I'm at Day 5 post-op. I've been washing my hair once a day with a 16oz cup and being very careful how I sleep. I still sleep at about a 45 degree angle. No sun, wear a very loose fitting hat when I'm outside. Is there anything else I should do? When should I start the aloe vera? Also, I've read that you have to keep the recipient area moist as much as possible. Do you use aloe vera or Vitamin E or anything else?

repo-man,

The best thing you can do is follow your physician's postoperative instructions. If you haven't received them, be sure to contact Dr. Feller who will give you his procedures for postoperative care.

There are varying philosophies on "wet" healing verses "dry" healing. Personally, I believe that time is the best healer. There is no need to continually moisten your scalp unless it helps alleviate any itch.

There are also a number of ways to start working on gently removing the scabs and each physician has their own theory on it.

Personally, I have found that by day 6, showering twice a day and spending an extra 10 minutes in the shower each time massaging the transplanted area with my finger tips (NOT the nails) works just nicely to gently work the scabs off while not damaging the grafts.

I hope this helps.

Falc

Thanks for the reply Falc! I've been following Dr. Feller's post-op directions word for word. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

Sounds all good what you`re doing at present repo and some good advice from falc.

Heal and grow well.

Use my tips sheet it might help! The best healier in the world is mother nature - Let her do her work Do not rush the healing process as you will heal when YOU heal - We all heal differently ans scabs fall at different times - Watching it every min is not going to make it heal any quicker - in actuall fact it will make it heal much much miuch slower

Thanks for the suggestions and replies. I started applying a light film of aloe vera to the donor and recipient area today. I noticed that some areas in the recipient area were missing hairs yesterday afternoon. There was no blood or pain as some have described an actual loss of graft.

Is this an early sign of shedding? The loss isin't consistent, its sort of in very small patches. FYI, my procedure was last Thursday (3/27)

I've included a picture to further explain what I'm talking about.

DSC00250.JPG (150 Kb, 20 downloads)

Shedding mate

Just what I was hoping to hear! The sooner it sheds, the sooner it grows back right

Its also very common to panic once the graft shafts start to drop - its all normal - You need to be very very patient now.
A watched kettle never boils

yup, pretty much keeping busy with other things. However, I am very surprised that it started only 5-6 days post-op!