HT LIMITING HAIR STYLES?

[notgoing2gobald]

Im creating a new post in an attempt to get some more specifics regarding one of my questions on another post. Many of us virgin scalps are curious as to how limiting a hair transplant can be with respect to various styling options. I would say that AT LEAST 70% of guys on ht websites have the same hair do: parted to one side, and combed over. Im in NO WAY knocking ANYBODY as it appears that you ALL have dense hair and look great, *BUT* -

 

1. Im curious if any of you below style your hair the following way due to a lack of density or do you just prefer this look?

2. Another question is do transplanted hairs lay on the head differently (wiry) even after the temporary kinkiness fades away?

 

*PLEASE ANYONE who has undergone a hair transplant respond with some specifics (i.e. Mrjb, Nervous Nelly, B-Spot, Bill, Pushing40, etc, etc...) Help us virgin scalps make our decision easier. I still have NOT seen a ht in person. The first guy in the examples below is a PRIME example, because he appears to be young and most young guys don't like this hair style. The following is merely a handful of examples (from H&W) I could go on and on. Im begining to think that there is not enough density for most guys to style their hair another way. *PLEASE give us some specifics regarding this question as I know Im not the only virgin scalp wondering about this. I have organized this and even numbered my questions. Thanks. By the way, you will notice that some of these guys had 5K plus grafts and were not NW6 or 7s', that leaves one wondering if some guys just will not have enough density to style differently, no matter HOW MANY grafts are transplanted. Alot of these guys look like they do indeed have density and hence the question 'can you style it differently'..You all look great though. Examples:

 

http://hassonandwong.com/patient_gallery/photo_viewer.p...ansplant_type=normal

 

http://hassonandwong.com/patient_gallery/photo_viewer.p...ansplant_type=normal

 

http://hassonandwong.com/patient_gallery/photo_viewer.p...ansplant_type=normal

 

http://hassonandwong.com/patient_gallery/photo_viewer.p...ansplant_type=normal

 

http://hassonandwong.com/patient_gallery/photo_viewer.p...ansplant_type=normal

 

 

http://hassonandwong.com/patient_gallery/photo_viewer.p...ansplant_type=normal

 

http://hassonandwong.com/patient_gallery/photo_viewer.p...ansplant_type=normal

 

http://hassonandwong.com/patient_gallery/photo_viewer.p...ansplant_type=normal

 

http://hassonandwong.com/patient_gallery/photo_viewer.p...ansplant_type=normal

[thanatopsis_awry]

The first example is the most intriguing, for as you said, he is young.....examining the pic though, I gotta say, I'd be shocked if he couldn't "stylishly" push his hair forward and put in some hair creme or wax and texturize it up....and it would look quite dense and natural.

 

My guess is that when clinics take pics they want them with zero product being applied to hair (which elimates most dashing styles right there).

[notgoing2gobald]

hmm..very good point about the clinics not wanting any products in their hair. I really didn't think about that when I was making this post. Does anyone know if this is true of H&W? Because ALL of these examples are from there. If this is really the case then I would encourage clinics to show patients with different hair styles. I seriously doubt that Im the only one who noticed this (that they virtually all have the sweeped over look). I think most young guys (20-30's) view this as the #1 detraction from a ht. I bet business would boom a lot more if they showed some cooler hair styles. I know that I use a styling wax in my hair and it REALLY thickens it up. Imagine what I could do with all of that hair!

 

Jotronic?...

[thanatopsis_awry]

I completely agree with you; but a modest application of some styling wax or cream would add a whole other dimension of perceived density.

 

I also agree with you that showing various hairstyles regardless(particularly for young guys) would be welcomed and boost business. Personally, I would love to see what these HT results would look like relative to how I will be styling my hair.

 

EDIT -- Armani is a smart marketer and how he styles people's hair is a key component, imo. Even though I think his purported FUE results are bogus, there is still a reason SOOOOOOOOO many 20-30 year olds go to him.

[notgoing2gobald]

I absolutely agree on ALL points...

 

Regarding H&W and not using styling products (if its true and I would like to know) I think your correct that using products could potentially be misleading and making the patients appear to have more density than they really do. It is comendable if H&W don't use them intentionally.

 

*BUT*...What Im saying is, it doesn't have to be one OR the other. I would like to see two sets of pics:

1. Dry, plain hair..."here is patient Harry Johnson with no products in his hair"

2. Geled, styled looking good..."here is patient Harry Johnson looking cool ready to troll for some serious action tonight..."

