The inflammation is called folliculitis is where the area is full of surrounding a hair follicle. This inflammation looks like a pimple caused by excessive stress during the operation or the post-operative care time period.
Scalp pimples, as one of the post-operative effects of hair transplant surgery, might appear in any phases of the hair growth circle. The common time period is right after the first two weeks from the hair transplant operation.
The reasons why it is common during the first two weeks is because of the fact that it is the time for the new hair grafts start growing.
It is also possible to experience scalp pimples until six months after the surgery.
Here Are Some of the Results What Folliculitis Can Cause:
- You might experience some bumps with whiteheads as well as pus-filled bumps breaking open and crusting over in time.
- This condition probably brings a sense of itchiness and tenderness together with. You might feel pain from time to time. It is possible to take a painkiller when you can not stand for it. Ask from your doctor for an effective painkiller.
- The other cause might be yeast, shaving in a wrong and unsterilized way, excess sweat, and ingrown hairs. They are all personal factors consisting of occlusive clothing such as helmets and straps, and lastly some certain medications.
What Are the Reasons for Scalp Pimples After the Hair Transplant Surgery?
From the first two weeks to six months, you can experience scalp pimples. It is just common side effects of hair transplantations, just do not make panic.
Scalp pimples might come to the scene since the implantation of hair grafts might imply making small incisions into the scalp skin from time to time. In other words, when the hair graft is implanted during the operation, it can grow inward so it might lead to some inflammation.
There is nothing to get worried with a few scalp pimples unless they are together with swelling, redness, and pain. When the scalp pimples accompanied with the other side effects, now it might be dangerous for your health. You should consult with your doctor soon under this circumstance.
As a common side effect of the hair transplant surgery, the acne might have resulted in the skin pores associated with an accumulation of oil deposits beneath your skin. That is why it is mentioned from the beginning that the scalp pimples after hair transplant surgery comes from the inflammation of the hair follicle that is folliculitis.
The reasons for that shortly can be listed under three main titles as the formation of ingrown hairs, and irritation beneath the skin surface as a result of the emerging hair shaft, which are the reasons that are related to the patient’s medical condition. Yet, the next one is about when you choose the FUE method of the hair transplant.
FUE hair where the hair transplant the extraction sites stay might erupt in acne and pimples at the end of your hair damaged during the operation especially the extraction process since it may cause ingrown when regrowing time period.
What to Do Against Scalp Pimples? Treatment Ways and Some Recommendations
- First of all, it is vital to follow your doctor’s idea for the pre and post-operation care so that the side effects and disadvantages of hair transplant surgery might get at the minimum level.
Some doctors suggest their patients a hair lotion to wash their hair for the first two days. You can use it if you have something like that. You should be very careful when covering your whole donor part with this lotion. You need to tap gently and wait almost for one hour before rinsing out. Especially if the seasons is summer and the weather are hot, it will help you a lot to make feel comfortable.
- You can take some medication when the scalp pimples start to bother you and when it gives you the pain. Not only when you have it, but it is also recommended to use some certain medications before the hair transplant surgery to avoid having the scalp pimples.
- There are some specific ointments such as Benzoyl Peroxide and Salicylic Acid and shampoos to prevent scalp pimples. You can ask your doctor for the best one according to your own condition to using after the operation.
Some chemical hair products might give you just harm. That is why it is important to ask your doctor for some advice.
- Scalp pimples might be getting wider and bigger if you do not keep the area clean and hygienic. To provide this, you can wash regularly with clean and optimum heat water so that you can prove the reduction of inflammation.
- Just mentioned above, it is necessary to use not too hot and not too cold water when washing and cleaning your hair scalp. Hot water might hurt you and provide have more pimples around.
- You may love to decorate your hair but it is necessary not to use any color dye, headpieces, and even tight hats during the healing time. It might hurt you and also it might influence negatively your newly transplanted hair follicles.
- This negative affection will lead to scalp pimples and longer to heal. For the precaution during the post-operative care, you should avoid using those headpieces at least for five weeks or two months.
- There are some certain oral antibiotics that might work for you. If you feel comfortable yourself with this way of the treatment, you can ask your doctor to choose one of the oral antibiotics to combat the pain coming together with the scalp pimples after the hair transplant surgery.
- If you trust yourself in this sense, you can even try to pop your scalp pimples meticulously. It should be very meticulous and clean so you should be very careful. You can also ask for help from your wife or husband, or one of your friends who trust themselves in this issue.
