Is my hair transplant any good?

[jimbob1966]

can't wait

[gillenator]

What everyone is referring to here are not scabs necessarily, they are crusts and need to be removed at this point in time post-op. The only exception to this would soneone who is healing much slower, and rare.

Crusts are indeed dead graft tissue above the surface of the scalp. They dry out from the air and yes some of them can also be part scabs from the recipient incisions.

If the crusts are removed too early, there can be some mild surface bleeding at the site(s). Generally speaking, after 72 hours post-op, for most patients, the grafts are seated and pretty secure.

At this point the crusts are of no value and can potentially irritate the scalp if not removed. Many HT docs will advise their patients to be a little more aggressive in removing these crusts once enough time post-op has passed.

The crusts that come off with the hair stubble indicates that the transplanted follicle went dormant and shed the hair stubble with the crust. If only the crust comes off without the hair stubble, that follicle no doubt remained in anagen (growth phase) and will continue to grow until it's time to rest arrives.

The best is yet to come, REGROWTH! Best wishes to you!

[Tracy C]

Have the grafts come out? is it normal for hairs to fall out on day 10?

If it has been at least ten days, the grafts should be in there permanently. It is O.K. to gently remove the scabs and some hair may come out with them. Try not to worry. I went through the same thing and it was O.K..

[sausage]

Yes as far as I am aware it is common for hairs to come out after 10 days, just try to cover it up best you can so you don't get strange looks, take tomorrow off work if you need to.

Give it 5 months and see whats happens then.

[jimbob1966]

ok so it's day 10 post op, I think i've just made a huge mistake

my hair was wet, and i was fed up of getting strange looks at work, so i gently pulled some of the scabs off, they were half hanging off, so i pulled them off, hairs came with them, some with dried up blood on the end and some without. Now the majority of scabs are off on one side and my scalp looks pretty bare, and just pink.

Have the grafts come out? is it normal for hairs to fall out on day 10?

I've attached some pics.

[Tracy C]

Firstly he may shed sh/t loads...

Shedding is part of the process and needs to happen. Shedding is associated with every treatment for hair loss that actually works. With continued treatment, the shedding stops eventually and the hair grows back a little thicker with each cycle. This takes a long time. Time that is measured in months and years.

...secondly and a more important consideration is that once u start this u are supposed to continue it for a life time.

Hereditary hair loss is a progressive condition that continues throughout a person’s life. Since the progression of hair loss continues for the rest of a person’s life, obviously any treatment he or she uses needs to continue for the rest of his or her life.

I was told by the doc it was all from the ht and I could stop using rogaine after 4 months. As soon as I did I lost loads of new hair and 9 months later I once again had to go for a ht.

To try to lessen this perceived effect, start and stop the medication slowly. Ramp up to the full dose over time - and ramp down off the medication over time.

I would have thought if propecia is doing the trick it's just best to leave it.

Propecia (or generic Finasteride) prevents further hair loss but it is not a growth stimulant. It doesn't "make" hair grow, it "allows" hair follicles that can still grow hair to grow hair. Rogaine (or generic Minoxidil) is a growth stimulant. It stimulates hair follicles that can still grow hair to grow hair.

I agree that Propecia seems to be working fine for Mr. jimbob1966. None of us know if he has any hair follicles that can be stimulated to start growing hair again. If he does, I doubt it is enough to make a difference based on what I can see in the photos he has shared with us. However, the only way to find out is to try.

[morelocks]

It doesn't hurt to try. Take it slow in the beginning though. Use the foam for sure and start out once per day for a while then go from there.

Guys as as far as I know there is a risk when u try. Firstly he may shed sh/t loads and secondly and a more important consideration is that once u start this u are supposed to continue it for a life time

I once used rogaine post op as advised by my doc and i had some amazing new growth. I was told by the doc it was all from the ht and I could stop using rogaine after 4 months. As soon as I did I lost loads of new hair and 9 months later I once again had to go for a ht.

I would have thought if propecia is doing the trick it's just best to leave it

[Tracy C]

It doesn't hurt to try. Take it slow in the beginning though. Use the foam for sure and start out once per day for a while then go from there.

[jimbob1966]

i was thinking rogaine could help new growth in the areas next to where they have moved the follicles sort of thing

[Tracy C]

Once the scalp has healed, I plan to start doing rogaine aswell, so hopefully that might help fill in some of the donor area a bit with new growth.

I may not be understanding your expectation here. You do realize the donor area does not regenerate new hair follicles, right? The hair follicles that were removed to fill in your hair line will grow in their new locations. The tiny locations they came from will not grow hair any more, becuase the follicles are not there any more... You do know that Rogaine (or generic Minoxidil) does not create new hair follciles, right? You do know that Minoxidil only stimulates existing hair follicles to grow hair, right? From what I can see in your photos, you do not really need Minoxidil. Finasteride seems to doing a fine job for you. However, if you want to use Rogaine foam like once a day maybe, I don't see any harm in trying. Just don't expect it to create replacement hair follicles in your donor area. It can't do that. Nothing can do that yet. Low level laser therapy could probably thicken up and improve the quality of what hair you have though - as well as help your scalp heal.

You are a very nice looking guy. You looked really good before the hair transplant. You are going to look even better after.

[jimbob1966]

I hope so, I've been taking fincar 5mg for a couple of years, both of my brothers said they were much bolder at my age, and i don't seem to have lost anything on the crown either, which they said they already did at my age. It doesn't of appeared to got any worse the last year or so, so i'm hopefull that it's stabilised.

Once the scalp has healed, I plan to start doing rogaine aswell, so hopefully that might help fill in some of the donor area a bit with new growth.

Here is a picture of me last month, you can see that my hair loss wasn't obvious, it's just the way i styled my hair, but it was annoying having to style it in a way to try and hide my receding spots, hopefully I'll be able to gel it all back in the future :/

[Tracy C]

Hi jimbob1966,

I just took another look at your photos. I want to say that 12 to 18 months from now, when your hair has grown back, it is going to look really good.

Are you taking anything to stabilize your hair and prevent future loss of the non-DHT resistant hair?

[jimbob1966]

yes, due back on Monday

[sausage]

Its not been long, looks ok. Be gentle with it and be patient until the scabs come off, will be interesting to see how things are in 2 weeks time.

Are you currently off work at the moment?

[Tracy C]

It looks fine. Don't be more aggressive. Continue to be as gentle as you can for at least a few more days, preferably another week. Don't scratch.