Folliculitis

There are numerous conditions that need to be carefully watched for after a hair transplant to ensure the maximum take rate of the transplanted grafts. You should always follow your post-op instructions. Not caring for the donor site and recipient site can cause all kinds of problems related to sun exposure, dirtiness, or infection, but the worst is folliculitis.

Folliculitis is the inflammation of a hair follicle, and it’s a common concern following a hair transplant. A person can get folliculitis anywhere on the body where there is a hair follicle. Another version of this infection is called hot tub folliculitis and is caused by bacteria that is commonly found in wet and warm areas.

What Causes Folliculitis?

Folliculitis is caused by the hair follicles being blocked or becoming ingrown and damaged for various reasons. This can be caused by constant shaving, steady rubbing of the area or especially after new follicles have been implanted into the recipient area and start the growth phase. Although there is no fixed age limit that this condition will affect, this is quite common in younger people (early twenties) and will reoccur again in older people (50+). An iron deficiency can also aggravate the condition.

Types Of Folliculitis

– People with a weak immune system can get eosinophilic folliculitis, an itchy rash.

– Pseudofolliculitis barbae is when a hair becomes ingrown and starts to curve backwards in the dermal layer, therefore becoming inflamed.

– When the follicles become inflamed, leading to scars, this is called folliculitis decalvans.

– A history of keloids can also be a sign of a potential folliculitis keloidalis.

– Fungal conditions such as barber’s itch or malassezia folliculitis can also occur.

– Bacterial conditions like staph infection if the area is regularly shaved with non-sterile equipment.

– Viral conditions such as the herpes simplex virus can spread and eventually lead to a condition known as herpetic folliculitis.

Symptoms Of Folliculitis

How can you recognize folliculitis? What starts as a pimple will soon spread into a rash. It will also be itchy, inflamed, and a little painful. The pimples or pustules will also get bigger and more painful. They will need to be treated immediately so that they do not kill the follicle and cause hair loss in that area.

Treatments And Prevention

For our hair transplant patients, we prescribe antibiotic pills to take orally as well as an antifungal/bacterial lotion to apply topically post-op.

If the symptoms last for longer than 3 to 4 days, it is important to notify our office to make sure that you get the treatment that is necessary to ensure the survival and growth of the hair from each follicle.