HELP! Scalp Cyst and Hair Texture Change

[Kosmos]

So, I've had a cyst on the top of my head for a while--where the skull plates meet--and while it bothered me a little before (irritating but not painful) my last doctor said she'd have to shave my head to remove it so she advised I should deal with it if I could.

That's not the part that worries me. Now my hair texture just over the cyst has changed. I have wavy hair that's prone to be quite straight in dry weather. Maybe a 1c. The hair growing out of the cyst is coarse, kinky and wiry and since it's right near my natural part it looks like damage.

I googled about looking for things about cysts and hair texture change and I can't find anything. I'm not sure what to do. Should I try to find a new doctor to remove it? I've seen a lot of removal videos online that says they can be removed without shaving and mine's not too big. Maybe a half inch in diameter. Should I be worried about the hair texture change? Has this happened to anybody? When you got the cyst removed did the texture right itself again?

Help! :confused:

[WaterMusic]

My mum has had quite a few scalp cysts removed without any shaving, I think you should try to find someone else who can do it without shaving. Maybe the swelling from the cyst is putting pressure on your hair follicles and causing the hair to grow out funny.

[tigereye]

My mum had a sebacious cyst in her head a year or two back. We both have a flat part towards the top back of our skull, and her cyst was right on the edge. It did change her hair texture, but after a while, when the cyst got larger, her hair stopped growing and started to fall out in that area. She got it removed at a specialist unit at the hospital. She didn't have to get it shaved first, and with the help of some specialist hair products her hair did grow back, but she is still dealing with baby hairs, and her hair isn't as thick in that area anymore. She still has a slight bald patch, which she usually covers with her french braid.

I would suggest getting a second opinion, and if it is already changing your hair, its probably better to get it removed. I think different-textured hair, or even shaved hair that will grow back as thick as it was origonally, is easier to deal with than losing half your hair in that area, then attempting to grow back what is left.

[Kosmos]

I just called my local Urgent Care and asked if they did cyst removal. They do. Though the guy at the counter said he wasn't sure if they shave the head or not. So I've got an appointment at 12:30 today. Gonna go through with it. If I have to get it shaved I have to get it shaved. The thing is just too irritating. Hopefully the hair texture will revert after this sucker is gone.

[Avital88]

i had a huge cyst on the back of my head when i was 11 and i have the same texture change you are talking about and actually a bald spot.. I dont know if thats common though but mine is just damaged skin and i think the follicles got severe damage, maybe thats why there is also wiry hair??

[kjirstiben]

I had a sebaceous cyst on the top of my head for several years. It started out small and kept slowly getting bigger. I did ask a doctor about it at one point, and was told (as you were) that they would have to shave a big spot on my head in order to remove the cyst. I wasn't interested in dealing with it so I left it alone...

Fast-forward a couple years: the bump was a little bigger. I was staying at a training camp where there were bunk beds and managed to crack my head on the edge of the upper bunk... right where the cyst was located. To not go into too gross of detail, a week later I was able to remove the contents of the cyst. But all the hair that was growing on top of it fell out and I had a funny little shiny bald spot until my hair started growing back in.

I can still find that patch (I now seem to have a dent on my head where the bump used to be...) and it's significantly shorter than the rest of my hair. Though it wasn't an issue after it grew out past the sticking-out stage (an inch or two). I suggest you look into side-parted hairstyles if you end up getting a spot shaved.

But once the cyst is gone, your hair should go back to normal. Mine did (when it first started growing in, it seemed a little strangely-textured, but quickly turned into normal hair for my head). The only difference is the length, at this point.

[Avital88]

Good luck with it by the way, i think having it shaved is necessary to have it removed at his best..Take care

[pepperminttea]

Wow, I had no idea they could do this. I've had a small sebaceous cyst on my scalp for as long as I can remember (hereditary so I'm told; my father has them, and so did his father), but it's not caused me any trouble so far. I will be keeping a much closer eye on it from now on - thanks for making the thread, good luck getting yours removed. :grouphug:

[Kosmos]

Apparently urgent care does NOT remove cysts. So after paying a copay I leave with my cyst still in tact. I have named it Hugbert.

The doc said I need to find a new PCP to write a referral to a surgeon so it's probably going to have to wait till April for insurance issues. But please keep the stories coming I really appreciate it. And yeah. I'm assuming the cyst is causing follicle damage now and am encouraged to hear having the cyst removed remedied this in most cases.

[Kosmos]

Going to post an update here for posterity just in case anybody else as a cyst on their scalp they want to cut out. I finally got mine cut out last Thursday. They did have to cut some of my hair away from the cyst to actually perform the surgery but it's not bad at all. in fact, most people can't even see where they snipped my hair off (it helps that it's near a part).

I have stitches in my head and they will be removed next week and we'll be able to tell how it's going then. I'm curious to see how my hair will grow back and if it'll be kinky and strange again or if things will normal out. I'll post updates when I get them.

P.S. I'm not allowed to get my head wet/wash my hair for days and MAN am I a grease ball right now. It doesn't help that I have a healthy coat of neosporin on there as well.

[embee]

I'm glad you got it off. No point in going on and on with something annoying and who knows what it might have turned into. Glad they didn't have to shave you bald! :)

Very nice that you have come back to do closure on this thread. Considerate.

Hope everything continues to heal well and the new hairs will be normal.

[ravenreed]

I had a bad cyst on my scalp that I saw several doctors over. They kept saying it was nothing to worry about. It started growing rapidly when I was pregnant. Since cysts aren't supposed to do that, I went back again, and found out it was a tumor. I had to have two surgeries to remove it, and I have very small bald spot where it was removed because of scarring. The tumor was benign, but apparently of a kind that can grow through bone. Better safe than sorry. The small bald spot is worth having the wretched thing gone! FWIW, they didn't shave my whole head, just clipped a small area around where the surgery site was.