My 3 Year Old Has a Bald Spot from an Accident…

My 3 year-old son had a freak accident involving our treadmill about 7 weeks ago, and sustained several severe abrasions — one on his scalp. His head is mostly healed, except for a small spot in the middle; the surrounding area is pink, with no sign of hair regrowth as of yet.

My question is: how deep would the abrasion have to be to affect the hair follicles? How long should we expect to wait to know whether regrowth may occur?

The wounds that are deep enough to cut the hair follicle below the level of the skin may cause permanent hair loss, but in a classic abrasion, the hair should grow back. I would wait it out for a good 6-8 months before worrying about it. Hair loss could also be seen with any surgical scar that cuts or injures hair shafts below the skin level or if the skin edges separate and are not closed with sutures. Superficial abrasions may cause hair loss temporarily. This latter type of hair loss usually re-grows in a matter of a few months. If your son does not grow his hair back in those areas in 6-8 months, he may have lost it permanently. This type of balding spots could be excised or transplanted with hair successfully.