Joe Transplant

Hey oms, It's very easy to get pessimistic when it comes to the hair issue. For about six years I've been on an emotional rollercoaster. I have gone through every scenario and came up with a conclusion that worked for me. I'll be 30 next month and just had my first transplant 3 months ago. I realize that I will never have the hairline or density I had at 20, but I'm not 20 anymore. It's a fact of life that we all getting older and our bodies change. What I came away with is that I wanted to be proactive in dealing with this issue and the right coarse of action for me was to get a transplant. I'll probably need a couple more, but at least I'll know that my hair will look decent for a very long time. And if I need a few touch ups here and there, then so be it. You wrote: "Ever get the feeling we are fighting not only a losing battle but a pointless one?" I understand where you are coming from, but are you also going to stop working out, become obese, waste you life away on the couch etc... after all we are just going to turn 85 or so and die anyway. What the point to a healthy life? To me it's about the quality of life not just the end result. There is no perfect solution for our dilemma just yet, but I believe most of us have come away from this HT experience feeling much better knowing that we are taking matters into our own hands. It's not for everyone, but I didn't want to lose all of my hair. Others feel great about shaving their heads or just letting nature take it's coarse. You'll eventually find what's right for you. By the way I'm almost 30 and just starting to peak. I'm single, financially stable, and in the best shape of my life - and this weekend I went out to a club and walked away with two phone numbers! Life doesn't end here for me, I just look up to the "Cool Guys" who are still peaking like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Mel Gibson, John Travolta, Nic Cage ... and they're all over 40! (Pitt's 39) and from what I hear at least one of them has had an HT. We are all on your side here and we have all gotten down on ourselves about this whole experience at one point or another. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully this experience will make you stronger no matter what action you choose. Who knows how we will all look back on this, but hopefully we'll all come out better people for breaking through this rough time. Hope this helps!

Good idea, I personally hit the tanning bed just before the weekend. It gives my whole face and body a liitle redness (tan) that blends in with the scalp. At least with the self tanner, there's no skin damage.

Here is something I found on askmen.com" -"Another potential treatment for balding was described in the November 1999 issue of Nature. Researchers found it was possible to grow hair follicles and hair from donated follicle cells. Hair follicles are one of the few immunoprivileged parts of the body; that is, they are protected from the immune system so the body doesn't treat them as foreign and attack them. Researchers thus wondered if they might be transplanted from one person to another without triggering an immune response, resulting in rejection. Hair follicle cells, donated from the arm of a male scientist, were implanted into the arm of a female scientist. A few weeks later, she grew large, thick, dark hairs -- unlike her own -- in the area of the transplant."- I too was curious if it was possible, but this was the only research I came up with. I don't even know if it's true, but thought I'd share my finding.

A few weeks after my HT, I was looking behind my dresser and slammed my head against the wall. No blood, but even with the numbness, it hurt - a lot! But everything seems fine. I've got a lot of new hairs growing in that area as well as the rest of my head. Don't sweat it!

Steves, I have a friend that got a transplant a few years before me and he went deep sea fishing one month after his second procedure. He forgot to wear a hat and the top of his head got pretty fried. After the sunburn passed, he looked normal. So I wouldn't be worried about it, just make sure to use sunscreen or a hat next time - just in case.

vocor1: Thanks for the reply. Today I went and got a haircut and my barber actually thinned out the area above my scar. This caused the hair to blend in better for some reason. I think the hair above was just hanging over and on top of the scar instead of intertwining with the rest. Anyways, it looks much better today. Almost perfect! What a difference a day makes. I don't know if this would work for everyone, or if it's just because of my haircut - "joe's disclaimer"

tkotko, I don't use coverup on the donor area anymore. I received my transplant 2 1/2 months ago and the first month I used it in two small spots because the hair was very short and there seemed to be more hair missing in those areas. The hair since then has grown out and looks very good. I actually got a haircut today and almost all of my "hat head" appearence is gone. It's funny, but my barber acually thinned out the area just above my scar and it helped it blend in a lot better. In about a few months, it should all look great. I still use coverup on top because about half my hair fell out from shock and it'll be at least a couple of months before anything starts growing out.

I would agree that you want to wait a while before putting anything on the grafts. I personally have tried a few products: ProThIK, Fullmore, and COUVRe' Prothik and Fullmore are sprays and can cover really well, they just make a mess in the bathroom. And Fullmore doesn't hold up well in the rain or pool. You just dry your hair and spray on the thinning areas. Use existing hair to comb over it. These sprays also add texture to the hair making them thicker. COUVRe' is a masking lotion that is applied with a small makeup sponge. I tend to use this one most of the time. You add a little lotion to the sponge and apply it to wet scalp. I start in the back and work my way up lightly to the front. The hairline should just have a slight "shadow" effect. Then you dry the existing hair and comb over the thin areas. These all come in different colors and you should have existing hair to comb over it. It takes practice to get these right. They do not work on a completely bald head. There are also a few other produts out there I haven't tried: GLH, Toppik, Dermatch, Great Coverup. You can also apply these to the scar, however, they wont get rid of the "hat head" look. Hope this helps!

I am new to this site and would first like to thank everyone who has posted questions and pictures. You guys have really helped me out. I received 1822 grafts 2 1/2 months ago and everything seems to be going fine. From all the research, I have realized that patience is the key. My question is about the donor site. My scar seems to be healing fine, but I have this indentation in the hair, from one ear to the other. The scar is not visible, but I seem to have constant "hat head" no matter how I comb it. I assume that there are shaved hairs that still need to catch up to the existing hair, but are there follicles that also went into shock? How long until it all blends in nicely? Does length have anything to do with it? It's about a inch long on the sides and back. Any insight is greatly appreciated. I will also be posting pics in the future. Thanks.

I am new to this site and would first like to thank everyone who has posted questions and pictures. You guys have really helped me out. I received 1822 grafts 2 1/2 months ago and everything seems to be going fine. From all the research, I have realized that patience is the key. My question is about the donor site. My scar seems to be healing fine, but I have this indentation in the hair, from one ear to the other. The scar is not visible, but I seem to have constant "hat head" no matter how I comb it. I assume that there are shaved hairs that still need to catch up to the existing hair, but are there follicles that also went into shock? How long until it all blends in nicely? Does length have anything to do with it? It's about a inch long on the sides and back. Any insight is greatly appreciated. I will also be posting pics in the future. Thanks.