CarrotMan

I paid ?300 for the TCP system and I pulled it off 5 minutes after I got home. Not only that but I spent 3/4 months growing my hair at the sides (I used to shave completely) and wearing a baseball cap 24/7 including at work, while I told people I was taking meds to grow my hair. After spending that much time and money, going into work the week after I had taken off the system and shaved my head again, I felt so depressed.

Hi ThinningWelsh, just read your post, I'm sorry to read your experience hasn't been pleasant either. I've been wearing for about 4 months now. I've put a more detailed report elsewhere on this forum but I'm pretty damn happy now. My system is from a place in London so there is a bit of a trek for re-bonds and the expense is more than I'd hoped but I'm 100% comfortable wearing and I'm sure none of my mates etc suspect I'm wearing. The system I wear is about twice as thick as Totalcoverplus' contact skin but lasts longer. It is itchy occasionally, I don't think there is any way around that. I felt really disheartened after my original experience with Totalcoverplus but so glad I continued down this route. I feel so much more like myself with my "hair" back and more confident. I hope this doesn't sound like bullshit because it genuinely isn't, but I had been single ever since my hair started thinning, I had my system fitted in November and in December I met my current girlfriend. That's how much of an impact it has had on my life. She doesn't care I wear hair btw.

I had a bad experience with Total Cover Plus as I outlined in the other thread. The guy I went to, Paul Anthony in Manchester, mucked the whole thing up and was very unprofessional leaving a bad taste in my mouth regarding the company. Several months since then I received a call from someone at Total Cover Plus advising me that they have got rid of Paul Anthony because of complaints about him and they apologised for this. They offered me a discount on a new system which I haven't taken up because I am happy getting my systems elsewhere now but the chat I had with the guy did impress me. I'd like to think that they keep a closer eye on their franchises now and would be worth trying. There isn't a definitive "best" out there that I am aware of.

Ok so heres some pics from the side. I had my hair cut and a rebonded yesterday. As per before Ill take the pics down after a few days. I hope this is what you were after?

A few weeks on and I still stand by my opinions posted earlier but like I mentioned, others such as Traction may have had different experiences. Here is a pic as promised. Sorry it took longer to post than I said it would. I probably will remove the pic after a week or so (I don't like having my pics on the internet for obvious reasons).

No worries mate. I can honestly say I feel 99.9% comfortable wearing the system in public. I wasn't expecting to but I don't really have any paranoia at all even when out with mates. I'm certain my mates don't suspect anything, I'm in my mid 20's and they would rip me to shreds if they thought I was wearing a wig. I posted a picture of myself on facebook and an old friend messaged me to ask how I had managed to get my hair back because his hair is thinning. The blending is fine. The first few days the hair was a little bit puffed up and I felt a little conscious about that but it settled in and now just looks like my own hair. Maintenance wise it's early days yet. I did go back to the salon last week because they like you to go within a week or so, so they can make sure everything is going ok for you. They re-bonded the system and trimmed my own hair a little. This was free of charge. If you are having the system regularly re-bonded by them they suggest every four weeks and there would be a charge for that. Next time I go in a few weeks they are going to show me how to re-bond myself though so I wont have to visit them much. I think I will probably re-bond myself every two weeks or so because I feel that would be more hygienic for my scalp then every four weeks. As for day to day maintenance, there isn't really any. They suggest that you only wash the hair once a week with a good quality shampoo. As for the bond itself it is completely secure and I'm confident it will stay secure for their recommended four weeks. Like I said the only downsides to the system I have is that the hair line isn't undetectable if you were to spike up your fringe. I don't though so that's not an issue. The front of the system has started to peel up about a millimetre or so but if you are not wearing your fringe up this does not make any difference. Once I am bonding myself and have the glue I'll be able to stick this bit back down anyway. The other issue is occasional itchiness, there is nothing worse than having an itch on you head that you can't properly scratch but I can live with this. I'm not particularly adventurous with my hair style, I wasn't back when I had my own hair either. I just pretty much leave it as it is when I wake up. Anyone who is having a more adventurous style may have a different experience to me, I don't know. I would advise anyone who is as far gone as I am baldness wise to at least give it a try. It's not going to be for everyone but I couldn't be happier. If it's not for you then you are going to have wasted a few hundred pounds but I think the risk is worth it. The worst part is growing out the hair you actually have and then transitioning to the system. I was luckily in a position where I could wear a baseball cap for 3/4 months while I told people I was trialling meds. If you have a job where this isn't possible then it would be more tricky to account for your new hair. Other than that I don't think people actually take as much notice of our hair as we think they do. At this stage even if a friend found out I was wearing I think I would carry on wearing regardless. I look a lot better and as depressing as it this may sound to people on here, I have had noticeably more attention from women since wearing. I'll look to post some images for you after Christmas. Any other questions, just ask, I'll be as honest as I can.

Well I had it fitted last week. It took longer to get ordered in than I expected, 14 weeks in total, but now I have it attached I have to admit I'm pleasantly surprised. The system is a spot on match for my hair colour and so far I feel 100% comfortable walking around wearing it in public, I wasn't expecting to feel this comfortable so quickly which is probably testament to the quality of the system. During the period I have been waiting for the system I have been wearing baseball caps none stop and telling my friends that I was trailing some new drugs to regrow my hair. I've met up with them since I had the system fitted and I am 99% convinced that they don't suspect its a hair system. I have tried systems before from TotalCoverPlus and my family's reaction was of ridicule because the system wasn't very good. Since wearing this system they have all been more supporting and vocal in saying how good it looks. My brother is considering trying it out. Only downside is that the hairline is not the most realistic and would probably be detectable if I wore my fringe up but I don't. And tbh they do offer a different front to the system for people who spike up their hair so I could try that when I need a new one if I decide I want a spiked up look. It can be a little bit itchy but nothing too detrimental. Best thing is I got a big discount because I agreed to be recorded for the website but they never actually recorded me! I may post some pictures if I get chance. So far I would definitely recommend anyone considering a piece to talk to these guys first, my experience has been a pleasure.

