How strong and deep are the implanted hairs and what is considered normal fallout?

[kramer]

I've had 3 transplants. I just noticed today that when I ran a comb through my wet hair (which still had some hairspray in it so the comb didn't glide as easily as it should have), I picked up about 15 hairs! This was in the morning right after I woke up (so I might have loosened some up during sleep).

And it seems to me that the transplanted hair on top of my head isn't in my head as deep as an untransplanted hair on the side of my head.

 

Some questions:

 

Is it normal for transplated hair to easily come out when running a comb through it when its wet? (Or have any of you ever noticed this with your transplanted hair)?

 

Has anybody ever noticed that their transplated hair on the top of your heads doesn't seem to be in as deep as an untransplated hair? (in other words, if you plucked a transplated and untransplanted hair, the untransplanted hair would pull out much harder and/or have a larger ball type of base attached to it).

 

Also, what is considered normal hair loss (once your transplanted hair has been in for a year or so) when taking a shower? I usually see around 5 or so hairs in my hand. Is this normal?

 

 

Thanks to all who answer.

Kramer

[kramer]

I've had 3 transplants. I just noticed today that when I ran a comb through my wet hair (which still had some hairspray in it so the comb didn't glide as easily as it should have), I picked up about 15 hairs! This was in the morning right after I woke up (so I might have loosened some up during sleep).

And it seems to me that the transplanted hair on top of my head isn't in my head as deep as an untransplanted hair on the side of my head.

 

Some questions:

 

Is it normal for transplated hair to easily come out when running a comb through it when its wet? (Or have any of you ever noticed this with your transplanted hair)?

 

Has anybody ever noticed that their transplated hair on the top of your heads doesn't seem to be in as deep as an untransplated hair? (in other words, if you plucked a transplated and untransplanted hair, the untransplanted hair would pull out much harder and/or have a larger ball type of base attached to it).

 

Also, what is considered normal hair loss (once your transplanted hair has been in for a year or so) when taking a shower? I usually see around 5 or so hairs in my hand. Is this normal?

 

 

Thanks to all who answer.

Kramer

[Bill - Seemiller]

kramer,

 

I'm not sure how you can tell if your grafts are as deep as your native hair since the follicle is well beneath the surface of the skin. Loosing hair while combing has nothing to do with how deep the follicle is. Keep in mind that all hairs (including transplanted grafts) go through cycles and shedding is a normal part of that cycle. The 15 or so hairs you lost could have been 1) normal hairs (grafted or native) just shedding as part of a normal cycle or 2) native hairs that are weak and will eventually wither away due to MPB.

 

So "Is it normal for transplanted hair to easily come out" actually isn't really the case here. The transplanted follicle is not coming out...if it did, there would be some bleeding to indicate that.

 

So your last question about hairs in your hand during a shower...yes, it is normal for hair to shed...but the grafted hair will grow back whereas native hair affected by MPB may not if it is on it's way out.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Bill

 

Bill

[kramer]

Originally posted by Bill:

kramer,

 

I'm not sure how you can tell if your grafts are as deep as your native hair since the follicle is well beneath the surface of the skin. Loosing hair while combing has nothing to do with how deep the follicle is. Keep in mind that all hairs (including transplanted grafts) go through cycles and shedding is a normal part of that cycle. The 15 or so hairs you lost could have been 1) normal hairs (grafted or native) just shedding as part of a normal cycle or 2) native hairs that are weak and will eventually wither away due to MPB.

 

So "Is it normal for transplanted hair to easily come out" actually isn't really the case here. The transplanted follicle is not coming out...if it did, there would be some bleeding to indicate that.

 

So your last question about hairs in your hand during a shower...yes, it is normal for hair to shed...but the grafted hair will grow back whereas native hair affected by MPB may not if it is on it's way out.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Bill

 

Bill

 

 

Thanks Bill. Just wanted to see what was normal fallout for transplanted hair.

 

Regardomg how you can tell how deep the follicle is for a transplanted hair, about the only way I can tell (which may or may not be accurate) is to pluck both a transplanted hair and an untransplated hair and look at the base of the hairs. Usually, the untransplanted hair has a larger gel looking ball or bulb where it came out of the skin.

 

Thanks again for answereing.

 

Kramer

[the B spot]

Without trying to throw around a bunch of useless medical terms---- your transplanted hairs should be placed at a depth of 3.5--4.5mm, which should be about the same depth as your native hair.

 

You should not be able to discern a transplanted hair from a native hair if both exist in the same area.

 

Take Care,

J

[Bill - Seemiller]

Regardomg how you can tell how deep the follicle is for a transplanted hair, about the only way I can tell (which may or may not be accurate) is to pluck both a transplanted hair and an untransplated hair and look at the base of the hairs.

