Temporary Hair Loss: Will It Grow Back, or Do You Need a Transplant?

One poster caught Covid in the first week of January, and "a couple of weeks after that I started shedding sooo much hair, like I've lost 50% of my hair in the first month and then it slowed down."

This part of our hair transplant guide answers the question they asked on r/Hairtransplant in May 2024: "will my hair ever grow back?"

Some hair loss does grow back on its own. The ISHRS (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery) says telogen effluvium "typically sees self-remission in 95% of patients within several months of cessation of the stressor."

Telogen effluvium (TE) is a sudden shed that follows stress on the body, such as an illness. Pattern hair loss isn't the same condition, and it's the kind clinics use transplants for.

Only your own doctor or dermatologist can tell you which kind you have.

Will Temporary Hair Loss Grow Back on Its Own?

The ISHRS describes TE as "a common form of temporary hair loss that involves increased shedding of hair in response to stress placed on the body." It adds that "the treatment of TE is often just patience."

Its figure is that "95% of cases are self-resolving within 2-3 months of removal of the triggering factor." The same page says it "may take 18 months or more to regain the previous fullness." So the shed stopping and the hair looking full again aren't the same date.

Hair loss caused by a medicine can reverse too. A 2023 paper in Cutis by Zhang and colleagues calls medication-induced TE "a nonscarring alopecia that typically is reversible."

A 2006 paper in Current Drug Safety by Piraccini and colleagues says "Drug-induced hair loss is usually completely reversible." That isn't a reason to change a medicine yourself. Ask the doctor who prescribed it.

A Bangkok transplant clinic says the same about TE in Thai. Absolute Hair Clinic writes that it "cannot be treated with a permanent hair transplant, such as FUE or FUT, because the hair follicles have not been destroyed. The hair can grow back on its own; one simply has to wait" (translated from Thai).

FUE and FUT are the two main ways of taking hair for a transplant: single follicles, or a strip of scalp.

The same clinic says where transplants do fit: "Permanent hair loss and thinning from atrophied hair follicles can be treated with a hair transplant" (translated from Thai).

The Two Kinds of Hair Loss and Why the Difference Matters

The transplant question turns on what's happening to the follicle, the small structure in the skin that grows each hair. Absolute's point about TE is that the follicles haven't been destroyed.

Here's how clinic pages describe the main kinds.

Covid is on the trigger list as well. A 2023 paper in Life (Basel), PMID 37511952, says TE after Covid "is currently the second cause of alopecia in women."

Telogen Effluvium: What Is Actually Happening

Hair follows a growth cycle. Nititham Clinic puts the growth phase, called anagen, at "about 2 to 7 years" (translated from Thai).

Grow & Glow Clinic says that normally "only about 10 to 15% of all hairs are in the telogen phase" (translated from Thai).

In TE, far more hairs move into the telogen phase, the resting stage, at once. Mediren Clinic, a Bangkok transplant clinic, says TE "occurs when a large number of hairs are pushed into the resting phase and fall out at the same time" (translated from Thai).

The shed shows up after a delay. So the trigger may be weeks or months in the past by then. The timeline section below gives each source's window.

Sometimes no trigger turns up at all. The ISHRS says "in about 33% of cases, a direct cause cannot be identified."

Dr. Tarinee Hair Clinic gives a slightly different figure: 35% of patients don't know "the exact cause of their hair loss" (translated from Thai).

Pattern Hair Loss: Why a Clinic Says It Doesn't Stop on Its Own

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the genetic kind, called male pattern baldness (MPB) in men. Nititham Clinic says it "arises from genetics passed down from the family and the hair follicles' sensitivity to the hormone DHT (Dihydrotestosterone)" (translated from Thai).

The same clinic's hair loss page explains why time matters: "Once a hair follicle has shrunk for a long time, the chance of it recovering decreases, because fully shrunk follicle cells are hard to stimulate back to work as before" (translated from Thai).

So this is the loss a transplant addresses. The AAD (American Academy of Dermatology) says "Hair transplant surgery allows the surgeon to move healthy hairs on your scalp to areas with thinning hair."

Medicines are part of how pattern loss is managed. That conversation belongs with your own doctor.

The Trap: Telogen Effluvium on Top of Pattern Loss

The two can happen at once. A HairLossTalk member called Dihyte wrote in 2018 that they were losing more than 200 hairs a day.

