How Well Does a Trichophytic Incision Closure Hide a Hair Transplant Scar?

This question, asked by a member of our [tag]Hair Loss[/tag] Social Community and Discussion Forums, was answered by Coalition [tag]hair transplant surgeon[/tag] Dr. Cam Simmons:

I understand the point of a [tag]trichophytic closure[/tag] during a [tag]follicular unit transplantation[/tag] ([tag]FUT[/tag]) procedure is to allow hair to grow through the “[tag]strip scar[/tag]” and make it less visible. However, I’m curious as to how well this actually works? Are the scars virtually invisible? How closely can I trim the back of my head and still hide the [tag]hair transplant scar[/tag]?

The human eye is very good at noticing color differences. A scar is almost always a slightly different color than the skin beside it. Even a 1 mm wide scar with hair growing through it will be visible if the hair is shaved right down.

It is more important for the scar to be narrow than hair-bearing, but a narrow hair-bearing scar is easier to hide with shorter hair than a narrow bald scar. I routinely do 2-layer trichophytic closures, but tell my patients to expect to have to keep their hair at least 1 inch long for the first 6 months until the pinkness fades, then at least 1/2 inch long afterward.

A number 4 clipper cuts hair 1/2 (4/8) inches long. Occasionally, patients are comfortable going down to a #3 clipper (3/8 inch) but they are the exception and not the rule.

I usually see patients 10 days, 1 month, 5-6 months, and 10-12 months after their [tag]hair transplant[/tag] surgery. At 1 month there is usually some hair growing through the scar, but almost always more at 5 months when any “shock loss” has ceased. During this period, the patient begins to get an understanding of how short they can trim the hair and still reasonably camouflage the [tag]follicular unit transplantation[/tag] scar.

Dr. Cam Simmons

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Blake – aka Future_HT_Doc

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