Losing hair after a hair transplant may seem alarming, but hair transplant shock loss is a normal part of the hair growth process for many patients. In this article, we’ll explore the causes of hair transplant shock loss, the areas where hair loss may occur, and provide helpful tips to minimize the risk of shock loss.
To learn how we can transform your look with a hair transplant, speak with a hair restoration specialist at Philadelphia Hair Restoration.
What Is Hair Transplant Shock Loss?
Shock loss is hair falling off after a hair transplant. When harvest grafts are newly implanted within one month during a hair transplant, there’s a possibility that hair can still pull out from the graft that we put it in. It’s just the hair pulling out, but the follicles on the scalp and the new hair will grow from those follicles.
Causes of Hair Shock Loss Following Hair Transplant Surgery
One key cause of shock loss after hair transplant surgery can be surgical trauma itself, placing the needle in the recipient’s hair follicles. Another can be inflammation that the patient is coming in with, for example. The third cause of shock loss is the stress response’s unpredictability.
We can’t really determine who is going to have a stress response following a hair transplant procedure. Some people will have some more than others. We have a cortisol response, especially if people are anxious so those people will be more prone to shock loss. And again, unpredictability.
One of the ways we try to manage that is if we can predict anxiety—let’s call it personality—we predict that to happen. We’ll sedate the patient with medication beforehand to try and prevent that. Although, it’s important to remember that shock loss is temporary.
Areas Where Shock Loss Can Occur
So again, we talk about shock loss. There could be two areas where the patient could experience a temporary loss. Here, that could be the donor site where the hair is harvested from, or the recipient area where the hair ends up. Shock loss does not have to be discriminatory if you will—it can occur at either site.
The causes of shock loss in those two areas are the ones we mentioned before:
- There could be an inflammatory response within the scalp even before the procedure.
- There can be a stress response of an anxious patient, for example.
- The surgical trauma itself of placing the small needles in the scalp causes trauma to the area.
How Long Does Hair Shock Loss Last?
Usually, shock loss happens within the first month of the procedure. During the first month, the shaft will pull out, but the new hair will soon follow through from the follicles in the scalp.
How to Minimize the Risk of Shock Loss
To minimize the risk of temporary shock loss, here is what you need to do. We’d like you to follow the post-operative instructions, which include:
- Not picking at scabs, for example.
- Not going to the gym and doing stressful exercises for 2 weeks.
- Avoiding chlorinated pools—actually, no swimming for 2 weeks.
And that’s as much as you can do as a patient to minimize the effects of the temporary shock loss of hairs.
How Long Will It Take for Hair to Grow Back Permanently?
If you do experience shock loss, how long will it take for the hair to grow back permanently?
So, shock loss—again, remember—is a momentary or temporary event. We discussed before that it occurs within the first months of hair transplantation. Therefore, you can expect the regrowth or the continuation of the growth of the follicles to start about a month later.
And that’s when the hair is going to start growing again. And you can be assured that you have lost nothing due to this temporary shock loss of just hair, not the follicles.
Transform Your Look With A Hair Transplant From Philadelphia Hair Restoration
If hair loss is impacting your confidence, Philadelphia Hair Restoration can help. Our hair restoration specialists will assess your scalp and your treatment goals to recommend the most effective hair transplantation method for you, whether it’s FUE or FUT.
Contact us today and discover how a hair transplant can transform your look.
