Some of the items on the list might seem like the doctor is interfering with your life, but they are truly necessary if you are to get the best outcome. You will be told to quit smoking, at least until after you have healed from the surgery, if you are a smoker before the hair transplant procedure. This is important because smoking makes you heal slower by inhibiting blood from flowing to your skin. Do not worry about any scraggly hair on top of your head. The doctor will blend it in with the grafts as he goes. It may seem odd, but once the grafted hairs are set, they are just as strong as the rest of your hair. You can cut them, comb and brush them, and even dye them in time. New hairs start to grow within three months. There is still room for improvement, though, as the results still do not look completely natural as they should. A new method of hair transplant that is being used by some doctors today is follicle-unit micro-grafting. In this procedure, grafts are made up of 1-4 hairs and are placed over the balding area. In rare situations, the bleeding does not stop this way. In that case, it might be necessary for the surgeon to do some extra stitching to close the wounds. 3. Pain. There is actually very little pain with hair transplant surgery. About half of the people who have the procedure done will not need any pain relievers at all. If a person had this arrangement after a hair transplant and then shaved the micro grafts, the mini grafts would look decidedly unnatural. However, with the micro grafts on the leading edges, they blend in and give the hair fullness. They serve an important function. Previously, when hair plugs were used, doctors did the hair transplant surgeries much differently. You need to let the plug sites heal as well as the new insertion sites and possible new donor sites. It may take special post-operative care and longer down-time. Ask your doctor if she expects you to have more than one surgery session. You may need to have the plugs removed in one session and allow that to heal before going on to the next phase.