 

that way we know what our options are, because right now I think a lot of guys are like me and they think that ht are very limiting to styling and your stuck with the sweep over look. your right about Armani.

 

I think H&W should take my suggestions, business would SERIOUSLY boom if guys knew what styles they can do their knew do. Of course I should get a 10% cut (of all the new business) since it was my idea. Dr. Hasson if your reading PLEASE take my advice. Bus' will sky-rocket! I guarentee you.

[hairthere]

honestly, i think it's such a case-by-case basis. after my first ht my styling was limited because the density in the hairline wasn't great. so my hair looked best when styled back or spiked straight up. it gave off the best illusion of density. but i wanted more options and i'm hoping that's what this 2nd procedure will help me to achieve. of course i won't know for sure for another 4 months or so. regarding the way the hair sits on my head, the ht hairs are just like the native hairs in that regard.

[notgoing2gobald]

hairthere,

 

THANK YOU!!! Finally, a post plant guy answers my question DIRECTLY!!! KUDOS!

 

I have to disagree about the case by case thing though. I mean, come on look at ALL of those pics I put up. Its almost comical that they all have the exact same hair do. You know there are a lot more just like it on EVERY ht website too.

[Arrie]

Not,

Check out everclears blog he actually has a pic of himself getting ready to go clubbing and he is only 4 months post op. I do beleive he used some dermamatch, but I mean only 4 months post op with that hair style is great! This is an excellent post it worries me that no one is really responding...

[notgoing2gobald]

yes I would like to hear from as many post-plants as possible, and I know this question is a #1 for a lot of us pre -plants. But, it has only been up for a couple hours. we will see. I will def bump it later...

 

Regarding everclear, I will check that out. But, how can one really tell if he is wearing that make up stuff (dermamatch)?

[Jotronic]

NGTGB,

 

This is an important issue you bring up. Before I continue, I'll let you know that most of the patients you posted are at least 40 years of age including the first one that you posted.

 

I think a lot of why you see somewhat similar styles is due to a couple of reasons. Yes, some do not have enough density to pull off a multitude of styles. This is a limitation to hair transplantation and we have never stated or implied otherwise. No matter how many grafts we get in one session we will never get enough to replace the original density on patients with medium to high levels of loss. Smaller cases, we can, but then it becomes a question of whether or not we should. One thing that cannot be denied however is that these guys not only look better, they feel better.

 

Another reason, and I this is just my opinion based on observation, is that many patients are simply afraid to step outside of the box when it comes to hairstyles. Some tend to be a tad conservative or more "clean cut" and are not interested in using gel or spiking their hair or what have you. We do have a number of patients in our gallery however with a wide variety of hair styles so I don't want anyone to think that these particular styles are the only ones that wind up being suitable. Some are spiked and gelled.

 

Take my case though. I was in a pretty deep deficit when I first arrived for round one with Master Wong being a full blown NW6/7 with two donor scars from previous procedures and of course the nasty mini-grafts sticking up at a 90 degree angle. While I may not be able to pull off every hair style I want with zero weaknesses I do like trying new things. The collage below shows various styles I've played with over the past few years and while they may not be perfect I do like the options.

 

Yes, I've had about 8000 grafts but my hair is no better than the next guy's. One thing that I'm happy about is that I cannot be accused of brushing my hair back just to hide my thinner crown because I do expose it sometimes with a few of the styles shown above.

 

Bottom line, your hair style depends on what YOU are comfortable trying and of course how young you feel. This is not to say that a NW6 with 5000 grafts will be able to pull off a caesar unless he wants to try a monk at the same time Different styles fit different patients and what they feel comfortable with. That is what it comes down to.

 

[Arrie]

Jo, That is an inspiring collection of pictures its nice to see that.

Notgoing,

Everclear even with or without the dermamatch is sporting a cool hair style only 4 months post op and it looks good. Trust me I am not a fan of dermamatch or any stuff like that but lets see ever clear a year and a half later, i think he'll have amazing options.

[notgoing2gobald]

Jotronic,

 

thank you very much. First let me say that the ONLY reason that all of my examples came from your site is because I think you guys are the best. I am in NO WAY saying that this is the only style possible and I will include some of my favorites from Dr. H below so everyone sees the other options on this same post.

 

I have a couple of questions for you Joe:

 

1. Is it true that you guys don't use any products on the hair on your webpage?

2. What SPECIFICALLY would you say the patients below have that allowed them to achieve such outstanding results?

thanks Joe and your hair looks great.