"So I decided to see a dermatologist about my hair. The doctor said that I did have telogen effluvium, but he also said that I had male pattern baldness too."

On r/TelogenEffluvium, u/tthrOwwAw4y put it in one line in January 2024: "TE is 100% temporary but it can unmask AGA."

On Bald Truth Talk, jamesst11 wrote in 2015 about the hair that came back after a shed: "Some of it regrows, some of it does not. The hair in the MPB prone areas struggles to regrow, if it does at all."

Thai clinics describe the same overlap. Dr. Tarinee Hair Clinic writes: "But in some cases it may not fully recover, and can lead to permanent thinning, or can turn into the genetic (pattern) type of thinning going forward" (translated from Thai).

Grow & Glow considers an FUE transplant "in cases where Telogen Effluvium occurs together with permanent genetic thinning, or the patient has had long-accumulated hair loss" (translated from Thai).

How a Doctor Tells Which One You Have

A few questions help you describe your hair loss clearly at a doctor's or dermatology appointment. You can't use any of them as a test on yourself.

Dr. Tarinee says that split "helps in deciding the examination, the diagnosis, and finding the cause going forward" (translated from Thai).

Bangkok Hair Clinic's FAQ says its "physicians will evaluate your scalp and medical history during consultation to determine if surgery is appropriate, or if other treatments may be recommended first."

A doctor quoted on the Bald Truth Talk thread, Rashid Rashid, MD, PhD, replied: "Telogen effluvium can last months or years. An in person exam and scalp biopsy may not be a bad idea depending on the visual severity of the situation." A scalp biopsy is a skin sample a dermatologist takes from the scalp.

Take these questions to your own doctor or dermatologist. A diagnosis needs a clinical exam.

Counting Hairs in the Shower

Counting is where most people start. The poster who opened that Bald Truth Talk thread in July 2015 wrote that they'd "be happy to have a shower and not see like 20 hairs on my hands when I shampoo and about 50+ in my little drain catch thing."

Clinics publish different numbers for a normal day, and they don't agree.

The Timeline: How Long Wait and See Can Take

The sources give different windows.

Looking full again takes longer than the shed. The ISHRS says "it may take 18 months or more to regain the previous fullness they previously enjoyed because the new hairs grow at a rate of 0.25-0.5 inches per month."

That growth rate is about 0.6 to 1.3 cm a month.

After childbirth, Dr. Borisut writes that hair "falls out in large amounts together during months 2 to 3 after delivery," and that this "can happen in about 20% of women after delivery" (translated from Thai). Dr. Tarinee says "hair loss can occur during months 3 to 5 after delivery" (translated from Thai).

Some sheds drag on. Absolute says "If the sudden hair loss lasts more than 6 months, it is called Chronic Telogen Effluvium (CTE)" (translated from Thai).

It adds that in that case "the hair follicles may atrophy; when it is cured, the hair will be thin and won't grow back as full as before" (translated from Thai). The ISHRS says "some patients will experience a continuation of this 'hyper-recycling' for a much longer time."

Medicines can set off a shed of their own. Dr. Borisut warns that abruptly stopping "medicines containing estrogen used for a long time, or the hair-growth medicines minoxidil and finasteride" can lead "to hair falling out together in the 3 to 4 months after stopping the medicine" (translated from Thai).

Never stop, start or change a medicine because of a shed without asking the doctor who prescribed it.

Patient timelines often run past the clinic windows. On r/TelogenEffluvium, u/Temporary_Return_446 wrote in March 2024: "It will take 6 to 8 months for shedding to stop and 1 to 2 years more for the hair to go back to previous density."

Others had short episodes. lefthanded wrote on HairLossTalk in 2019: "I was lucky enough to shed for only 10-11 weeks!"

The 6-Month Mark and Other Checkpoints

Six months is the line several sources draw. The ISHRS says TE "should prompt a systemic evaluation of the patient if symptoms persist for more than 6 months," meaning a doctor looks for the cause in your overall health.

Mediren says: "If abnormal hair loss continues for more than 6 months, a doctor should be seen to find the cause and plan appropriate treatment" (translated from Thai). Absolute, Dr. Borisut and Dr. Tarinee all use 6 months as the line between acute and chronic TE.

After childbirth, a Bangkok transplant clinic gives a longer wait. HairTran's FAQ says: "Postpartum hair loss is a normal hormonal condition and usually doesn't require a transplant. We recommend waiting one year after childbirth."

