jake88

If you're getting your whole head SMP'ed I would look into it very carefully and even consider temporary SMP and or a patch test to test the waters before full commitment.

 

From my research including on this forum, HIS "says" (not sure they go as far as a "guarantee") that their permanent SMP will not turn blue which is really something you must research into before taking the plunge. I would contact other companies and ask them directly if their pigment has the risk of turning blue and see what answer you get.

 

In this early stage you are right it is very difficult to choose a bona fide winner, but I am getting the impression HIS really tries hard not to do any harm and takes a rather conservative approach. I am thinking of going with them for an old Bosley scar I've had since my 20's.

You can do a lot of research on the HIS run forum btw.

 

You will see that the more you research into this, the more surprising things you'll find too, such as

(1) there is indeed down time with SMP -> not being able to wash your head/hair for 4-5 days in between treatments, not being able to sweat at all for 4 days and not being able to sweat heavily for a month

(2) the fact you will likley need 3-4 plus treatments for good results and even future "touch-ups", and then the added downtime each session

(3) and the fact that permanent SMP can also fade, are among the things I had no idea before starting my research

 

Do a lot of research and good luck with your decision!

Thank you for the reply. Probably my biggest fear is the tattoo turning blue or looking fake but the problem is I don't think anyone is going to be honest with me if I ask them whether or not it's a possibility. Every clinic is going to say the ink has no chance of turning blue because they use a special kind of ink and that it's going to look very realistic. And there doesn't seem to be many people out there who've had SMP for 5+ years let alone 10

I have been doing a lot of research lately, but most of it is on the HisHair forum. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much info coming from independent sources. Most of the things you mentioned did in fact surprise me at first. Another thing I learned is that depending on the light you're currently in the SMP may not be visible. But hey it's still better than the alternative.

I'm planning on getting SMP done and I have no idea where I should get it done at, and unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much information out there. I know about the major SMP parlors like HisHair and Scalp Aesthetics. And I know that Hasson and Wong and Shapiro are now doing SMP. And then there are these smaller local salons and parlors that are also doing SMP. I don't know which I should choose. When trying to choose a surgeon for HT surgery I know that there's a great deal of importance when it comes to choosing the surgeon and that there is a big difference between individual surgeons.

But is there really going to be that much difference between people who do SMP assuming they're using similar techniques ? Am I better off going to a big established parlor like HisHair, or going to a doctor like Hasson and Wong ? Or would I get very similar results and save myself money by going to a local salon and doing it ?

temple corners are a critical part of the hairline, and not all docs do it well

who is your surgeon?

 

hope you are going with a recommended and respected surgeon, after viewing past temple corner work by them

For privacy reasons I'd rather not say the surgeon's name but I can PM you if you'd like. And I haven't seen any past temple corner work from him. I will say he is part of the international alliance of hair restoration surgeons.

You may only be concerned with the front for now but you WILL be concerned with the back when, not if, it goes. That is why Propecia is important now, not later. Not to mention, the fact that if you let your loss continue then you won't have enough donor to return the back to it's current state regardless of how you feel about having additional surgeries.

 

You mentioned you are having the temples done, what about the area behind the forelock? This area is thinning from what I see in the photos and in my opinion you'll need more than just 1100 grafts. I think you'd need at least 2000 to fill in all the gaps of the front, not just the temples.

so you think it's pretty bad behind the forelock too ? My surgeon said that he couldn't transplant any hairs in between my existing hairs. Is he wrong ?

please delete

As long as you're going in eyes wide open I wish you luck. I would consult with some top fue doctors and see how much donor they think you have available, get their opinion with your plan and then go from there.

Thank you. Do you think I need to see a doctor in person or is an online consultation enough ?

I would not plan on being able to shave down to skin after a transplant even with fue. You will most likely have visible scarring. I understand what you're saying about framing your face while shaving down, it just sounds like you're planning to have the best possible outcome from a transplant and I would be cautious about expecting the best. I have been around for awhile and I have yet to see anyone shave down to a zero guard after fue. Also many time smp does not take into scar tissue. I just don't want you to get into a situation where your hair transplant plan is predicated on the assumption that you will have minimal scarring and the smp will surely take into any scarring you do have, and then have that not be the case.

