Shock Loss After A Hair Transplant

What Is Shock Loss After A Hair Transplant And Why Is It Normal?

After a hair transplant, shock loss occurs when natural hair in either the donor area or the recipient area (or both) falls out.

It’s not the same as normal hair falling or shedding that always happens after the surgery. That’s when transplanted hair starts falling out due to new hair growing and pushing it out.

Shock hair loss after a hair transplant is when you lose healthy hair. You may also lose a certain amount of both the hair grafts and the existing hair. Why does that happen?

It happens because any treated area of the scalp suffers trauma during the surgery. The incisions necessary for transplanting the grafts can cause the neighboring hair follicles to enter a resting phase, after which they fall out.

It can also happen if the surgeon accidentally damages the follicles during the incision-making process. If they aren’t careful and precise, they might cut some of the native hairs and cause a shock loss.

In both cases, that’s only a temporary shock loss, which is no cause for alarm.

However, as already mentioned, shock loss can sometimes be permanent. If an experienced surgeon damages hair roots or other important hair parts severely, the sustained trauma may be too great for the grafts to survive.

It can also be permanent if dihydrotestosterone (DHT) affects the follicles in the recipient area. That’s the hormone that causes genetic hair loss.

When Does Shock Loss After A Hair Transplant Occur?

Shock loss can occur between two and eight weeks after a hair restoration procedure. That’s when your hair goes into a resting or telogen phase, which is a normal part of your hair growth cycle.

New hairs will start growing before you know it, although they might do so at different rates. The key is to be patient and follow your doctor’s advice on proper post-operative care.

When Does The Hair Start Growing Again?

When there’s shock loss after hair restoration, new and healthy hair starts growing in about 3-4 months following the surgery.

That’s because the resting or telogen phase lasts about 100 days. After that phase, the shedding of hair marks the end of the cycle, so the anagen or active phase restarts, followed by the catagen or transitional phase.

About six months after the surgery, patients start noticing the new hair growth, while it takes about 12-18 months to mature and become thicker and stronger.

Can I Prevent Shock Loss After A Hair Transplant?

There are no definite methods that can prevent shock loss from occurring during or after a hair transplant process. However, there are only a few preventative methods that may be used to slow down the process or limit the number of native hairs that are lost.

Due to the fact that hair transplantation is performed to restore hair, rather than to induce new hair loss, many patients would like to prevent hair loss from occurring in the first place.

First and foremost, choosing an experienced surgery team with experienced and qualified doctors can help to limit the likelihood of shock loss. A Hair Transplant professional can analyze the hair scalp and assist you in determining the likelihood of shock loss following a hair transplant.

Some individuals find that taking minoxidil or another medicine prior to surgery helps to lessen hair loss and the number of shrunken hair follicles in their scalp.

Get a High-Quality Hair Transplant With Dr. Emrah CINIK

Dr. Emrah Cinik is one of the most renowned and experienced hair transplant surgeons in Turkey and beyond. He has over 19 years of experience in aesthetic medicine and has carried out more than 5,000 successful hair restorations to date.

Undergoing a hair transplant procedure at Dr. Emrah Cinik Clinic means getting a top-notch hair transplant that provides natural-looking results.

Dr. Emrah Cinik has had extensive medical training and uses cutting-edge technologies to ensure high graft survival rates. He always extracts each follicular unit properly and safely and inserts them with utmost precision and accuracy.

If you’re interested in restoring your hair and appearance with Dr. Emrah Cinik, contact us today to schedule your free consultation.