Seborrheic dermatitis (?) AFTER hair transplant

[Xardas]

I am four months post-op; my left side looks great - there is lots of hairs and the density is very decent, on the right side, however, there are some hairs in the hairline but in the middle there is a big bald patch with zero hairs. Additionaly, a few days ago I noticed that I have developed a skin condition which seems to be a mild case of seborrheic dermatitis. I was afraid that this can influence the grafts in a negative way, so started taking fluconazole (150mg daily - orally) and ketonazole cream. The medication seem to work fast, because the inflammation is disappearing.

 

My questions are;

 

1) Can this skin condition be the reason of the poor growth on the left side?

2) Is there anything I can do now to help the situation?

3) When can it be determined whether the HT was unsuccesful?

4) Has anyone had a similar experience?

 

I found some info on other sites, where doctors assured that as long as the scalp was clear during the procedure, the results shouldn't be affected. It doesn't calm me down, though. I saved up for the surgery for six months, which meant that my social life was non-existent. After HT I waited for the results, so didn't want to be around people as well. It's been almost a year and this has been the most miserable time of my life. I'm devastated and afraid of ending up looking like a freak of nature :eek:

I don't have any pictures, my ht surgeon resides overseas. He is a good doctor and a nice guy, so obviously I don't want to damage his reputation, all the more that I still hope that everything will turn out ok. :confused:

I would be very grateful if anyone could help me, I'm really desperate.

Please excuse my English, I'm not a native speaker.

[gillenator]

What did your surgeon tell you about your condition?

 

If this persists, I would see an experienced dermatologist in person.

[hsrp10]

From my experience with seborrheic dermatitis and hair transplants, it's not the flaking or irritation etc. that you have to be most worried about it's overuse of harsh shampoos such as Nizoral 2% that can really have a negative effect.

 

Wash your hair frequently, use a medicated or dandruff control shampoo sparingly as directed by your dermatologist (see one ASAP as recommended by the Gillenator) or HT surgeon, and don't scratch or pick at anything with your nails.

I would also check with the above doctors regarding fluconazole use and your hair.

If you got through the first 10 days you should have no issue.

 

Seborrheic dermatitis is a life-long pain in the ass condition, and you may have to change your shampoo and treatment regimen frequently, but it can be controlled.

Just be careful not to overuse harsh shampoos or scratch your scalp hard (rub only with pads of fingertips if have to) and you should be fine. Good luck.

[Davis91]

I had it about four months after my transplant. Winter time reaction. No effect on outcome. First ten days are critical to a HT success. At worst the growth may delay a little. Go see a dermatologist ASAP.

[Xardas]

What did your surgeon tell you about your condition?

 

If this persists, I would see an experienced dermatologist in person.

 

My surgeon said it could affect the growth but he has never had a patient with such condition.

It is hard to find a real expert, as I moved to a developing Asian country. The dermatologist I saw, said the same thing (that it could affect the growth) but he, in turn, has never dealt with a patient after a hair transplant. I was advised to continue taking fluconazole&ketonazole, on top of that, he added Nizoral to my regimen.

 

So they both reckon that it can lead to poor results, but neither of them got any practical knowledge in this kind of situation. That's why I wanted to get an insight from someone who actually experienced/witnessed the same thing.

[Xardas]

From my experience with seborrheic dermatitis and hair transplants, it's not the flaking or irritation etc. that you have to be most worried about it's overuse of harsh shampoos such as Nizoral 2% that can really have a negative effect.

 

Wash your hair frequently, use a medicated or dandruff control shampoo sparingly as directed by your dermatologist (see one ASAP as recommended by the Gillenator) or HT surgeon, and don't scratch or pick at anything with your nails.

I would also check with the above doctors regarding fluconazole use and your hair.

If you got through the first 10 days you should have no issue.

 

Seborrheic dermatitis is a life-long pain in the ass condition, and you may have to change your shampoo and treatment regimen frequently, but it can be controlled.

Just be careful not to overuse harsh shampoos or scratch your scalp hard (rub only with pads of fingertips if have to) and you should be fine. Good luck.

 

Thanks for such a quick reply!

 

I have started using Nizoral one month post-op, but not very frequently; once, maybe twice a week, so it shouldn't have any negative impact on the outcome. How often did you use Nizoral when it ruined your 1st ht?

For the first 10 days I didn't have any problems and obviously was very careful with the recipient area.

[Xardas]

I had it about four months after my transplant. Winter time reaction. No effect on outcome. First ten days are critical to a HT success. At worst the growth may delay a little. Go see a dermatologist ASAP.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience.

