Can Improper Washing after Hair Transplant Surgery Affect Hair Growth?
I had my hair transplant done in May 2012 and after surgery, when they asked me to take a shower, I did. Even though I did not touch my scalp, loads of hair fell out from the grafts so I stopped taking head showers for the following two weeks and then the blood and the Betadine solution got very rock-like on my scalp. When trying to clean my scalp after 13 days post-op, nearly all the transplanted hairs came out along with the scabs.
Can anyone please advise if I damaged the follicles? Now my hair is growing but still very scarcely. They transplanted a load of hair in the frontal area but it is not thick. I discontinued using Rogaine (minoxidil) after 6 months and just started using it again a week ago. Do you guys think I will still have hair growth?
There are some specifics missing from your question. However, it’s customary to wait until the morning after the procedure for the first hair wash. Some clinics will perform this service for the patient but it can also be done safely in the home.
While it’s best to follow your hair restoration surgeon’s specific aftercare regimen, in general, you should avoid applying direct water pressure to the hair transplant recipient area for at least the first 4 days. Instead, you should mix warm water and shampoo in a cup and gently pour it over the grafts several times. During this time, you should also take care to gently but thoroughly clean the area around the donor scar.
By day 5, it is normally safe to allow direct spray from the shower head to contact your head. At this time you can very gently touch the recipient area with your fingertips and the lathered water but you should avoid any massaging action.
Many hair transplant surgeons advise massaging off the scabs in the shower beginning around day 7 using a gentle, circular motion with the fingertips. It is important not to pick them off. Avoid using fingernails to remove scabs.
It sounds to me as if you may have applied full water pressure to your head immediately after surgery, which may have dislodged some grafts. But, since you have not mentioned any bleeding occurring, this may not be the case. It is quite normal and expected for hair follicles to fall out of the newly transplanted grafts. This does not reflect permanent hair loss and they will soon be replaced with new hair growth.
Of most concern to me (if I’m interpreting it correctly) is that you seem to have quit washing your head completely for the next two weeks. It is important to clean all the blood from around the donor area and to keep it clean. Additionally, the recipient area must be kept clean and free of scabs in order to ensure maximum graft survival and reduce the likelihood of infection.
Given that I don’t know the degree of hair loss you started with, the number of grafts you had transplanted and I don’t have the pre and post-operative photos for comparison, I cannot assess your results. But, since you are already one year post-op, I would not expect you to see any significant increase in density. I recommend that you contact your surgeon and discuss your concerns. Your doctor is best suited to evaluating the outcome of your procedure and can advise you on how to proceed. If you do not agree with his assessment or simply want a second opinion, you can always consult with one of the pre-screened, quality hair restoration surgeons we recommend.
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David (TakingThePlunge)
Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.
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Technorati Tags: Rogaine, minoxidil, hair restoration, hair transplant, hair loss, hair growth
March 22, 2019 @ 1:45 pm
Hello my query is same i am using spray water bottel to wash my transplanted hairs it has been 40 days of my ht i have very normal shedding bt after 26 days shedding incresed and by 40 th day when i washed my hairs lot of lot of hairs shed as i applied pressure with spry bottel to remove monoxdil layer which formed so the shedded hairs are due to spry water botel or is it normal
July 30, 2014 @ 1:17 am
Hasan,
Redness and scabbing 7 months post-op is not normal. If you have not yet done so, I recommend contacting your hair transplant surgeon. If you are unable to see your surgeon, you may wish to see a dermatologist.
As far as your hair growth goes, assuming there are no medical complications, you still have at least 5 months of growth yet to come. At this time you should have about 70% of your final result.
David
July 20, 2014 @ 11:21 am
Hello,
First, sorry about my English. I has nad HT in Turkey 7 months ago. After one mounth i started to use rogain. And now the result is not what i expected. The front line is still redness. There are a few weak hear there. Also scubbing is maintaining. What does this mean. Is surgery failure or should i wait?
May 29, 2013 @ 1:48 am
Paul,
Ten days is the average length of time by which follicular units are said to be firmly anchored and well protected beneath the surface of the scalp after hair transplant surgery. However, what you have described is a very unusual situation.
By not washing your scalp for 8 days and allowing a “thick hard layer” of blood, scabs and Betadine solution to form (which required some effort and force to remove) you may have damaged a portion of the grafts.
As I mentioned in my original response, it is perfectly normal for hair follicles to shed from the transplanted grafts in the first few weeks after surgery. But, since you are now one year post-op and feel that you have seen poor growth, I believe it is possible that the low yield you received is due, at least in part, to improper aftercare.
Please keep in mind that there are a number of factors that affect the final outcome of a hair transplant surgery. When performed by a skilled and experienced surgeon, state of the art surgical hair restoration has an extremely high success rate. But sometimes, for reasons unknown, patients experience subpar growth.
If your results were less than optimal, you may never know the true reason. At this stage, I do not expect you to see a significant improvement in hair growth and I recommend consulting with one of the recommended physicians referenced in the above article if you’d like a second opinion.
Best of luck!
David
May 28, 2013 @ 3:34 am
Hello This is Paul Again, I had my hair transplant done in may 2012. Post procedure I was advised to take a head bath with betadine on the fourth day and was told just to dab the betadine on the head and stand under shower and not to touch or rub the grafts for 10 days which i did and to apply betadine with a spray bottle three times a day which I did too. on the fourth day i did not stand under the shower i just poured soapy water on my scalp and did not touch the scalp and on the fourth day tried the shower after soaking the scalp with betadine solution and i saw a lot of hairs fall off my scalp so i stopped shower and used the soapy water bathto finish off my bath following the fifth day bath i was soo scared of showers thinking i might disturb the grafts i did not take head showers for the following 8 days and was just soaking my scalp with betadine solution after the eight day i felt like my scalp was getting harder and thicker and found that the blood, scab and betadine solution had made a thick hard layer on top of my scalp and was very uneasy so asked my mother to clean my scalp she looked and try to soak the scalp with betadine solution, soap but the thick layer on top of my scalp was soo hardened it wont come off even after hours of soaking and there was a bad smell to it after the soaking so we got panic and used a comb to take the thick scab off my scalp it came of eventually after loads of hard combing but there was not blood or bleeding it was just thick dirt coming off my scalp and along with that scab came a lot of transplanted hairs and the i washed my head under a shower there was more hairs falling out from since i the hair fall stopped slowly and i have been using minoxidil solution twice a day and nutritional supplement tablets for a year now the hair has grown but it is not dense, they had a lot of hairs ( dense packing on the frontal area but that area is also scares i can still look through my hairs my scalp, will my hair get denser and thicker its been a year since the transplant and do u think i disturbed the hair grafts when cleaning with the comb after the 13 th day post off while trying to get that thick layer off my scalp. there is hair growth its just it is not full. what should i do i spoke to my surgeon she said it looks fine looking at my pics but i want a second opinion i had 2500 grafts done. please please kindly advice.