 

Great Hair Styles from Dr. H:

 

http://www.hairlosshelp.com/websites/galleryview.cfm?id...lution|gallery10.cfm

 

http://www.hairlosshelp.com/websites/galleryview.cfm?id=shuffle|gallery14.cfm

 

http://hassonandwong.com/patient_gallery/photo_viewer.p...ansplant_type=normal

 

http://hassonandwong.com/patient_gallery/photo_viewer.p...type=normal&nwScale=

 

Arrie, I haven't checked it out yet but I will.

 

***** I HOPE NO ONE THINKS IM KNOCKING ANY OF THESE GUYS (IN MY FIRST EXAMPLE) OR H&W'S WORK IN ANY WAY...THEY ALL LOOK 100X BETTER POST-PLANT, IM JUST CURIOUS WHAT I CAN REASONABLY EXPECT REGARDING STYLING OPTIONS...THAT IS ALL...PERIOD.

 

AND JOE, YOU LOOK 100X BETTER POST PLANT AS WELL. I WOULD TAKE YOUR HAIR OVER A BALD HEAD ANYDAY.

[hairthere]

I like to call the swept to the side the anchorman look .

 

when i say a case by case basis i mean everyone has their own comfort level, and not everyone who gets an ht is starting off slick bald so they may have more styling options. but as you see by jotronic's examples, even a nw6 with some megasessions from a TOP doc can achieve enough density to pull off some cool looks.

 

That's why you really should go for as many grafts as you can in one session and also why there's only a few docs you should see. you'll notice there are maybe 5-6 docs pulling off these huge graft numbers. then there are fringe docs that achieve those numbers but in multiple sessions. it comes down to one equation: more grafts=more density=more styling options.

[Jotronic]

NGTGB,

 

Dude, you need a shorter name

 

I appreciate your clarification on your opinion of our results but I did not take it that you were putting them down in any way.

 

To your questions:

 

1.)It is true that WE do not use products in our patients. It is NOT true that some of our patients don't. To clarify, the ones that do have product only have gel because that is how they show up on the day of their visit. It kills me when they do this because it makes the hair look THINNER than if it was drier without gel. It is true however that we do NOT use nor do we allow patients to sport Toppik/Dermatch/Courvre or any other artificial thickeners or camouflage for our photos. PERIOD.

 

This is a good segway into another issue that is very important to me and that I have written extensively about for years. We do NOT use flash for our after photos and we do NOT use studio lights either. Overhead fluorescent lights just like in any office building is the only lighting for our photos and of course our videos. Almost every other clinic uses flash and/or studio lights. I know you are concerned with how results look in person because you have yet to have the opportunity to see patients live. Remember this, patients you see in photos with flash or studio lighting, and that is from most every clinic out there, will look quite different in real life.

 

2.)As for pics that patients put into their own blogs, I can't speak specifically as to what is going on but I will try with the ones you listed.

 

The first patient is "Evolution". I don't think anyone's hair can do what his hair is doing without some sort of styling putty. He has low color contrast between scalp and hair, hair that is average in caliber, basically straight with little to no wave, and he had the front half packed pretty good.

 

Second patient is my boy Shuffle. Most of the shots in the link are with a flash but as there are several without you have a good balance of different scenarios. He does not to my knowledge use anything besides Proscar or Avodart and he does use some form of Minoxidil as well. He has fine to medium caliber hair, average color contrast between hair and scalp, and a minimal wave to his hair overall. He too had a lot of grafts after two previous procedures that just didn't deliver the way he had hoped.

 

Third patient is Darren and he is most definitely using gel in his hair which, again, makes his hair a bit thinner than if he had nothing in it at all. His hair is obviously black but because of his skin tone he too has a relatively low color contrast between hair and scalp.

 

The last one has gel too so again it's thinner in the photos than without gel. He is not one that any clinic would say has ideal characteristics. He has fair to pale skin, jet black hair that is coarse in texture and above average caliber overall. It would be hard to argue against his results being from big numbers but of course the placement and design is crucial BECAUSE of his type of hair so his result is from more than just packing the hell out of it. Angles, direction, hairline design all play a big role in how it looks overall and I think that is why all the patients above, with varying characteristics, all have outstanding results.

[notgoing2gobald]

Joe,

 

WOW! Thanks that was absolutely great. I know you are busy and I am not the only one with questions, but I still do have questions (grins). So if ANYONE with knowledge regarding the following knows, please respond.

