Bertie

Thanks for the advice. I've just read your posts and am glad you managed to get a HT in this holiday period. It must have been pretty tough to have arranged a procedure with H & W only to be turned away on the day, although it looks as though things may have come good in the end. Good luck!

Good advice Pulpedfiction1. I will try to even out the length all over and blend as well as I can before returning to school. I got a mobile hairdresser to cut/colour my hair about 3 weeks ago and will do so again before the beginning of term. I'm staying away from my usual hairdresser for a few months more - too public! I'll ask the barber to cut it short as he can without revealing the scar and apply Toppik concealer. The only thing with this stuff, you need a certain basic covering in the first place, otherwise it's hair supplementing powder rather than the other way round! My HT surgeon has advised me against Dermatch, probably due to my folliculitis. If only it was the fashion to buzz it at the front and leave it long at the sides and back, they'd be no problem. Hair gets buzzed every which way, but no one buzzes it like that for aesthetic reasons! What are you going to tell the kids in September?

Thanks for the helpful advice. I have had 3632 grafts so should get a good head of hair if they all grow as planned. Ron Shapiro sent me an email this morning advising a treatment program, which will hopefully clear up the folliculitis. I knew all about the risk of shock loss going into this thing, so am not panicking just yet, and am hoping this difficult transitional stage will soon pass. I like Stagerless123's advice to just say/imply that I have lost some hair through folliculitis and shaved my hair short. I'll add that it is being treated with pills and the doctor thinks that my hair will grow back quite soon. This has the advantage of being absolutely true and will probably explain my hairloss to most people's satisfaction. I agree that honesty is usually the best policy. But it's one thing telling friends and family, and another being teased by school kids who aren't always as sensitive as they should be. I'd prefer to avoid the gossip that would be inevitable if they discover I've had a transplant.

I've just passed the 6 week post op. stage following a HT with Ron Shapiro. I've got pictures on my blog. so would be interested in any feedback. At the moment I'm concerned with folliculitis (painful bumps, raised red areas and spots) and the fact that my own non-transplanted hair is growing back slowly and looking diffuse and thin, possibly as a result of some shock loss. I am a school teacher and have to return to school in two weeks. I'd hoped, perhaps too optimistically, that an 8 week holiday would give me sufficient time for a smooth transition to keep my transplant a secret. But I'm now wondering what story I can possibly concoct to explain the huge contrast between when the kids last saw me with quite good hair coverage to the man who will appear substantially bald at the front come September. I will probably use Toppik but kids are sharp-eyed and don't miss a lot. They also love to tease, so I need to think of how best to pre-empt potentially embarrassing scenarios. Any advice will be appreciated. View my post on my blog

After three weeks post HT (with Ron Shapiro) my scalp is quite inflamed and I have an increasing selection of sore bumps and small spots, although these are mostly outside of the transplant area. I think I have a fairly sensitive scalp generally so am not surprised that I’m getting some reaction now as I have had similar bumps/spots before. My head is quite itchy and I’m wondering how best to treat it. SMG have advised me to visit a dermatologist and I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. I have started using conditioner as I feel this moistens the scalp which may help. I have some Nizoral shampoo and wondered whether this could be useful, although perhaps this is too strong to use at present. I hope to start Rogaine foam as I believe that now – 3 weeks post op – is the recommended time to start using it, but thought it may be best to wait to my scalp feels less inflamed and sore. I hope my GP sends me to a dermatologist for expert attention, but he may give me some over-the-counter coal-tar remedy which may not be effective or perhaps too strong and therefore potentially damaging to me new grafts. Anyone had similar problems? I'd appreciate some advice as this problem looks set to get worse.

Thanks Nick. It's good to hear from someone who's already had it done with Shapiro Medical. Can I ask, have you had the hair shaved back with only the hair at the back kept long? If so, I assume you're anxious to even it all around as soon as possible. As you had the op. in May, I'd have thought you could now even things up pretty much - the average hair grows 1/2" per month, so wouldn't an inch of reasonable density be enough at the back to cover things? You say that SMG don't take pictures at 2,3 and 3 months because "nothing much happens", but untransplanted hair will continue to grow and prospective patients will naturally want to see the aesthetic effect of this, to ascertain how much of an "ugly duckling" they are likely to become. If you have to wait until your hair grows to 2 inches to even it up it will take 4 months on average - a very long time! I'm anxious to know this as I'm a teacher who has to return to school in 8 weeks. As you imagine, kids can be pretty merciless in their comments and I won't be able to wear a hat in class! I'm already trying to think of plausible excuses and half wondering if I shouldn't temporarily become a Sikh and wear a turban until my recovery is complete! I'll keep you all informed of my ongoing experieneces.

