How common is hair transplant deterioration after a few years?

The transplanted hair should not fall out unless there are other medical issues casing this. Usually the deterioration of hair is from continued loss of native hair. This loss of native hair can be slowed down by using minoxidil and finasteride either topically or orally.

Hello and thank you for your question. Your transplanted hair should not fall out unless you have a medical reason that is causing it. Also, poor nutrition could be a factor. I suggest a trip to your physician for a check-up and some bloodwork to start with and take it from there. Best of luck to you.

Dr. T

Historically the transplanted follicles do not die unless transplanted into an area afflicted by auto immune issues. However the hair follicle is sensitive to nutritional factors and life style habits such as smoking, processed foods, lack of adequate sleep and disease. The best way to protect the follicle is to observe a healthy life style and adequate nutrition. I recommend to my patients to take a multivitamin, omega3 , zinc and Vitamine D3 regularly in addition to a diet high in phytonutrients .

There is no slow rejection of a hair transplant because your body recognize the grafts as part of your own and wont create antibodies for rejection

Results of hair transplants can fade over time, absolutely. But no, no - it’s not always due to what you have written about the body rejecting grafts. Let’s take a look at a few scenarios. A) sometimes the transplanted hairs survive and existing original hairs in the area thin out. That leads to ongoing loss. This mechanism has nothing to do with rejection. If a patient rejects the idea of going on medical treatment, that’s just fine - but they need to expect some improvement after transplant followed by steady loss. it can be fast in some B) sometimes transplants just kill off existing hair or accelerate the thinning of existing hair. Some surgeries incite inflammation and drive the original hairs to thin. This mechanism also has nothing to do with rejection. C) sometimes a person has diffuse AGA and never really was such a great candidate for hair transplants. The surgery can improve hair but ongoing thinning just keeps on happening because donor hairs are not permanent in this case. This scenario is more common in women undergoing transplants than men but does happen in males with DUPA forms of AGA. Finally, if another hair loss condition arrives on scene after a transplant (or went unnoticed at the time of a transplant) one can expect further loss after transplant. Lichen planopilaris is sometimes a missed diagnosis before a transplant. Sometimes a transplant also triggers this condition. This mechanism is the only mechanism that deals with rejection like you have said. Any human can develop an array of conditions such as alopecia areata telogen, effluvium and scarring alopecia - and if they happen post transplant the result is a deterioration in results.