Did I wash off my hair grafts

[Sqwilliam]

Hi I recently had a hair transplant and I have a sickly feeling I may have messed up my results. I was using a cup of water and tapping my grafts for 9-10 days. With not a lot of success with reducing scabs. It wasn’t until day 11-12post op I used regular shower head pressure and used circle motions probably using firm to moderate pressure as my head still had some numbness so it was a little hard to tell. On day 11-12 most of the scabbing was gone. My concerns now is obviously was I too aggressive because its more bare looking. I had some bleeding in one spot the rest I don’t see any just some redness likely where the scab was attached to the skin. No need to sugarcoat it as there is nothing I can do now. I just wanted to know because I’ve heard that they are on blood supply by day 10 and underneath where you can see. To add the shorter hair was day 12 where I was hoping it would be easier to wash and not get stuck to other hairs.  

 

Edited August 24, 2021 by Sqwilliam
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[Al - Moderator]

You should be OK except that you may end up with a few new scabs that will take some time to come off because of the bleeding. Don't be rubbing too hard. You don't want to be picking at them or forcing them off too soon. I think your first problem probably was that you were too gentle on the scabs earlier. You should have started letting the shower run over them around day 5 or 6 and just let the water run over them for at least a few minutes the first time you shower and not try to rub them off at all the first time. At this point, for your next shower, let the water soak the area for about 5 minutes and then gently shampoo your hair while rubbing the scabs. Don't scratch at them with your finger nails. If you have an aloe vera gel put some of that over the area before you shower and let that stay for about 5 or 10 minutes before your shower.

 

 

[Al - Moderator]

Also, it's going to end up bare looking because all of the transplanted hair and probably a lot of hair that was there before the transplant will fall out from shock loss. That's normal. It will all start growing in again in a few months.

 

 

[MachoVato]

The grafts are permanent after 7-10 days. To remove them would require tools. 

There are plenty of YouTube videos on how to soften your scabs... leave shampoo (or special scalp lotion) on for 5 minutes or so. Some scabs are more stubborn. No worries.

[Melvin- Admin]

 

[gillenator]

The healing process varies between individuals and having some minor surface bleeding when some of the scabs were removed is not an issue IMHO.

You certainly did not lose any grafts and probably in another week or so, the recipient area should be healed up nicely for you.

[pkipling]

Echoing the others to help your peace of mind by saying that there's no way you dislodged the grafts 11-12 days into the process. The first 72 hours are when you're at the most risk of accidentally losing any grafts, but after that, the chances diminish considerably. It's actually more difficult to lose grafts than most people realize. 

Keep following your hair washing protocol, particularly in regards to the scabs, and at this point, just lean into the fact that things will look worse before they look better... And then resist the urge to monitor your scalp too closely for results over the next few months because you won't start seeing any progress until months 3-4 at the earliest. 

Congrats on the procedure!

[Sqwilliam]

Thank you all for the advice and support.