SUN POST OP.. AVOID IT!

[Scorpian]

Just thought I'd share this story. I had 2 previous HT's which ate up a good deal of donor hair... and 4 months post op from my 2nd one.. I had a sun burn while I was on vacation. I contacted the clinic and told them about it, and they told me not to worry too much about it. Well, the new grafts were in-fact growing until they saw sun for a prolonged period of time from my vacation. Once I came back from my vacation, the recipient area was much thinner than before. This was roughly 5 1/2 months post op when I came back home. I don't know if the sun did that or not, but things never improved after that. Just a word to those getting a HT.. there's a lot of controversy surrounding how long after a HT you are able to expose your scalp to sun.. I would just avoid it altogether, until at least those grafts have truly settled.. which would probably be 18 months. Again, I'm not sure if it was the sun that did it or not... but to be on the safe side, I would avoid the sun.

[Stimpson]

Sound advice. Frankly, baldies like us should probably be wearing a hat anyway when out in the sun for prolonged periods anyway due to skin cancer and so forth. I remember Dr. Lindsay posting once about how he had seen a lot of patients recently with suspicous looking spots/growths on top of their heads.

 

Stimpy

[Scorpian]

I agree.. wearing a hat is a good idea when you're out for a prolonged period of time. You can always apply SPF on your scalp, but I heard that the efficacy of SPF lotions is minimal when the sun ray's are extremely strong. They actually only block anywhere from 20% to 50% of the sun's rays under very strong emissions. I would buy a UV hat, but they look silly lol

[lovestospoon]

Scorpian,

 

Did you use sunblock on your scalp? Do you have any pictures before and after so we can see the damage? I am taking a vacation 4.5 months after my surgery and had planned on going to the beach without a hat but still using sunblock...

[Scorpian]

At the time, I did not use sunblock on my scalp. I didn't know the potential risk of exposing my scalp after the hairs were already starting to grow. I guess I assumed that since they were growing, they were part of my head and like normal hairs that never shed from the sun, things would be ok. On the forums, everyone seemed to say that after 3-4 months, things would be fine. I didn't think the sun could have been a problem. Like I said, I don't know what to attribute to me losing some of those transplanted hairs, but the sun is definitely one possibility. It's just ironic that right after sun exposure from my vacation, I would lose transplanted hairs that were growing quite nicely at 4 months post op.

 

I'll try to look for pictures. My advice would be to put sunblock on and wear a hat, or sit under an umbrella . I'm just going by personal experience. You should always ask your doctor about things like this though.

[lovestospoon]

Im glad you wrote this thread. I had the same thought pattern as you with assuming that once they were growing they could be treated like normal hairs. Where were your grafts located?

[Scorpian]

In the frontal 1/3rd

[kaounis]

To much sun is never a good thing, (uv rays), but a few minutes a day is actually good for your new HT, it helps with healing and growth, but only a few minutes, maybe 10 min. or so, at least that is what the medical text books say. We are not that much different than plants or other animals for that matter..We need the sun to survive and grow...

 

Just a thought from the peanut gallery...

[kirenkodali]

Hello all,

I am 1 month post HT.

Went for a walk on the beach first time after HT, wore a bandana and a black cap on top of it just to be safe. Don't like sun screen, did not use it.

30 minutes, 4 pm australian sun with the above protection.

 

What do my fellow HTers feel ? Any damage ?

Also can the heat generated under the cap and the bandana cause any damage to the precious little follicles?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Scorpian,

 

I see this is an old post but I thought I'd respond anyway.

 

Thanks for sharing your story. That's certainly discouraging. Overall, it's a good idea to protect your scalp and skin from long term sun exposure regardless of whether or not you've undergone a hair transplant. Long term sun exposure without sunblock can create major burn and even potentially skin cancer.

 

Typically to much sun exposure to the scalp early on after hair transplant surgery will result in extended redness but typically doesn't effect growth. However, if the skin was badly burned I suppose anything is possible.

 

Kiren,

 

I know you posted on another topic and I responded there. But your situation seems a lot different than Scorpians and you've taken steps to protect yourself by wearing a bandanna. You were also only in the sun for 30 minutes and it wasn't peak time. I honestly feel that you will be fine.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill