Hi All,

I'm taking the plunge for a mega-session with Dr. Hasson in late July (NW5 with good density, hoping for 4000+ grafts). So, here's my question:

How safe is it to wear a hat or use concealers after the surgery? Is there any evidence that either can damage the new grafts?

I teach large classes at a major university and give occasional talks in the community, and I'm not crazy about just showing up in front of students a few weeks post-HT with a pinkish, odd-looking scalp . . . but I'd rather do that than risk damaging those precious incipient grafts!

Any advice is most welcome.

Thanks,
Sparse

One quick addendum: I've noticed that most of my hats (ballcaps) apply a bit of pressure to the recipient area . . . I assume this is a no-no right after HT?

I wore a ballcap type hat straight after and I believe most people do this. Don't wear a woolly hat as this knit can get a grip on the grafts and pull them out. I guess in Summer you won't be doing this anyway! A ball cap only puts pressure around the rim of the hat.

Check with your surgeon but I'm pretty sure they will advise you the hat is OK as long as it is clean.

A few weeks post-op the grafts should be well and truly anchored, and around that time most of the transplanted hairs will have fallen out anyway. But a few short(who am I kidding, a few long months) later they will start growing again.

Have you been doing your scalp exercises? Good luck.

I was wearing either a bandana or a loose baseball cap from the day after the surgery. As long as they are loose fitting, you should be fine. I bought an 'extra large' size before going to get my HT.

I started wearing concealer (nanogen fibres), mostly around my donor area, upon returning to work at about 3 weeks post-op. It didn't cause any adverse reaction around the skin or scar area. The pictures are here:
http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...pyID=3088&WebID=1147

In my case, the donor area looked worse than the recipient area, but that suited me as (like you) I have a job in which I am usually facing towards a group of people. None of my colleagues asked any questions or made any comments, so I think I got away with it!

I acknowledge I was lucky not to get much redness in the recipient area, which might have made things a little trickier.

You have chosen an excellent surgeon and you will be in safe hands. Good luck!

A loose hat is generally considered fine after surgery but I wore a bandana which was much more comfortable and didn't pose near as big of a risk as wearing any kind of hat IMO. I personally wouldn't wear a hat until after the 10 day mark post op.

Thanks, everyone, for the great advice:

imissthebarber - yes, I've been doing the laxity exercises with something bordering on religious fervor (!); have already noticed some improvement on that front (greater scalp looseness).

Acrobaz - I love the idea of using Nanogen just to conceal the donor scar, but avoiding the risk of using it on the recipient grafts. Unfortunately, I'm probably going to have some pinkness in the recipient area for several weeks (just based on the way I heal from cuts & scrapes), so I may need to talk to Dr. Hasson and his staff about finding a completely safe way to mask that redness (if such a way exists).

HairIsThere - The bandana idea is a great one, although I just don't know if I'm cool enough to pull off that look. (Have a feeling I'd wind up looking like a dorky version of Little Steven from Springsteen's band.)

Phil_Harmonic - Thanks for the thoughtful advice about hat placement and removal. I have a large head (hat size 7 1/2 - 7 5/8), so I'm a little worried that the "extra large" black hat at H&W might still be too snug! But I'll be sure to talk with Joe about this beforehand and make necessary arrangements. ;-)

Ciao,
Sparse

I made sure to go "hat shopping" prior to the surgeries to prepare accordingly. I bought 2 hats that had adjustabe velcro straps in the back as your head will swell in the beginning.Just becareful putting them on and off as I used to open the straps to be safe.
I have used these hats during my 3 surgeries and they are actually a bit sentimental now..

NOW I wear them because I want to , not because I have to!!