As I said, everything was fine for the first few weeks, or even months. It only started now, at about 4 months (similar to your case). As I mentioned, the dermatologist told me it could theoretically affect the outcome, but he has never come across a ht patient before.

[hsrp10]

Thanks for such a quick reply!

 

I have started using Nizoral one month post-op, but not very frequently; once, maybe twice a week, so it shouldn't have any negative impact on the outcome. How often did you use Nizoral when it ruined your 1st ht?

For the first 10 days I didn't have any problems and obviously was very careful with the recipient area.

 

At four months you should be Ok using Nizoral as directed around twice a week.

 

My use of it was after about seven months, and it thinned the front on my HT eventually.

Similar stories have been reported of Nizoral knocking the tires out of a good HT, but you should be good with your current frequency.

I had great overall results until around the two year mark.

[gillenator]

You need to continue your search and eventually you will find someone derm or HT doctor who has treated it and treated it successfully.

[anoniem]

I am in the same situation now.. after 2 months i developed seborrheic dermatitis. I am now in my third month and using nizoral. Did it have effect on your result?

[Melvin- Admin]

59 minutes ago, anoniem said:

I am in the same situation now.. after 2 months i developed seborrheic dermatitis. I am now in my third month and using nizoral. Did it have effect on your result?

I have seborrheic dermatitis as well, it doesn’t affect hair growth.

[HairFunk]

My Seborrheic dermatitis seems to flare up quite randomly. It gets better usually in the summer time with less irritation. After drinking beers / wine it get's noticeably worse. I can forget wearing black if I have a big flare up, I'm often covered with flakes. I've found oat based conditioners and creams to be better than Ketoconazole though I'm certainly no dermatologist. It never effected my hair transplant growth at all though. 

[anoniem]

Thanks for the response guys! Much appreciated!

[gillenator]

SD is more common than we think however I can’t remember any patient having a negative impact on their HT procedure.

[ScottishGuy21]

Bisanga towards the end here suggests if untreated it can lead to hair loss.

Like with most things I guess early treatment is key. SD can lead to inflammation which in turn we know does cause hair loss. 

[anoniem]

Thanks guys! I use nizoral now 2 days a week. I dont have flakes anymore. Sometimes my scalp burns and my head itches. I dont scratch and keep using nizoral. I hope it will help. My growth for the 3rd month is not impressive. I hope that i am a late grower. We will see it. I appreciate it that all of you took the time to react. 

[Al - Moderator]

On 5/5/2024 at 1:20 PM, anoniem said:

Thanks guys! I use nizoral now 2 days a week. I dont have flakes anymore. Sometimes my scalp burns and my head itches. I dont scratch and keep using nizoral. I hope it will help. My growth for the 3rd month is not impressive. I hope that i am a late grower. We will see it. I appreciate it that all of you took the time to react. 

 

3 months is early, so don't get depressed. An itchy scalp is common after a hair transplant and can last for months. It's certainly annoying. Keep using Nizoral shampoo a couple of times per week. If Nizoral is helping, but you still have some issues, you can use it 3 or4 times per week if you need to. 

 

[anoniem]

Thanks for your response. Yes i keep it in mind that 3 months is early. It helps me with not getting to much dissapointed... i hope it will improve

[anoniem]

On 4/30/2024 at 7:56 PM, Melvin- Admin said:

I have seborrheic dermatitis as well, it doesn’t affect hair growth.

Hi Melvin, today i was thinking and one question popped up. Did you also experience flaking 1.5 months after your hairtransplant? And it didnt had any bad effect on your transplant? Or did you had it under control before having surgery and no flare ups post operation?

[Test12345678910]

On 5/8/2024 at 9:32 PM, anoniem said:

Hi Melvin, today i was thinking and one question popped up. Did you also experience flaking 1.5 months after your hairtransplant? And it didnt had any bad effect on your transplant? Or did you had it under control before having surgery and no flare ups post operation?

That would be my question too.

I‘m now around 5 weeks post-op. The first days everything was fine, but after 2 weeks the dermatitis appeared again. Even with Nizoral it was getting worse so now I‘m going for Cortison according to my doctor that should solve the problem.

But I‘m a very concerned right now if everything will be fine, because the transplanted hairs were growing slow and weren‘t shedding. But now many have shed after exposure of the dermatitis in this area which I noticed 2 or 3 days ago (before I was very gentle in that area, but as it should safer now I put some more pressure at washing and drying).

Could the dermatitis be the reason that limited the hairs from growing and falling out now and could it maybe mean that it could have damaged the grafts? I was prepared for the ugly duckling stage, but with that condition it will be a very tough time not knowing if everything will go according to plan

Edited Friday at 11:40 PM by Test12345678910

[anoniem]

Wish you the best. I hope that melvin want to answer our question.