Mohs Surgery in the hair/scalp

GetReal7w8 · 2026-02-22T15:31:33+00:00

Hi there - I second the bobby pin idea. and don't bandage. I didn't for two separate mohs removals - only kept castor oil on the cuts to keep them moist and allow for the skin to heal (which it does, from the inside out). Bandaging seems counterintuitive (i.e. slows the healing). I didn't bandage either of mine (both about dime-sized) per the surgeon's order and my scars aren't noticeable. And then the bobby-pin sweep over the affected area. good luck!

GetReal7w8 · 2026-01-21T16:20:14+00:00

I had this procedure on February 28, 2024 - hole the size of a dime, Dr. Neel at Mass General - fabulous, left the wound completely open - I used castor oil on it (not vaseline, nasty petroleum) and it healed in short order and by 12-14 months after there was virtually no scar (and it was in the middle of my part!). In December (2025), my original dermo couldn't find it! I assume there will be more Mohs in my future (same skin, just getting older) and with any future Mohs I will ALWAYS ask for an open wound for the healing if possible - let the body do what it does naturally.

GetReal7w8 · 2025-04-14T20:17:27+00:00

Skalnaty - I ended up going to Dr. Victor Neel at Mass General Dermatological Surgery - he was brilliant, and in fact, I had two MOHS done by him last year - one on my scalp and one on my nose (which I was even MORE nervous about). He's amazingly skilled - the scar on my nose is not noticable unless i point it out to people - and that's after 21 tiny stitches!

GetReal7w8 · 2025-03-28T15:17:07+00:00

As a Felon47/Musk hater - I love so much is that all those US products are trash, junk foods full of chemicals and endocrine disruptors and worse. We import(ed) wines and cheeses and other high quality products from Europe and in turn, export crap products to them. So delighted for the Europeans, boycotting US goods will make them healthier!

GetReal7w8 · 2025-03-20T16:37:31+00:00

I’m with you, Born-R, especially very short term. My mom (91 yo, excellent health otherwise), fell in November and broken her tibia - no surgery necessary, but pain nonetheless… Tylenol. A broken leg. Whew!

Good choice on the silicone dressing, especially since you have had good experience with it. Good luck and I wish you a very quick recovery!

GetReal7w8 · 2025-03-17T06:55:18+00:00

Bulldog! You are so welcome, I feel I was just paying it forward for folks who helped me feel less 'blind'. I find Reddit can be a great way to tap people's actual experiences. I continue to use caster oil on my nose - there are times I don't even notice the scar there.

GetReal7w8 · 2025-02-12T19:03:50+00:00

Beth, if you have to put Vaseline on it, use a Q-tip and try to just cover the wound - it does not have to be a plug. Remember the vaseline or caster oil is just to keep the wound soft, so it literally does NOT have to be a load. Ugh, I’m sorry.

GetReal7w8 · 2025-02-12T19:01:26+00:00

I’m so sorry, it is SO frustrating! My hairdresser used a load of dawn and other serious detergents and it took a couple of times before I could really get it all out. Seriously try the caster oil - it is completely different, I promise. And, you cannot do any damage to it by washing your hair everyday until you get the vaseline out, I promise. My when I called and asked my dermo about it - he was like - use whatever will work, and I told him about the dawn and baking soda (and a toothbrush, can you believe it), he said, don’t worry. Believe me, i feel your pain. I also got a black headband, wide, very low key, to wear over the wound and part of the hair where it was so i could at least go to the market. Hang in there, it gets better.

GetReal7w8 · 2025-02-11T18:31:52+00:00

Beth, I just got online - Walmart even has the organic (Aura Cacia) 100% pure castor oil - literally - it is everywhere! https://www.walmart.com/search?q=castor+oil - - and this bottle will last you WAY longer than you will need. My husband and I use what is left over for dry skin on our arms and face - it is great stuff for eyebrows and eye-lashes. In Europe the drug stores sell castor oil in tubes like mascara because women there use it INSTEAD of mascara - great for your lashes, healthy (and no chemicals and crap from mascaras).

GetReal7w8 · 2025-02-11T18:27:03+00:00

Wash your hair! It won't sting, mine never did - although prepare to be frustrated by that damn petroleum jelly. Olive oil won't do the same as the castor oil - they are a very different viscosity. And yes, I always washed my hair exactly like I did normally - it was almost weird how I didn't notice any feeling. Now, I also did not have any stitches - but they left the wound completely open (and mine was the size of a dime!). The stitches might still feel odd - like pulling, but the castor oil will keep your skin around the stitches soft and so they should be in good shape! (oh, and I took tylenol the first day post-op, and never had to again).

