Sun Exposure after Hair Transplant

[John P. Cole, MD]

Please advise regarding the dry blood as I'm really worried I lost some grafts or caused some irreversible damage to the transplanted hair.

I don't see any signs that you sunburned your scalp. It is impossible to lose a graft after 3 weeks. In fact, grafts are impossible to remove after seven days. The dried blood is probably your bodies reaction to the grafted follicles in the skin. Following transplantation, the dermal sheath collapses around the hair follicles and closer to the surface of the skin. The sheath is the live cells that will produce new hair beginning about 3 months following the transplant. Because these cells are closer to the skin surface, they are more sensitive to the effects of UV light. Thus, you must be cautious and avoid sunburn. The follicles, on the other hand, are dead. They are foreign bodies in the skin at this point. Your body will want to get rid of them. At three months, you are likely to see a lot of this if you do not get rid of these follicles. Go ahead and scrub the area with soap and a washcloth. Try to get these follicles to dislodge. If you don't, you will have many pimples begin to form at three months. For the most part, everything looks good at this point.