Safely Removing Scabs after Hair Transplant Surgery?

This question, from a member of our Hair Loss Community and Discussion Forums, was answered by Coalition hair transplant surgeon Dr. Glenn Charles:

I got a follicular unit hair transplant approximately two months ago by the strip method. I got a wound closure called trichophytic and self-dissolving stitches. The donor area felt pretty sore for a while at first and I found it somewhat difficult to sleep as one would expect. However, this subsided greatly after a month and it would have seemed to have healed up very well so far.

On a few occasions, including earlier this evening, I picked at some scabs in the donor area. A few times the scabs that came off in my finger had hairs in them. They were purely white flaky scabs with absolutely no blood. It would seem that the hairs were going through the scabs.

Could somebody please tell me if there is a possibility that I pulled hair follicles out from my head when picking at these scabs or are the hairs that I see interwoven in the scabs simply hairs only that will grow back again?

You cannot pull out the hair follicles at this point (1 month post-op). I do agree with gentle rubbing/messaging to get the scabs off.

Keep in mind that, for the first few months after the procedure, the original hair in the areas that were transplanted and close to donor wound are more fragile.

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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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