Am I loosing grafts or experiencing normal shedding?

[LSorvats]

So I am at day 9 post op, and my shedding new hairs don't look anything like normal hairs when they fall out. Normal hairs have a small white "bulb" at one end. My new hairs when they shed have a blunt dark end at both ends and no small white bulb. I am beginning to worry that 1 it's too early to be shedding the new hairs and 2 that they don't look like normal hairs when they shed. Should I be worried, or is this totally normal? Thanks very much...

[Thehairupthere]

You shouldn't be worried, this all sounds normal. All of the hairs you had transplanted will fall out between 8 days and 3 weeks post op.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Agreed...sound normal!

[LSorvats]

Ok thanks very much guys!! It's so easy to get paranoid post surgery!!

[hairthere]

Yep, you don't want to see the bulb; that would mean you lost a graft. Normal shedding HT hairs are straight and sometimes bent at the end like an L.

[LSorvats]

Yep, you don't want to see the bulb; that would mean you lost a graft. Normal shedding HT hairs are straight and sometimes bent at the end like an L.

 

Yes I know exactly what you mean by the L at the end! So out of interest when you loose a normal hair that has a white bulb on the end, does that mean it's gone forever?

[Thehairupthere]

Most of the time when you see a white "bulb" at this point it's dry skin that's attached to the hair that is shedding. You will experience more dandruff like this for the next few weeks. Unless you hit your head severely within the first few days of your procedure than your hair should be fine and healthy.

[hairthere]

At 9 days the only way you are going to lose a graft is if you bonk your head or physically tug one out. There would likely be some blood, too. As thehairupthere stated, a white "bulb" on the end is more likely some dry skin. The scabs can also have a white appearance when they get wet and fall off. Nothing to be concerned about.

[fakeplstctrees]

I know how difficult it can be right at the beginning, not knowing how delicate you need to be with your scalp. I am not a doctor, but I am going to blatantly state that you are shedding as to be expected. 9 days in? Those grafts are pretty secure at this point. So stop worrying, you'll lose more hair from that, j/k. You are really fine though, that is nothing to be concerned with. Best of luck, and keep us updated.

 

-Trees

[LSorvats]

Guys thanks very much for all your help...

[NathanP]

Hi Guys,

 

I am now at 12 Days post-op and at day 9 started seeing a few (maybe 4-5 per day) hairs falling out with white bulbs attached to them. I also have a lot of white stuff in my recipient area.

 

Best is to take a look at the photos.

 

Did I lose some actual grafts and if yes are these gone for good or will they grow back in a few months? Is it normal to have so much of this white stuff in the recipient area?

 

I am washing my hair every morning and evening (living in Bangkok and it's 38C! - wearing a cap during days by the way) as per the doctor's instructions. For the first week I only patted the hair very softly when applying the shampoo supplied by the clinic and when drying it (pat with a towel and then air dry - no rubbing).

 

After 7 days I started applying my normal shampoo (Bergamont) and applied it in a circular motion (no hard rubbing or scratching but more firm than during the first week). I continue to pat dry it with the towel and air dry it.

 

What do you think. Do these photos show grafts that are gone for good or is this totally normal?

 

Thanks in advance and hope I didn't hijack your thread, LSorvats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hairshopeing]

The hairs look perfectly normal to me!! There not complete grafts, just got dead skin or whatever it is in your recip area with them!! By day 14 I'd be more aggressive washing and get rid of all that flaky stuff then see how it looks!! All looks ok to me though!!

[NathanP]

@hairshopeing thanks for your reply. Glad to hear that these types of lost hairs look normal to you.

I'm just being paranoid like most when they see hairs shed after their HT.

 

I wonder thou - just out of curiosity - what a real lost graft would look like, one that will indeed not grow back. I have looked around in Google image search and also on this forum but was unable to find anything.