Julius, you seem very fixated on this issue. I understand that you would want a transplant to look as close as humanly possible to a head of dense, natural hair, but really, unless a transplant is below average in density is will be thick enough to convince people that you have good hair.

I don't remember seeing your photos (if you've posted them) but surely if you're looking into getting a transplant then the realistic, achievable results are going to be an improvement on your current hair situation.

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I think a lot of times this is really based on one's PERCEPTION. A friend of mine since 15 yr of age had always had thin/flat hair; you could see some of his scalp in bright light pretty easily. But that's what nature gave him.

IMO, to define the perfect HT as an inability to see one's scalp is not realistic. Again IMO, i think the perfect HT is when a patient walks away happy with THEIR OWN results. I think hair greed's fine, but I think problems/fixations happen when I'm constantly comparing myself to what other's have.

Julius -- i'm not implying that you are obssessed, just thinking outloud about the trap that any of us self-conscious about our hair can fall into.

But I do agree with Matt -- i saw a significant improvement in my own self-confidence as the hair began to fill in! <mad scientist roaring laughter>

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Sorry if I sound obsessed, but I really don't want the bird's nest on top of my head look which to be honest is seen with many hts. I would go with what density the doctor thinks is appropriate after inspection of my hair, but if he thought dense packing was appropriate then I would go for it. Especially as it seems all the very BEST hts are dense packed, just to name a few Shuffle for one had a density of over 65 grafts per cm2 due to favourable scalp geometry in having a small head, while Spex had a density of over 55 grafts per cm2 with minimal balding, I also think evolution had a high density procedure again with minimal balding. Further London lad and NicNitro's large donor supplies, I think, have enabled them to have to achieve a density of over 45 grafts per cm2, meaning they too had dense packing. Danny Noonan & BadhairUK & the frontal half of Bobman's ht were all dense packed and the list goes on and on. I just want to mimic what looks good (only if the doctor thinks it expedient of course). Cheers

I think if you look even at a non-balding person's head, you will see some see through. My father is 67 years old with no noticable hair loss (NW2 - 2.5) and when his hair is wet you can see scalp. Oh and he's pale like me and has black hair (no greying!)

Hair is never as close together as we think it is. If you happen to find yourself in a lot of harsh lighting situations, such as on a TV set or something, you can always use concealers.

I really believe some of the hair heart throbs in hollywood (Dempsey, Pitt, etc) all use some kind of concealer even though they are non-balding. It is just like using makeup on stage.

So fret not. I am 4 months post my second HT (3703 grafts) and it seems like I will be able to see through but then I realize that hair stacks up on top of itself and you get a lot of density looking down. In front you want a gradual transition zone so it looks natural.

Also, finasteride will do wonders. Even if you can not regrow hair, your follicles will start to be released from the death-grip of DHT apoptosis and they will widen a bit, making your hair appear thicker.

My father is just.. lucky. I am 32.9 years old and was a slightly diffuse NW3 before my HT in 9/09 and a bit thinner NW3 before my first HT in 3/02. I can still see through if I look enough but most people don't stare at our hair as much as we do.

I can look at any guy even a non-balding one and find a bit of thinning.

For reference, take a look at Chris O'Donnell (NCIS: Los Angeles) He keeps his hair cropped very short because it has thinned. He is a Diffuse (Patterned) Thinner, so he might even have a NW6 pattern but with proper application of Toppik he still gets to be a heart throb.

My wife thinks we're all so vain.

I agree that people not suffering mpb can have some see-throughness, but there is a point (or density) where it looks like thinning or balding & not naturally thin hair. Personally I would rather shave it than use concealers. The transition zone sure is needed so it looks natural and the stack up effect through styling sounds like a great thing for improving density. If you can would it be possible to post pictures of your hair?
Cheers