To be honest, it is not a way I personally choose in my personal life. However, I just give you as a treatment way if you are good at doing it since some people are quite successful. It is better to move according to your own situation.
- Occlusive greasy creams might affect you negatively when you have scalp pimples after the operation. That is why it is better not to use any of them during the healing time.
How to Wash Your Hair After Hair Transplant Surgery?
For the post-operative care of the hair gratification, washing hair is one of the critic ones that you can give damage to your hair scalp. It has surely a strong connection with scalp pimples to make the area clean.
Here are 10 tips for you when it comes to washing your hair after the hair transplant operation.
1. For the first two days, it is needed not to wash your hair. However, when it comes to the third day after the hair transplant surgery, you can wash your hair by being quite careful.
Especially for the first week, you should be very careful when washing your hair not to damage your hair scalp and the transplanted area with the newly implanted follicles.
2. For the first two days, it might be hard to wait since you should not wash your hair. As a solution, you can just take a rest and not go outside if you do not feel comfortable.
This suggestion is given to those who take a shower every day and not go out without taking a bath.
You should keep remaining yourself the fact that the hair transplant surgery has needed to be patient enough for each step including the post-operative care duration.
3. When washing your hair, you should be very gently. For instance, it is wrong to let your head go directly under the showerhead. You should avoid doing this.
The time when you have a massage shower head is another vital time. You should massage gently so that you will not experience harder and tough days because of the side effects.
4. You do not have to use a showerhead if you can not control it and not to be gentle when washing your hair. Some people choose to fill a cup with water and then pour it over the head. It might be a good solution for you, too. Just try the one that you can behave the most gently!
5. How to pour water is not the only problem actually. In other words, when putting shampoo and hair conditioner, you should also be very careful. Directly putting the shampoo might not be gentle every time.
To provide the most comfortable way, you can squeeze a little shampoo into your hand at first. And then, you can apply it into your hair. Regardless of the hair transplantation surgery condition, I personally choose this way from time to time not to consume too much shampoo. You will see other benefits too after trying this method.
6. For the usage of shampoo and other hair products, there are some other ways. To illustrate, you can put a little shampoo in the bottom of a cup.
Secondly, you need to fill it up with water so that you can pour the bubbly solution over your head. While applying this, it is better to have a gentle massage on your head.
Needless to say, it is not enough to make it one time. You can repeat this a few times but it might change according to the amount of your hair and its needs.
7. As everyone clearly knows, the sense of itchiness is a common side effect of hair transplant surgery. It may take until sixth or the seventh day.
During this time, the donor area might have some small red dots that are a bit different than the scalp pimples. The place where your follicles were extracted from, the donor area, might bother you.
When you use one of the hair conditioners, it may help you to fight the sense of itching. However, I still suggest you to ask your doctor to use a hair conditioner if you have any allergic condition.
8. You might still have some scabs for the second weeks after the surgery. A hair conditioner might still work if you gently massage in the area so that it could provide the scabs to fall off.
9. Please try to avoid using towels or any clothes in order to dry your hair. It would be better to use a hairdryer but on a cool air mode since you can hurt your hair scalp when using your towel.
For the hairdryer, you should consider the distance that you should keep away from your head.
10. Lastly, please do not forget that the first month after the hair transplant surgery is the most critical time period. You should not feel relax after three days or one week just because you are able to wash your hair. Not to get an infection and have more scalp pimples, you should keep the guides of the post-operative care carefully.
How to Treat Scalp Pimples?
Not only as a side effect of hair transplant surgery but also for other reasons you can experience scalp pimples and acne.
- If you are looking for a homemade solution, you can use tea tree oil and one of the hair essential oil. You can mix and apply the mixture on your hair according to the type of the essential hair oil you choose. This hair mask will help you eliminate bacteria on your hair scalp, and clean for the sensitive area.
- You can also use salicylic acid since it helps you to get rid of dead skin cells on your hair scalp. Just like the salicylic acid, glycolic acid is also effective when it comes to exfoliating the hair scalp and removing dead skin cells together with bacteria, and sebum inside.
- For the medication treatment, you can use some topical antibiotic ointments or steroid creams. It is better to ask your doctor to learn the best and most suitable one for your problem. You can also use steroid injections and antihistamines if you have an allergic reaction.
For those who have an allergic reaction, this condition is more critic. Hence, if you are one of them, you should be more careful and take a step as soon as possible.