 

Please do me a favor and do NOT try to do this...for your own sake! Besides, if you indeed tried this and were successful, you would see blood. Removing a hair follicle typically doesn't happen by plucking anyway - hence the need to use FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) to remove the hair follicle.

 

Bill

[kramer]

Originally posted by Bill:

 

Please do me a favor and do NOT try to do this...for your own sake! Besides, if you indeed tried this and were successful, you would see blood. Removing a hair follicle typically doesn't happen by plucking anyway - hence the need to use FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) to remove the hair follicle.

 

Bill

 

I didn't mean pluck out a follicle. I meant pluck out a hair. When you do this, you sometimes get a gel type substance at the end of the hairshaft where it came out of the skin.

 

 

I was talking with someone who had a hair transplant and told him about my transplanted hair coming out. He said that he heard that after the transplanted hair starts growing, it then falls out and then starts growing normally.

 

Is this true and if it is, how long does it take before you notice this? It's been about 6 months since my last procedure.

 

 

Kramer

[Bill - Seemiller]

I was talking with someone who had a hair transplant and told him about my transplanted hair coming out. He said that he heard that after the transplanted hair starts growing, it then falls out and then starts growing normally.

 

After the hair has been transplanted, the hair will grow but fall out between 2-4 weeks post op. The hair will start to grow again on average between 3-4 months after your surgery. By 6 months you should have noticed some growth by now. Do you have any pictures you can post for us both before surgery and currently?

 

Bill

[kramer]

I've got some pre-HT pics from the doc's office. If I can find them, I'll have to scan them in first with a digital camera and then I'll post them.

 

So if I find them, where do I post these pics? In the message box (like this) or into another area of this site?

 

Thanks for the response by the way. I was hoping that somebody would have said that once the hair has been in a few months and has been growing for a month or so, that it would then fall out and re-grow normally after because my new hair which has been growing for about 3 months appears to be falling out. What I don't understand is that I have been working out non-stop 4x/week since the early 1980's, never smoked, don't take drugs, and drink maybe 1 beer per month. I also eat really well and take supplements. In short, I am really healthy. It must be that I'm not a good HT candidate. (I know there are other factors such as where the hair is taken from. I know that this hair was taken from well below the bald spot. Same for the other times I had a HT.)

 

Thanks again Bill. I'll try to find those pics..

 

Kramer

[kramer]

Originally posted by the B spot:

Without trying to throw around a bunch of useless medical terms---- your transplanted hairs should be placed at a depth of 3.5--4.5mm, which should be about the same depth as your native hair.

 

You should not be able to discern a transplanted hair from a native hair if both exist in the same area.

 

Take Care,

J

 

What I've noticed is that at first when the hair comes in, it's quite thick (like the other hair around the back or sides of my head). However, over time, it gets thinner (smaller in diameter) and then seems to fall out.

 

I've decided that I'm not a good HT transplant subject. I don't understand as I am really healthy.

 

I almost considering getting a laser comb to see if that will help keep that transplated hair growing normally.

 

Kramer

[hairbank]

Kramer-

 

Are you saying the hair from your most recent HT didn't ever fall out, grew for 3 months and is now falling out? Just want to make sure I understand you correctly. If your HT hair comes in thick and then thins over time, yes, that is the reverse of what should happen. ALL hair falls out periodically..........about 10-15% of the hair on your hair is in its resting phase at any given time. Could be it takes your hair longer to get back in a "normal" cycle after HT's??

 

Do you take propecia, use minox, or anything else that may contribute to your dilemma? Have you checked with your Doc to get some professional advice? If so, what did he say?

[kramer]

Originally posted by hairbank:

Kramer-

 

Are you saying the hair from your most recent HT didn't ever fall out, grew for 3 months and is now falling out? Just want to make sure I understand you correctly. If your HT hair comes in thick and then thins over time, yes, that is the reverse of what should happen. ALL hair falls out periodically..........about 10-15% of the hair on your hair is in its resting phase at any given time. Could be it takes your hair longer to get back in a "normal" cycle after HT's??

 

 

 

Do you take propecia, use minox, or anything else that may contribute to your dilemma? Have you checked with your Doc to get some professional advice? If so, what did he say?

 

What happened was that the transplanted hairs fell out (the little 1/4 inch or so stubs that were left over from the transplant.) This happened about 2 to 4 weeks after the transplant. About 3 to 4 months later, the hair was coming in nicely but now it's getting thinner and seems to be falling out.

 

Somebody told me that once the transplated hair starts growing, this new hair will shed and then come in permanently. I don't think this is the case.

