Recovery of shock loss

[DTXHair]

I’m now 1 month s/p FUE hair transplant in turkey. I was initially concerned about the appearance of my donor, particularly the first few weeks, but I’m beginning to notice improvement. The main area of concern is my right side. When I look closely with a hand mirror there are numerous, small, lighter colored hairs growing where the hair appears more patchy. Is this a good sign that I am recovering from shock loss and has anyone else experienced this? The first two attached are the left vs right side. Second are in a slightly harsher lighting of left and back 

[jfally]

I'm almost 6 weeks post, myself.

I have a couple small areas on my right side as well, one in particular above my ear, that is lagging compared to rest of donor which now looks basically untouched.

All of my research continues to remind me that 5-6 months post, these areas will fill back out, so any stressing prior to then is unnecessary. 

[DTXHair]

5 minutes ago, jfally said:

I'm almost 6 weeks post, myself.

I have a couple small areas on my right side as well, one in particular above my ear, that is lagging compared to rest of donor which now looks basically untouched.

All of my research continues to remind me that 5-6 months post, these areas will fill back out, so any stressing prior to then is unnecessary. 

Thanks man! I feel okay overall for where I’m at post op. The back looks imperceptible with the exception of slight redness. Left is almost there. Did you notice a lot of progress weeks 4-6? Also has your redness resolved? I’m tired of wearing a scrub cap or hat all of the time haha 

[jfally]

8 minutes ago, DTXHair said:

Thanks man! I feel okay overall for where I’m at post op. The back looks imperceptible with the exception of slight redness. Left is almost there. Did you notice a lot of progress weeks 4-6? Also has your redness resolved? I’m tired of wearing a scrub cap or hat all of the time haha 

It's pretty noteworthy how out and about, looking at other people, noticing their hair, most everyone has random odd growth patterns or even little spots that don't look uniform, etc. 

Sketchy haircuts, weird cowlicks, unfortunate parts, etc etc etc.

We are hyper-aware and hyper-critical of our own heads of hair naturally considering all we've done to them, but really not a single soul could tell other than us in most cases.

So on our worst days overthinking it, helps to remember that lol. 

[DTXHair]

22 minutes ago, jfally said:

It's pretty noteworthy how out and about, looking at other people, noticing their hair, most everyone has random odd growth patterns or even little spots that don't look uniform, etc. 

Sketchy haircuts, weird cowlicks, unfortunate parts, etc etc etc.

We are hyper-aware and hyper-critical of our own heads of hair naturally considering all we've done to them, but really not a single soul could tell other than us in most cases.

So on our worst days overthinking it, helps to remember that lol. 

100%. I have been even more cognizant than before about how the sides of peoples head looks. I’m used to having a mid fade on the sides where it looks very uniform, but trying to accept where I’m at now and know that it’ll likely improve in time 

[A_4_Archan]

@DTXHair

Shock loss, is a temporary and common phenomenon that can occur after a hair transplant procedure due to the trauma(shock) caused by surgery.This might look concerning, but it's typically a normal part of the hair transplant process, and the lost hair usually regrows over time.

This can happen in the donor area, The extraction of grafts from this area can temporarily shock the surrounding hair, causing it to shed.Due to trauma hairs directly gets into telogen phase and get miniaturized or fall off.

It's important to note that shock loss is usually temporary ,The hair that falls out will typically start to regrow within a few months, and full recovery can take several months to a year. In most cases, the transplanted hair will begin to grow as expected, and the native hair that was temporarily lost will also return.

I hope this helps you to calm your nerves..best of luck..Happy growing and keep updating ..

[DTXHair]

6 hours ago, A_4_Archan said:

@DTXHair

Shock loss, is a temporary and common phenomenon that can occur after a hair transplant procedure due to the trauma(shock) caused by surgery.This might look concerning, but it's typically a normal part of the hair transplant process, and the lost hair usually regrows over time.

This can happen in the donor area, The extraction of grafts from this area can temporarily shock the surrounding hair, causing it to shed.Due to trauma hairs directly gets into telogen phase and get miniaturized or fall off.

It's important to note that shock loss is usually temporary ,The hair that falls out will typically start to regrow within a few months, and full recovery can take several months to a year. In most cases, the transplanted hair will begin to grow as expected, and the native hair that was temporarily lost will also return.

I hope this helps you to calm your nerves..best of luck..Happy growing and keep updating ..

Thank you, that’s helpful. Would you expect that some of the shorter, lighter hairs are miniaturized and will likely return to terminal hairs?

[A_4_Archan]

@DTXHair

Yeh that's what happens in many of the cases and those hairs will slowly and gradually grow back with time that's why this is called "temporary shock loss"

 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@DTXHair,

A lot of people are concerned about the way the donor looks after their hair transplant. In fact, it’s sometimes even looked worse a couple weeks to a couple months after the procedure and only starts looking better sometimes between 4 to 6 months. It can even take up to a year to look completely normal.

The above is due to was referred to as “shock loss“ which I’m sure you know  is a specific form of telogen effluvium that occurs due to the trauma to the scalp during surgery.  Any terminal hair (or in other words, strong, healthy natural hair) that is not in any miniaturization state will usually return if “shocked” while any miniaturizing hairs, such as natural hairs in some stage of male pattern baldness in the  recipient area likely will not.

Long story short, patients go through many phases after her transplant surgery which is why Dr. Rachel and others always have patience to wait for year before evaluating the final result. This includes the donor and recipient areas.

so, your post is a good one as it shows that The hair restoration journey is a process and it takes time to get to the final result.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant

 

 

 

[HairLossHero]

It looks tood to me bro.    It took me several back and forths to even see what you were talking about. 

[Cooper48]

On 9/12/2023 at 11:35 AM, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

@DTXHair,

A lot of people are concerned about the way the donor looks after their hair transplant. In fact, it’s sometimes even looked worse a couple weeks to a couple months after the procedure and only starts looking better sometimes between 4 to 6 months. It can even take up to a year to look completely normal.

The above is due to was referred to as “shock loss“ which I’m sure you know  is a specific form of telogen effluvium that occurs due to the trauma to the scalp during surgery.  Any terminal hair (or in other words, strong, healthy natural hair) that is not in any miniaturization state will usually return if “shocked” while any miniaturizing hairs, such as natural hairs in some stage of male pattern baldness in the  recipient area likely will not.

Long story short, patients go through many phases after her transplant surgery which is why Dr. Rachel and others always have patience to wait for year before evaluating the final result. This includes the donor and recipient areas.

so, your post is a good one as it shows that The hair restoration journey is a process and it takes time to get to the final result.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant

 

 

 

It's always nice to have the HT drs weigh in on these concerns because they see so many patients.  I have quite a bit of shock loss on the left side (right looks almost 100% back).  It seems to be slowly coming back and I'm about 7 weeks.  Yours looks good and I wouldn't worry about it at all.  Just a heads up that it might get worse.  Mine did from 4-6 weeks.  Some of it was the fact the hair around the shockloss spot was growing so it was looking darker, providing a bigger contrast with the shockloss area.  Again, I have waded though hundreds of forums and this seems quite common but resolves withing 3-4 months.  Happy growing!