BadBeat

Looks great man! Always nice to hear a story of finding a way to free yourself from the pains of hair loss.

Wait, your current hair is the far right pic? Why would you shave it? You have tons of hair. Enjoy it.

I had to go thru chemo about a year after my 1500 FUE. I lost all my hair. Couldn't see a thing. I was stunned.

My thoughts: It's all a bunch of bullshit. I've been reading about this stuff for 10 years now and they don't see to be any closer to an effective treatment. I'm sure at some point they will figure it out but it doesn't seem likely in our lifetime.

I think the other advantage to FUE and diffuse thinning is that a lot of times, the diffuse thinner won't ever be satisfied with the density and the hair will still look really thin. The patient might then opt for a much shorter haircut, perhaps paired with SMP to at least create the look of good coverage and a chosen buzz/shorter haircut. The FUE scarring can usually be fairly well hidden with this type of haircut where a FUT scar would likely need longer hair to be concealed.

Why do you care so much? If you don't want to take it because you feel like there are health risks then that's your decision. But I don't understand spending so much time and energy to tell other people not to take it. Surely, there are more important things you can spend your time on?

The pictures weren't great but your hairline didn't even look that bad. Definitely would have waited as long as possible before an HT.

I honestly can't tell the difference in the indoor and outdoor pics. But the result from the before/afters looks fantastic.

Looks good from the front at least

Would you like the buzzed look if the density was a little better? Have you researched SMP?

Wow, that's incredible. Did he have to shave his head at all to do this procedure? The thickening makes it look like he has perfect density now.

All the regulars had HT's and moved on with their lives.

I had to do chemo a few years back after a 1800 FUE so I lost all my hair and I could not see any scarring whatsoever. I was actually shocked.

Incredible difference

Wow. That is an incredible difference.

That's amazing

OP: The example you showed was a FUE+SMP combo done by Dr. Ron Shapiro in Minnesota. I'm not sure if you meant FUE or not but I think generally you don't want to go the FUT+SMP route. FUE+SMP I would think would work better.

Hairline looks like Dr. Shapiro's work

Great transformation.

Superb. Great job doc.

How many grafts were placed in your crown?

I think I had a massage a month after. Why would it matter if they aren't touching your head?

I've had 2 FUE's with Dr. Ron Shapiro and I'm very happy with my results. I keep my hair cut pretty short (#5 or 6 guard on top) and I think it looks good and EXTREMELY natural. Dr. Ron is known for his naturalness and he's also I think a bit on the conservative side which I think fits in with what you your goals are. There is a phenomenal SMP girl there named Nicole. She is very talented. Honestly, I think if I were you I would start off with the SMP and see how you like it. I think you'd look great with it. The only thing you have to understand is you're going to have to shave down even further. You won't be able to keep the hair as long as you have it now because it will look unnatural (2D vs 3D). Also, people will probably know you did something so I'm not sure if that's an issue with you or not if the know you basically tattooed your head. If you go the FUE route I think your goal should be to create a hairline and put some grafts behind as well but I do think, especially with thin hair as you say you have, the plan would be to keep it the same length you have it now (maybe a tad longer) but you'd have a hairline and it would look like you just buzz your hair. I think that would be a good look on you but it's going to be more expensive and there will be more down time in healing. I think you'd be looking at 3000-4000 grafts broken down over 2 procedures. After my FUE's, 10-14 days later I looked like I buzzed my head. Nobody could tell, but I did heal really well. Either way, you seem to have a good handle on dealing with this. Even if you decide to do nothing and keep buzzing, it's not a bad look on you and you've effectively dealt with hair loss in a respectable manner. Good luck on whatever you choose!

Here's the deal -- you're probably not going to want a hair system because everybody would know that's what you did given the current level of your loss. You already buzz your hair down now, so if I were you I'd go the route of SMP. You would buzz down even further than you do currently but you would get the SMP to fill in the thinning areas. Everybody who knows you would just think you shaved your head and I guarantee you'd get a lot of compliments and your self esteem would go thru the roof. It would be cheaper than an HT and virtually maintenance free other than the touch ups every couple of years. It would also be a sporty and trendy look for somebody your age. It's a no brainer!

That looks amazing. Nice work.