Hair Transplant Falling Out After 1 Year: What To Do Next

A hair transplant is an investment in your appearance. After a year, you should be starting to see the final results of your hair transplant — not worrying about more hair loss.

So what can you do if your hair transplant is falling out after 1 year?

In this article, we’ll explore the causes of hair loss after a hair transplant, help you figure out what’s causing your post-transplant hair loss, and how you can stop your hair transplant falling out.

Can your hair fall out after a hair transplant?

Yes. While a hair transplant is permanent in almost all cases, some people see some kind of hair loss even after their procedure.

In the short-term, this is usually due to shock hair loss. Your scalp reacts to the trauma of surgery, usually within a month of the procedure, causing your transplanted hair to fall out. Despite the appearance of hair loss, most of the grafts will have been implanted safely — now you just need to wait for them to regrow.

But in rare cases, your hair transplant can fall out a year or more after your FUE or FUT procedure. So what causes longer term transplanted hair loss — and how can you tackle it?

Why is my hair falling out after my hair transplant?

Firstly, it’s very uncommon for your hair transplant to fall out after a year. Most patients with high-quality hair transplants see excellent results within 12 months of surgery. Here’s a selection of Wimpole Clinic patients, and their 1 year post-procedure results:

Crown hair transplant before and 12 months after FUE.

Hairline transplant before and 12 months after FUE.

But if your hair transplant is falling out after a year, here’s what could be happening.

1. Your hair loss hasn’t stopped

A hair transplant replaces your lost hair — but it won’t prevent ongoing hair loss. Supplementary medicines like Finasteride are designed for this purpose. But if you haven’t been taking Finasteride, your hair may continue to fall out, despite your hair transplant.

In this case, the hair that falls out isn’t usually your transplanted hair. Instead, the hair around your new grafts — which are also vulnerable to the hormones and androgen receptors that lead to male pattern baldness — falls out. This may look like your new hair is falling out due to decreased density in the transplanted areas.

2. You’re stressed

A healthy person loses 50-100 hairs every day [1]. But if you’re suddenly seeing more extensive hair loss, you may be experiencing telogen effluvium.

Telogen effluvium is a type of temporary hair loss that happens when you’re stressed, anxious, or depressed. The hair prematurely enters the shedding stage of the hair growth cycle, calling more hair to fall out than usual.

Telogen effluvium affects transplanted hair as well as non-transplanted hair. So if you’ve been going through a tough time, this may be the cause of your late-onset hair loss. Fortunately, this is a temporary condition — after a few months, any stress-related hair loss should start to regrow.

3. You have another hair loss condition

In rare cases, you may develop an unrelated hair loss condition like alopecia areata. This autoimmune condition causes small round bald patches to develop at random areas on the scalp. It can affect transplanted hair as well as non-transplanted hair.

Alopecia areata has a very characteristic appearance, as shown in the photos below. This type of hair loss is unrelated to your hair transplant — so you should head to a trichologist or your GP for advice.

4. You have temporary hair loss

If you’ve only just started using Minoxidil or Finasteride to manage your ongoing hair loss, you may see some temporary shedding. Find out more:

• Minoxidil shedding — a type of temporary hair loss caused by Minoxidil treatment
• Finasteride shedding — temporary hair loss triggered by Finasteride use.

Temporary shedding is a common side effect of these treatments, and will stop after a couple of weeks of use.

5. Your hair is damaged

Just like regular hair, transplanted hair can become brittle and snap off if it’s not properly cared for. Dyeing, bleaching, and heat styling your hair can result in breakage and hair thinning, which may look like hair loss.

How to stop your hair transplant falling out after 1 year

If you’re worried about losing hair from your hair transplant, here’s what you can do to keep your hair transplant in great condition.

1. Take Finasteride

If you’re a man, you may need to take Finasteride to stop any continuing hair loss. Finasteride works by blocking conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the hormone responsible for male pattern baldness.

There are some potential Finasteride side effects to be aware of, such as erectile dysfunction and loss of libido. But these only affect a small proportion of Finasteride users. If you’re concerned about the safety of Finasteride, consider using a Finasteride alternative.

2. Make healthy choices

If stress, anxiety, or lifestyle choices are causing hair loss or damage, try to tackle these underlying issues. Find out how to regain hair after stress, and make sure you’re taking good care of your new hair.

3. Speak to a hair transplant clinic

Your hair transplant clinic can give you advice about how to maintain your hair transplant, or even arrange a top-up hair transplant if necessary. If you trust the clinic who performed your original transplant, they should be your first port of call.

If you’re not sure they’ll give you the best advice, you can always seek out a second opinion. The Wimpole Clinic offers a free consultation for anyone looking for guidance about their hair restoration options and we recommend reading our hair transplant uk guide where we look into costs and choosing the right clinic.

Get help with your hair transplant

If your hair transplant is falling out after 1 year and you’re not sure why, book a free consultation at the Wimpole Clinic. We’ve helped more than 10,000 patients restore their hair — so let’s help you do the same.

Sources:

1. Do you have hair loss or hair shedding?