2020-03-09 10:28:492020-03-09 23:19:071.5 years DermaPen, Minoxidil and finasteride (photo)
Hair Growth After Transplanting Hair Into Scar Tissue
Dr. Rassman I want to first thank you for maintaining such a top notch site. I have a question for you regarding transplanting hair into scarred tissue. I recently (4 months ago) had hair transplanted into a 1 and 1/2 inch long scar running front to back. I am seeing very little growth…if any. What seems to be present are a few graft which never fell out and have continued to grow. I am aware that growth in scar tissue may take a little longer than if it was to be transplanted into virgin scalp, however, to put my mind at ease I was wondering in your expert opinion, what is a reasonable timeline to expect growth in the scar? Thank you very much in advance for your reply.
It’s only been 4 months, so seeing a little growth is completely normal. I tell all patients to wait for a full 8 months before judging the hair transplant results. You just have to be patient.
Hair Growth After Transplant
It’s been just over 8 weeks since you performed my 3000+ grafts hair transplant. I’m noticing some of the little guys are still falling out. There are no scabs, only small hairs that continue to tumble to their death into my bathroom sink. Am I not being aggresive enough when I shampoo, or do each of these little guys tumble to the ground on their own schedule?
I noticed a few grafts growing immediately from day 1, and these guys are actually pretty long already! Others, though, fell out early and are now pushing their way toward the light. I imagine the ones still shedding will subsequently start their growth later, and that’s probably why the 8-month total wait, huh?
Just wondering.
You are on schedule for your hairs to be doing what they are doing. It is not unusual to lose grafted hair as the old transplanted hairs shed. Sometimes the stubble of the transplanted hairs stay around for a few months, then they sooner or later fall out to their “death” (not really an appropriate statement, as they have been dead since a week after the transplant). The hairs from the transplant that did not grow immediately and fell out, do not reflect the hair growth center cells which are alive and getting prepared to start their anagen cycle. FYI, at the end of the cycle, a hair “bud” situated at the base of the “rest” root (phase 2) develops and will push out the hair in the involution to become a new hair as it ‘grows up’.
At this stage of your recovery, I would not worry much about aggressive shampooing, just do what you generally do and that should be fine. You must wait out the 8 month period to see 80-90% of your growth.
Hair growth gone wild (photos)
This is the result of 3200 grafts from his first surgery, the second on his crown of 2200 more grafts about 2 months ago is now yet to grown out. He was thrilled this morning when he saw that he had to do something about all of that hair. So he combed it back and resent me the last picture from top down (to preserve his confidentiality) and another view with his hair combed back. Considering where he started from, that wasn’t a bad problem to have. He wrote: “I am unbelievably happy. Even after a long day, I get to look in the mirror and rejoice at the hair I haven’t had since I was 20. I also wanted to tell you that it affects my whole lifestyle in positive ways I didn’t fully anticipate. I used to have to keep my hair at an exact short length and then cover with a ton of concealer, and I lived in constant fear of wind, rain, etc. Going to the gym was a challenge because of the sweat. I don’t have to have my hair cut every three weeks, and I can engage in various sports and activities without that fear. I guess I was just so used to it that I didn’t fully anticipate how this would feel, in addition to how much better it looks.“
2020-03-05 04:53:272020-03-05 19:12:54Hair growth gone wild (photos)
Hair Growth After Chemotherapy (Video)
I found this video and I thought you might be interested in sharing it on your blog. Its about hair growth after chemo.
Have a nice day.
Thank you for sending this! This is a fantastic photo journal that shows a breast cancer survivor’s hair regrowth timeline after her last round of chemotherapy.
2008-02-07 14:34:402010-10-20 08:55:14Hair Growth After Chemotherapy (Video)
1.5 months on finasteride (photo)
Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog
Hi Doctor,
A lot of questions on here about initial shedding after a transplant, but my question is regarding transplanted hairs shedding years later, due to the natural hair growth process.
I noticed my transplanted areas have become thinner over the past couple of months. It has been almost 4 years since my surgery. It is well known that the hair growth cycle for hair is between 3-4 years, then they shed to make room for new hair. I was wondering since all transplanted hairs are relatively growing at the same rate or time period, should we expect periods of thinness every 3-4 years when these hairs are ready to shed again? In other words going through a shed similar to your first initial shed before the hairs started growing again. I hope my question makes sense.
Transplanted hair is permanent for most people. In the recipient area, the surrounding non-transplanted hairs may not be permanent and you will continue to lose those hairs. Years after a hair transplant you may be noticing the non-transplanted hairs falling. This is assuming there was non-transplanted hairs mixed in with the transplanted hairs.
If your hairs were transplanted on a completely bald area of your scalp and you are noticing shedding, this is not considered normal. It may regrow if you are experiencing telogen effluvium, which is a temporary hair loss that can occur at any time… or you could be one of those rare people who lose transplanted hair. I always look at the permanent zone when someone asks me about hair loss in the recipient area, in case they are losing donor area hair. Whatever happens to the donor area will happen to the recipient area. For example — in elderly folks, there is a condition called senile alopecia which reflects thinning of the hair throughout the head, including the donor area.
In a very rare instance, you may actually be experiencing permanent transplanted hair loss which I have seen possibly a dozen times in my 20+ years in practice. I don’t remember a cause of this to ever have been pinpointed in most of those patients and I wonder if I should be biopsying them when I see that problem, looking for diseases like diffuse alopecia areata.
1.5 years on minoxidil & finasteride (photo)
1.5 years on finasteride (photo)
1 Week After Transplant, I Accidentally Hit My Head
i had 1200 graphs put in one week ago. after reading your blog, i wish i had done them with you. i was planning on another 1500 or so in my next procedure and i will come see you first for sure. so you will be seeing me about 12 weeks from now. unfortunately, today i was getting into my car and hit my head on inside part of my car door. ( again i am one week post op) i hit it relatively hard…when i reached to see if there was bleeding( i hit in the area of my recepient site) it was bleeding. I did not stop bleeding for about 35 minutes. Did i likely dislodge new transplanted graphs as well? The cut is about 2 inches long, not very wide not too deep. After one week am i likely to have dislodged graphs? i did not see any follicles, but you never know? your opinion?
It is difficult to answer your question without examining you in person (you’re in Los Angeles — we’re in Los Angeles). That being said, the hair grafts are generally considered permanent after the first couple of days. It is very, very difficult to dislodge a graft after they get set-up and I have seen people get lacerations of the scalp from accidents at about 1 week and when I examined them, all of the grafts were intact and in place (unless they were inside the laceration itself). If you did not see any grafts, you probably did not do any significant damage. However if you have a cut on your head, you will get an inevitable scar and hair may not grow on the scar.
If you do decide to make an appointment to have your injury looked at, please mention this blog entry to me (or to Dr. Pak, who is a contributing editor to this blog).