Question about not loosing many transplanted grafts with my 1st ht

[its752]

agentHarley, I had the same concerns about redness and decided not to compromise my new grafts with anything. I came so far and didn't want to throw a monkey wrench into my efforts. A few people have mentioned using aloe vera gel, so there is one option for you. After 3 months or so I started using "Tricomin" spray which contains "Copper Peptides" an ingredient that aids in healing immediately postop but again it didn't really help with the redness.

[Pompadore-2009]

DJ,

 

Yes, I am using Rogaine, but not the foam. The doctor also put me on Finasteride, which I started about 1 month ago. There's one other product he put me on, but I can't remember the name right now. It is some kind of foam, but it's not Rogaine.

[djdennis]

agentharley, I also did not want to take a chance with adding anything to my ht area. My head way so itchy though!!! I just started using aloe vera on my head a week ago and the pinkness does leave. The itchyness is more on my donor site and I started using also in the last couple of days a cream called scar zone with green tea super antioxidant. This scar zone is for my donor scar. It seems to be working nice. You can buy this at any pharmacy. I would not using anything for about a month after your ht. The only thing I used was the minox kirkland costco brand on my ht area to help for faster growth. I also use the revita Shampoo once a day which is really nice but expensive at $27.50 per bottle.

 

POMPADORE: I am also the solution for the minox,but I am going to change to the rogaine foam as soon as my 3 month supply is gone. The foam is more expensive,but some guys are only using it once per day at night before they go to bed. Also the foam penatrates better on the scalp than the solution and the guys seem to like it better on this site.

[agentHarley]

dj -- I'm going on a little month-long workshop/vacation and am going to take a couple of items with me. sounds like i would want to take the aloe vera gel for general redness/cooling of the scalp, and the rogaine foam for nite time applications.

 

can you tell me what you mean by the Scar Zone cream working nice? What is it doing for you?

 

i'll hold off on the revita for a while, but also hear the nioxin shampoo is great for the minty-tingle that it gives. is the revita shampoo just nice because it smells good, or is it working for you in other ways?

 

i'll add one thing at a time and see what it can do. like i hear MSM is good, mederma scar cream is good, all these products, but i don't wanna be a) enslaved to using a ton of stuff every/day and night to just make things look good for a while, and b) be so worried about NOT using the products that I will stop enjoying what I just spent over $10K on, which is the ht.

 

one or two new products is what i'm thinking is best for me, just wanting to select the right ones for the first round of tests.

 

other people are entitled to try as many and use daily as many products as they feel comfortable with, let me just say that so others do not take my comments above as applicable to them.

[djdennis]

Hey agentharley: you are about a little over 2 weeks post op? If thats correct? At your stage I did not use anything accept the rogaine and I started that at the 2 week mark of post op. My head was itchy from the ht and when I started to use the rogaine it Really got itchy.

 

I also was using a mild shampoo for two weeks after the ht (johnson & Johnson baby shampoo my babies lol)After 2 weeks post op I started the revita shampoo. The revita shampoo is alot milder than the nizorel. Alot of guys told me they only used it 2 to 3 times per week because it was making there scalp flake more and some more itchyness. I bypassed nizoral and went right out of the gate with Revita. Only because its shampoo and I dont think its going to play a huge role,but maybe it might help? who knows to early to tell.

 

I think you should be on the propecia,rogaine for right now!! If my head was to get itchy I would take a shower and use the baby shampoo and that would take the itchyness away.

 

I did not want to take a chance with the aloa vera yet because alot of guys said maybe thats to early on my ht area and wait to about 1 month. I followed there advice!!! Then I put the aloe vera on in the shower after I washed my hair and a liitle more aloe after I pat dryed my head when getting out. I did this only once per day and actually used the aloe vera every other day. It seemed to work that way for me.

 

My big itchy area was the donar scar. It drove me crazy not to scratch!! Buit I did not want to jeopardize stretching my scar or opening it up because I had suctures. I just started less than 5 days ago applying aloe on my donor scar and switched only after 2 days to this product scar zone and its better than the aloe I think, plus it diminishes scars also,thats its purpose. My doc said to leave the scar alone for atleast a month and bear through and after 1 month this regiman on my scar with ointments would be fine. I hope this helps but Im just telling you how I did it and there are alot of guys who do it other ways also. I think I was practical in my methods

[agentHarley]

dj -- thanks for explaining everything like you did bro, i appreciate your experiences.

 

i am actually just shy of the 2 weeks. this friday would be the second week. i have not experienced that much itching. initially, it was just on my scalp and that was during the flaking stage i went through. this flaking is now mostly over. however, i think the itching of the scalp is just a dryness, similar to when one doesn't apply moisturizer after a shower here in a new york winter. my face will itch around the nostrils and feel tight all over. so, moisturizer makes my face feel better, the aloe vera must make the scalp feel better.

 

i think the important thought with the aloe is that it be pure and free of any chemical junk, and that it be applied very lightly. and i mean, dabbing it on and then patting it dry with a towel or something. just enough that the scalp drinks a little bit, but not so much that it interrupts the capillaries that are starting to feed the hair follicles with oxygenated blood, hence the pink scalp. (i'll try this with the aloe after i run it by my doctor).

 

i was using a shampoo they gave me at the clinic called Graft Cyte, and it says on the bottle: "containing copper peptide micronutrients...specially formulated for the post-hair transplant patient". Contains...well, lots of crazy chemical compound names, but it does have aloe vera in it!! so there, the shampoo dr. bernstein issued me has aloe vera, so it must be okay to use aloe on the scalp even now. and maybe that is why i haven't had as much itching, because i have used it on the scalp and the donor area. (makes me want to ask for more of this stuff).

 

as for the donor area, i bought triple antibiotic ointment with extra pain relief. keeping the scar moist has definitely been the way to go, because one night i woke up in pain from the scar being so tight. i have only had surgical staples -- all 72 of them. i just had half of them removed on monday, and i have the rest taken out on the 20th. THE STAPLES SUCK!!!

 

i took the vicodin every night until i ran out, and then the next two nights without it were HELL. the pain is severe, because basically my head is just laying on top of needles. in other words, with the staples in place, the pressure from my skull is pressing on those staples and at night it is just killer with ANY pillow, of any configuration. (deep breath now) i called dr. bernstein today and needed an emergency refill of the vicodin. no problem, he was way cool about it. i hope tonight i have my first full night's rest after two nights of nightmares. man, when HT #2 comes around, you know i am going to be on those pills until all the staples come out without any interruptions!