My normal hair not growing after hair transplant? (photo)

Question

i had my hair transplant done just over 2 months ago. I had the front and my crown done. My hair looks worse now then before, it looks like I have less hair. Do any of you know whats going on? You can see on my picture, that I had more hair before, especially in the front, the hair transplant is made at istanbul hair center. I am still numb in the frontal area after the operation.

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

After a hair transplant surgery some patients will say it looks worse than before in the first few months.  In general it can look worse before it gets better.  It is always a good idea to follow up with your doctor if you are concerned.

Jeffrey B. Wise, MD, FACS · Answer

What you are experiencing seems perfectly normal at this point.  Significant growth after a transplant can begin to occur at 6 months, but in some normal cases, can take longer.  Final outcomes cannot be determined until 12-18 months.  Give it time, although it can be difficult and stressful for patients.  Numbness and/or strange sensations are almost universally temporary and can take up to 6-12 months to full resolve.

Bessam Farjo, MBChB · Answer

You need to follow up with your surgeon. This is all normal. Almost nobody starts growth from a hair transplant at 2 months after surgery. A result can easily take 6-18 months.Regarding your appearance looking worse, this is most likely because your head was shaved. Alternatively you may have suffered from shock loss which is not uncommon. All should recover nicely and keep in touch with the clinic

Richard Chaffoo, MD, FACS, FICS · Answer

Hello and thanks for your question. The regrowth process following a
hair transplant procedure can often take more than 6 months. I understand your
frustration regarding this timeframe, but your ultimate outcome should be worth
the wait. If you still don't see the results you desire after a few more
months, you should check in with your transplant surgeon. Same goes for the
numbness you are feeling, so please be patient. Best wishes.

Grant Stevens, MD · Answer

It is quite normal for your hair to look worse in the transplanted areas before they look better.  It can take 3-6 months for the transplanted hair to grow and in the first few months it is also normal for the hair that was originally in those areas to be shed.  I know this process is stressful since you've already invested so much time and expense.  Be patient.  Give it time and you should notice improvement.  Make sure you also follow up with the surgeon that performed your procedure for their advice as well.

Sara Wasserbauer, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Many times patients experience shock loss a few months after a transplant. A shaved head sometimes makes it look worse as well. Give it time. I’m sure you will be happy 12-18mo after the transplant. Patience is your best friend after a hair transplant.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

If you are a young man and were not placed on the drug finasteride, you may develop shock loss. Eventually you may shed this normal hair. Shedding after
a hair transplant while on the drug propecia is unusual. I doubt it is coming
from the drug, but rather an acceleration of your normal hair loss process. If
the shedding is in the transplanted area, the new grafts, when they grow, will
off set it. If the shedding is from all over the front and top of the head it
sounds like shock loss which usually accelerates the hair loss that you might
have seen two years after a hair transplant had you not been on the drug. If
you are developing a more advanced balding pattern with acceleration of your
hair loss, which a Bulk Measurements with the HAIRCHECK instrument can provide,
it will show over a one year time frame, what exactly is your hair loss (in
numbers) and then you and your doctor need to develop a MASTER PLAN for what
may happen to you.

Cory Torgerson, MD, PhD, FRCSC - Account Suspended · Answer

Thank you for your question. Any hair transplant patient must be willing to make a time
commitment before realizing their dream of new hair growth. After a hair
transplant, the new growth will generally begin in 3 to 4 months, and it can
take a year or more to see full results. If you are
concerned, contact the doctor who did the procedure.

Amiya Prasad, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Hair transplant is moving hairs from a person’s
permanent zone located at the back of the head to the areas that are thinning
or need hair. Initially, the hairs will take and then they will go through a
temporary shedding phase called shock loss. In addition, the trauma of having
surgery to existing or native hairs in the adjacent area can also cause shock
loss. Combining the two causes of shock loss would result to an area where
there is no growth. This is the time that patients would often panic because
they feel that that they are losing their grafts. Fortunately, shock loss is a
normal phenomenon and is temporary. A strategy is to just wait for the hair
growth cycles to synchronize and to start growth again in the course of several
months to a year.

There are factors that are part of the long-term
viability of the transplant. This includes the actual take of the transplant
that was transplanted. In a standard hair transplant, not all hairs will stay.
One can get 5% loss or they can get only a few hairs. They can even lose almost
90% of the transplanted hairs.

When I perform hair restoration surgery, I developed
a system called Hair Regeneration where I use a wounding healing material
called extracellular matrix by ACell and combine it with platelet-rich plasma
and vitamin D. With this, we have been successful in helping people to have
better growth rates with their hair transplants. It seems that this
extracellular matrix wound healing technology accelerates the healing and
reduces some of the initial shock loss or long term loss based on the viability
of the hair grafts. In addition, the hairs that are thinning will actually
become thicker. We’ve had many patients from all over the world who had a
transplant and learned about our hair regeneration and came to us to have the
injection to help support their transplant. Usually they’ll do that within the
first month after their transplant.

Wound healing is the key aspect of
understanding what you’re going through. So a normal process of wound healing
does involve shedding of the transplanted hair and shedding of the existing
hair. Also, you could try using some minoxidil and/or propecia to help slow
down the progression. However, this is something that you need to discuss with
your surgeon who performed the transplant. I hope that was helpful, I wish you
the best of luck, and thank you for your question.

Sheldon S. Kabaker, MD FACS (retired) · Answer

It is much too early to evaluate the result of what appears to be an extensive FUE procedure. You have to wait at lest  9 months fir the hair to grow out.

My normal hair not growing after hair transplant? (photo)

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Answers (10)

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