Ganderson

I’m curious about this too - I got a small FUE done years ago and I get ingrowns from that

Yep he definitely has options now thanks to the successful BHT’s!

Maybe it was the same guy! This particular person had a lot of BHT since he was a nw7 to begin with. Grown out it just didn’t work - he had some pubic and armpit hair implanted on top as well (in addition to beard, chest, and leg hair). He shaved the top of his head with a 0 guard every 2 -3 days and wet shaved the sides and back - I was blown away by how good he looked (again, of course post SMP. Without it, buzzed down he basically still was a Norwood 7 with a strange graft pattern). would you be able to share pictures of any BHT heavy patients? I think the forum would definitely appreciate seeing it!

Do you have any pics or videos of beard hairs shaved down looking poorly? I keep hearing that the thickness is off, etc. but whenever I see results online (Post SMP of course) the combination is always very appealing. Often times with better results than SMP alone. I’m sure they exist but when picturing it in my head and looking at what’s floating out there, it would seem that the texture generated from even average transplant procedures (once combined with SMP) produce really amazing results. Scarring aside.

makes total sense. Only suggesting it as a method of support, although i don't think you really need it! I wore my hair longer when i first got it - its very specific on what it works well for as a camouflage. If i was in a situation where i wanted to grow it longer, i would only do a lighter shaded SMP - just to reduce scalp contrast a bit - when it gets too dark I actually think its stands out more. My experience, at least. Some people seem to think almost "painting it" black if its just a spot or two is better. Your pics are awesome. This is the best thread ever lol so please dont stop posting them! With the popularity of beard transplants and with the way things are moving, I think this thread will be referenced for a long time to come if you continue to maintain it! Curious to know - at any point since you started using your beard as a transplant source - have you gotten really tan? Im a dark guy who gets significantly darker in the sun (a shade of milk chocolate if you will) - do you think those little white dots on your throat would bear significant risk if you were to go in the sun a lot? What if you were more like me? It doesnt SEEM to be an issue since theyre small, faded, and in an area that is always undergoing constant shaving so its seemingly whatever - ive always been under the impression that using beard grafts (for the things you and I have discussed) is extremely low risk.

I’m surprised to hear that. And sorry! Maybe that was the reaction in the 80’s. I know plenty of bald guys my age (early 30’s). You would look 35 with or without hair right now.

you and I are very similar in this regard. Let me just pose this to you and I’m curious to know your thoughts. im a diffuse thinner and I had SMP done in 2017 (was shaving my head with a 0 guard back then but hated when my gf took pictures and I could see a difference between the top and the sides) - and I went through the exact same thought process as you mentioned above for a few days after I did it. ”how the hell, would I, ever explain to someone that there’s ink all over my head” it sounded crazy - but here’s the difference it didn’t matter at all - and this is just my personal experience - because I HAD HAIR all over. Not a lot, but like we have discussed, enough to say that I have hair. In the absolute worst case, yes, if someone analyzed my head from 1cm away … I mean even then it’s hard cause there’s still hair but let’s say it was noticed - all you did was “make my hair fuller because I didn’t like having the thin look, I still have hair but just wanted to make it look a bit more classy professional whatever” my point to all this is that you’ve eliminated the “oh it’s just a tattoo on your head” type deal. You have hair everywhere!

This was my exact thought process. He’s good looking. And looks my age (I’m more than 20 years younger if our math is right). SMP with that level of hair and he has a lot of options and will look very good. Pretty good spot to be in…

Btw…. I’m trying to do the math - when did you have your first HT? You don’t look like your age my friend!

Super informative post. You and I have obviously been discussing this directly but I’m glad we can share it on a thread. You have hair everywhere now… have you considered SMP? I don’t know how your hair looks buzzed down but you have hair everywhere …. I would imagine that you would have the perfect and most natural SMP outcome since, well, it would really be SMP… you would actually and TRULY have a very dense buzz cut

Thanks for the response! I guess it begs the question of - why not just use the few thousand grafts from your beard, and some body hairs, to the top ? I think you mentioned potential recipient area scarring as being the primary reason not to? I know grafts aren’t the same as native hair, but it could create a 3D texture and avoid scarring on the scalp. Would only be enough to keep thinks shaved every other day or so and still look appropriate, but it may be something

Thanks so much for sharing! So you’ve taken a total of 3000 from your beard, after this current procedure? And it looks like it’s all from chin and below? how many grafts total do you have on top of your scalp? thanks again for all of the detail here. It’s super interesting and I’m sure you’ll have a nice result

@BeHappy Do you have any issues when (or if) you shave with a razor? Or are the scars similarly very hard to notice even with a clean shave? Any issues going into the sun and tanning? I'm a few shades darker than you, and my transplant recommendations for my desires has been focused primarily on beard and body as a donor source....