I have had a mould taken and ordered a piece from London Hair Clinic. I am due to have it fitted in about 5 weeks once my hair has grown out a bit. The guy who runs them is a wearer himself, if you contact them they provide consultations for free and don't try and push you to buy. Hopefully I will be happy with the result. I'll keep you updated.

I've just realised I never came on here to say thank you for all your advice, so thank you. I have decided not to proceed with a HT because several consultations have advised me they can not give me what I want from one. I'm glad I posted this on here because when I did I was very close to going for one with a doctor who had promised me a result which I now realise he could not realistically guarantee. Since my post I have tried a hair system which was a massive flop for me. I'm not sure how I proceed from here, I don't mind my head shaved but it's hard to let go when you think you would look and feel a lot better if there was some solution.

I had a Total Cover system fitted this past week. I am new to wearing and wanted to try a company that dealt with everything rather than me having to go alone. Unfortunately like Wdwhufc my experience hasn't been a good one. About a month or so ago I had a consultation with Paul Anthony and my hair colour etc was taken down so that the system could be ordered. I opted for the lower density version. Paul is a really nice bloke and I was happy to proceed and have the system fitted once my hair had had a chance to grow out a bit (I normally just buzz cut my hair and Paul advised it needed to grow a few more inches for him to be able to do a cut in which would look ok). Once my hair had grown to a suitable length I booked to have the system fitted. Unfortunately when I turned up to have it fitted Paul wasn't expecting to be fitting the system for some reason and he didn't think he'd actually ordered my system yet. I'd traveled a decent distance to have the system fitted so Paul did a double check and found that he did have a system which he advised must be mine. So apprehensively I proceeded because this system did match my natural hair colour. The system once on your head is light and to be fair you don't feel like you are wearing anything. Paul cut my hair and from the front view it didn't look too bad (but if I am totally honest I was disappointed). I was slightly in a rush because things had taken longer than I expected because nothing had been prepared when I arrived. So after paying and a quick second look in the mirror I had to go. I was still feeling apprehensive about wearing so the moment i left the salon I immediately put my cap on over the system. When I got home I checked the back of my hair using two mirrors, to my horror there was around a centimeter bald patch between the start of my own hair and the system just below my crown. Some of the hair from further up the system had been brushed over this gap but a bald area was still visible. The front of the hair had also become very uncontrollable to the point where I couldn't get it to stay flat or styled in any specific way. I now feel really down because I've forked out several hundred pounds for something that I had to take off my head after one day because it wasn't a convincing solution to baldness at all. Now I don't know if I was given someone elses system or just got unlucky with a rubbish cut in but the end result has still been the same. I really don't know where to proceed from here. I stupidly signed off to say I was happy with everything in the salon, partly due to the fact I had a train to catch and needed to go and partly because it's hard to say your not happy with something when the person fitting it is making out it's brilliant. I think if I could try the system again for free with a cut in somewhere else I would. Part of me feels like I may have just got unlucky here because most of the problems were down to the how the system was fitted and cut rather than down to any problems I had with the system itself. My advice to anyone hell bent on trying the system for themselves is to make sure not to sign it off it you are anything less than 100% happy. Looking forward to seeing Lung817's photos though.

Hi I am a 24 year old based in the UK and I have decided that I am going to go ahead with a hair transplant. I am a NW5A (I think) with a lot of miniaturised hairs on my crown and my hairline is gone. Here are pics; I normally buzz my hair grade 0 but I grew it slightly to take these pics. I have never taken finesteride but I am considering it (although I feel like it is stupid for me to risk the side effects now when it probably would have done me a lot more good if I had started taking it 4/5 years ago when I started balding.) I have tried minoxidil but it gave me bad acne and really bad black rings under my eyes so I stopped. I would prefer FUE because with FUE there is always the option to buzz it down again after if I am not happy with the transplant (Although I am aware of the white dot scars which do concern me). I have had a consultation with Dr De Reys and he has proposed a 3000 FUE to restore my hairline and then a second transplant further down the line to replace the crown. I am also strongly considering Dr Bassinga because from my research he appears to be one of the best at FUE with some great results. I may consider FUT if the doctors suggest that would be a better option. I am really struggling to find many cases of people who have had HT's, who started out at a similar stage (and at a similar age) to me and in truth I do not know what to expect because results vary so greatly from case to case. Would it be realistic for me to expect to be able to achieve a decent head of hair with a new hairline? Or am I still going to look like a balding bloke, even if I have a HT? My dilemma is that I actually dont think I look that bad with my bald head when it is buzz cut but I cant help feel that I would look a lot better with decent coverage. Plus the majority of girls my age seem put off by my baldness. I dont however want to have a HT and make things worse for myself, removing the buzz cut as an option. Can anyone give me any advise/idea of what I should be expecting from a HT because I dont want to get my hopes up too high only to be underwhelmed. Many Thanks for the platform to vocalise my thoughts/story.