimal results.

    One of the guidelines that patients need to follow is avoid smoking before and even after the hair transplant. However, for those who have a habit of smoking, they struggle with the idea of avoiding smoking before and after the procedure.

    Smoking not only causes adverse effects to our health in general but also can disrupt the hair transplant procedure. In fact, recent studies have also shown that consumption of nicotine is related to hair loss and slowed tissue healing.

    But there’s plenty more reasons why patients are instructed to avoid smoking before going for hair transplant surgery. Keep reading till the end to find out these reasons.

    1. Tissue structures are hindered by the toxins present in cigarettes

    You need to avoid any chance of suffering from scarring or infection when you undergo hair transplant procedure. Therefore, you need to prepare your body even before you go through the process.

    Now, smoking is in no way good for your health and your body needs to be fit in order to go through the hair transplant procedure. Also, toxins that are present abundantly in cigarettes damages the tissue structure in your body.

    This compromises your healing power and you may have a slower rate of recovery after the hair transplant. The longer it takes for you to recover, there’s an increased chance of developing infection or scarring.

    Furthermore, hampered tissue structure will not even make you qualified for the hair transplant procedure.

    2. Smoking causes blood vessels constrictions

    Tobacco consumption leads to hardening and constriction of blood vessels. This condition is referred to as vasoconstriction. Constriction of blood vessels means the blood flow throughout the body is inadequate. It also results in poor circulation and lowered oxygen capacity in the body.

    Before going into the hair transplant process it is vital for patients to have normal oxygen saturation levels. Even after the procedure, normal levels of oxygen saturation are needed to be maintained as it gives the newly implanted hair follicles to survive and heal.

    Moreover, constricted blood vessels can cause complications during the hair procedure which cannot be good for your health. In order to avoid all of these risks, doctors strongly advise to avoid smoking before and after the hair transplant procedure.

    3. Reduces the effect of anaesthesia which may cause complications

    Before undergoing the hair transplant process, the patients are administered with local anaesthesia. The anaesthesia helps the patient not feel any pain during the process which results in successful hair transplant surgery.

    But smoking seems to have adverse effects on anaesthesia as it limits its impact. The nicotine content in cigarettes impacts the oxygen circulation throughout all the organs in the body.

    This may also lead to poor circulation of anaesthetic agents when it is administered before the procedure. Chances are the patient may not be fully under the influence of anaesthesia and can suffer from pain and discomfort.

    Such issues can also lead to further complications.

    4. May further lead into hair loss

    There have been many studies conducted over the years where correlation has been made between smoking and hair loss. The harmful chemicals such as carcinogens that are present in cigarettes hinder the keratin which is the most vital hair protein.

    Keratin damage causes the hair to become dry and slow down the growth rate. Any sign of interruption in the hair growth cycle is a primary cause for hair loss. Therefore, the habit of smoking is not at all viable if you are getting a hair transplant.

    Even if you get the transplant done, you will not have expected results which you have been looking forward to before the procedure.

    So, if you are deciding to get a hair transplant procedure done then make sure to quit smoking to prepare yourself for the process.