When can one shave a head leaving no visible scar after NeoGraft FUE?

Question

When can one shave a head leaving no visible scar after NeoGraft FUE? I know it depends on case by case basis but wanted to get an rough idea of range (4 or 5 or 6 weeks?).

Ken Anderson, MD, FISHRS · Answer

Dear darshan21,Thank you for writing in with this question.  After an FUE surgery, or any surgery for that matter, there are scars.  I know there is a lot of hype about “scarless surgery” in the field of hair restoration surgery, but the simple fact is that the hair follicle originate below the surface of the skin.  To obtain them for transplantation, with any method at all, the skin must be pierced.  Unless you’re a fetus in your mother’s womb, in which case I doubt you’d be posting questions to RealSelf, any time your skin is breached with a surgical instrument, it’s going to leave a permanent scar.  Scars are by definition permanent.  The advantage of the FUE procedure is that instead of a linear scar across the back of your head, you’re going to have many tiny round punctate scars in the donor area.  If you shave your hair in the donor area, there will be evidence of the FUE procedure, most likely for 8-12 months until the scars from the FUE procedure have had time to fade and contract.  After 4-6 weeks, I expect there to be some redness in the donor area, and the extraction sites from the FUE device will likely still be visible.I hope this information is helpful to you.

John Bitner, MD · Answer

Both the FUE and the strip technique will leave a scar.  The main benefit of the FUE is that you can generally wear your hair far shorter than with the strip.  You are unlikely to ever be able to shave (Bic it down to the skin).  Usually with a strip technique, you can usually cut your hair to a minimum of #3 or #4 clipper and the scar will be hidden.  With FUE you can generally cut your hair to #1 or #2 clipper and the scars will not be visible.  I hope that helps.

Scott K. Thompson, MD · Answer

Any incision in the skin will leave a scar.  This includes FUE methods.  The scars from FUE are just small 1mm scars.  These may be more or less visible depending on how your skin heals.  In general however, FUE scars would most likely be less visible in a shaved head than an FUT or strip scar because they are very small and broken up.  Hope this is helpful.  See this link for more information on FUT and FUE methods.

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

Sorry to disappoint you, but you will always have a scar if you shave even with NeoGraft or any FUE.  If you shave your head thousands of white dots scars will show.  You will need to grow out your hair a bit so hide the patchy scar.

Steven Gabel, MD, FACS · Answer

The Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) method in hair restoration does leave a scar.  So if you were told that you would not have a scar, unfortunately, you were mislead.  The FUE method of extracting hair uses a small, round scalpel, or punch blade, varying in sizes most commonly around a 0.9 mm to 1.1 mm size.  Depending upon the size of the punch, a round scar about that size will also result.  The strip method of hair restoration is when an incision is made in the scalp and a strip of scalp is removed.  The area is sutured afterwards and the sutures either dissolve or are removed about a week later.  The result is a linear scar that most of the time is easily covered with hair.There is a misconception that FUE is scarless surgery.  There is no such thing as scarless surgery.

Ryan Welter, MD · Answer

In terms of the donor area, it is possible to shave a few weeks after the procedure once the extraction sites are well healed. In terms of the recipient area, one should wait until the grafts are mature and firmly seeded.  This can be anywhere from 4-8 weeks.  Most physicians would say closer to 4 weeks in most people if they heal well.

Steven M. Gitt, MD, FACS (in memoriam) · Answer

The simple fact is that if a skin incision is made, a scar will form. The real question is actually just how noticeable will the scar be. I have found that many times patients have a preconceived notion or that they misunderstand what they are told in this regard. It is pretty clear that the old "strip grafting" techniques leave a much more objectionable scar than Neograft and that is a simple FACT. When excising a strip,donor site, the surgeon/technologists then cut out the small follicle units one at a time, discarding the extra tissues and skin that are left us disturbed by the more modern and more efficient, yet less traumatic Neograft harvesting techniques. . Horse and buggy manufacturers were pretty upset with Henry Ford for the same reasons that doctors clinging onto old techniques are upset with Neografting. They have seen their patients going elsewhere and their high pricing structures eroded by Neograft so, naturally, they are upset. Quite simply, the "scats" left by Neograft are uniformly MUCH less noticeable than the old strip excision scars, if at all noticeable. I have never had a Neograft patient complain about the donor site appearance while those who have had strip grafting sport an obviously noticeable scar 100% of the time.

Brian Goertz, MD (retired) · Answer

Whether FUE or FUT there will be a scar in the donor area. If you shave your head in the donor area punctate scars will be evident. If you were told that Neograft machine does not leave scars that is unethical and misleading. Removal of donor hair by FUE or FUE using the Neograft device will leave 1mm scars (dependent on the size of device tip). Removal by strip method will leave a scar, the size of which is highly dependent on the skill and technique of the surgeon. Note about Neograft machine. Most full time hair transplant surgeons do not use the Neograft machine to assist in donor hair extraction. I do not use the Neograft machine as I believe it traumatizes the grafts excessively. Unfortunately, the Neograft machine has been marketed as a tool to doctors who do not specialize in hair restoration and this is unfortunate. Most individuals pursue hair restoration to achieve great results and avoiding a bad outcome is important. The link below you will find some information to find a qualified hair restoration surgeon.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

First, you should ask the doctor who did this. I can tell you that 5-6 weeks is usually fine because my patients have no crusts immedicately after the procedure because of washing techniques.

Omeed Memar, MD, PhD (license suspended) · Answer

The grafts take a few weeks to shed their hair fiber.  Not all grafts shed their hair fibers.  I tell patients not to manipulate the grafts for up to 4 weeks.  Therefore,  after one month,  you should be OK to shave your recipient area.

When can one shave a head leaving no visible scar after NeoGraft FUE?

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