Ralph kaka

@A_4_Archan @Melvin- Moderator @Gatsby thank you all for the support!

@sl @Melvin- Moderator @Gatsby @A_4_Archan sunlight exposure questions:

I am now 4 months and 10 days out..

1.) During the day in my office when I am indoors, is it okay not to wear a hat even though UV light is coming in through the windows? Just from it being bright outside...

2.) In the evening when the sun is down, but it is not fully dark, can I take off the hat outside, or are the UV rays still harmful even if the sun is not over head?

3.) How much longer does one need to wear a hat during daylight when outside?

Thanks so much

4 month and 3 days update. Just got a hair cut with a low fade, hence why the donor is bare at the bottom

hahaha okay, thanks all. appreciate the reality check.

@gaz9318054 @ITA I've seen that video actually! however, you can see some transplanted hairs actually growing at that guy's 3 months in his recipient areas...I see none. Hence, why I am concerned. Thoughts? I just see bald spots and no sprouts or stubble at all.

Hi everyone,

I am 3 months and 11 days out. 103 days. I got 3000 grafts to zones 1 and 2. My native hair is growing back well but I haven't seen the transplanted hairs "pop through" or sprout...in the spots the hairs were transplanted it just looks bald and like nothing is there.

After the transplant, it looked very densely packed. now all these spots that were previously packed just look empty or like nothing was done to them at this stage. They just look bald.

Is this normal or should hairs be sprouting at this stage? I can't even feel stubble or see them poking through yet. Thanks!

@gillenator @Turkhair @SeanToman@sl Thank you all so so much! Okay, won't touch it, will keep it clean, and let it resolve on its own and look for seepage/ a spread. Super appreciate all of your help

18 hours ago, sl said:

Pimples are common as hair grows or you get some trapped hair and can be more an issue for those with a curl. You generally do no need any anti-biotics at this stage and for the odd one here and there.  Your clinic may have given you a post op document regarding them and what to do but nothing to worry about when the odd one comes up and they will, so expect some and very possible in the donor also. They will go on their own also so no need to be overly worried. All the best for this stage, it can be harder for first time patients for sure. 

@sl thanks so much, the pimple somehow scabbed on its own. Does one still not need antibiotics and can just let it resolve itself?

Hi all,

day 50 and I have a pimple that was slightly red/inflamed and raised. It appeared to get smaller a little bit and scab over the past few days. Pics attached. The first two pics were how it looked 2 days ago, and the 3rd pic is how it looks today kind of like it popped and scabbed or something. A few qs:

1.) does it look like folliculitis?

2.) do pimples/folliculitis resolve on their own?

3.) can I lose grafts if it let I resolve on its own?

4.) how do you know whether or not antibiotics are necessary?

@Rahal Hair Transplant @sl I’m sure you’ve seen this post op a lot so would appreciate your help along anyones 🙏🏽

Hi all, 

I am day 50 post op but for the past 3 weeks I wore the same baseball cap when I went outside. I didn’t wash it lol is this a big deal? I just washed it today and will do it weekly, but I just wanted to see if not washing hats impacts anything or leads to any kind of issues.

i wash with shampoo and scrub my scalp each day to clean the area, so I’m assuming I’m fine and that should’ve taken care of any dirt or bacteria in my hat? It wasn’t even noticeably dirty or anything but just wanted to check. 

35 minutes ago, gillenator said:

If you had FUE, you should be fine.

Thanks @gillenator can even really tight hats damage hair transplants at this point? By restricting blood flow?

Hi all,

I am on day 38. My head is kind of big so normal baseball caps are a little tight-I had to get one a little bigger and it is a little tight around the sides of my head. I was wearing loose snapback caps till day 25 and around day 30 ish I started trying out baseball caps. 

Can this cut off blood flow to scalp and cause any problems with new graft growth? I have to wear baseball caps to work, snapback caps are against the dress code...appreciate any science around this!

I have heard of people wearing beanies, hardhats, etc., so I was curious.

Just wanted to see if anyone had a sense how I look to be healing. Day 32, 3000 grafts. Pics attached!

1 hour ago, gillenator said:

Your scalp probably has had enough time (3 years ) to recover and hopefully the blood flow and supply is adequate…we cannot see into the underlying dermis layer to evaluate the blood supply.

Gotchya, makes sense thank you so much. So after 4-6 months this time around, am I okay not to wear a hat every time I am in the sun without it risking damaging my grafts/follicles? Or do I always need to wear a hat in the sun now since I had a Hair transplant to err on the side of caution? 

