Long-Term Stubble After Hair Transplant

Hello and thanks again for this most helpful website.

I am a female who is just over one year post-op. For months now (no exaggeration), there has been a 1″ to 2″ band of stubble on the top\front of my scalp that DOES NOT GROW. It remains stubble.

I went to my HT surgeon for a follow-up and he said it’s just “slow growth” and we should wait another 8-9 months for another follow-up. The rest of my HT seems to have grown in fine, albeit I wish I had more grafts. How is it possible that this stubble has just stopped growing?

With many thanks and blessings.

Transplanted hair should usually start growing in 3-5 months. They should be all growing in six months and by month 12 they should be a few inches long, as thick as the original hair and long enough to comb. Some variation is seen in the growth rate among people, but no growth in one year is unusual and its causes should be explored further by your hair transplant doctor.

I have on rare occasions seen the presence of persistent stubble in the transplanted area (rarely longer than 1cm). What the stubble (after 6 months at least) should reflect is the old left-over hairs from the transplant. You can confirm this by pulling out a few of these and you should see no bulb at the ends of the hairs (from deep in the skin). If that is what you are seeing, pay no attention and these should eventually come out in a hair wash. You might get a second opinion.