Been wondering about this.

So I made the cardinal mistake of going out in the sun 10 days after surgery and getting a mild burn. 4 months out now and I don't know if I've fudged things up, but it got me thinking... why is sunburn bad?

If the grafts are all secured, why should they be burned to death? Surely this would then mean it could happen to any hair folicles, even old ones?

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HT#1 - Dr Pathomvanich - 2900 Grafts
HT#2 - Dr Pathomvanich - 1500 Grafts

how is your hair at 4 months?

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TBH I don't know. I had evil shockloss after surgery, so the new growth I can feel could just be the shocked hair growing back.

I guess I won't know until 8 months or so .... it's so annoying though, it was cloudy when I went out, so didn't take the hat - then once I'm out in the open, clouds clear and we're in 42 degrees sunshine Must have had 3 or so x 20 minute exposures ...

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HT#1 - Dr Pathomvanich - 2900 Grafts
HT#2 - Dr Pathomvanich - 1500 Grafts

Well, I wish you the best and hope you did no harm. IMO the immediate post-op period is likely the most crucial period that determines whether or not the grafts will survive. Some people have thicker, tougher grafts than others and so maybe for them it doesn't matter as much.

I see so many guys getting the surgery and then flying in 3 different jet planes 3000-5000 miles the next day. To me this is just plain crazy! The grafts are still settling and have just been exposed to trauma, and now you are exposing them to the force of a jet airplane traveling at speeds the human body was never meant to endure. Not to mention the stress factor that you're putting your entire body thru doing this, instead of just resting up a few more nights in a hotel at the least.

I spent 10 days post-op within driving distance to the clinic, just sleeping alot and eating very good, meditating, etc. I kept the hat on religiously when outside, pulling it up a little every now and then to get fresh air in there. I still keep it on religiously, and I'll be doing that for at least the next 4-5 months.

flying makes absolutly no difference to the grafts, your hardly experiencing any g-force at all, I have way more g-force when I accerate in my car than in a plane.

I do keep my hat on when its sunny though and always have it with me just in case.

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Hopefully being at the 10 day mark, I was at a "safer" point than if it had been earlier.

It would suck so much if I did kill them all though - this is my second surgery. The first one was too sparse, so this was to "top it up" - if I come out looking exactly the same, but 1500 grafts down .... damn ....

The only thing I have in my favour here is obviously it was within a previously transplanted area, so there was some other hair to give protection. It also wasn't a bad burn, obviously I couldn't feel my head, but my arms were a little "tight" rather than massively red and blistered.

I would still like to know though why it's so important the first X weeks / months - what changes after this?

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HT#1 - Dr Pathomvanich - 2900 Grafts
HT#2 - Dr Pathomvanich - 1500 Grafts

You are most likely safe so long as you did not severly burn the scalp in the transplanted areas. Did the area that you burned retun to its normal color shortly after the exposure to the sun? Often the negetive effects of the sun have more to do with skin color and permanant redness than the transplanted follicles not growing.

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Dr. Glenn Charles is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians

Hi Dr Charles,

Well my arms went back to normal colour a day later. My head I couldn't tell you, as it was still red from the surgery (that took about 3 months to clear!)

I had found load of "I was burned but it seemed oks" ont he forum, but then one chap who said he did the same thing at 10 days and had zero growth! eek!

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HT#1 - Dr Pathomvanich - 2900 Grafts
HT#2 - Dr Pathomvanich - 1500 Grafts

At 4 months, your hair follicles are likely OK. Dr Simmons cautions patients about being in the sun for the first few months post op. A bad burn in the first few days could damage the grafts but we haven't ever seen this happen. Your recipient area may be more sensitive to the sun now than it was prior to your hair transplant. Sun exposure of a healing area can rarely cause permanent darkening of the skin but you would already be able to see this if it happened to you. If you are concerned it is best to ask your hair transplant doctor directly.

Hope this helps.

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Louise
I am a hair transplant technician, employed by Dr. Cam Simmons at the Canadian Hair Transplant Centre.
Dr. Cam Simmons is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians

He says he got burnt on day 10

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