While still waiting on my crown to fill in from the last HT, I decided to try a concealer. I tried Dermmatch a few years back for my crown, pre-HT(s), but it was way to thin and appeared shiny in the sun. Anyhow.......

I've not tried concealers other than dermmatch..............from what I've read when you consider cost, coverage, ease of application......it seemed the best. The problem I've had is getting rid of the "chalky" appearance after application. I've searched the threads here and elsewhere, including Roberts superb thread....pics included. I did try toweling off the excess but it still seemed chalky and some would still come off when I ran my fingers through my hair. Maybe I'm using too much?? Will a certain type of hairspray, or gel that you can blow dry help (I don't like the wet look)?

Though I'm aiming for crown coverage, I'm a little thin everywhere so I've been attempting to apply it all over. It really does thicken the hair, and I tried it with gel after it dried and it looked okay left wet looking. I hope not to have to use it after the HT comes in but would like to aid in getting coverage.

I would appreciate anyone using dermmatch (or others that you'd care to recommend) to share their application procedure.......step by step especially including what you do to get rid of the chalky look. At present, I dampen the applicator, rub it in the disk, then apply starting in the crown and moving forward rubbing back and forth on the hair and scalp to get even coverage. I even tried rinsing my hair after applying dermmatch when it was dry to rid the chalky look but to no avail.

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Hairbank

1st HT 1-18-05 - 1200 FUT's
2nd HT 2-15-06 - 3886 FUT's Dr. Wong
3rd HT 4-24-08 - 2415 FUT's Dr. Wong

GRAND TOTAL: 7501 GRAFTS

current regimen: 1.25mg finasteride every other day

My Hair Loss Weblog

Disclaimer: I'm not a Doctor (and have never played one on TV ) and have no medical training. Any information I share here is in an effort to help those who don't like hair loss.

I remember using dermatch awile ago but never really cared for it, I found toppik much easier, especially for the crown. Dermatch was always chalky for me as well, but back then I had really short hair so maybe that was my issue. I like Toppik cause I sprinkle some back in my crown area and then comb my hair over the area and it works wonders, for the hairline it is much tougher but for the crown it is great and takes me about 30 seconds a day to do. No real help though for the dermatch, just giving my opinion. Good luck

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My Hair Loss Weblog

Hairbank:

I have been using Dermmatch for about a year now. I think you are probably applying too much. Try applying it with a dry or slightly damp applicator. Simply take your time and pat it on the affected area with the applicator. I got that same chalky feeling when the applicator was very wet and I applied too much.

I haven't tried Toppik but I am curious about how it compares to Dermmatch. So I plan to give it a try.

Hairbank,

I have been using Dermatch since a few weeks after my HT to mask my donor and recipient area, it has worked wonders, and it definately masked the fact that I had a HT.

I used to wet the applicator as well, but I have found it is best to pour some water in the Dermatch disk itself and then use the applicator to mix the water with the dermatch to thicken it up then scoop up the resulting thick-wet dermatch with the applicator then apply to hair. I dont really get the chalky appearance cause I only ever apply wet dermatch.

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1344 grafts with Ron Shapiro - June 2006

I've been using the dermmatch for a couple months and I've become pretty good at it. I'll apply it fresh out of the shower and do other things for 10-15 mins until dry. Then I rinse my head under water (no shampoo) and pat hair dry with a towel. Works great and you can see the excess come out in the water. I've found that the best way to get decent coverage is to apply a a little more than necessary then rinse out. Hope this helps

edit: after rereading your post hairbank I see you already tried this. Maybe the color your applying is too light? I started with the plat. blonde and it made my hair look chalky after rinsing.

Hi

I think he is using too much as it can get chalky if this happens. I prefer not to dampen the applicator but use less and take a little more time. Also, I apply right behind the hairline to avoid a "hairline". When you brush your hair for the first time the Dermatch will get spread evenly.

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JOBI

1417 FUT - Dr. True
1476 FUT - Dr. True
2124 FUT - Dr. True
604 FUE - Dr. True







My views are based on my personal experiences, research and objective observations. I am not a doctor.

Total - 5621 FU's uncut!

Earlier I was applying gel to avoid the chalky look. I followed Slick's instructions and it works great. Also my hair colour is little different from the dermimatch applied hair colour. It fixes that issue too. Thanks a mil, Slick.

-Jagdish

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http://www.youtube.com/user/ravivide

You may want to look at this post if you want to try dermmatch along with a styling product.

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Hairbank

1st HT 1-18-05 - 1200 FUT's
2nd HT 2-15-06 - 3886 FUT's Dr. Wong
3rd HT 4-24-08 - 2415 FUT's Dr. Wong

GRAND TOTAL: 7501 GRAFTS

current regimen: 1.25mg finasteride every other day

My Hair Loss Weblog

Disclaimer: I'm not a Doctor (and have never played one on TV ) and have no medical training. Any information I share here is in an effort to help those who don't like hair loss.

Hairbank -

I have used dermmatch in the past. Although it works wonders, it is very obvious in certain lights. I had the same problem, sometimes I had the chalky look sometimes I didn't. Anyway, now I use Toppik once in a while and it works great. Very undetectable once you master the application, and it takes less than 30 seconds compare to Dermmatch where you have to wait to let it try and all the headache. All I do is, after shower I let me hair dry completely, and then sprinkle is on my hair evernly and then apply hair spray on it. While hair spray is still wet, I rub on my hair/scalp with finger tips so all the little fibers stick to my hair/scalp and creates a natural look. Once it's all dry and good, I apply hair spray again and style in any way I want. After you're done, anybody can run their hands through your hair, and won't detect a thing. Works great!

Jagdish-
Glad to help! I've been following your progress as you're a few months ahead of me. Any updates? Feel free to check out my photo album, I just updated 2 months.

kg-
I agree with what you say about being obvious under certain lights. I went to a wedding party a few days ago and within seconds of getting out of my car under a blazing overhead sun the bride asks me if I dyed my hair. She said it looked orange so it seems I was busted. I didn't get any obvious stares the rest of the day from anyone else but she did make me uneasy. Besides this I haven't had any comments but it's best to avoid harsh lighting with this stuff because it can become detectable.