I’ve read something and now I’m worried..

[Yan bio]

Hey people, I’ve read on hdc’s website that “it’s important to get rid of the scabs within 10 days, or they (the scabs) might falll together with follicles “…

(This is written in the israeli website)

is this true?! Yes, i know taking of the scabs is important - but can it really make the follicles drop with it, assuming it had take  more than 10 / xyz amount of time..?

 

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by Yan bio

[Yan bio]

I find this very troublesome, as I did have a scab which lasted maybe 15 days even though I shampooed and massages it quite vigorously, I just felt If I do it more aggressively it actually might hurt the tissue and bleed.

now (almost 8 weeks after transplant) it’s the only bare area in my hair line  

[Al - Moderator]

17 minutes ago, Yan bio said:

Hey people, I’ve read on hdc’s website that “it’s important to get rid of the scabs within 10 days, or they (the scabs) might falll together with follicles “…

(This is written in the israeli website)

is this true?! Yes, i know taking of the scabs is important - but can it really make the follicles drop with it, assuming it had take  more than 10 / xyz amount of time..?

 

There is some evidence that if you are too afraid to ever try to get the scabs off and never even let water from the shower touch them and let them stay for 3 or 4 weeks then that can have a bad effect on the growth. You do have to let them start to breathe instead of being covered constantly. It's the same idea as wearing a hair piece constantly can have a negative effect on the hair transplant growth.

 

13 minutes ago, Yan bio said:

I find this very troublesome, as I did have a scab which lasted maybe 15 days even though I shampooed and massages it quite vigorously, I just felt If I do it more aggressively it actually might hurt the tissue and bleed.

now (almost 8 weeks after transplant) it’s the only bare area in my hair line

 

15 days for all the scabs to be fully removed is fine. At 8 weeks you won't have any growth yet. Don't worry about it. I do think that if the scabs come off in a week then those hairs have a better chance of growing without shedding, but that is my own thinking.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by BeHappy

[NARMAK]

Generally you should start removing scabs after 7 days and it's okay to do it in a couple sessions if you didn't quite manage to get everything the first time. 

Personally i found it a challenge in terms of the mental aspect of worrying you might damage grafts etc. 

You should probably not leave scabs on your head a long time but at least in my eyes, graft survival was about the underlying follicle becoming anchored and i'm not 100% sure that website is correct in implying the follicles will be permanently lost. 

[John1991]

32 minutes ago, NARMAK said:

Generally you should start removing scabs after 7 days and it's okay to do it in a couple sessions if you didn't quite manage to get everything the first time. 

Personally i found it a challenge in terms of the mental aspect of worrying you might damage grafts etc. 

You should probably not leave scabs on your head a long time but at least in my eyes, graft survival was about the underlying follicle becoming anchored and i'm not 100% sure that website is correct in implying the follicles will be permanently lost. 

 I'd imagine encouraging people to aggressively try to remove scabs (particularly if it's just a few that are being stubborn) before they're ready to be gone would actually be more likely to hurt graft growth.  Of course one should wash the recipient area (even the day after using the "cup" method), but OP is too early on for growth and has nothing to worry about.

Edited August 14, 2022 by John1991

[ciaus]

3 hours ago, Yan bio said:

Hey people, I’ve read on hdc’s website that “it’s important to get rid of the scabs within 10 days, or they (the scabs) might falll together with follicles “…

(This is written in the israeli website)

is this true?! Yes, i know taking of the scabs is important - but can it really make the follicles drop with it, assuming it had take  more than 10 / xyz amount of time..?

 

 

 

The main reason you want the scabs to come off is so that if you bump or brush your head against something that pulls the scabs off, the hair follicles don't get pulled out along with the scab. Hair doesn't 'need to breath' by exposing it to the air, it gets the oxygen and nutrients it needs from the blood supplies under your skin. 

The other main reason you want the scabs off is to reduce the chances for skin pores to get clogged, potentially causing little infections like pimples to develop. That's why its best to gradually and gently wash & moisturize the scabs daily so the come off easier. By 10 days your hair grafts are anchored into the new blood supplies, whether the scabs get washed or scrubbed off. As long as you didn't have any incidents in the first 9 days where you bumped or rubbed your head hard against something, causing scabs to come off, you are fine. You just might have a few more pimples during the coming weeks as the skin pushes out the impurities that accumulated when you were being extra careful not washing as thoroughly. 

[HappyMan2021]

For my first 3 HT's I was super scared of taking off the scabs and I just let them all fall off naturally. Must have taken 2-3 weeks. Did not notice any impact. 

For my 4th HT I removed all of them by the 10 day mark (if they hadn't fallen off earlier naturally). Trust me I was nervous removing the scabs, but once you do it you will see there is nothing to worry about.

[Melvin- Admin]

They might be referencing Dr. Bernstein’s article regarding scabs. Scabs adjacent to grafts have a higher chance of dislodging.