What to pack for a hair transplant trip, and what not to buy

three days and one operation is a small suitcase, and almost everything that makes the trip easier costs under twenty euro and is bought before you leave rather than found in a pharmacy in a foreign city on the evening of surgery. This is the list, with the reason next to each item, and it ends with the things the clinic already gives you so you do not pay twice for a hat.

Category	What to bring
Clothing	Two or three button or zip front shirts, a jumper or jacket that does not go over the head, comfortable trousers
Head	A very loose hat or bucket hat that rests above the hairline, plus a hood you can use from around day 10
Sleep and travel	A neck pillow, an eye mask if you sleep badly, a dark towel or pillowcase for the first two nights
Medical	Your medication list with doses, any recent blood results, allergy details, your doctor’s contact
Documents	Passport, travel insurance, the written estimate and the surgery date, the clinic’s address and WhatsApp
Money	A card that works abroad, some euro in cash, and the receipt trail for the balance
Comfort	Headphones and something to watch, a phone charger with a long cable, lip balm, your own painkillers

Clothing: the one rule that decides your suitcase

Nothing goes over your head for a week. That single rule rewrites a packing list: every t-shirt, every jumper and every hoodie that pulls on is useless for the first days, because taking it off drags fabric straight across the grafted area.

So bring shirts that button or zip, and a jacket that does the same. Two or three is enough for the hotel stay. Choose something you do not mind marking, because there is a small amount of oozing on the first two nights and antiseptic gets on collars.

The hat matters more than people expect and is the item most often bought wrong. What you want is a loose, soft, brimmed hat that sits on the back and sides of the head with air above the grafts. What you do not want is a baseball cap, because the band goes exactly across the new hairline. A hood works from around day 10 once the crusts have gone, and not before, which is why both go in the bag.

The surgery day is six to eight hours in a chair

Pack for that the way you would pack for a long flight you cannot get up from whenever you feel like it. Headphones, downloaded films or a podcast queue, a charger with a cable long enough to reach from a chair, and clothes you can sit in for most of a working day. The operation is done under local anaesthesia and you are awake and talking throughout, so boredom is a real consideration and discomfort is not.

Eat normally before you come in, and bring nothing you want to keep clean. The full shape of that day, with the break and the meal in the middle, is described on your trip to Tirana.

Medical paperwork, which is the part people forget

Write your medication list before you travel, with names and doses rather than “the white one for blood pressure”, and include supplements. Vitamin E, fish oil and high-dose vitamin supplements matter here because several of them affect bleeding, and they are exactly the things patients do not think of as medication.

If you have had blood tests in the last few months, bring the results. If you have a chronic condition, bring the name of the medicine and your own doctor’s contact details. If you form keloid scars or have ever reacted badly to a local anaesthetic, that belongs in the message you send before you book, not in a conversation on the morning of surgery.

Money, and what you actually pay on the day

The euro is widely accepted in Albania and cards work normally in Tirana. Bring a card that is enabled for foreign use and enough cash for taxis, coffee and a pharmacy, because that is where small payments happen.

The balance of the package is settled as agreed in your written estimate, and the deposit is €200 deposit. Accepted methods are by card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express) or bank transfer, in euro. Nothing should be a surprise at the desk: if a figure in your estimate is unclear, settle it by message before you fly.

What the clinic provides, so you do not buy it twice

This is the section that saves money, and it is also the section that has to be confirmed rather than guessed, because the contents of the take-home pack are set by the clinic and not by an article. What patients are typically sent home with after this operation is a head band for swelling, a loose hat, the shampoo or lotion for washing, a saline or moisturising spray, the prescribed medication and the written instructions.

Do not buy any of those until you know. Ask in the message where you agree the date, and buy only what is missing from the answer.

What to leave at home

Hair wax, gel, dry shampoo, a hard brush and a hairdryer with a heat setting you will not be allowed to use. None of them touches your scalp for weeks, and the rules about products, colour and clippers are set out on the aftercare instructions.

Also leave behind the baseball cap, the tight beanie and any hat with a sweatband. And do not pack for a beach: the first fortnight is not the fortnight for sun on your scalp, so swimming shorts are optimism rather than planning.

FAQ

Do I need to bring anyone with me?

No. Patients travel alone every week and the clinic handles the pickups, the appointments and the first wash. Bring someone if you would rather not spend the evening after surgery on your own, or if you are nervous about the journey home. If you do, pack for two nights of someone else being bored in a hotel room, because there is a lot of waiting on surgery day and they cannot be in the operating room.

What should I bring to protect my head on the flight home?

The loose hat and the neck pillow are the two items that matter. The hat covers without touching, and the pillow keeps your head off the seat while you sleep, which is the only real risk on the journey. Keep the medication and any spray in your hand luggage rather than the hold, and choose a window seat so there is a wall next to your head instead of a corridor of elbows.

Should I buy special shampoo or a spray before I travel?

Not until you have asked. The washing routine after this operation uses specific products and a specific technique, and buying a pharmacy shampoo in advance usually means buying something you are told not to use. The same goes for scar creams, oils and anything sold as a post-transplant product online. Ask what is provided, then buy the gaps.

Is there anything I should stop taking before I come?

Possibly, and it is a question for the clinic and your own doctor together rather than for a list. Blood thinners, aspirin, vitamin E and fish oil are the usual items reviewed before surgery, and alcohol stops a few days before. Never stop a prescribed medicine on the strength of an article: send your list, get an answer in writing, and bring the list with you anyway.

Clinically reviewed by the treating surgeon. Last reviewed 25 September 2026.