Senior Member Hairfree Posted April 10, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2007 I have a question... Right now I am starting to see the scalp on my head starting to resemble the moon. The Vit E oil is creating caynons between the darker areas (scabs). It looks like white lines in between and I dont see any grafts in those spaces. The grafts seem to bundle up together in all the scabs. Not all of them though. Does that sound normal? Am I using too much Vit E Oil? Should I work on the scabs now to get them off? I don't want it to be counterproductive. Look forward to your responses! HAIRFREE DR. RAHAL - 4/4/07 3489 grafts - 7571 hairs 455 single hairs 1986 double hairs 1048 three hairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Hairfree Posted April 10, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2007 I have a question... Right now I am starting to see the scalp on my head starting to resemble the moon. The Vit E oil is creating caynons between the darker areas (scabs). It looks like white lines in between and I dont see any grafts in those spaces. The grafts seem to bundle up together in all the scabs. Not all of them though. Does that sound normal? Am I using too much Vit E Oil? Should I work on the scabs now to get them off? I don't want it to be counterproductive. Look forward to your responses! HAIRFREE DR. RAHAL - 4/4/07 3489 grafts - 7571 hairs 455 single hairs 1986 double hairs 1048 three hairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 hairfree, I just replied to you privately but I'll respond here too. Actually, I didn't understand the description about the grafts in the email, but reading this description (perhaps my brain is waking up a little), it does sound normal. I don't believe the Vitamin E oil is causing any problems, however, at day 6, I think it's important that you: Take longer showers and 1. let the shower hit the grafts directly 2. Lather shampoo in your hands and then apply to the grafts and scabs gently 3. As you feel more comfortable while you are in the shower start gentle circular finger tip massages of the grafts and scabs. Do this for at least 10 minutes in the recipient area. You can use both hands and all 4 fingers (keeping the thumbs aside). DO NOT USE THE NAILS TO PICK THE SCABS! 4. Consider by day 7 taking two showers a day repeating step 3 above both shower times. My concern is that MANY people are way too conservative and afraid to touch the grafts and scabs that the scabs stay on way longer than they should. You are still in the early stages...but you have to ask yourself...when do you think you'll be comfortable touching the grafts and scabs? At this point, as long as you remain gentle, you are just fine. By day 9+, your circular motions should still be on the gentler side, but you can apply more finger pressure (still gently). I can show you this in person this weekend if you want. If you want to provide pictures of what you described above, I'm sure we'll be able to get a better feel for what you are describing. Talk soon bro. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Hairfree Posted April 10, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2007 Hey Bill..Thanks! I have my old laptop at home today. I couldnt resize the pics. I will send them to you via email. HAIRFREE DR. RAHAL - 4/4/07 3489 grafts - 7571 hairs 455 single hairs 1986 double hairs 1048 three hairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hairbank Posted April 10, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2007 Great advice, Bill. Yes, Hairfree.....keep at those scabs while remembering not to use the nails. If you work at it diligently, you should likely be scab free by the 10day - 2 week mark. You're a lucky guy having the Master so close by for personal calls................he doesn't charge, does he ....... Happy healing, my friend! Hairbank 1st HT 1-18-05 - 1200 FUT's 2nd HT 2-15-06 - 3886 FUT's Dr. Wong 3rd HT 4-24-08 - 2415 FUT's Dr. Wong GRAND TOTAL: 7501 GRAFTS current regimen: 1.25mg finasteride every other day My Hair Loss Weblog Disclaimer: I'm not a Doctor (and have never played one on TV ) and have no medical training. Any information I share here is in an effort to help those who don't like hair loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Hairfree Posted April 10, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2007 Thans Bill and Hairbank! I just took a shower this morning and let the shower hit the grafts directly. I let it soak in the water for some time and gently massaged the scalp with my fingers and no finger tips. I am starting to see more space in between the scabs now. A couple days ago it looked like a dark cover over my scalp and then yesterday the scabs started to break apart like tectonic plates Now after working on it in the shower I see more white pinkish lines in the scabs. I guess thats a good thing and I will keep working on it. HAIRFREE DR. RAHAL - 4/4/07 3489 grafts - 7571 hairs 455 single hairs 1986 double hairs 1048 three hairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 You're a lucky guy having the Master so close by for personal calls................he doesn't charge, does he ....... I only ask for donations for the Bill-Clone Program fund....soon so many Bills will be running around it will be like a computer virus...muahahahaha! Ok...enough of that Haifree, Good deal bro...glad you started to work on the scabs a bit. You CAN use the finger tips, just not the nails...make sense? The more you do it, the more your scalp will be in sight again. In the meantime, you can sing to yourself in the Mirror...."when will the bloody dots fall....off my head"! I'll have to tell you that goofy story sometime...let's just say my friend who's a musician and I have a strange sense of humor Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member YoungGuy Posted April 10, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2007 I guess different approaches work. I didn't do anything to the scalp for the firts 2 weeks, after that I got annoyed and massaged it all off in a day. So there's another option for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 lol Younguy....glad it worked for you, but probably not the best approach. To get all the scabs off like that in one day either means: 1) you didn't have that many scabs left or 2) you vigorously worked the scabs off (which is not recommended). But, as long as you didn't see any blood, you should be safe. