The portion of the scar behind my ear is pretty thin for the most part, but the closure in the conventional donor area in the back definitely stretched or some shit:





Trying not to dwell on it, as I'm only two months post-op, but something definitely is up. I'm thinking I slept on it weird or something, since I remained at an angle for several weeks after the initial healing period. Is it possible that this created some kind of pull on the scalp?

Can you tell us how many grafts and where you had your strip done? when did you have it done?

Youngsuccess - Scars can stretch and do whether a first time session or repeat (more common on repeat/repair sessions)The redness only amplifies the scar at this point so will calm down in several months and not be so prominent.

I believe you were a repair patient weren't you?

Looks like it has stretched and those train tracks are from sutures I believe.
The redness does magnify everything.
You really have to wait up to 6 months to really judge anything

I had a similar look for a while, and it wasn't until the redness went away that things "settled down" into an adequate look that I wasn't expecting given how "stretched" it seemed before (this took me like ~9months, if I remember aright).

Yup, repair patient 2 months out from an 800 graft procedure with Dr. Epstein. Everything went smoothly so I was worried I did something to aggravate the scar, although sounds like you guys think it's normal at this point. Thanks for the input.

Your scar is a bit wider and redder than the norm. BUT, you are at 2 months on a redo apparently. ALL scars look there worst at 6-8 weeks. It will almost certainly improve.

I'd suggest checking in with your doc and let them take a look. An in-person exam is WAY better than looking at a pic.

Free advice, take it for what its worth.

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

My scar looked similar on one side the first few months. now i can't even find it. even if it did stretch there's nothing your doc can do about it right now, so just relax and give it a few more months.

I'm at 2 months and my scar looks exactly like yours. Thinner on the sides and wider at the back. I actually was also thinking that maybe I had stretched my scar by the way I was sleeping.

Hopefully once the redness fades it will be less of a concern.

Whoops, missed these comments. Thanks for the replies. At three months the scar is improving as the redness gradually continues to fade. Will update with pics in a few weeks.

I too had a very red scar and was so until recently. Give it some more time as I have read that it gets a lot better from the six to nine month mark.

The scar has improved dramatically over the past few months. The first picture is of the donor area after a haircut buzzed down to a #4 (couple days ago); the one to the right of that is the exposed scar currently. The bottom left pic is at two months, the one opposite at 5 1/2.


Next month I'm buzzing down to a #3 and I'll share the results. If it's acceptable, I'm going to go for a #2 with the expectation that there will be definite detectability, but I've used hair mascara during my donor shock period with success, so we'll see what happens.

donor.JPG (81 KB, 256 downloads)

Ok, buzzed down with a #3 guard on the clippers. I am pleasantly surprised considering how much I assumed the scar had stretched several months ago. Don't get me wrong: there is still some detectability. However, it's not as profound as I had feared. Plus, I'm hoping that the scar will continue to fade and that maybe even some of the remaining shocked hair will return (although I believe most of it has).

Basically from a head-on glance at the back, all is normal. Coming in at different angles you get the "hat-head" look, a little patchiness and some mild dicoloration. And it's mostly the area under the scar, not the actual scar itself. But again, at 6 months I think it's promising. Also the area on the side of my head is basically 100% undetectable in my opinion, the concern is mainly in the conventional donor area. I have confidence that I'll be able to go down to a #2 and have an acceptable look with the help of some hair mascara, which I will be doing and sharing soon.

I recently also realized something important: despite my scar I still have the option, to SOME degree, to buzz down. So I'm done with strip. I DID experience some scar stretching. But it could have been disastrous, and it wasn't. Too unpredictable for me to mess with anymore though. FUE from this point on (including in the donor scar), and if signs of significant loss start to loom over me, the plan will be FUE with the intention of keeping a closely buzzed head.

Use the magnifying tool to see up close.

Donor6months.JPG (95 KB, 204 downloads) Donor Montage: 6 months, buzzed to #3

youngsuccess,

Overall, that's great news. Your scar does look a whole lot better at 6 months and not nearly as obvious. I also think it will continue to improve over the next 6 months.

I think this post is a great reminder for those in the early stages concerned about donor shock and/or stretching - that evaluating a scar early is premature.

Keep us posted.

Best wishes,

Bill (Falc)