Bernstein Medical - Center for Hair Restoration » Growth After Transplant

After Hair Transplant, What Is Recommended Hair Length To Hide Scar?

Robert M. Bernstein M.D. — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:47:44 +0000

Q: I never kept my hair really long, what length can I wear my hair after a hair transplant to hide that I had a procedure?

A: Hair transplants, whether using the strip method to harvest the donor hair or by extracting individual follicular units one-by-one directly from the scalp, will leave some scarring. If the hair is long enough so that the underlying scalp is not visible, these scars will not be seen.

The quality and density of a person’s donor hair will affect this coverage and determine how short a person may keep his hair. In some cases the back and sides can be cut to a few millimeters, in others it would need to be kept longer. Since there is no scarring in the recipient area (the front and top of the scalp where the grafts are placed) the hair in these areas may be kept at any length.

When Will Newly Transplanted Hair Start To Grow?

Robert M. Bernstein M.D. — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:23:38 +0000

Q: It has been over a month after my hair transplant procedure and I am starting to get nervous. When can I expect to see some growth?

A: Transplanted hair begins to grow, on average, about 10 weeks after the procedure, although this number can vary. Hair tends to grow in waves and occasionally some new hair may start to grow as long as a year after your procedure. In general, growth is a bit slower with each hair transplant procedure, although the reason for this is not fully understood.

After Hair Transplant What are Effects of DHT on Donor Hair?

Robert M. Bernstein M.D. — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:38:16 +0000

Q: Hi! I wanted to ask if after a hair restoration surgery the transplanted hair will eventually fall out? Because the surgery is to restore hair mainly for people with genetic hair loss which results from DHT, won’t the DHT make the new follicles implanted fall out as well?

A: Hair loss is due to the action of DHT (a byproduct of testosterone) on hair follicles that cause them to shrink and eventually disappear (the process is called miniaturization). The follicles on the back and sides of the scalp are not sensitive to DHT and therefore don’t bald (miniaturize).

When you transplant hair from the back and sides to the bald area on the front or top of the scalp the hair follicles maintain their original characteristics (their resistance to DHT) and therefore they will continue to grow.

Can One Determine Hair Transplant Success Five Months After Transplant?

Robert M. Bernstein M.D. — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:47:00 +0000

Q: It had been 5 months since my hair transplant. I only see minimal growth of maybe a few hundred fine hairs. My transplant consisted of 2,217 grafts. Could you give me your opinion if this is normal or is it a failed hair transplant?

A: It is too early to tell. Hair grows in very gradually with great variability from person to person.

Some patients only have a little fuzz at five months and then have great growth by one year.

You really need to wait the full 12 months to evaluate the success of the hair restoration.

After Hair Transplant Does Hair Grow in Stages?

Robert M. Bernstein M.D. — Wed, 30 May 2007 08:14:58 +0000

Q: I had my first hair transplant of 1100 grafts five months ago. The hair has been growing in well and I am very satisfied with the progress, but the new growth appears to occur in different cycles. Some of the hair never fell out and started growing within weeks. At around three months, a lot more started to grow, and now there seems to be even more growth of new hair coming in its finer stages. Is it normal for transplanted hair to begin growing at different times? Why does some hair come in looking thick and other hair start off finer and then gradually thicken up?

A: You are describing accurately how hair grows after a hair transplant.

After the hair restoration procedure, the transplanted stubble is shed and the hair goes into a dormant phase.

Several months later, growth begins as fine, vellus hair that thickens over time. The hair usually does not have its original thickness right away.

Typically, growth occurs in waves so that initially some areas will have more hair than others. Over the course of a year the cycles will even out and the hair will thicken to its final diameter.