bakerjin

4 month update! Happy to say that the shock loss area near my temple has completely grown back. I can see my hairline slowly starting to fill out now. I've also been on Fin/Min for the last 5 months and it seems like my upper scalp/crown area is starting to thicken a bit (no transplants in that area). Happy to see progress and I'm hoping it'll all fill out even more over the next 6 months!

2 month update: So the weird shock loss area on my left temple is slowly filling back in, thankfully. I think I've shed most of the transplanted hairs by this point so hoping to see some growth in another month, though I know that varies from person to person. I also had PRP about 3 months ago and that's when I started oral Fin/Min; I'm not really noticing too much growth on my crown (no transplants there) but it does seem like the hair is getting a TINY bit thicker. I know that the main goal for Fin/Min is to stop further hair loss so I may never see any true growth there, but my doctor said I may not have enough donors to get to my scalp in the future so I'm hoping it'll at least thicken up slightly. Maybe I'll pursue SMP for the crown if it doesn't get better.

Thanks, appreciate the assurance. Hopefully the bumps will go away after a week or so. I was ready for the small bumps and pimples but not for the larger raised bump on this front-left side. Guess I'm full steam ahead for ugly duck phase Hopefully I'll turn a corner by December!

Hi all, I have another question. I did see my doctor since my last posts and he confirmed that area of shock loss is normal. It's now exactly 1 month after my FUE operation, and I've been shedding quite a bit of my transplanted hair. I've read this is normal so I'm not too worried though. 28 days after FUE: However, I've also noticed that the patch of transplanted hair next to my area of shock loss of native hair is not only shedding but seems a bit more red and bumpy. I don't think it's pimples but it's hard to tell. Is this unusual? I also frequently have pimples or bumps in my donor area, but they seem to subside after a few days. I'm guessing this is normal as well... Thank you!

Thank you both for your reassurances. I went back to my clinic for a check up and the doctor provided the same reassurance that no grafts could have fallen out after 11 days, especially with no blood involved. He believes the small "bald" spot near my temple is just shock loss and hopefully should fill back in over the next couple months. I'm positive that the area with hair loss is non-transplated hair, but he said that does sometimes occur due to shock loss. Hopefully it won't be too noticeable soon! Thank you all!

That's reassuring. I'm almost scared to sleep on my side now after getting this ugly bare patch on the side of my head haha. I thought it wasn't noticeable at first, but it's definitely staring at me after taking a shower! It looks rather unnatural since it's in the middle of my hairline, though perhaps the rest of the hairline will start shedding too to match, haha. I'm fairly certain these aren't transplanted hairs though because the shedded strands on my pillowcase seem too long - might be wrong though.

Thank you all. I'm feeling much less worried about my scratching, but thankfully have refrained from any vigorous scratching from my last post, haha. It's now a full 2 weeks since operation, and I've noticed when sleeping on my side, some of my non-grafted hairs seem to be shedding. I've never woken up to see so many hairs on my pillow case in a very long time, haha! I know that shock loss and transplanted hair will shed within 1 week - 3 months after operation, but is it normal for non-grafted hair to shed too? And if so, how much of that will shed? At this point it's not noticeable at all except from all the medium length hairs I see on my pillow case. I'll update with a photo if it gets more noticeable though. Thankfully it's only happening on my side where my hair is relatively thick anyway (I think only the area near my temple/hairline had transplates in the side area). I do not sleep on my stomach at all.

Thank you very much! I really should stop worrying so much and let the process take over. I’m ready for the shedding and shock loss but hoping I won’t lose all my previous hair so it will look a bit more natural.

Ah, that's a great point. Even though I scratched with my nails, I didn't break any skin... I was just amazed that so much crust/scabbing was falling off, haha. I guess that's what happens when I don't directly shower the recipient area for the past 11 days. I've only been massaging it with a bit of baby shampoo then pouring water gently from a cup. Yeah, I probably did get carried away, haha. Honestly I didn't even think I was scabbing that much until I took that first direct shower onto my scalp last night. Lessons learned, but I appreciate both of you alleviating my fears.

Thank you, that's reassuring. When I googled this question, I saw article after article warning not to scratch the scalp for at least 4-6 weeks after operation. I've learned my lesson and won't be scratching with my nails as much as I can, but I'm just hoping I didn't cause irreversible damage. Hopefully, since there was no blood or anything, it's just regular scabbing and hairs that fell out without any grafts...

Hi all, I'm new to the forum. 11 days ago I received a 2500 graft FUE for my hairline. I followed the doctor's instructions as much as possible and only showered with light water from a cup on the recipient area. I was lucky and my donor area didn't really scab much and looked relatively normal by the 3rd day. I was told I could finally shower normally after 8 days - last night I showered with the regular shower head using baby shampoo for the first time since the operation. A lot of scabs or crusts started falling off the recipient area with just gentle rubbing - sometimes hairs too but I was told that would be normal as long as there is no blood. Unfortunately, I think I got a little too aggressive out of the shower and scratched a few areas on the recipient area too vigorously - large clumps of crusty material and some hairs would fall out and now there are some vaguely noticeable spots of no hair in my hairline. Thankfully there was no blood at all, but I am kicking myself for scratching so early on. Did I screw up? Is it true that if there is no blood, I hopefully did not dislodge any grafts? I haven't had any bleeding in my recipient area at all since the operation. Thank you! Before Op: Day 0: Day 7: Day 11 after shower and scratching: