Bigmac
Administrator
Staff member
One common concern I am regularly asked about is to do with the shedding of hair grafts and removal of scabs.
4/5 days after a hair transplant the grafts are securely in place. After this timeframe, nearly all patients will shed the transplanted grafts. Shedding usually begins 7 days after surgery and may continue for several weeks. You may experience some shedding of your native hair which will make the transplanted area look thinner until they recover. On rare occasions, the shock loss may be permanent.
Sometimes you may have stalled hairs. This is when the hair shaft has detached from the bulb but not been ejected from the scalp. The hair will sit there until the new growth pushes them out, shampooing out or you remove them yourself. They are not usually any cause for concern.
Shed grafts may look differently. Some will be just a straight hair shaft, a curled hair shaft, they may have what looks like the bulb attached, some will have scabs attached.
Below is a picture showing some of the differences.
Scab removal. Never pick a scab off. This could result in your scalp taking longer to heal and becoming infected.
Follow your clinic's post op protocols for hair washing. These vary greatly from washing on day 2 while others advise to wait up to 10 days.
When washing your hair on day 2 and beyond, gently lather the shampoo in your hand, pat it onto your scalp and rinse off with lukewarm water poured out gently or a very low shower setting that trickles out.
On day 7 and beyond it`s best to let the shampoo soak into your scalp and massage quite firmly before washing it out. The scabs should just rub off without any force. Any crusty stubborn scabs may take longer to heal. They may look unsightly but they should heal without any concerns.
4/5 days after a hair transplant the grafts are securely in place. After this timeframe, nearly all patients will shed the transplanted grafts. Shedding usually begins 7 days after surgery and may continue for several weeks. You may experience some shedding of your native hair which will make the transplanted area look thinner until they recover. On rare occasions, the shock loss may be permanent.
Sometimes you may have stalled hairs. This is when the hair shaft has detached from the bulb but not been ejected from the scalp. The hair will sit there until the new growth pushes them out, shampooing out or you remove them yourself. They are not usually any cause for concern.
Shed grafts may look differently. Some will be just a straight hair shaft, a curled hair shaft, they may have what looks like the bulb attached, some will have scabs attached.
Below is a picture showing some of the differences.
Scab removal. Never pick a scab off. This could result in your scalp taking longer to heal and becoming infected.
Follow your clinic's post op protocols for hair washing. These vary greatly from washing on day 2 while others advise to wait up to 10 days.
When washing your hair on day 2 and beyond, gently lather the shampoo in your hand, pat it onto your scalp and rinse off with lukewarm water poured out gently or a very low shower setting that trickles out.
On day 7 and beyond it`s best to let the shampoo soak into your scalp and massage quite firmly before washing it out. The scabs should just rub off without any force. Any crusty stubborn scabs may take longer to heal. They may look unsightly but they should heal without any concerns.