Limit Sun Exposure For Months After Hair Transplant?

I recently had a hair transplant completed (approximately 1,500 follicular units). My doctor advised me to limit exposure of the transplant area to the sun to 10 to 15 minutes per day for the first two months following the transplant (this is the same advice given to every patient). Is this precaution necessary?

Yes, it is necessary. There are two reasons to keep sun exposure down after a hair transplant:

1. UV light damages new collagen
2. Sun exposure will burn the skin from the recipient area. Skin that is in the donor area (back of the head) has always been covered by hair so that it has never seen sun since the day you were born unless you shaved your head through various periods in your life. People who get sun exposure after a hair transplant may see dots of sunburned skin, like measles.

I tell all of my patients to use a hat or use sunblock when going out into the sun for a period of 3 months. By that time the new tissues will be relatively healed so that damage from UV will not be particularly more harmful than in other skin areas.