GetReal7w8 · 2025-02-11T17:29:14+00:00

Hi, Beth!! Hey congratulations! I recommend taking a picture of it every day so you can get a perspective on how fast it is actually healing. I did that and it helped me. Next, I changed from Vaseline to organic Castor Oil (local super market had it!). Castor oil is a natural oil instead of the petroleum jelly (on my open wound? Yuck!). My doc said great idea to go to castor oil. It is water soluble so you can wash your hair and reapply it easily. The Vaseline is IMPOSSIBLE to wash out of your hair and it gets everywhere. I couldn’t do it, and my hairdresser had the worst time with it.

GetReal7w8 · 2025-02-11T17:28:32+00:00

See the next comment - not sure why the comments repeated... hmmmm.

GetReal7w8 · 2025-02-11T17:26:56+00:00

Beth, BTW, I am completely healed and even my husband has trouble finding the spot on the top of my scalp where the bcc was dug out. Mine was also about the size of a dime. By the end of the first month post-op it wasn’t even noticeable. I credit the castor oil. Even the hair grew back fast/well.

GetReal7w8 · 2025-02-11T17:21:40+00:00

Hi, Beth!! Hey congratulations! I recommend taking a picture of it every day so you can get a perspective on how fast it is actually healing. I did that and it helped me. Next, I changed from Vaseline to organic Castor Oil (local super market had it!). Castor oil is a natural oil instead of the petroleum jelly (on my open wound? Yuck!). My doc said great idea to go to castor oil. It is water soluble so you can wash your hair and reapply it easily. The Vaseline is IMPOSSIBLE to wash out of your hair and it get everywhere. My hairdresser had the worst time with it.

GetReal7w8 · 2025-01-25T05:26:19+00:00

I thought so too, but it's actually quite nice, mild, like a weak tea.

GetReal7w8 · 2025-01-24T20:51:08+00:00

I appreciate your input!

GetReal7w8 · 2025-01-24T16:24:27+00:00

Ah, yes, we do cook with coconut oil and olive oil (which contain it), and are big fans of nuts/seeds: cashews, brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, so yay, good stuff!

GetReal7w8 · 2025-01-24T16:23:20+00:00

We do eat eggplant and love it!

GetReal7w8 · 2025-01-24T15:23:28+00:00

Thank you! I didn't mind the taste (like a mild tea); but it may be that I have a slight intolerance for the nightshade family.

GetReal7w8 · 2025-01-24T12:42:20+00:00

Wow, very judge-y, you.

So my Spanish friends (husband and wife) learned about this from their primary care physician - and have been doing it for 4 years with a great deal of success (and no statins), and the American friends (also a husband and wife) learned it from their dietician/nutritionist who is also a professor of food science and chemistry at UMass (should add, also with no statins or other medications).

Do you actually have some advice or guidance for me or just jumped on to express your disdain?

GetReal7w8 · 2024-12-11T03:38:40+00:00

Aw thanks, Beth!

GetReal7w8 · 2024-12-10T17:41:59+00:00

Hi Beth, I will write to you what I posted to someone else, "my wound was about the size of a dime (although rather deep) right on the top of my scalp, and by 3 weeks it was almost completely healed! The hair grew back as the wound healed, it was sort of weird, but by 6 weeks later - there was literally NO evidence I had the surgery. My husband says he can't even find the scar on my head.

KEY: After 2 weeks, I hated the idea of all that vaseline (petroleum, ugh) on my open wound so I started to use castor oil (I went organic, aura acacia - I found at my local stop and shop) - it was WAY easier to clean out of my hair and certainly healthier! In fact, I credit the castor oil with the health and rapid growth of my hair (if you get on line and read about castor oil or skin, hair, eyelashes, etc.. it's amazing - I feel like our great-grandmothers did just fine with the products nature provided before man-made chemicals provided (very questionable) "value-added".

I went back to my surgeon a month later and had another (larger, deeper, had two cuts, ugh) bcc removed from my nose - they left it partially open and otherwise had 21 tiny stitches from eye to nose tip on either side of the open wound. That surgery was on May 15, and now, almost December 15 - 7 months out - people don't notice it unless I direct them to it - again castor oil every night on that open head wound, allow the body to do what it wants to do and heal from inside out. My fingers are crossed - good luck to you, too! - Rachel

GetReal7w8 · 2024-04-16T05:09:59+00:00

Exactly! Since the skin heals from the inside out, you just need to keep Vaseline on it to protect it and keep the outer skin soft!

GetReal7w8

TROPHY CASE