I appreciate your concern and I've seen some pictures of bad scaring so I understand what you're saying. I don't really want to shave my head though, I would just buzz it down to 1mm. I think that would help cover up potential scaring. And at the end of the day the scars would only be on the back of my head correct ? I think I could live with that as long as I had a good front. It's a trade off I'm willing to make

getting FUE to frame the face better is an option if you are willing to have less or no hair in the crown

 

even if you you do go NW6, doing FUE would allow you to buzz the entire head to a stubble and this stubble will still frame the face and not be a far off contrast to the bald skin mid-line and crown if you do go NW6

 

of course like GREAT JOB states: This all depends how your FUE donor area scars

 

if you wind up scarring as in the second pic posted by GREAT JOB you can always tattoo those areas to disguise which would be a better option than tattoo-ing the hairline

 

hair transplants are no longer only for older men who want a head of hair that is continuous from hairline (no matter how high) to crown

 

just make sure to convey to whomever you choose to do this that you are aware and willing to bald behind the recipient area due to your willingness to "buzz to stubble look"

 

i think most FUE docs would take your case knowing this, even at your age

Thanks man.That's exactly my point. And getting SMP to cover up my scars is a great idea.

What do you think my strategy should be though in terms of where I transplant the hair. Should I only do my temples and temple points now ? Or should I also transplant hairs in the entire frontal area even though I still have hair there ?

Fue is not scarless. You may be lucky and have great scarring that allows you to shave down to 1 or 0 gaurd, but you could be in a position where you experience bad scarring and have to keep the hair on the sides and back longer like a 3 guard. Here are some examples from mickey85's fue thread:

 

Good scarring:

 

Not so good scarring:

 

 

 

My personal opinion on the subject is that if you're getting a hair transplant just so you can shave down, you should not have a transplant and just shave down.

I already shave my head down but there's a humongous ginormous difference in appearance when you have a nice hairline and 5 o'clock shadow to frame your face as opposed to either being slick bald or having a bad hairline like me.

This guy shaves down to a 0 but he still has a great hairline so it frames his face and makes his appearance a lot better. I know he's a good looking guy in general but he wouldn't be as good looking if he were slick bald

Bruce Willis is also a good looking guy but he doesn't look anywhere near as good without a hairline to frame his face

Even when Zidane shaves his head to 0 he still looks a lot better because he has a 5 o'clock shadow to frame his face

26 and an agressive loss pattern is a bit too early to be drawing a line in the sand.

 

Why not cut your hair short as in the first Zidane picture and get the hairline SMP-ed temporarily? At least then you can let it fade out if you end up disliking it.

 

Of course the downside is you have to keep shaving your head.

 

BTW, Zidane is more like a NW2.5 with a freakishly low central hairline.

shaving my head isn't a downside because I already do it now.I buzz it down to .5 mm every few days. Are you sure Zidane is a 2.5 ? Look at this picture

It looks like you have a persistent forelock so your hairline is low in front, and too low to transplant in, IMO. You may be able to do some light FUE in the corners, but at 26 with a NW6 pattern and no meds, I would be extremely careful. Terry Bradshaw had hair, but was a NW6 pattern at your age (with may a little more loss). I would try to have an in-person consult with a trusted doctor.

If I did eventually end up looking like Bradshaw soon (which I doubt b/c of my family genetics) what would be the downside to getting a transplant now if I'm okay with having a bald crown ? My plan is to get a ~2000 graft HT (FUE) 6 months from now. I want to have the hair transplanted to my temple points and temples. I would like to have an NW1 hairline. What do you think of that ? Mind you I'm totally fine with the Zidane look, having a great hairline and temple points that shape my face and then having a completely bald crown. I'll just buzz my hair very short.

I'm a 26 year old NW3 with a NW6 pattern. Now due to some past health issues I can't use propecia or anything hormonal so I'm forced to rely on a healthy diet, exercise, scalp massages, supplements, etc to contain my hair loss. I understand that I'm going to lose more hair but I still want to get a transplant just to frame my face. I feel that it would dramatically change my appearance for the better. Having a bald crown wouldn't really bother me. I'd be happy to look like Zidane. He's very bald on his crown but he still has a great hairline and since he keeps his hair really short it looks really good on him. I'd do the same.

The thing that bothered me the most about my hair loss is when I lost my temple points a couple years ago. It completely changed the way I looked and it made me lose a lot of confidence. I just want my face to look like it used to. Here are some pictures of me. Tell me what you guys think of my plan. All feedback is appreciated and will help me.