2 months after FUE and still red spots on scalp

[JimmyJones]

Hi all,

I recently had a hair transplant, only 500 hairs on the top of my head (all I could afford to date) and 2 months and one week in and I still have obvious red dots everywhere. I've read on the internet that this can be normal and for some people can take 6 months to go. Obviously i don't have any hair here yet and the Doctor who did it actually shaved a little of my surrounding hair which I didn't expect so i look at the moment like a monk with a red spotty head which is evenmore demoralising than before. and as i understand i won't see much growth here for at least 5 months. I had a strip transplant 10 yrs ago and this healed beautifully, I took a 2 week holdiay (and 2 sick) and it was unnoticeable (I also had hair that covered it, not like now). but i don't see any change at the moment. i hide it by wearing a hat all day and in the office also, but I can't do that forever and with spring coming it will get warm. I have to travel sometimes with work and so i use makeup to get through the airports but again, putting make up on your head every day is annoying and not the best for healing also.
i was planning to go to a tanning cab and get a light tan built up over the course of the coming weeks to try to hide the redness and red spots, I tan well so that's not a problem but will it actually do anything to hide it do you think?

Your comments are appreciated.

[mynameisred]

Hey Jimmy, I'm in the same boat if you are referring to post op redness and I'm trying to find out from doctors on this forum if I can get a spray on tan or air brush tan to cover it up but no answers so far. I'm visiting a dermatologist tomorrow and will bring that up.

I also would ask my physician about using something like topik in your case to hide it. Unfortunately, I'm 2 weeks post op and I have the redness in the front with super short hair so, I want to be very careful.

I'll keep you updated.

[Still deciding]

Hey Jimmy. Mind if I ask where you had your procedure? Redness to the degree that you are describing at 2 months post surgery seems rare nowadays. How did you treat the recipient area following the transplant? I have been researching procedures for a few years and one theme that has remained consistent has been the discouragement of any type of tanning to the recipient area, as it can negatively affect the grafts.

[JimmyJones]

Hi mynameisred/ still deciding, I had it done in Europe and I get the impression they haven't done so many. Obviously they know what they are doing, they are doctors but you can see the professionalism and patient care isn't natural to them. And prior or even after consultations are pretty much lame. Any discussion about it is simply 'it's normal, it is surgery, come back in 8 months and we will see again' - that helps. They also really didn't take into account what i wanted having trimmed the hair around the donor site making it far more obvious which I said I did not want them to do. Surely it is natural to want to help the client to make it as less obvious as possible, but not these guys. My first strip surgery 10 years ago was in manchester England, the Farjo centre - very good, very professional, healed in no time which is interesting considering FUE is supposed to be less invasive) and kept me going 10 years without having to have another which is good because they are not cheap. I've checked the internet extensively about the red spots and the consensus seems to be that for some it can clear in a matter of a couple of months but some people can still have red spots after a year. Scary. As long as the hair grows i don't care. I've even red that it is normal to get 'pimples' like acne (which I have had from time to time) and apparently this shows hair is son coming.
I've seen a wide ranging comments on tanning, some say after 2 months a light tan is ok (not sunburn) and others not until the hair has grown. I haven't seen anywhere say it damages the transplanted hair, if anything only that it may slow the growth process. Even some people have had serious sun burn and still the hair has grown. The point is once the folicles have healed, they are there for life and no different to the rest of your hair. And some comments have been that because there is scar tissue it doesn't tan correctly for some and can make it look more obvious which white areas untanned. But I'm pretty desparate so i think i'll take the risk. Now I regret having it done where I did and wish i had gone back to the UK for it.
Treating the recipient area, there was no specific treatment, only for the first days after to spray clean with sterile solution. after that is just to keep it clean, also use regaine to help heal (although to be honest does that stuff really work? Maybe in 5% of people, I'm not convinced - and again damned expensive. It's a shame people get ripped off for things they really need. I think not helping is the fact that i wear a hat almost all day every day and all the time outside with no natural sunlight on it. If I do go without then I put make up on to conceal it, so i am in a catch 22 situation.

