Just to add my two cents, prior to having my first hair transplant I briefly considered the hair system option. However, I had seen one of my best friends go this route more than ten years earlier. He was in his mid-twenties at the time and he and I had traveled together from AZ to CA in the early 90s to consult with Bosley so hair restoration had been on both of your mind's for quite some time.

I had no idea that he was planning to get the system. One day we met up for a movie with some other friends and I noticed immediately that his hair looked fuller. He noticed my wandering eyes and fessed up tot he system in private.

It looked very good and I admit that I was a bit jealous at that time that he now had a full head of hair and mine was still receded and thinning. That was until he and I became roommates shortly after.

We ended up sharing a tiny apartment with one bathroom and I saw first hand the time and effort he had to put into keeping his new "hair" looking decent. I believe most of it was woven into his existing hair necessitating a costly trim and tightening each month. He also had to glue down the hairline area regularly.

He complained of feeling like he was always wearing a hat and feeling like his scalp was unclean and sweaty beneath the system. We live in Arizona and I imagine having a non-removable system on your noggin in 110 degrees is probably not very comfortable.

I don't remember how long he kept it up be it eventually found a place in a shoebox in the closet and today he shaves his head bald and has learned to live with his hair loss.

I can't speak for all systems and I honestly don't know how newer products compare. Perhaps many of these issues have been resolved over the years. But, for me I decided that I'd rather be imperfectly natural via hair transplantation rather than perfectly fake via a hair system.

To each is own and I think that whatever works for the individual is the right choice.

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David (TakingThePlunge)
Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant

I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice.

View my Hair Loss Website

TakingThePlunge....that pretty well sums up my experience as well. Jezz it looked great, but just felt like I was wearing a hat. The glue/sticky feeling in the front was yucky. However I got a decent portion of my money back from HairClub when I had mine removed. HairClub was actually pretty good to me from start to finish. And I'd still go back to a hair system before "shaving it all off", but I much prefer having my own real living hair via a hair transplant from a top notch doctor. Like you say 2EachHisOwn.

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Dr. Dow Stough - 1200 Grafts - 1996
Dr. Jerry Wong - 4352 Grafts - August 2012

Before I knew a HT was an option for me (student, wasn't aware parents were saving up for over 2 years for me! lucky I know), I was constantly on these forums looking at 'systems'. I loved the idea of having the perfect looking head of hair again, but I didn't like the idea of knowing what was on my head and being constantly paranoid that other people knew too. I used to watch videos on youtube and some people pull it off really well, but the upkeep put me off too.

I'm 5 weeks post op and constantly wearing a hat, which is absolutely horrible. If this is how a 'system' feels every day then I think I'd rather be bald. Though lets hope the HT and the meds keep that option at bay.

I admire the bravery of those who wear though, more cannolis than me.

__________________
FUT 2000 hairline / frontal third grafts with Dr. Feller.
July 27th 2012
*Incredibly positive experience!*


*Propecia March 2010 - Present

*Nizoral 2% shampoo - once a week since October 2012.

*Kirkland 5% Minoxidil foam, twice a day - started January 2013

Seven seas cod liver oil capsules 1 per day - October 2012 to present

Avodart once a week - started March 2013.

((Minoxidil 12.5% cream, once a day- March 2010 - January 2013))

.

i think to be honest it all depends on the system - mine is a new european skin system and is only a partial crown system - i don't even know im wearing it as it is so light (it feels nothing like wearing a hat - in fact I can hardly tell its there on a day to day basis). It is also far less maintenance than when i was using topikk fibres. Don't get me wrong if I could afford a transplant and was guaranteed it would give me the results I wanted then I would opt for that too. However the system i use i find is the next best thing and is something I can afford

Ouch! I often wonder what my hair will look like 10-15 years from now if I go through with a hair transplant. Do other people who have had some years living with a HT share this experience?

i think most guys dealing with hair loss either think about hairpieces or hairtransplants, only exeption would be guys who dont care about being bald,which is fine ,but not everyone feels that way., both have pros and cons ,for myself hairtransplant is something im planning on doing, hopefully everything will grow and ill have a good scar, but you never know,u can research all you want and go to the top clinics in the game ,you give urself the best odds to have a great result, but there are no gaurantees, always a chance you wil be the guy who had poor growth. option two.hairpiece ,question is does it look natural,the upkeep, but you get a great head of hair in miinutes, where a hairtransplant you have to wait a year to see final results, pros and cons in both, it comes down to what you feel is right for you.different strokes for different folks.

I think one of the biggest reasons people go for a hair piece is they are scared to death of needles and surgery.

Personally, i couldn't walk around with something stuck to my head, regardless of how natural it looked, i just couldn't do it through fear of being noticed, or it coming loose etc and i'm too fussy over cleanliness. I'd constantly be worrying about it.

I actually think guys who wear a system are very brave to do it, my hat (or piece) goes off to them.

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2800 FUE, Istanbul with Health Travel International

Reason:
NW7 that wants to have NW0 type of hair. Simple as that. Coz no transplant surgeon in this world at the present time would make that possible. Period.

/thread

I recently had a surgery for the hairline and I'm in the ugly duckling stage right now.

I starting taking Propecia again, but at a much lower dosage to try to avoid sides....I've tried to be positive, but it appears those sides may be coming back anyways, and I probably must discontinue. I am very concerned about how this will affect my hair, as I did not want to see the hair behind my transplant continue to thin and recede, and my father is completely bald.

It seems I have no choice though. Right now, I'm just hoping that my HT grows in well, and the surrounding hairs maintain until another treatment (like PGD2 inhibitors) becomes available. If nothing else works, I'll be stuck with getting a piece eventually, but I'm hoping to at least get a few more years of youth with my own real hair before that.

I wore a piece for 2 years. I got the piece because I felt I was too young to go bald. The only feeling worse than being bald was the feeling people might notice I was wearing a piece. Lap dances suck when you're wearing a piece (probably not important). Yes, pieces look great and even getting them replaced every 2 months was not enough to over come my fear of people discovering my miserable secret. Again, I got the piece to cover up hair loss but wearing the piece was more embarrassing. I have since had 3 transplants.

All in all, fake is fake. Hard to get over that part!