Losing transplanted hair

[feroq]

I had a hair transplant surgery in 2006 at the age of 45. Before that, I tried Rogaine for 6 months without any improvement. The surgery was a success. While the transplanted hair didn't have the same density as they had in my younger days, with some DermMatch, my hair looked perfect. After the surgery, I immediately started to take Propecia and have been taking it since. About two weeks ago, at the tender age of 61, I noticed that my hair had become noticeably less dense. The texture also changed: the hair had become dull and less manageable. Most likely I simply wasn't paying attention, but my perception was that it happened in a matter of days. I also started to notice shed hair around me.
The hair on the donor site is still in perfect shape. The area to which hairs were transplanted was (almost) completely bold so I am definitely losing the transplanted hair. There have been no changes in my general health, medications, supplements, hair care routine, etc.,
My annual blood test in January showed normal levels of iron, no problems with thyroid, etc., although it may be different now. I did wear knit cap during winter for hours at a time, something I wasn't doing before this winter. I also had a Virtual Reality headset on my head for hours at a time. Its top is open, but there is some pressure from its strap to the area of my scalp I am having hair loss at. I was using the same headset for years, but not for as long as this year. The strap moves over my transplanted hair during certain games.
Any ideas?

[Al - Moderator]

I would guess two normal things could be going on at once. First you may be going through a seasonal shed which is why you suddenly notice it. Hopefully those hairs will grow back in soon.

Secondly you could be losing density all over due to you getting older. You may not notice it in the donor area because it was thicker there. It's easier to notice a small amount of thinning in the transplanted area where it was less dense. Here's some simple numbers just for explanation. If you had 100 hairs per cm in the donor, losing 20% would leave you with 80 which you probably wouldn't notice especially since it probably happened gradually over the last few years. If you had 50 hairs per cm in the transplanted area and you lose the same 20% of those then you are down to 40 in that area. The difference there is going to be more noticeable.

 

[Dillpickle123]

Any pictures 

[gillenator]

If your donor hair is stable and resistant to DHT, then IMHO it would be beneficial to have complete blood work done…based on your age, it cannot hurt to have this done.

[duckling]

11 hours ago, feroq said:

I had a hair transplant surgery in 2006 at the age of 45. Before that, I tried Rogaine for 6 months without any improvement. The surgery was a success. While the transplanted hair didn't have the same density as they had in my younger days, with some DermMatch, my hair looked perfect. After the surgery, I immediately started to take Propecia and have been taking it since. About two weeks ago, at the tender age of 61, I noticed that my hair had become noticeably less dense. The texture also changed: the hair had become dull and less manageable. Most likely I simply wasn't paying attention, but my perception was that it happened in a matter of days. I also started to notice shed hair around me.
The hair on the donor site is still in perfect shape. The area to which hairs were transplanted was (almost) completely bold so I am definitely losing the transplanted hair. There have been no changes in my general health, medications, supplements, hair care routine, etc.,
My annual blood test in January showed normal levels of iron, no problems with thyroid, etc., although it may be different now. I did wear knit cap during winter for hours at a time, something I wasn't doing before this winter. I also had a Virtual Reality headset on my head for hours at a time. Its top is open, but there is some pressure from its strap to the area of my scalp I am having hair loss at. I was using the same headset for years, but not for as long as this year. The strap moves over my transplanted hair during certain games.
Any ideas?

I can guarantee you that headset cannot cause alopecia. Don't worry about that. It will not cause traction alopecia.

Please check vitamin d , vitamin b12 along with iron and thyroid for hair fall. If you correct them then hairfall may be stopped.

There is a chance that the hair which propecia had helped you save or helped you regain, those hair you might be losing. 

Loss of transplanted hair is also possible if they were not from safe donor area. ( But since you said 2006 , so i am assuming it was FUT and likelyhood of this reason is less if strip surgery was done properly)

Transplanted hair also thin (according to some articles) so that is one more reason.

Last one is seasonal shedding which common for people and they assume it be serious and start worrying and lose more hair in doing so.

 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@feroq,

I think it would really help if you post some photos of your scalp and hair.  I suggest  posting pictures of your scalp and hair immediately before your hair transplant. after your hair grew in and pictures of your hair today.

Without seeing photos, I would suggest that is possible that perhaps you’re losing more natural hair due to the progression of male pattern baldness rather than the transplanted hair, especially given that you said your donor area seems just as thick as it was before.  I also know that as one ages, there can be some general thing all over the scalp, which includes the donor area and the transplanted hair.

What concerns me however, is you stating that you started experiencing all of this within only a couple of days. I believe you mentioned changing hair texture, thickness, and substantial hair shedding. Are you sure this has occurred only over a couple of days or perhaps this was going on longer and you just didn’t notice?

Assuming that you are losing transplanted hair this many years later, I do suggest consulting your surgeon, even though he, or she performed in many years ago to Garner, their input on what’s going on and what can be done.  Typically, transplanted hair is as permanent as the hair on the sides and back of your scalp, but there are always exceptions and irregularities that be affecting this.

I know you said there were no changes to your general health, but in addition to consulting your hair transplant surgeon, you may want to consult a dermatologist or a trichologist who specializes in hair and go over all of this with them to garner their professional input.

At the end of the day, there’s only so much we can do as for members and all we can do is provide you with our opinion, and give you general advice. But I think the best advice that anybody can give you at this point is to consult your hair, transplant, surgeon, and if they are not local, perhaps a local trichologist to garner their professional input.

Please keep us posted.

Rahal Hair Transplant 

[Doron Harati]

Will be helpful if you can share photos, also of the donor.

I do reccomend you'll check with dermatologist if you have miniaturization hair, including the donor.

There's also a chance you had natural hair that supported the result.

[feroq]

Thanks to all who have responded to me. Unfortunately, I don't have before and after pictures. The scalp area to which hair was transplanted to was (almost) completely bald, so I am pretty sure that my problem is mostly with transplanted hairs. 

Will applying topical Minoxidil do anything for me at this point? It did nothing when I applied it for 6 months circa 2003. The only difference now is that I am still taking Propecia.