[mynameisred]

Yeah so, my doctor turned out to be pretty hot and single so yeah I totally ignored to ask or mention about HT and consulted her about an old scar/keloid she gave me some cream prescription and I think I need to find a different doc who's not hot and I'll get to the bottom of this.

[gillenator]

A scalp concealer may work out better to hide the redness verses Toppik. The cream that you were given was probably a topical steroid for the redness.

[stylus187]

Yeah so, my doctor turned out to be pretty hot and single so yeah I totally ignored to ask or mention about HT and consulted her about an old scar/keloid she gave me some cream prescription and I think I need to find a different doc who's not hot and I'll get to the bottom of this.

Bro, thats funny!!!!!!

[mynameisred]

Alright guys here is what I have been told about spray tanning:

"Post op redness would range from 3 weeks to 4-5 months based on patient's skin. You may conceal it 10 days after the procedure with air brush or makeup. Aloe Vera cream and or cortisone cream would help as well to reduce redness."

I'm going to have to do something to conceal it cause I have a job interview coming soon and the whole sunburn excuse is hard to explain unless I was wearing a custom made visor with a specific angle ... And my interviewer will probably think I'm an idiot.

[mynameisred]

Ok! So, I'm pretty thorough when it comes to research and I came across the following:

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/June10/PutnamBiomaterial.html

I have read it on other websites too just google DHA tanning post surgery. If the resources are true or maybe if we can have a proactive doctor on this thread we might be on to something here.

based on that information in the link DHA in tanning lotions heals wounds faster which is what we want right? And also with a nice tan we can all stop making excuses about that custom made visor sunburn.

I really think a doctor should look into that cause if it works, it would be by far the best solution for post op redness but again only if it's true. So, ask around people.

[John P. Cole, MD]

This is an interesting concept. How do we reduce erythema or redness faster.

In my experience, red dots are no longer common. What you tend to see with follicular unit transplantation at 20 or more grafts per square centimeter is a generalized pink or red. Red dots suggest a very low density. Red dots would be consistent with extracting body hair off the legs or chest too, but not so much on the top of the scalp. The scalp should look like it is pink by now like you got some sun on the top of your head. You should not be seeing distinct red dots.

Don't sunburn your head. You may harm the grafts.

A wipe on tan is fine. Give it a try.

There are some products that are used in laser skin resurfacing that are already available. They deliver oxygenating compounds and aloe vera. They also help to conceal the pink with pigment that is in them. I'll try to dig you up some information on an example. It really is something we should consider in hair transplant surgery.

shaving your recipeint area is not necessary, but it can help you reach maximal density. It is helpful, but not required. It does not sound like you got maximal density though. of course, one could only tell this by looking at you.

The pimples are a sign that hair is growing.

[gillenator]

Ok! So, I'm pretty thorough when it comes to research and I came across the following:

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/June10/PutnamBiomaterial.html

I have read it on other websites too just google DHA tanning post surgery. If the resources are true or maybe if we can have a proactive doctor on this thread we might be on to something here.

based on that information in the link DHA in tanning lotions heals wounds faster which is what we want right? And also with a nice tan we can all stop making excuses about that custom made visor sunburn.

I really think a doctor should look into that cause if it works, it would be by far the best solution for post op redness but again only if it's true. So, ask around people.

Some of the tanning products have some very good inactive ingredients that add lots of moisture and conditioning to the skin.

The more natural you act in public, the less people will react. Even if they do notice some redness, as long as YOU are okay with it, they will be too. I would not even elude to it at all.

[John P. Cole, MD]

Take a look at Oxygenetix.com. This is a concealer product often used in laser skin resurfacing to conceal the red skin. they make claims that it delivers oxygen too, but I find this a little suspect. I'd like to know more specifically how. Aloe looks like the main healing ingredient.