The ISHRS figure of "18 months or more" to regain fullness is the third marker.

These sources don't give a date when temporary shedding becomes a transplant case. So that call comes from an exam.

When to Stop Waiting and Book a Transplant Consult

The AAD says a transplant needs two things: "Enough healthy hair on your scalp that can be transplanted to the area that needs hair" and "The ability to grow hair on the thinning area of your scalp." Our page on who is a candidate covers both.

Clinics list who they think a transplant suits. Bangkok Hair Clinic's Thai homepage names "genetic baldness, M-shaped recession" and people who didn't respond to other treatments, "having tried topical or oral medicines without satisfactory results" (translated from Thai).

So a recent shed isn't on that list.

The ISHRS describes the ideal FUE candidate as "someone who has one's hair stabilized with medical therapy like finasteride and minoxidil, who is preferably older (the younger the riskier like in one's 20s, for example, due to the risk of unpredictable future hair loss)". That's the society's description, and any medicine question goes to your own doctor.

The AAD adds: "Are you a man in your 20s, who is experiencing hair loss? For best results, you may be asked to wait to have a hair transplant and start treating with a hair loss medicine."

The ISHRS also says: "A surgeon who is willing to tell you no, that a transplant would be a bad idea for you when that is the case, practices ethical medicine."

Bangkok Hair Clinic describes scarring alopecia as permanent hair loss.

If your scalp shows scarring, have a doctor or dermatologist check it before you see a transplant clinic.

Why a Clinic May Tell You to Wait

Absolute's reason is the follicle. In TE they haven't been destroyed, so "one simply has to wait" (translated from Thai).

The ISHRS reason is stability. Its ideal candidate has hair that is "stabilized," and younger patients carry "the risk of unpredictable future hair loss."

Surgery can also set off a shed of its own. The ISHRS FUE page says "You can also experience temporary telogen effluvium, which is unwanted hair shedding of your original, native hairs, that should come back over the ensuing months following the procedure."

Our shock loss page covers that shed in full.

One r/HairTransplants poster lived through both. u/MostRndmUserPossible wrote in June 2024: "I had a transplant done 2,5 years ago and caught covid 2 months later. Everything was great till month 6 when I started shedding like crazy. I was diagnosed with TE."

They waited "around 15" months with no improvement. In July 2026 they added: "No, it did not resolve. No, nothing grew back."

A patient who had a transplant in Thailand, u/jedimasterwizzy, advised another poster in August 2024: "If you're still losing hair I would wait longer to see if it stabilizes before you go ahead with the transplant."

What to Do Right Now

lefthanded passed on "the best advice I read anywhere" on HairLossTalk: "the hair coming out of your head now started coming out months ago, so there's nothing you can do today that will change that. The best thing you can do is work on identifying and addressing your trigger, then try to keep calm while you wait it out."

Finding the trigger is a job for you and your doctor together. If it might be a medicine, that conversation happens before anything changes, for the reason Dr. Borisut gives above.

Book a doctor or dermatologist. The poster at the top of this page did, and wrote that the doctor "confirmed that it's most likely TE and she had me do a blood test."

Your own doctor decides which tests and care make sense for you.

Keep the 6-month line from the ISHRS and Mediren in mind. If the shed is still going past it, both say to look for the cause.

One suggestion from us, and it isn't a medical step: photograph the same areas in the same light once a month. It gives you and your doctor something to compare besides memory.

If you do talk to a transplant clinic, ask first whether they think your loss is temporary or pattern. Then ask what they'd want to see before booking surgery.

If You Are Going to Thailand: What to Check Before You Book

Thai transplant clinics' own pages separate temporary hair shedding from transplant cases. We compare what clinics publish. We haven't visited them or had a procedure at any of them.

Once a doctor has confirmed pattern loss, check who will operate. A licensed Thai doctor can be looked up by name on the Medical Council of Thailand's register.

The ABHRS, a board that certifies hair restoration surgeons, keeps a physician directory. The ISHRS has a Find a Doctor page.

Ask the clinic: "Which steps will the surgeon do, and which will staff do?" The ISHRS says grafts are placed "most often by the trained staff." So the point is knowing who does what.

Ask how they assess your scalp before surgery, in person or online. Then ask whether that assessment covers the question on this page: temporary loss or pattern loss.

