Is Pain and Shedding Two Weeks after Hair Transplant Normal?

The following response to a question from our Hair Loss Forum and Social Community was written by forum member “Gillenator”:

It’s been two weeks since my hair transplant, the redness is gone, & the scabs are finally starting to fall off. It just worries me when little transplanted hairs come down with them, but I watched some videos & I’ve heard this is normal? My regular hair has been shedding quite a bit too & also a few sometimes come out when the donor scar scabs come off because I have long hair & they’re hard to get to.

My biggest worry for the week is the head sensation. The top of my head felt very strange yesterday. Almost like there was a bump & some other weird sensation, & it was hurting. It felt better today, though. My nurse friend said I should expect to feel sensation there for a while, although he’s not familiar with this procedure, of course. So I’m wondering how long this head sensation is gonna last? There’s still some numbness too above the donor scar. I watched some 2 week post op videos over the weekend & it sounds like this is common. The good news is I can lay my head on a regular pillow & I’ve been catching up on sleep. Still worn out from last week’s flood ordeal, along with healing from this.

All of those sensations that you are feeling are undoubtedly related to the countless number of blood vessels and nerves that get severed when hundreds and hundreds of recipient incisions are made to the scalp. And the numbness above the hair transplant donor scar is also related to nerves.

The good news is that they do heal and nerve endings grow…it does vary as far as how long it takes for those feelings to subside but they do eventually.

The graft hair typically does come off with the scabs and crusts. And yes oftentimes there is sympathetic shock loss to the existing hair. All very normal and even expected.

This is why it really does take a full 12 months for everything to heal and mature but it was always well worth it for my own experience having had 4 separate hair restoration procedures in my life so far.

Gillenator
Supporting Hair Restoration Physicians: Dr. Glenn Charles, Boca Raton, FL – Dr. Jerry Cooley, Charlotte, NC – Dr. Jim Harris, Denver, CO – Dr. Robert True & Dr. Robert Dorin, New York, NY
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David
Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.

To share ideas with other hair loss sufferers visit the hair loss forum and social community.