How Well Does a Trichophytic Incision Closure Hide a Hair Transplant Scar?

This question, asked by a member of our Hair Loss Social Community and Discussion Forums, was answered by Coalition hair transplant surgeon Dr. Cam Simmons:

I understand the point of a trichophytic closure during a follicular unit transplantation (FUT) procedure is to allow hair to grow through the “strip scar” and make it less visible. However, I’m curious as to how well this actually works? Are the scars virtually invisible? How closely can I trim the back of my head and still hide the hair transplant scar?

The human eye is very good at noticing color differences. A scar is almost always a slightly different color than the skin beside it. Even a 1 mm wide scar with hair growing through it will be visible if the hair is shaved right down.

It is more important for the scar to be narrow than hair-bearing, but a narrow hair-bearing scar is easier to hide with shorter hair than a narrow bald scar. I routinely do 2-layer trichophytic closures, but tell my patients to expect to have to keep their hair at least 1 inch long for the first 6 months until the pinkness fades, then at least 1/2 inch long afterward.

A number 4 clipper cuts hair 1/2 (4/8) inches long. Occasionally, patients are comfortable going down to a #3 clipper (3/8 inch) but they are the exception and not the rule.

I usually see patients 10 days, 1 month, 5-6 months, and 10-12 months after their hair transplant surgery. At 1 month there is usually some hair growing through the scar, but almost always more at 5 months when any “shock loss” has ceased. During this period, the patient begins to get an understanding of how short they can trim the hair and still reasonably camouflage the follicular unit transplantation scar.

Dr. Cam Simmons

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Blake – aka Future_HT_Doc

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