Can I color my hair after transplant?

Posted by parojulie @parojulie, Jul 16, 2020

What is the reasonable time to wait before dying gray hair after a Transplant ? I have been told to wait since the immune suppression is high immediately after the surgery.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Transplants Support Group.

@chickytina

Due to being sick for a while prior to my double lung transplant, I haven't been able to get my hair colored in about 6 months. What is the best hair color to use? My salon uses Redken Chromomatics which has no fumes. My doctor said that I can use natural hair color, but there is no hair color without chemicals. I am less than a month out from the surgery.

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Good morning @chickytina 😊
I am a two year kidney transplant patient.
I tried the Redkin Chromomatics from my local hair salon. Thanks for the tip! It came out beautiful and no harsh chemicals to breathe.
I have a question about Prednisone.
What dosage do you take normally take for maintenance and when there was fear of rejection, what was it increased to?
Did you have to take insulin at the lower or higher level dosage?
I may be starting Prednisone and I would love to hear your experience with it at both dosage levels. Thank you for the heads up on Redkin Chromomatics!!

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@hello1234

Good morning @chickytina 😊
I am a two year kidney transplant patient.
I tried the Redkin Chromomatics from my local hair salon. Thanks for the tip! It came out beautiful and no harsh chemicals to breathe.
I have a question about Prednisone.
What dosage do you take normally take for maintenance and when there was fear of rejection, what was it increased to?
Did you have to take insulin at the lower or higher level dosage?
I may be starting Prednisone and I would love to hear your experience with it at both dosage levels. Thank you for the heads up on Redkin Chromomatics!!

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I am so glad it worked out for you.
At the highest it was at 250mg intravenously. However, it was supposed to be 3 days in a row, but the unit was closed on Sunday. So I did 2 days very high and then the third day at 100mg reducing by 10mg to 10mg a day. I try to control how much insulin I need to take based on my diet.

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@chickytina

Due to being sick for a while prior to my double lung transplant, I haven't been able to get my hair colored in about 6 months. What is the best hair color to use? My salon uses Redken Chromomatics which has no fumes. My doctor said that I can use natural hair color, but there is no hair color without chemicals. I am less than a month out from the surgery.

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@chickytina
Thanks for the scoop on your Prednisone dosages during and after rejection treatment. Depending on what happens with my BK virus, I may need Prednisone added to my drugs so I was curious about your experience. It sounds like they handled your signs of rejection very quickly and with a big hammer!! 😊 That's a good thing.
Thank you again @chickytina for all your help

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@chickytina

The Inogen G5 can be used overnight (and I did use it overnight) and will charge while using it. I also had car charger, but it will keep at the same level of charge in the car.

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Tina, I have the Eclipse 3, but it is a burden to fly with to take on weeklong trips due to its size. I flew recently and my leg room was literally 12" deep. I had to side straddle the machine for three hours. I was hoping I could buy a Phillips Easy Go instead of dragging that Eclipse with me when I fly. I get conflicting info on that product. I am told no it won't do for overnight by oxygen suppliers, but Yes from the ones who sell and rent the Phillips. I was hoping that somebody online has had some experience with it.

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Hey all. I know this is an older thread but thought I'd share my experience. I was told during outpatient dismissal for kidney transplant (about 2 weeks following hospital dismissal) that there were no issues with me dying my hair. That said, I took the following precautions... 1) dyed my hair at home, 2) used Revlon ColorSilk hair dye (no ammonia) and 3) saran-wrapped and taped (seriously) my midsection to make sure that nothing hit my (healed) incision when I was washing out the dye.

The color looked good but it's quickly faded despite being labelled as permanent color. Has anyone else experienced quick fading? At this point I'm assuming user error 😉

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My team asked me to wait six months which I did. Had color and highlights in December and after a week or so my hair color started to fade. It looks ok but not the beautiful color when I l first left my stylist salon. I called her and she said that meds can really affect hair color and also the fact that I had a lot of gray. We are going to try again in a few weeks.

Let me know when you try again and what your results are. BTW, have you also had hair loss?

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@crystalfaye

My team asked me to wait six months which I did. Had color and highlights in December and after a week or so my hair color started to fade. It looks ok but not the beautiful color when I l first left my stylist salon. I called her and she said that meds can really affect hair color and also the fact that I had a lot of gray. We are going to try again in a few weeks.

Let me know when you try again and what your results are. BTW, have you also had hair loss?

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It is evident from my picture, that I have not colored my hair, but I do remember that after transplant my hair was extremely dry and dull. My finger nails were also extremely brittle. So, yes, my experience is that our meds, do affect hair and in my experience, nails, too.

@crystalfaye, Hair thinning is a popular topic in these Support Groups!
-Hair loss after transplant, probably Tacrolimus: Anyone change meds?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/hair-loss-after-transplant-probably-tacronlimis/
-Transplant anti-rejection medications. What's your advice?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/your-anti-rejection-medications/

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Hi,
I have colored my hair ongoing, since my kidney transplant about three years ago. While I was on Tacrolimis, my thick hair became very thin and growth slowed substantially, but it did not seem to affect my hair color. I switched from Tac to Cyclosporine, for medical reasons, and within months, my hair and nails were thick and strong and growing at an increased speed. The drug also can cause gum growth and puffiness, so I have had to increase my dental care, but all is good now. The past two hair colorings may have faded sooner, however, I am growing increasingly grey, so it could just be that:)

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