Thanks for your advice. I've only heard good things about Ron Shapiro so that's really reassuring. Thanks for being honest about the likelihood of the transplant being noticeable after 1 month. How long, I wonder, before it's not noticeable? As hair grows half inch/month, when will I be able to even out my hair so that it looks merely short and not post-operative? Wouldn't a month's growth (half and inch) be enough to even it out and also cover the strip scar? How much longer will I need to wait? 6 weeks, 8 weeks? I asked Matt Zupan at SMG if I could see pics of patients and 1, 2 and 3 months so I could see what to expect. But he said he didn't have them available to send me. How can this be when they have performed 100s of operations? It makes me assume that their patients must look pretty terrible for the first few months, or at least until 6 months have passed, which is when SMG and other surgeons are prepared to release before and after shots. This is not reassuring! I was hoping to attend a conference 5 weeks after my HT, but now I'm thinking this may not be a good idea. I'd be really grateful if someone can give me a link to show what to expect on a month by month basis when the hair has been shorn so as to work on the frontal core, the crown and the temples?

Thanks for the tips. I'll check out Tescos for caps. Not so sure about the Panama hat though! It's a shame that it's not winter as I feel I could get away with a hat more easily in the cold. Good advice about concealers and mobile hairdressers. Getting my hair coloured tomorrow but decided not to tell my hairdresser. I'll see how it goes. It will be an interesting experiment to see if I can do this whole thing without telling a soul - no one need ever know! ;-) It's possible as I am Norwood 3 and still have a reasonable amount of hair and the op. will just restore density and fill in the temple areas. Shapiro recommends waiting 8 weeks before dye hair, whereas other surgeons, e.g. Bernstein Medical, think that a 4 week wait is sufficient. I'll quiz Shapiro on the necessity of the long wait and hope that it's not too critical. I've considered growing a big bushy beard to distract people from my hair transplant - who knows, it could work!

I live in London UK. and am due to have a HT with Ron Shapiro next week (Monday 8th July). It looks as though he has a good reputation (do please tell me if you don't agree - it's not too late to change my mind!). I've been doing my scalp exercises and preparing myself mentally. Matt Zupan from Shapiro Medical Group has given me good advice and answered my questions. However, I'd be interested to hear experiences from those who've actually had transplants with Ron Shapiro and SMG. At the moment I have a few questions which I hope someone can respond to: 1) Fortunately I am teacher and have about 8 weeks where I can lie low to recover. However, I am committed to visiting my family in just a month. I am having 3000 grafts with my hair cut/shaved to enable work on the front, frontal core and crown. I'd like to know if my transplant will be noticeable after 4 weeks. I hope to keep it a secret from everyone and to make it look as though I just have a short summer cut. Is this realistic? 2) I’m wondering whether I need to tell my hairdresser that I am having a hair transplant. They say that when a HT is done properly by a quality surgeon even hairdressers can’t notice? However, how long would I need to wait before a hairdresser would not notice, particularly the scar at the back of the head? I’m a bit shy about telling my regular hairdresser (who lives just across the road from me) and am considering visiting a hairdresser further away until my hair becomes more natural. But I’m wondering if this is realistic, and how long would I need to wait until returning to my regular hairdresser. 3) I dye my hair regularly every 2 weeks, although SMG advise not to dye it for 8 weeks after the op. (other surgeons seem to think a shorter period is fine, perhaps just a month or less). I am quite grey at the sides and the back, but hardly have any grey hair at the front. As transplanted hair retains all it's characteristics, I will have likely have grey patches of transplant hair at my temples which will look very odd if I stop dying my hair, which I may wish to do in a few years. Therefore, I suspect a transplant will force me to keep dying my hair until I am a white-haired man all over. Strangely, I have never read any comments referring to this issue on any of the blogs or forums, although it seems an obvious and important one to me. Does anyone have any thoughts on this or have perhaps encountered this problem? 4) I have to buy a hat. As a 50+ man I can't help thinking I'll look a bit stupid in the recommended baseball cap + they seem to be half open at the back which would show the scar. I might go for a military-style cap instead. Any good places in London to buy a cap? Or perhaps I should order one online. I'd be very grateful for some quick responses as I have to visit my hairdresser this week and am not sure whether to tell her about my op or not. I'd prefer not to but am wondering if perhaps I should. Thanks in advance!