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member YoungGuy Posted April 10, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2007 No blood, no problems. I suspect that waiting the two weeks without as much as touching the noggin was the reason the scabs stayed, but after so long they were ready to go on their own. I suspect that if I didn't touch them for another few days they'd have fallen off due to gravity. When I was getting them off, it was quite easy. After soaking the head in the shower for 10 minutes, I pressed on an area of scab and it would all just slide right off. Repeat a few times and voila, a red head peeked out from underneath! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Hairfree Posted April 10, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2007 Youngguy - Did any grafts come off with the scabs? Thats crazy how easy they came off after two weeks. I wish mine could do that right now! HAIRFREE DR. RAHAL - 4/4/07 3489 grafts - 7571 hairs 455 single hairs 1986 double hairs 1048 three hairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Haifree, Some hairs will come off with the scabs but do not be alarmed...this is normal. That's why it's important not to pick with the nail at the scabs...you don't want to cause blood to be drawn and possibly take the actual hair follicle with it. Most of the hairs won't come out with the scabs though, depending on how early they come off. By two weeks, a lot of the grafts start to jump ship anyway. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member YoungGuy Posted April 10, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2007 Oh yes, grafts did shed with the scabs. A bunch of em. I looked at most of them and it was just the hair part of the grafts, nothing else so I wasn't worried. In fact, in the weeks that followed (the shedding phase) I'd freak out my friends by moving my hand across the scalp and coming up with a bunch of grafts. So I'm a little immature, what can you do As far as ease for scabs, hairfree, how many days post-op are you? 7,8? There's a material difference in how easily scabs will come off between being in your second week and being 2 weeks out. The healing which takes place in those days is fairly substantial. My thinking on the subject was, while the grafts should be seated securely by this time what harm can it do to wait a few more days before getting rid of the scabs? There's no rush, and it was easier later when they were ready to come off. As far as potential damage, I'm apparently one of the early growers and have hair sprouting outta my head as we speak (2.5 months out) so it looks like no damage was done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Hairfree Posted April 10, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 10, 2007 Thanks Bill and Youngguy...I will TRY not to freak if I see my grafts falling out with the scabs I have another question. I saw that some people believe that the sooner the grafts fall out the quicker the new hairs will grow in. What do you think? I'd like to hear everyone's experience with the phase after the grafts have jumped ship and how long it took for them to grow in. It would be neat if we create a chart and find out the average number of days it took for the new grafts to grow in correlation to how early the grafts shed after the HT. We would be able to see the relationship between the two! Maybe Gorpy can help us here. HAIRFREE DR. RAHAL - 4/4/07 3489 grafts - 7571 hairs 455 single hairs 1986 double hairs 1048 three hairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Haifree, I've heard a few people mention it, but I believe it's only theory. I don't believe there is any proof of that being true...that is...that there is any real evidence that there is a direct positive coorelation to growth times and shedding of grafts. I'd be curious if anyone has any real evidence of this...but I believe it's only speculation . Hope you are healing well my friend. Did you do the second shower thing to work the crusts some more? Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member AndrewYoung Posted April 11, 2007 Regular Member Share Posted April 11, 2007 I think it's great that Hairfree had his done the day before me. Now I have a guide of sorts. Tomorrow is day six and I am looking forward to a shower and the expulsion of some of the dark bloodspots around my new friends. One of the experienced techs mentioned to me that she recommends two showers a day. I was a bit freaked by my giant-sized shower head accidentally hitting my new hairs so I decided to go with a bath for a more controlled pouring over the head. I took two a day as she suggested. Because of this, I have taken more baths this week than the combined period since I was about eight yrs old. It was kinda nice soaking while I waited the five minutes for the shampoo to soak on the head (plus I've never inspected the lower half of my body so much, but I digress badly) I am looking forward to finally getting back to a shower tomorrow. It will be nice to finally start seeing some scab departure. I too am a bit nervous getting to aggressive with it but just the showerhead soaking, I'm sure, will start to help move these guys. Now I don't want to send out an alarm and let Bill think I am planning on using the nails anytime soon, but at what point can I? Do I have to wait two weeks, a month? As I've said, I do kinda hope that some of the grafts start departing at