Mistake with hair wash after hair transplant

[Tamagochihandler]

Hi everyone,

I had a FUE procedure done (implantation technique with Implanters) with a very reputable Clinic and Surgeon.

Post Operative instructions are (between others) spray saline solution every hour from procedure until 3rd day after. And from 3rd day after start hair washing on recipient and donor area gently twice a day (morning and evening).

My mistake or deviation was that on my third day after instead of twice I washed only once (I fell slept in the evening before washing). I woke up at 05:00 am the fourth day and I realised of it and went straight to wash my head according to instructions to reduce as much as possible the time without washing.

Could this deviation/mistake compromise the outcome?, is it necessary the twice hair wash to oxygen the grafts properly, apart from the importance of removing the scabs and prevent infections?.

Any help or information will be much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

[DrTBarghouthi]

The instructions for washing vary between clinics. We normally recommend washing once a day and had no issues with that for years. I would continue as per their instructions but wouldn't worry about that missed wash. 

[DenverBuff1989]

@Tamagochihandler I don't envision any tangible effect, and this seems like post-care anxiety more than anything else. I myself have had 3 HTs, and for each one, the first 2 weeks had intense periods of anxiety were I was worried every little thing affected the grafts. But for all 3 HT's, the transplant hair grew in fine. 

I'm unaware if washing (or not) really impacts graft growth. While it makes sense to have the area as hygenic as possible, I am only aware of physical impacts have any effect on graft growth. If it helps, know that after 3 days, it will take a significant impact for grafts to become dislodged (but is still possible). After 9 or 10 days, grafts are securely anchored and they would need surgical intervention in order to be removed. 

I bet in a week you won't even remember about this worry. 

Happy growing!

Edited December 5, 2020 by DenverBuff1989

[Richie888]

16 hours ago, Tamagochihandler said:

Hi everyone,

I had a FUE procedure done (implantation technique with Implanters) with a very reputable Clinic and Surgeon.

Post Operative instructions are (between others) spray saline solution every hour from procedure until 3rd day after. And from 3rd day after start hair washing on recipient and donor area gently twice a day (morning and evening).

My mistake or deviation was that on my third day after instead of twice I washed only once (I fell slept in the evening before washing). I woke up at 05:00 am the fourth day and I realised of it and went straight to wash my head according to instructions to reduce as much as possible the time without washing.

Could this deviation/mistake compromise the outcome?, is it necessary the twice hair wash to oxygen the grafts properly, apart from the importance of removing the scabs and prevent infections?.

Any help or information will be much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Missing the second wash will almost certainly not have affected your potential final result. If anything you have done yourself a favour because in my opinion 2 full washes just 3 days later is quite intense for newly implanted hair. Whilst it's important for the scabs to be removed it's also important that they stay in place until the skin underneath has finished healing. Just keep washing to the schedule your doctor has advised but do not feel pressured to remove all the scabs in the beginning, 7-8 days is optimal healing time. 

[pkipling]

I assure you that your results will not be negatively impacted in any capacity based on missing a hair wash. In fact, many clinics (as mentioned above) only require hair washing once a day anyway. 

One of the things about the hair transplant industry that I find so fascinating is that even in this day and age of having scientific studies and research at our fingertips, the amount of discrepancy between every clinic in regards to post-op care is outstanding. For whatever reason, there's no universally agreed upon set of guidelines based on anything factual - and because of that, it leads to confusion and anxiety amongst patients. I think many clinics go overboard with their post-op care instructions - and I often wonder what they're basing those suggestions on, as it often seems as if they're making stuff up out of thin air (lol) and have their patients doing the most ridiculous things. I can't for the life of me imagine why they had you spraying a saline solution on your scalp every hour on the hour for three days. 😳 That seems like overkill, and it's no wonder with that strict of a post-op regimen that you would think that missing a hair wash would negatively impact your results. Fortunately, it's simply not true. (That's the good news.  )

For your own peace of mind, know that one of the leading studies on the survival rate of grafts (by Dr. Bernstein, I believe) showed that the first 72 hours are the most crucial in terms of grafts surviving post-op. After the first 72 hours, almost all of the grafts are completely lodged, and the risk of damaging them is extremely low. At that point, about the only way you can damage them is by some sort of blunt trauma to the scalp or by doing something to physically tug/pull on them. With each passing day, the risk of them being dislodged gets even less and less, and by Day 10 (or Day 14 if you want to be super conservative), you really have nothing to worry about. 

I hope that helps put you at ease and provides you some perspective. Happy growing! 

[Tamagochihandler]

Thanks a lot for all the inputs and feedbacks

There are a lot of good advices in them:

The mentioned “post care anxiety”: True, I think I am suffering it.

The amount of discrepancy between Clinics in terms post op instructions:

     I wanted to think that these discrepancies are based on different techniques used. It is not the same strip than FUE and it is not the same FUE with implanters than FUE without implanters and post op care will change depending on these factors...but how much real scientific research has been done in the post op care field, if any??.

Of course, I will stick to my Clinic and Dr post op instructions, this is why I chose him...

Anyway, once again, many thanks for all your words, they were very useful to increase knowledge and peace of mind.

Thanks !!

[Yogesh Mander]

On 12/5/2020 at 12:14 PM, Tamagochihandler said:

Hi everyone,

I had a FUE procedure done (implantation technique with Implanters) with a very reputable Clinic and Surgeon.

Post Operative instructions are (between others) spray saline solution every hour from procedure until 3rd day after. And from 3rd day after start hair washing on recipient and donor area gently twice a day (morning and evening).

My mistake or deviation was that on my third day after instead of twice I washed only once (I fell slept in the evening before washing). I woke up at 05:00 am the fourth day and I realised of it and went straight to wash my head according to instructions to reduce as much as possible the time without washing.

Could this deviation/mistake compromise the outcome?, is it necessary the twice hair wash to oxygen the grafts properly, apart from the importance of removing the scabs and prevent infections?.

Any help or information will be much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

There is no issue if you skipped wash one time like already forum member told you. For soften scabs dermatologist recommend wash hair everyday at least once a day. To prevent scalp from infection and clean the dried blood washing is necessary. So i think you should follow the doctor instruction seriously for good results.