Why Is My Hair Transplant Thinning Months after Surgery?

This question, from a member of our hair loss social community and discussion forums, was answered by a staff physician from Coalition hair transplant clinic Feller Medical:

I have a strange situation – or hopefully it isn’t. I had a [tag]follicular unit extraction[/tag] ([tag]FUE[/tag]) done almost 13 months ago. I didn’t see much progress until after the 6 month mark but then it grew in really thick (this is on the forehead not the crown – that’s another story). But after about the 10th-11th month it’s been getting thinner and thinner – even the guy who cuts my hair has said that it’s thinner than it was. Has anybody experienced this? Is this unusual?

The thinner appearance could be due to a number of things: a seasonal shed, reaction to any new preventive medications (not sure if you started any), or, most likely, continued [tag]hair loss[/tag] of your native hair. This is the most common reason, in my opinion, for [tag]hair transplants[/tag] appearing “thinner” at a later date.

The only caveat here would be if [tag]follicular unit[/tag] grafts were extracted outside the safe donor region during the FUE procedure. However, my guess is that you’re experiencing a reversible and temporary shed or you’ve simply continued to lose some of your native hairs around the transplants.

Feller Medical
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David
Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.