Hair lost during crust removal. Is this normal?

If you actually pulled off the crusts, the you likely pulled out the grafts. Crust should never be pulled off, they should shed with the various daily washes. An FUE is treated just
like a regular hair transplant with regard to the recipient area, but the donor
area has open wounds which require daily washing with soap and water. Within 3
days of surgery, you can resume full activities, heavy exercises if you wish.
The recipient area requires daily washes as well to keep the recipient area
free of crusts. I generally recommend the use of a sponge and supply my patient
with a surgical sponge to fill with soapy water and press on the recipient area
daily. By repeating this daily, all crusts can be washed off without any fear
of losing grafts. IF any crust are present, use a Q tip and dip it into soapy
water, and roll it on the crusts and that will lift them off without dislodging
them, but never rub them, just roll the Q tip on the recipient crust. I like to
see no evidence of any crusting in the recipient area and the crusts from the
donor area gone in 7-10 days with daily washing,.

The hair shaft falls off with the scabs but the follicles remain under the skin. the hair goes through its own intrinsic growth cycle. The transplanted hair usually starts to grow in after three months and will continue to grow for up to 18 months after the procedure.