1 year post transplant, the hair has become too thick and coarse looking unnatural like plugs! What are my options? (Photos)

Question

I had a hair transplant 14 months ago. After 1 year the transplanted hairs became too thick and coarse, and now they look unnatural. My hair texture on my entire is head is fine. From what I read on the net, some sources say that it may be only temporary, and the hairs are going to get more "normal" in a couple of years, but others say that it is not true. Other people suggest plucking them(so they grow back thinner and more normal). I tried to bleach them they remained dark.

Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS · Answer

It's not possible for me to determine for sure based on the photos, however it appears to me that several aesthetic steps in your procedure were not properly followed:  grafts placed too perpendicularly, grafts containing more than one and even two hairs along the hairline, not ideally aesthetic hairline shape, too regular placement of grafts rather than an irregularly irregular placement, probably some "pitting" due to the grafts planted too deep, and finally, for the grafts along the anterior-most hairline, I feel it is important to use hairs harvested from lowest down in the back of the head where they are finer which likely was not done.Sorry to provide you with this analysis but it is an honest one, and the appearance of this will not improve with time.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

The pictures don't really show what it is you are talking about. I can't tell if the character or the thickness has changed so a personal examination is critical. I have occasionally seen the character of the hair change, to frizzy. These changes were permanent but very, very rare.

Baldev Singh Sandhu, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Dear AmericanWoman55,
It looks like you had a hair line lowering procedure. In my practice I advise females that the density that can be achieved with one procedure will not satisfy them and they are going to need two procedures to achieve the density they want.
In this respect men and women are very different in that men of certain age who have their lost hair are happy to achieve an early thinning look which is, age-appropriate.
Women seeking to lower their hairline for cosmetic purposes usually did not lose their hair and are seeking a fullsome appearance They will not be happy with an early thinning look that would satisfy a male and also as in your case it may appear pluggy due to lack of density.
Counter-intuitive as it may seem you will need  fill-in procedure/procedures to get rid of the "pluggy look". Transplanted hair may look coarse for a while but eventually return to their original condition with continued growth.
Probably not the answer you were looking for but telling the patient the unvarnished truth is part of the job of being a "real" doctor.

1 year post transplant, the hair has become too thick and coarse looking unnatural like plugs! What are my options? (Photos)

Answers (3)

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