Sun Exposure after Hair Transplant

[gillenator]

Originally Posted by dandy

Ok, so you mean it is not advisable to be longer periods in the sun for 9-12 months post-op regardless of sunscreen or not?

Exactly!

[drcole]

Nobody knows the answer to your question, Dandy. What i can tell you is that I once had a patient who stayed out in the sun all day sailing. He did not wear a cap. As the day went by, he knew that he had burned his scalp. He had a procedure fewer than 3 months before he burned his scalp. Nothing grew.

In over 10,000 procedures, however, I don't know a single patient who did not have good growth due to sun exposure. Most people are far more careful and do not allow their scalp to become burned.

It really does not sound like you were out long enough to have any damage. SPF is supposed to multiple your normal time to burn by the SPF number. Of course, you need to have plenty on for it to function properly. However, unless you normally get burned in 20 seconds, it is not likely that you burned your scalp with an SPF of 45. Scalps also get red when we rub them. When we are worried about our scalp and grafts, we tend to rub the scalp.

it is more likely that you simply got a little sun and then a touch of tan.

The honest response regarding sun exposure and grafting, however, is that no one knows how much sun is required to impair graft growth. A little sun exposure is not going to hurt you, but over doing it will.

Most people get the most sun exposure walking from the house to the car each day. We know this is not much, but everyone is best off putting sun screen on every morning before they leave the house. If your head is bare or thinning, you should put it on there even if you need to apply with a hair spray.

You should be seeing some growth by now, and that probably means you are just fine.

[gillenator]

I have only heard of maybe a half dozen cases in three decades where a patient's yield was impacted from the sun. Several of them had areas of regrowth in a very inconsistent pattern, but not being a doctor nor having any credible research available, it is still very subjective and why I always recommend to protect the skin whether with sunblock or a hat or both!

[dergol]

I'm 8 months post HT and have basically always worn a baseball cap when outside except for 2 short 10-15 minute exposures that took place at 4 and 7 months (no burn, not discernible effect).

But I was wondering about the actuall efficacy of standard thickness baseball caps and if it mattered what color they are. I know that white reflects the light and is cooler while black absorbs it and is warmer. But beyond that is there any other outcome from wearing different color caps? Do the sun's rays (and UVA and UVB) penetrate one more than the other?

Lastly, when I hold all of my caps up to a ceiling light, I can definitely see that they do not block out the light fully. If I put my hand behind the hat I can see the shadow outline of my hand.

What does this mean as to the extent to which sunlight is actually blocked out (or should one actually separate the small amount of light that appears to be getting through from the UV radiation that is blocked?).

Also every one of the hats (including the black one I got from the HT doc's office) has a certain gossamer effect when held up to a strong light, in that one can see a vague needlepoint background or shimmering pincushion bleed through of light. Like a very fine mesh of a thousand fine but weak needle points of lights. I repeat, this occurs with every baseball cap I have (all of them seemingly normal thickness, dark color or light).

So to a degree, one has to assume that not all light is blocked out by a standard cap. Question is: is enough of the light blocked out?

I'm sure someone will ask: well how have your results been? I would say, pretty good so far (after 8 months). But I guess it is all relative. Could the small amount of light getting through the hats (if it is indeed penetrating them) be making a difference...i.e., cutting into the results...let's say potentially cutting down the percentage of regrowth by even 5%-10%-20% percent?

Or am I overthinking it? Something I've never been accused of doing before

Dergol

[gillenator]

IMHO, as long as you wear the cap when in direct sunlight, you'll be fine. That minute amount of light coming through the seams is neglible. The color makes no difference except to the degree that the darker colors are more heated than the lighter ones.

It is more beneficial for us to cover our scalps with sunblock. That's really where you can make the difference in protecting the tissue and the grafts. The higher the rating, the better.

I personally recommend utilizing both whenever in direct sunlight especially in the summer months when the UVs are especially high.

[topcat]

I would disagree with the sunblock advice completely. Using sunblock is a good way of increasing your risk of cancer. Just a small amount of reading and you will realize most of the chemicals in that crap are estrogenic.

Vitamin D actually decreases your risk for cancer. Maybe it’s time for people to start analyzing all the crap they have been shoveling down their throats that is not real food. But it’s always easier to blame it on something that doesn’t make money for anyone like the sun.

[dergol]

Originally Posted by gillenator

IMHO, as long as you wear the cap when in direct sunlight, you'll be fine...It is more beneficial for us to cover our scalps with sunblock. That's really where you can make the difference in protecting the tissue and the grafts...I personally recommend utilizing both whenever in direct sunlight especially in the summer months when the UVs are especially high.

So Gillenator, I'm a bit confused by your reply. Are you saying that a hat by itself is ALONE sufficient to protect from the sun, or that you need sunblock in addition?

I've never heard that both were necessary; rather that a hat alone was sufficient and that sunblock was necessary if the hat were left off. Problem with sunblock is that you don't really know if you're using enough and if you're replenishing it often enough.

Addionally, I've generally stayed away from sunblock as I fear clogging up my pores or damaging the grafts in any way by adding foreign substances to the scalp, at least for the first 6-9 months. I've even stopped using styling gels for this reason. Just to play it safe. Though, I could really use them as my hair is quite wavy and I tend to grow it out.

[gillenator]

Dergol,

What I am saying is that using both (cap & sunblock) is the best ultimate protection that one can possibly utilize, especially throughout the regrowth period. I am not saying that you "must" do both.

Many doctors concur that a cap in "direct sunlight" is sufficient enough to block out the harmful rays when outdoors in direct sunlight for prolonged periods. Others advocate sunblock/sunscreen. Opinions vary.

I favor the cap because then one does not have to keep applying the sunscreen. It's easy to apply it and then forget about it later. I especially see this with golfers, swimmers, etc. And yes IMHO I think the cap is sufficient to block out the harmful effects.

Hope that adds some clarification for you!

[dandy]

Well, its nice to see that this thread is still active because i just had another FUE session and feel that there is a lot of research to be done concerning the effects of sun exposure and hair transplants.

I started getting growth after 3 months since my first session in December and the hair just thickened for every month but the yield was not very good so i decided to increase the density after only 5 1/2 months. The problem is i cant be sure if its the procedure itself or the sunburns i got earlier that are the reason for the poor yield so this time around i wont take any chances at all.

Im also worried about the chemicals in the sunblock but then again its either that or wear a silly hat or cap for months.

[gillenator]

But at 5 1/2 months post-op, the regrowth is just kicking in from your first procedure.