2 hours ago, gillenator said:

We all might be surprised at how penetrating UV rays can be even through layers of hair…yes, I am a proponent of keeping the scalp covered post-op and protected from the sun’s rays for no less than 4 months.

@gillenator In my case, what do you think the consequences could be in terms of my current repair case? Could the sunlight exposure I had post op in 2020 really damage scar tissue that bad enough to sabotage future transplants/my current one?

Hi all,

I am day 31 of my current hair transplant. I did one back in 2020 at Bosley with limited growth and just did a repair recently. I was reflecting and my post op instructions at bosley from my first transplant 3 years ago, and they had told me to just keep the grafted area out of the sun for 2 months which I now know was way too little. I probably wore a hat outside for 60 days during the day time but I know after 2 months I was less cautious in 2020 and stopped wearing hats, because my post op instructions didn't even mention sunlight beyond that point.

Perhaps this is why my first hair transplant didn't get me the desired results. However, I am curious if the damage I could have gotten from the sun 3 years ago in 2020 after my first hair transplant could have caused excess scar tissue and could it potentially sabotage my repair case that I just did a month ago?

What would the consequences have been after my first hair transplant a few years ago if I only did 2 months or so of using a hat intensely in terms of scarring from sun damage? Is it likely there would be excess scarring that would get in the way of future repair cases? I had long hair and they just worked on a section of zone 2 and allowed me to keep my hair long, which prob doesn't make much of a difference. @gillenator @Rahal Hair Transplant @sl I would value your opinions if you have any!

Thanks a ton.

7 hours ago, duckling said:

for now i suggest you to wait. Because its normal to shed hair upto 6-9 weeks post-op. And after they shed it takes time for them to be visible to you in form of "little stubbles/black openings" as you mentioned. Because first thing is that when hair falls then new hair will grow from the same follicle and will grow back slowly in phases (different months). And it differs person to person when the hair grows back after shed.

Also during growth it takes time for you to see them as hair follicle is deep inside the skin so by time its visible to you hair has to grow a certain length inside the skin too. this pic should give you an idea. Once 3-4 months are done you should see some small regrowth of 20-30 percent minimum and by month 6 you will get 50 percent result minimum so then you can be worried.

Thanks so much @duckling this makes total sense

Hi Guys!

Question for ya'll. I am Day 30 post op and I can't see the incision sites/pores where the grafts were implanted. Is that normal?

I guess I am just confused why it now looks bald in the areas the grafts were implanted post op.
 

I know the hairs are supposed to fall out but 30 days post op I can no longer see the little stubbles/black openings where the transplanted grafts were? (Like I could on day 14).

I hope I am making sense. I don't understand why it looks bald in some areas where grafts were. As you can see, I had a hairline of native hair and a good amount of native hair so I am just concerned about the areas where the grafts were (zone 1 and 2, 3000 grafts).

i have attached the following photos: 3 pre-op photos with my hair long, a post op photo a few days after the procedure, 2 photos on day 14, and then 2 photos on day 30.

Thank you so much!

It’s looking like it’s coming along nicely. Congrats!

@sl @HappyMan2021 would welcome all of your expertise as well on this. Many thanks in advance

@Smacias15 Here are some pics of my hair and donor area pre-op. I wear my hair long ish and had thinning in zones 1 and 2. 

So far the recovery process has been solid. They give incredibly detailed post op care guidelines. Returning to light weight lifting tomorrow. 

@Melvin- Moderator @Gatsby @Rahal Hair Transplant Is it normal that it looks way less dense than the 7 day post op pic? I don't see incision sites or even a ton of tiny black dots where the hairs were transplanted. I know the hairs fall out but shouldn't those little incision sites be visible?

If anyone has any questions about the process or my experience with LA FUE hair clinic I am happy to answer

Day 25 update. Pics attached post shower of recipient and donor area: 

17 minutes ago, Smacias15 said:

Do you have photos of your donor area prior to the surgery so we can access appropriately?

@Smacias15 definitely, here is my donor 2 weeks pre-op attached. 
 

The post op view of my donor is above too! 

On 5/17/2023 at 10:44 PM, Ralph kaka said:

@Rahal Hair Transplant Does shock loss, both in the regions of the native and donor zone, reverse and do the native hairs come back if you don't use medication? I am curious about this theoretically. My understanding is unless the native hairs were very miniaturized and they were going to go on their own anyway, the healthy native hairs would come back in 6 months to 12 months

 

@HappyMan2021 @sl @Gatsby @Smacias15 do any of yall have an idea about this question? I am 4 weeks out now and my donor looks the same as it does in the top pic, shock loss it seems.