Does It Hurt to Have a Hair Transplant?

Each year, more than 700,000 Americans — mostly middle-aged men — get hair transplants to reverse hair loss.

A hair transplant is a cosmetic surgery that moves hair follicles from a fuller part of the head to balding or thinning areas. The transplanted follicles then grow hair in the new spots. The result can be a natural-looking head of hair and a more youthful appearance.

The procedure usually doesn’t hurt. Anesthesia numbs the scalp during the surgery. Some people say they feel slight discomfort or pressure during the procedure. Postoperative pain from a tender scalp is usually manageable with over-the-counter pain relievers.

Those who have had the procedure say it’s important to follow a surgeon’s instructions to heal after surgery and avoid discomfort. Here, three people describe what it’s like to have a hair transplant.

More hair felt like turning back time

Ryan Srednicki, a 29-year-old sheet metal worker from Arlington Heights, Illinois, got a hair transplant when he was 27.

“I started noticing a little bit of thinning going on in the front of my head,” he says. He remembers thinking he was too young to be losing his hair. He tried taking hair medications, including Rogaine. But his hair wasn’t growing back as quickly as he had hoped it would.

In March 2022, he got a hair transplant. It involved pulling 2,200 hairs from the sides and back of his head and poking 2,200 holes in the top of his head to plant the hairs there. That took 8 hours.

But the only thing Ryan felt during the procedure was pressure. “The actual pain is nothing — I would say a 1 or 2” on a scale of 1 to 10, he says. “You just feel the numbness, like when you go for dental work.”

After surgery, he took pain relievers for his tender scalp. He also tried to sleep in a way that wouldn’t put too much pressure on his head. “It’s a nuisance to have to be careful with your head when you never really had to do that,” Ryan says.

He also remembers waiting to see results.

“I was kind of worried for the first 6 months that nothing was happening,” he says. After 2 months, he saw new hair coming in. Within 8 months, Ryan says, he had a full head of hair that seemed to turn back time.

“Nothing hurts or anything,” he says. “You can get your hair cut normally.”

Hair transplant costs $10,000 on average, and it is not covered by insurance. Ryan worked out payment options with his provider and says his surgery was worth it. He recommends it to his coworkers.

“I haven’t regretted a single bit of it,” he says. “It was all worth it.”

‘Back to my old self’ with no pain

Johnathin Richardson, a 26-year-old project analyst from Atlanta, started noticing his hair loss when he was 20. At first, he says, he was in denial about balding.

“As I progressed through the years, it became more and more of a thing where I didn’t like the way I looked,” he says. “Hair transplant was kind of the big thing where it’s like if nothing else works, that’s like the ultimate fix.”

He researched his options, saved money, and had a hair transplant in March 2023.

“I hear a lot of stories about the process being so daunting,” he says. “I honestly didn’t feel much of any pain. It was like a painless procedure.”

After the hair transplant, Johnathin was cautious with his aftercare, so he didn’t lose any grafts of hair.

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“[I felt] definitely a lot of itching but no pain,” he says. He remembers some tingling with the hair bumps on top of his head when his hair started growing.

Six months later, he noticed results. He shared his hair story on YouTube.

A year after his transplant, Johnathin says he feels a huge difference.

“I’m back to my old self — being active, being outside, being fun again without worrying about my hair,” he says.

Tattoo pain was worse than a hair transplant

When Ryan Neal was in his 20s, he would joke with his barber about losing his hair. It was thick then. But by his mid-30s, it was disappearing.

“When that started to go away, I didn’t like that. I didn’t like the bald look,” says Ryan, a 39-year-old financial adviser in Tampa, Florida.

He had a hair transplant in November 2020. He showed his doctor a reference photo of himself with hair so his hairline would be similar to what it was in his youth.

“I don’t remember having pain. I remember some discomfort,” he says. “I’ve got a few tattoos, and the tattoo [pain was] definitely worse.”

A year after his transplant, Ryan grew his hair out and had highlights put in.

“It feels completely normal,” he says. “There’s nothing I have to do different.”

What does the doctor say?

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH 

Senior Medical Editor

A hair transplant is an effective and long-term hair restoration treatment. Nearly everyone is a candidate for a hair transplant. And if you work with a trained and experienced surgeon, you’re very likely to have a successful transplant. Hair transplants last for decades, and in some cases for life.

There are some downsides to hair transplants. They are expensive and not covered by insurance. You also have to follow aftercare instructions carefully. Not keeping up with instructions can cause your transplant to fail.

One thing most people don’t have to worry about is pain. You may feel pressure and tugging during the procedure. But the procedure isn’t painful because of anesthesia. Afterward, your scalp may feel sore for a few days. This discomfort can be managed with over-the-counter pain relievers. And as these stories show, a few days of discomfort can be a fair trade-off for a lifetime of hair growth.

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Rebecca Samuelson, MFA

Rebecca Samuelson is a Bay Area poet from Hayward, California who writes from the intersection of caretaking and grief. She holds a MFA in creative writing, with a concentration in poetry, from Saint Mary’s College of California.

Edited by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

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