1. Shuffle is one of my absolute favorite cases because as Joe stated he does not appear to have thick hair. Joe even went so far to say he has..."fine to medium caliber hair"...AND he was totally bald. Man, if I knew I could get those results I would be on a plane tonight. If he doesn't have thick hair why are his results so world class? I know Joe already kinda answered this, I think maybe Im OCD over shuffles' case. Does he have a fan club? Am I turning into a stalker of the "hair celebrities"? I haven't sent any threatening emails to him I promise. Im turning into one of those guys who falls in love with a Soap Opera actress and stalks her...watch out Shuffle..

 

2. Skin to Hair Color: is this ONLY important so the viewable scalp does not stand out as much, or is there something else at play here?

 

Man, this website is the best. I even get a world class consultation with Jotronic!

[Bill - Seemiller]

In my opinion, the more hair coverage and hair density, the more styling options, assuming that the hair restoration physician does a quality job with angulation and direction of the hairs.

 

I know for a fact that I could style my hair the same way as in those pictures, but honestly, I don't like the way I look. So I style my hair straight back and then pull the front forward a little.

 

I think Joe's post above shows that multiple hair styles are possible - but I think just like anyone who doesn't have a balding problem, you will ultimatelhy select the hairstyle that looks best on you.

 

Cheers,

 

Bill

[notgoing2gobald]

my baby...

[NervousNelly]

NG2GB,

 

Hey bud--you are nuts. Hairstyles do tend to be limited because we are not going to be able to have the density that is required to give us all the options. Moreover, Dr. Feller has commented on the layering effect. In many cases, to optimize the results of many HT's a person might need to have their hair a certain length and sometimes combed a certain way. Their are also times when a surgeon will do some "weighting" of the grafts so that he can optimize coverage. In these specific cases an individual might need to keep his hair with a certain style.

 

Keep in mind that the examples that you have chosen are cases with huge amounts of grafts. Very few people will ever get that many FU do to limited donor, limited cash, no desire. I'm sure that if I were to get another HT, I would look like I had a full head of hair and then I would have several styling options. Will I do this? Maybe.

[notgoing2gobald]

yeah Im an absolute crazy man...how do I get these seXXXy pics to come up of my baby without people having to click on them?

 

oh, back to hair: thanks for the input Alba has me currently distracted. What is this "weighting " of the grafts and what is the "layered" effect? Im assuming its what Pat referred to as the "shingling" effect that H&W uses? Please advise. Shuffle had 7,800 isn't that about an average amount of maxed out donor hairs? You wouldn't go back to look like that if you could? I would. What part of the country are you in? Can you make it to our: steak, vodka, hooker, and hair convention?

 

Now then, how do I get my babys' pics up without having to click on them?

[thanatopsis_awry]

Informative thread; much thx to Jotronic for answering so many questions with just detail! Your hair rocks, btw, vvvvn collection of photos.

 

Maybe some clinics think it to be sorta "gimmicky", but I still think that if more clinics showcased more pictures of "styled" hair (as well as "regular" hair) on their websites that it would really stand out.

 

As far as I know Armani is the only guy to really do this; which, imo, is a shame because he is actually THE LAST person younger guys should be going to....

[notgoing2gobald]

Nervous Nellys' baby....

[thanatopsis_awry]

That is one fine looking piece of cake.

[notgoing2gobald]

LMAO....HAAAAAAAA....I love it! how do I get these damn pics to show without people having to click on them? and what the hell does thanatopsis_awry mean, I can't figure it out?

[NervousNelly]

NG2GB,

 

You are one sick bastard. That girl has had a few of those cakes.

 

I live in Michigan. Likely can't make the get together unfortunately. Not sure if I will pursue the "ultimate HT dream" with another HT as it consumes you and at some point I would like to move on with life. Who knows.

[Jotronic]

NGTGB,

 

To have an image appear automatically you upload it as usual then submit the post. If you are using Firefox then you can right-click on the link and then choose "copy link location". Using MS IE you would do the same but click on "copy shortcut".

 

Then you go back into the post by clicking the "edit" button in the bottom right hand corner and when the new screen pops up you will have your dialogue screen with the text you just entered. At the top of that screen you will see a line up (left to right) of icons. Click on the icon that looks like a miniature photo of a mountain. That will give you a small pop-up that will let you input the link to the file. For the link press "ctrl" the at the same time press the letter "v" on your keyboard or you can simply right-click your mouse in the link area and then "paste". The link will be loaded once you click "ok". Then, click "post now" and voila! You will see your old post re-loaded with the image already visible without having to click on the link.