Shock loss is when the hair around the recipient area and the donor area falls out because of some form of trauma to the area. Shock loss can be permanent in some rare cases, but most times it is only temporary hair loss.
Most cases of shock loss are just a temporary response to some form of trauma in that area. For the donor area, it is most often because the follicles are being alerted to the fact that their “brothers and sisters” in their neighbourhood are being taken away. The follicles that are left get a little scared and decide that they should hide. So the hair that is in the follicle falls out. The good news in these cases is that the follicle will still produce new hairs, and you should see the hair that fell out start to regrow in about 3 months, the same amount of time that it takes for the transplanted hairs to grow in their “new homes”.
The transplanted area and surrounding areas can also experience shock loss because of the swelling and trauma from the new grafts being placed into this area. Once again, usually the hairs that are lost from shock will grow back in 3 months or so.
Shock loss after a hair transplant is actually very rare. It is seen only about 5% of the time, most times in women. Women sometimes also experience a form of shock loss after pregnancy.
Telogen effluvium is a kind of shock loss. This type of hair loss is more diffuse though, meaning that it happens throughout the entire scalp at one time instead of just specific areas like the shock loss seen after a hair transplant. Telogen effluvium can be caused by many different things. Some reasons that have been known to cause the shock loss related to telogen effluvium are extreme emotional or physical stress such as from the death of a close family member, financial hardships, car accidents, serious illness, major surgery, divorce, etc. Other causes are allergic reactions to certain chemicals, poor diet, and even hormonal imbalances. Once these factors have been removed from the equation, the hair follicle will begin to produce hair again, and you will start to see hair growing back within the 3 month mark.
The reason why it takes 3 months for hair to grow is because the hair starts its anagen, or growth, phase, and it typically takes 3 months before the hair strand grows to a point that is noticeable.
Permanent shock loss is something that is very rare, but it can happen. This is when the trauma to the follicle has been sustained for a prolonged period of time. That causes the follicle to atrophy and therefore become unable to produce new hairs. This is normally only seen in the areas where DHT, or dihydrotestosterone, already affects the hair, and chances are that hair was going to fall out at some point in the near future anyways.
It’s important that your hair restoration specialist is aware of any conditions that might affect shock loss in each individual case, and these will be a part of an initial consultation.
