Sunlight and Excess Scar Tissue

[Ralph kaka]

Hi all,

I am day 31 of my current hair transplant. I did one back in 2020 at Bosley with limited growth and just did a repair recently. I was reflecting and my post op instructions at bosley from my first transplant 3 years ago, and they had told me to just keep the grafted area out of the sun for 2 months which I now know was way too little. I probably wore a hat outside for 60 days during the day time but I know after 2 months I was less cautious in 2020 and stopped wearing hats, because my post op instructions didn't even mention sunlight beyond that point.

Perhaps this is why my first hair transplant didn't get me the desired results. However, I am curious if the damage I could have gotten from the sun 3 years ago in 2020 after my first hair transplant could have caused excess scar tissue and could it potentially sabotage my repair case that I just did a month ago?

What would the consequences have been after my first hair transplant a few years ago if I only did 2 months or so of using a hat intensely in terms of scarring from sun damage? Is it likely there would be excess scarring that would get in the way of future repair cases? I had long hair and they just worked on a section of zone 2 and allowed me to keep my hair long, which prob doesn't make much of a difference. @gillenator @Rahal Hair Transplant @sl I would value your opinions if you have any!

Thanks a ton.

[A_4_Archan]

I don't think sun light after 2 months can damage your grafts or affect your outcome unless the recipient area caught some infection...still its better if some expert would explain this ....if there would be excess scars thn the doctor who did your repair could have seen it when checking your scalp ....

[gillenator]

We all might be surprised at how penetrating UV rays can be even through layers of hair…yes, I am a proponent of keeping the scalp covered post-op and protected from the sun’s rays for no less than 4 months.

[Ralph kaka]

2 hours ago, gillenator said:

We all might be surprised at how penetrating UV rays can be even through layers of hair…yes, I am a proponent of keeping the scalp covered post-op and protected from the sun’s rays for no less than 4 months.

@gillenator In my case, what do you think the consequences could be in terms of my current repair case? Could the sunlight exposure I had post op in 2020 really damage scar tissue that bad enough to sabotage future transplants/my current one?

Edited May 28, 2023 by Ralph kaka

[gillenator]

Your scalp probably has had enough time (3 years ) to recover and hopefully the blood flow and supply is adequate…we cannot see into the underlying dermis layer to evaluate the blood supply.

[Ralph kaka]

1 hour ago, gillenator said:

Your scalp probably has had enough time (3 years ) to recover and hopefully the blood flow and supply is adequate…we cannot see into the underlying dermis layer to evaluate the blood supply.

Gotchya, makes sense thank you so much. So after 4-6 months this time around, am I okay not to wear a hat every time I am in the sun without it risking damaging my grafts/follicles? Or do I always need to wear a hat in the sun now since I had a Hair transplant to err on the side of caution?