 

By the way, this is my 3rd HT and I noticed the same thing with the first 2 HT's (after a few months of nice new hair, it starts getting really thin and then falls out).

 

I take propecia and use 2% minoxidal so I don't get flaking (but double the dosage of it so it's close to 5%). Several times a week, I also run warm to hot water on my head for a few minutes in the shower so that the pores open up (and to increase the blood flow to the scalp. I read that somebody else here does this). I then immediately apply the rogaine.

 

My Doc said I may be taking too much Vitamin A. So I've cut back from 10,OO IU per day to about 2500 IU per day. I made this change about 1.5 to 2 years ago so it shouldn't be affecting me today.

 

One other thing. I know this sounds crazy, but every day, I can run my fingers through my scalp and I feel a little bump here and there (in the transplanted area). When I grab one and look at them, I usually see a tiny or small sized hair coming out of it. It almost looks to me like the follicle shrunk, died, and then the skin expelled it.

My doctor said it's imposssible for the follicle to come out (unless you pick it and get blood which of course, I would never do.) I gave him some to look at but, he never checked them.

I did bring some of these to another HT doc (a well respected and well known HT doctor) and he said that they aren't follicles (but he also said he never seen this before). If I get another HT, I am going to use the well respected HT doc (not that my doc is bad, he's rep is ok and he's been around for a while).

 

 

Kramer.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Kramer,

 

Honestly, from your description, this doesn't sound normal. The transplanted hairs that start to grow at 3-4 months post op should continue to grow. They shouldn't fall out again except for part of the normal hair growth cycle. And even then, since all hairs are in a different part of the cycle, you should not notice any significant loss after the new hair is growing in. Also...how sure are you that it's the hair from the 2nd HT falling out and not native hair due to MPB?

 

I'd like to hear some doctor's imput on the above.

 

Though I'm not sure the correlation between your use of vitamins and you losing hair...I do recommend that you live by the philosophy: anything good in moderation. Do not overdo anything...as it's generally not good for the body.

 

Bill

[hairbank]

If you've had 3 HT's, how is the hair from HT's #1 and #2? Has it ever thickened after going through a period of time where it got thin and wispy?

[kramer]

Originally posted by hairbank:

If you've had 3 HT's, how is the hair from HT's #1 and #2? Has it ever thickened after going through a period of time where it got thin and wispy?

 

Not really. What seemed to happen was that once it really started to come in, it slowly over time seemed to thin out. I'm sure that some of this was original (untransplanted) hair falling out. But I am positive that the original transplanted hair also fell out. Even my doc said he thought this and asked me all kinds of questions regarding taking different types medicines and supplements in order to see if it was something I was taking. About the only other explantion I can think of is stress. I have been under great stress for about 4 or so years. However, I go to the gym 4x/week and do 30 minutes of aerobic (bike) excersise followed by about 1 and a half hours of lifting weights (non-stop since the '80's). So I would think that this would nullify the effects of stress.

 

Kramer

[kramer]

Originally posted by hairbank:

If you've had 3 HT's, how is the hair from HT's #1 and #2? Has it ever thickened after going through a period of time where it got thin and wispy?

 

One other comment. I noticed that you (and many others here in these forums) use Nizoral and Nioxin. I've never used these until about 4 or so months ago when I started using Head and Shoulders 4x/week and Nizoral 2x/week with my wife's shampoo the rest of the time. However, about a week ago, I started using Nioxin and Nizoral (2x/week) and I have since noticed that there is less hair in my hands when shampooing my hair. This has to be my imagination, right?

 

Kramer

[hairbank]

Nioxin is an excellent "hair care" product but will no regrow hair. I do believe Nizoral "may" help compliment someone using Finasteride or possibly Minox in an attempt to maintain or possibly regrow.

 

To answer your question.........hard to tell. We all have hair falling out at various times when it goes into its resting phase.

 

I do believe Nizoral may help compliment your regimen, however, in your case with the HT hair thinning over time, I'd go get a professional opinion and see a dermatologist.

[yukon]

Do any doctors recommend nizoral or tricomin? does this stuff really work? which Nizoral works best? Thanks

[hairbank]

Yukon,

 

Welcome to the forum. I'm not sure about Dr.'s recommending Nizoral or tricomin. I know nothing of tricomin so maybe someone else can help you there. Nizoral comes in the 1% or 2% variety. On it's own, Nizoral doesn't regrow hair. It is a anti-fungal shampoo used to aid in providing optimal growth conditions for hair. It has been referred to as a dandruff shampoo also and is supposed to be used a few times a week. I use 1%, you can get 2% with a script.

 

As far as Nizoral working...........it will help keep your scalp healthy but won't regrow hair on its own.