This Is What Happens When You Break the ‘No Sex Rule’ After a Hair Transplant

Some people get a swollen ego after sex. Ruben Owen got a swollen skull.

The 24-year-old influencer says his face “blew up like a balloon” after he broke one very specific post-op rule following his Turkish hair transplant: no sex for a week. “I wake up and my head’s blown up like a balloon—face puffed, scalp tight, and it looked like I’d been stung by 100 bees,” he told the Daily Star. “It didn’t even look like I had been punched. It genuinely looked like my face was going to explode.”

Owen flew to Turkey at 22 to get the procedure for free in exchange for some clinic modeling. The surgery itself was uneventful. The mistake came after he got back to Wales, ignored doctor’s orders, and had sex immediately. “I didn’t quite listen about the sex part,” he admitted. “Too hard, too soon.”

This Is Why You Should Never Ignore The ‘No Sex’ Rule After A Hair Transplant

Doctors warn that getting frisky too early after hair transplant surgery can raise blood pressure, open wounds, and cause infection. In Owen’s case, it just made his head cartoonishly big. At first, he thought he’d caught an STD. “I was convinced something serious was happening,” he said. Then he remembered the one thing they told him not to do.

A week later, the swelling went down. No long-term damage. Just a lesson he says he won’t forget. “This is one of them things that I look back on now, and it was really stupid I hadn’t listened, but it was really funny,” he said. “It’s too good not to share.”

Turkey has exploded in popularity for cut-rate cosmetic procedures, with Owen’s surgery and travel totaling just over $1,000. But that low cost sometimes comes with high risks, ranging from botched operations to complications like Owen’s if patients don’t follow the aftercare rules to the letter.

He was lucky. His forehead has since deflated, his hair’s grown in, and the only lingering effect is the story. But if you’re considering flying abroad to save on surgery, don’t skip the fine print. Especially the part about what not to do in bed.