Tanning Salon after hair restoration

[sasha2077]

If I went tanning in a high powered tanning bed without covering my head a few days after a hair transplant would that delay or restrict growth of the newly transplanted hair?

[Blake Bloxham]

Sasha,

 

As I understand it, most hair restoration physicians recommend avoiding excessive sunlight exposure for up to 3-6 months following a hair transplant procedure. Granted, tanning beds allegedly utilize slightly different light waves and may affect the body differently compared to natural sunlight, but I can't imagine tanning after hair transplantation is recommended. I would recommend directly contacting the surgeon and or clinic that performed the procedure, ask their opinion, and see if any sort of office visit is warranted (though unlikely). Additionally, try to obtain a standardized, or clinic specific, set of post-operative instructions and follow these thoroughly. In the future, this will help you avoid these issues. Good luck, and keep us updated!

[Dr. William Lindsey]

Tanning beds are the work of the devil. Would you bathe yourself in carcinogens? And if you found out that your employer had ultraviolet lights in the workplace, you and every trial lawyer in America would be trying to get a piece of the action.

 

I like sun exposure as much as any of you. And I know it causes skin cancer. But bathing yourself in UV light in a tanning bed is far worse than unprotected sun exposure outdoors as far as both increasing skin cancer risk and increasing photo-aging of the skin.

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

[kathie47]

so it doesn't necessarily have to do to much with ht, as much as it does with overall health.

 

 

Stay away Sasha!

[waveskier]

Tanning beds are the work of the devil. Would you bathe yourself in carcinogens? And if you found out that your employer had ultraviolet lights in the workplace, you and every trial lawyer in America would be trying to get a piece of the action.

 

I like sun exposure as much as any of you. And I know it causes skin cancer. But bathing yourself in UV light in a tanning bed is far worse than unprotected sun exposure outdoors as far as both increasing skin cancer risk and increasing photo-aging of the skin.

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

 

Wow Doc that speaks volumes!! Fortunately tanning beds aren't needed here, but the sun can be fierce. Most of us sun people have cut way back on sun bathing and do use lots of sunscreen.

 

Aloha Russ

[Steven Gabel, MD, FACS]

I recommend to my patients that they avoid unprotected sunlight exposure for 3 months after surgery. Now, is this a hard and fast rule? - no. It is important not to expose the grafted site for some time as the added radiation exposure could cause prolonged redness to the skin at the grafted site. Also, if it is a new transplant, you may risk some poor growth as the new follicles may be “burned” with the sunlight exposure.

 

I suggest to my patients that they wear a hat if they are going to be outside for a prolonged period of time - short bursts of sun exposure, such as getting out of the car and into the house or office or for shopping, in my opinion, won’t cause any problems; however, if they are going to be exposing their scalp to the sun for more then 5 - 10 minutes, I advise some type of protection. Another piece of advice I give my patients is once the hairs have shed (4 weeks after surgery), I recommend that they use sunscreen with at least SPF 15 or SPF 30 on the healing/grafted portion of the scalp.

[Dr. William Lindsey]

I don't think it alters hair growth at all. No more than LLLT would help; as neither is going to get to the rootball.

 

Rather, hyperpigmentation of the recipient area skin, in darker complected people is the problem to avoid. And of course the skin cancer risk that I noted above.

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

[Steven Gabel, MD, FACS]

I agree with Dr. Lindsey that exposure to sunlight may cause the skin to have color changes called hyperpigmentation. However, I do believe that overexposure to the UV radiation at a tanning salon may cause problems with growth if the patients are exposed too long to cause a burn. It is not hard to get over-exposed to the UV radiation in a tanning salon. The intensity of the tanning beds differs from one bed to the other and a couple minutes in one bed which does not expose someone to a lot of UV radiation may be much more UV radiation exposure in another bed causing a burn. I have seen plenty of people who have suffered burns in tanning beds in my practice. I don’t think too many people would argue that burning the skin at the recipient site is detrimental to the grafts.

[Sparky]

Is this something that you have already done and are now worried about?

[kathie47]

ya, has anyone actually had any experiences with this?

[sasha2077]

yes this is something that I have done and am wondering if it is causing delayed growth.

 

I am at 12 months and NO growth. Could it be the tanning bed, although I did not burn my scalp?

 

Could it be the fact that I had multiple procedures and I am a slow grower?

 

Or could it be the doctor just messed up somehow?

[kathie47]

sasha,

 

that sounds like the perfect storm. Have you tried to contact your dr about this?

 

It seems like it could be a combination of these, but I am no doctor.