How Many Days After A Hair Transplant Procedure Do Follicular Unit Grafts Normally Shed?

This question comes from a member of the Hair Restoration Forum and Social Community:

I recently underwent a hair transplant procedure and noticed the newly implanted follicular unit grafts began shedding after only 11 days post operative. Is this normal? How long does it regularly take for grafts to shed after hair transplant surgery?

On average, follicular unit grafts begin to shed 2 – 4 weeks after a hair restoration procedure and new hairs usually begin growing between months 3 – 5. Knowing this, it probably isn’t too extraordinary to begin shedding grafts at day 11 instead of day 14. Furthermore, implanted follicular units are normally anchored (or secured) between day 7 – 10, and, unless blood is seen when the grafts fall out, shedding between day 11 seems within the standard range.

Would you like to share your graft shedding experience? If so, feel free to visit our hair loss forum and interact in the topic Shedding After 11 Days?

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Blake Bloxham – formerly “Future_HT_Doc”

Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum

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View Comments

John says:

July 9, 2011 at 9:04 pm

I started shedding the scabs with hair at about 10 days out and continue to do so now as I approach the three month mark. What concerns me is that sometimes it isn't a scab on the hair, but something like thick dried pimple puss attached to the end. It feels like a scab when it comes out but will disentigrate quickly if you rub it between your fingers. I have wondered if this is what happens when a graft is rejected - or if this is just another normal process. I also have had a nuber of pimples in my head from about 10 days until now.
David (TakingThePlunge) says:

January 4, 2011 at 1:30 am

Rohit,

It is normal for the hair follicles in the transplanted grafts to fall out beginning about one week after the hair transplant surgery. This is due to the temporary disruption in blood supply when the follicular unit grafts are harvested. In addition, many patients will experience shedding of existing hairs in both the donor and recipient areas. The degree of shedding is typically related to a patient's degree of hair loss and miniaturization. In the majority of cases, this shedding is temporary and the lost hairs will begin to regrow in about 4 months, along with the newly transplanted hair follicles.

The hairs that you have described as having "a little tissue" may be follicular unit grafts that did not take and were rejected. It is not uncommon to lose a graft or two and it should not visibly affect your results.

David (TakingThePlunge)
Rohit Kapoor says:

December 29, 2010 at 1:06 am

I just went through a HT surgery last thurday, its not even a week (5 days) and I noticed that shedding is started, how ever no bulb was found at the bottom but, two hairs surrounded by a little tissue was fallen out. What exactly we can take it as ?