@hairthere have you ever seen scarring in the beard area when people use that as a donor source (I've seen some pics of little white dots there recently) and can SMP do anything for that ? (say, with a more skin colored ink - or does that not really work, because as people tan lets say, you would just end up with a similarly discolored neck).

Hey Melvin - could you ask a question for him tomorrow for me? 1) if a Norwood 6 or 7 received an SMP treatment in which they are happy with, but would like to utilize beard grafts only in order to get texture on top, is that possible? This was we could minimalist scalp scaring?

You and I are going to meet somewhere in the middle … we have similar loss patterns but I decided to get SMP first to allow myself to use the diffuse hairs for a buzz cut look. Am now contemplating adding some grafts to the top as I’ve lost most of them in order to keep a natural SMP look (as opposed to a completely 2D one) I tried fin, got sides, stopped, and proceeded as described above. If you’re scarring isn’t an issue, or even if it is, SMP is an amazing, amazing solution for a lot of people, and it could potentially solve you’re entire issue in one quick swoop. i would have no anxiety about it if I were you.

I think I'm doing a poor job of articulating my point.... I'm resigning myself to the fact that I won't have a full head of hair - I'm trying to get the best result possible, and for me, that's getting an illusion of a full head of hair. I've been researching for years now, and got SMP done as a filer a few years ago and wore my hair at a 2 guard, and since I've thinned, now a 1/2 guard in order to keep things uniform. I am not totally comfortable with a slick wet shave which is what SMP requires once there is no growing hair on top. I'm trying to come up with the best possible solution - If I'm Able to wear my hair at a 0, 1, 2 , 3 or 4 all around after transplanting a lot, or a little, through FUE, and in combination with the smp give the illusion of full hair, I would pursue it . The reason I thought of this was cases I've seen - (and some doctors recommendations) - get FUE after SMP to add "texture" to the scalp. That would mean avoiding the 2D wet shave of smp right ? I'm also fine with grafting everything I have to the frontal third of my head and SMP'ing the rest of my head, then growing out that frontal region long to rock a military style or " extreme" high and tight look. Again, I'm just asking for opinions on which route would be best - dispersment, or density in the front, based on these picture

When you say very short, is a 1 guard ok? a 1/2? a 0?

Hair loss, hair transplant and hair restoration advice This looks fantastic to me. Can I have this?

Honestly in addition to this ^ post, if thats a bad plan, please tell me what to do. I just want to get the best possible result. shaved down to a 0 is as far as i would go.

If i am destined to be a norwood 6, lets just say, could i get fue (lets say 4500 grafts) disperse them evenly around my head, get SMP (which i already have) and then keep my hair at a 1? Would i work at no guard, but at 1/2 length? I'm trying to be as conservative as possible, so my idea is to keep buzzing my head, i am just against a wet shave or anything less than a 0. How would that look? Is that reasonable? Thanks!!!!!!!!!

Last thing - I wanted to mention I am a fast healer....and just wanted to throw that in, in case it mattered somehow

More pics

Hi All, Been a long time reader, occasional poster. Really value everyones opinion here, and I was about to pull the trigger, but now am sort of at a crossroads.... I was planning on going with a top doctor on this site. I keep my head shaved down to a .5 (0 guard, but the long side) and I do that every 5 days. I have had SMP done but i have some hair on top (even though I am a norwood 6) so I dont have to shave it to the bone. My plan : I want to take 3k grafts and put it on the front of my head. I want to frame my face. Everything else can be shaved down. I plan on having the SMP done a little darker around the remainder of my entire head. SO, once i get the surgery, i want to keep it at this .5 (0 guard) length, and eventually a little shorter so that the SMP matches it throughout, and just grow out the front (think military type cut). I am 6 foot 5, with a slightly tan complextion, and I believe that i could pull off the look. The real question I have is, will the scarring, surgery, etc etc etc be noticeable? I am seeing some people talk about white dots, i am seeing some examples of white dots being so spread out that you cant really tell, I am hearing from some doctors that it wont be an issue and i am hearing the opposite from others. I don't know what to do, I am at my end here with all the reading and research I have done - i don't care about a little white scarring, the back of my head isn't that important to look perfect - I just don't want people to be able to notice it if you get what i mean? I want to get my surgery, keep it at this length (see pics) and not having anything notice - then darken the SMP EVERYWHERE (in about 4 months when things have healed) so that i give the appearance of having a shaved dome, and then grow out the frontal third. I will grow my hair to a 1 guard for the surgery (as was required) and then 2 weeks later I will shave it back down to a 0 guard (will scarring be noticeable or not really?.......) Any, and all advice, is super super appreciated. Thanks!!!!!!!

Would also like to see some updates!! help us out!