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Shedding Grafts after a Hair Transplant.

Bigmac

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.

Hair shedding scabs and grafts..jpg
Shed hair grafts.jpg



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.
 
Hattingen Hair

Hattingen Hair

Valued member
This video contains relevant information to graft security.

 
M

Mick From Farjo

Valued member
Shedding is a normal part of the healing process of hair surgery. During the first 3 weeks after surgery, almost all patients will have shed their grafts. This allows the process for the newly transplanted hairs to begin their growth cycle 3 - 6 months after surgery.
 
Dr. Josephitis

Dr. Josephitis

Valued member
This is a common question that patients ask after surgery. Patients are rightly concerned about damaging the newly planted hairs and the sight of hairs falling off their head is a big concern. The fact of the matter is that hair and scabs that fall after the first week are perfectly normal. After day 5, the follicle itself is actually quite difficult to remove by pulling. As physicians, we are overly concerned about the grafts so we ask patients to be extra careful the first week with the hair washing. Still, after days 5-7, the grafts are held in very well. All the hair that falls after that time is either a fragment of the hair follicle that was transplanted or a "shock loss" hair. Remember these shocked hairs most likely will return in a number of months. The scabs and hairs that fall are perfectly normal and a great majority of patients have this occur. There is nothing that needs to be done. Continue washing the hair as you have been doing. Eventually, all the scabs and transplanted hairs will fall. In 3-4 months, you will notice the start of new hair growth.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks for the replies. It may be useful for clinics to have information about this in their post op care instructions if they don`t already. Lots of patients are worried when they see hair attached to fallen scabs.
 
A

aZee

member
Great thread that answers the questions concerned guys have about shedding.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Glad you appreciate the thread. Quite a few people get anxious when they see shed grafts, especially when they have bits of dead tissue attached but it’s al, quite normal.
 
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