Wearing hair down to hide transplanted region?

[BoredMassively]

I kept my existing hair post transplant, donor aside, because I wear a fringe and it’s vital to my confidence. How soon after a transplant do you think it would be acceptable to wear your hair over the recipient area? I was told 7 days by my patient coordinator but I’d like as many opinions as possible.
 

Photos for reference

[Fue3361]

7 days sounds pretty fine.  Generally speaking, I'd say wear it down once the scabs are gone.  Mostly not to tangle existing hair with the scabs, and theoretically pulling out a graft.

[Al - Moderator]

After a couple of days you're fine as long as you are careful when combing your hair, so you don't scratch the grafts with your comb or tug on them. Some Drs add grafts into existing hair without shaving the area, so those patients are basically coming their hair over the grafts at day 2 or 3 if you figure the first day or 2 they aren't touching it at all and just spraying the area.

 

[NARMAK]

I was considering keeping my hair longer to like you maybe cover and have privacy, but i feel it's better over the longer term to let it all ve buzzed down and show the proper angles etc. of the hair. 

Obviously each situation is different but if you can arrange to work from home for a little while, maybe a few weeks that could help with redness/swelling to go and then adjust the work wear by wearing a very loose fitting hat. 

[BoredMassively]

1 minute ago, NARMAK said:

I was considering keeping my hair longer to like you maybe cover and have privacy, but i feel it's better over the longer term to let it all ve buzzed down and show the proper angles etc. of the hair. 

Obviously each situation is different but if you can arrange to work from home for a little while, maybe a few weeks that could help with redness/swelling to go and then adjust the work wear by wearing a very loose fitting hat. 

When you say better over the long term, what exactly do you mean by that?

Unfortunately for me, shaving my existing hair was simply never and option, and if/when I need future transplants (god forbid, I absolutely hate this post-op recovery period) I will seek to avoid it at all costs.

 

 

[NARMAK]

3 minutes ago, BoredMassively said:

When you say better over the long term, what exactly do you mean by that?

Unfortunately for me, shaving my existing hair was simply never and option, and if/when I need future transplants (god forbid, I absolutely hate this post-op recovery period) I will seek to avoid it at all costs.

 

 

So when you buzz the hair down, the angles of your native hair direction are more easily seen and can be replicated i feel. It's probably also easier for them to work between the native hair and also i think from a washing the scabs and keeping the area well hydrated, it might be easier to manage.

The temptation to style your hair out of the way might cause you to unsettle grafts which could be worse imo if you lost any. 

[BoredMassively]

29 minutes ago, NARMAK said:

So when you buzz the hair down, the angles of your native hair direction are more easily seen and can be replicated i feel. It's probably also easier for them to work between the native hair and also i think from a washing the scabs and keeping the area well hydrated, it might be easier to manage.

The temptation to style your hair out of the way might cause you to unsettle grafts which could be worse imo if you lost any. 

I suppose a lot of that boils down to the skill of the team carrying out the procedure. Most of my transplant was done in areas absent of hair. I’m not sure how much the direction of the graft impacts hair, presumably it can be conditioned in any way you want in time, but I know very little about that. Regardless, when my new transplanted hair grows out it will be shoehorned into a fringe wether it likes it or not…

[NARMAK]

16 minutes ago, BoredMassively said:

I suppose a lot of that boils down to the skill of the team carrying out the procedure. Most of my transplant was done in areas absent of hair. I’m not sure how much the direction of the graft impacts hair, presumably it can be conditioned in any way you want in time, but I know very little about that. Regardless, when my new transplanted hair grows out it will be shoehorned into a fringe wether it likes it or not…

I get what you mean and a more talented team should hopefully be able to navigate between the hair that's there if they're reinforcing an existing are and shouldn't be too much of an issue where there's no hair. 

I personally was going back and forth with it and now you're probably making me question it again lol. I think ultimately its best to choose the right clinic and ask the doctor what they feel will deliver the best outcome and go with that. A buzzed look for a few months and proper 12 months outcome is always better imo.