What Clinics Publish About Price

Patients report paying ฿36-123 per graft ($1.09-$3.71) across five Bangkok clinics, in reports and quotes from 2023 to 2026. Most reports at Absolute, Bangkok Hair Clinic and Hairsmith fall at ฿65-90 ($1.96-$2.72).

Hairsmith publishes ฿80 ($2.41) per graft for standard FUE under its 2025 pricing (read 23 September 2026). It says it includes 12 months of medication and that some clinics charge ฿1,000-5,000 ($30-$151) a month.

Dollars at ฿33.14 = $1 (European Central Bank reference rates, 22 September 2026).

What Patients Who Went Through It Say

We read 13 patient threads on Reddit, Bald Truth Talk and HairLossTalk. The TE accounts didn't come from anyone treated in Thailand; the one Thailand voice on this page is a transplant patient.

Two posters in one r/TelogenEffluvium thread describe a long clock. u/CecilyAnn wrote in March 2024: "Two years to regain all the thickness. After a couple months I could already see regrowth though".

In the same thread, u/kikix- wrote: "it's been two years and i'm now at a point where it isn't noticeable that i've had hair loss previously!"

Some recovered faster. u/zepruska wrote on r/HairTransplants in April 2024: "if it is telogen effluvium, the hairs will start falling out 2-4 months after that stressor and can take 4-6 months to grow back. This is what happened to me."

Others waited far longer. Sonal wrote on HairLossTalk in 2016: "Its been more than 17 months now."

Sonal added: "All my doctors tell me this will pass but no one has put a time window to it."

The question comes up right before transplants too. In April 2026, u/go_get_your_hyung replied to the post at the top of this page: "Going through it now, pre HT, due to rapid weight loss, thankfully HT is still about a year out." HT means hair transplant.

The patient in Thailand who advised waiting wrote about their own transplant in August 2024: "I'm 7 months post now and I'm extremely happy."

The Bottom Line

The ISHRS calls TE temporary, with self-remission typically in 95% of patients. Absolute says on its own page that TE can't be treated with a permanent hair transplant, and Mediren lists FUE "in cases where the hair follicles are permanently thin" (both translated from Thai).

Pattern loss is the one clinic pages describe as progressive, and it's the loss transplants are used for. The two can overlap.

See your own doctor or dermatologist for a diagnosis first.

If the shed runs past 6 months, the ISHRS and Mediren both say to look for the cause. If a doctor confirms pattern loss and you want help comparing Thai clinics, you can contact us.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my hair grow back after telogen effluvium?

The ISHRS says telogen effluvium "typically sees self-remission in 95% of patients within several months of cessation of the stressor." Absolute Hair Clinic in Bangkok says the hair "can grow back on its own; one simply has to wait" (translated from Thai). Whether your own loss is TE, pattern loss or both is something only your doctor or dermatologist can tell you after an exam.

How long does telogen effluvium last?

Sources differ. The ISHRS says "95% of cases are self-resolving within 2-3 months of removal of the triggering factor." Mediren puts regrowth at 3 to 6 months and Absolute at 6 to 12 months (both translated from Thai).

Shedding past 6 months is called chronic TE, and the ISHRS says it "should prompt a systemic evaluation." So see your own doctor if you reach that point.

Does hair ever fully recover from telogen effluvium?

The ISHRS says it "may take 18 months or more to regain the previous fullness." Absolute says that long chronic TE may make the follicles atrophy, and that the hair then "won't grow back as full as before" (translated from Thai).

Where TE sits on top of pattern loss, one r/TelogenEffluvium poster wrote: "TE is 100% temporary but it can unmask AGA." Your doctor can tell you which applies to you.

Do I need a transplant for postpartum hair loss?

HairTran's FAQ asks this and answers: "Postpartum hair loss is a normal hormonal condition and usually doesn't require a transplant. We recommend waiting one year after childbirth. If hair loss persists or doesn't improve by then, consult a specialist to explore restoration options."

Dr. Borisut puts postpartum shedding at months 2 to 3 after delivery (translated from Thai).

Can I get a hair transplant while I'm still shedding?

Absolute says TE can't be treated with a permanent hair transplant (translated from Thai). The ISHRS describes the ideal FUE candidate as someone whose hair is "stabilized," and surgery can cause its own temporary shed. A transplant patient in Thailand on Reddit advised: "If you're still losing hair I would wait longer to see if it stabilizes before you go ahead with the transplant."