day 10 or so because I don't want it to be completely obvious what I've done. Is there any chance this will happen? My Hair Loss Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted April 11, 2007 Share Posted April 11, 2007 One of the experienced techs mentioned to me that she recommends two showers a day. This was my tactic all along after day 4...it works like a charm. I'd say this tech is pretty wise Now I don't want to send out an alarm and let Bill think I am planning on using the nails anytime soon, but at what point can I? NEVER NEVER NEVER. That's when you can use your nails. Hopefully that's clear...if not...let me say it this way: NEVER, NIL, NADA, NO, DO NOT, RUN AWAY, SCATTER, CUT THE NAILS UNTIL THEY ARE GONE, BAD, EVIL, TERRIBLE, THE DEVIL, RUBBISH, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, NAILS = BAD, CRUCIFY, ROTTEN, UNHAPPY, RAGE AGAINST THE NAILS!!!!! Ok...obviously I'm being silly above with all those words...but it's true. You don't ever use the nails...use the soft part of your finger tips to massage them until they eventually work themselves off. Trust me...it works. If you do this in the shower twice a day for about 10 minutes each time, you should be good to go. By about day 10-14, they should all be gone Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Bayer Posted April 11, 2007 Regular Member Share Posted April 11, 2007 No one can accuse Bill of ambiguity... Bayer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted April 11, 2007 Share Posted April 11, 2007 Bayer, LOL...yes, I do aim to be consistent Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member YoungGuy Posted April 11, 2007 Senior Member Share Posted April 11, 2007 He's also absolutely correct. You'll never need or want to use your nails - with time, long before the 1 month mark, you will heal enough that the scabs will fall off very easily with just water & massage. When in doubt, wait a day or two. Scabs remaining on your head can't do any harm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Hairfree Posted April 11, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 11, 2007 Bill, So far I am in 3 showers now and I am starting to see the scabs break up into smaller pieces on my head. I am also starting to see the edges of the scabs seperate from the scalp. It still has a long way to go but I am now starting to see the scab helmet try to work its way off The only weird thing is that the grafts are bunched up now into the scabs and between the crusts there are no grafts. Anyone have the same thing? Andrewyoung - I didn't realize that you had yours the day after mine. We will have similair questions and it will be benefical for both of us. Im sure we won't heal at the same rate athough but we can use each other somewhat as a measuring stick on where our progress stand. HAIRFREE DR. RAHAL - 4/4/07 3489 grafts - 7571 hairs 455 single hairs 1986 double hairs 1048 three hairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted April 11, 2007 Share Posted April 11, 2007 Haifree, So I guess your back to work today eh? How's that going? I still have to talk to Cindy about this weekend and see what time and day would be good to stop by your house. I'm guessing Saturday afternoon sometime...just not sure yet. The appearance of the grafts through the scabs can be deceiving. Don't fret too much if they look out of place or you see a lot of spaces here and there. A lot of times I found myself (and have seen others do it too) become disappointed when I look at the grafts when the scabs are gone thinking "Will this really be enough to give me nice resulst?" Ultimately, remember how many grafts you received and in such a small area. It will be real nice when they grow in...but until then, your head is just going to look funny Look forward to talking to you soon bro. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Hairfree Posted April 11, 2007 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 11, 2007 Bill, Thank you for the response and addressing my fears. I feel a lot better now about whats going on there on top of my head. Yea, I went back to work exactly one week after my HT. I had it done on last Wednesday. I could have waited till tomorrow but I think my healing is coming along good and I made sure I didn't lift anything heavy here in work. I will keep in mind not to judge whats on my head after the scabs are off. Im hoping its not going to be too pink or red. Right now I just can't wait to get the sutures taken out. They are annoying! Are staples worse? Bill..whatever works for you to hang out this weekend. Sat afternoon will work for me. Thank you for keeping me posted on it. Another question for everyone..how long did it take for ALL the scabs fall off after it starts? HAIRFREE DR. RAHAL - 4/4/07 3489 grafts - 7571 hairs 455 single hairs 1986 double hairs 1048 three hairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted April 11, 2007 Share Posted April 11, 2007 Haifree, IMO, staples are more comfortable in that they are less annoying and they itch less...I think I'm in the minority on this....after all, it is different for every individual. My scabs were completely gone by day 9 or 10 after my third surgery. I think it was around 10 or 11 for surgery 2 and surgery 1, it was over 2 weeks...but that's because I didn't know to work them off . I'll keep you posted about Saturday bro. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 Hey....I've been absentmindedly rubbing my hand over my head for the last 2 days, not in the shower.....I've noticed a lot of scabs falling off have some little hairs in them.....I cant tell if they ave the graft or they are just the hairs.....does anyone have a pic of what the hair with graft looks like when it falls out? Should I worry about the amount of little hairs that have been falling out between days 7 and 9? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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