The partial combover.

[NervousNelly]

I just wanted to post on this topic because lately I have seen a few posters discussing their options of how to approach their HT given a limited donor.

 

I have seen many men utilize a partial combover(whether they realize what they are doing or not) with a great deal of success. Ofcourse in order to pull this off you need to have a decent hairline and midcore area. The last couple of inches towards the crown is then combed sideways to cover the crown. I am not talking of the bizarre flop over, standing straight up type of combover we all cringe to think about, but just a subtle parting of the hair from the side and combing lightly over the balding crown region.

 

To pull it off you need to have a nice hairline and a decent level of hair in the midcore. It can succeed and look very good and disguised if done properly. I am not talking about a look for a 20 something guy but maybe someone 40+. I think that it is a great viable option for someone with limited donor. Therefore a person can focus those precious grafts all in the frontal region and still look like they have good density and coverage. Just a thought.

[NervousNelly]

I just wanted to post on this topic because lately I have seen a few posters discussing their options of how to approach their HT given a limited donor.

 

I have seen many men utilize a partial combover(whether they realize what they are doing or not) with a great deal of success. Ofcourse in order to pull this off you need to have a decent hairline and midcore area. The last couple of inches towards the crown is then combed sideways to cover the crown. I am not talking of the bizarre flop over, standing straight up type of combover we all cringe to think about, but just a subtle parting of the hair from the side and combing lightly over the balding crown region.

 

To pull it off you need to have a nice hairline and a decent level of hair in the midcore. It can succeed and look very good and disguised if done properly. I am not talking about a look for a 20 something guy but maybe someone 40+. I think that it is a great viable option for someone with limited donor. Therefore a person can focus those precious grafts all in the frontal region and still look like they have good density and coverage. Just a thought.

[Guest wanthairs]

nervous....

 

I had to do that from the age of about 30 onwards.......

 

Only after my transplant did the whole world tell me how stupid and comical I always looked...

 

Oh the shame, the shame

[Bill - Seemiller]

In order to pull off this approach, hair is transplanted more densely on one side then the other leaving options for limited styling.

 

Of course, one problem with this approach is that the hair looks pretty good when styled properly, but any strong wind or wet hair may potentially reveal an unnatural look where one side is thicker than the other.

 

Though I have never been a fan of this approach, it certainly may be a viable option for some who have limited donor with a larger balding area.

 

Bill

[NervousNelly]

Actually, I am talking about a stand alone HT on a NW 4-5 where the concentration is on the frontal region and midcore. They then use their native hair to help conceal the crown. Ofcourse this is not optimal at all, but when you are talking about guys with limited donor and knowing some consider crown hairpieces it is just another thought.

[Bill - Seemiller]

NN,

 

That's true...this approach occurs as well and frankly, I like it better than the other. Many men (including myself) start losing hair in their crown. To restore the front and forelock while leaving a bald spot can be perfectly natural.

 

Bill

[TheHairLossCure]

Good point nervous. If you can build up the front/mid area to get a nice appearance of fullness you can use that hair to partially cover the crown. I think this work best if there is at least a light dusting in the crown area. You can definitely do it in such a way that it does not look like a comb over or a poor attempt at covering hair loss.

[Dr. Alan Feller]

The combover is an excellent way to cover skin that you otherwise couldn't due to limited resources like poor donor area or sub par prior work.

When a patinet comes in with more bald scalp than can usually be covered with the available donor area I will "polarize" the patients by placing a higher density of grafts to one side to create a "part" and angle the grafts in such a way that he will comb the hair over the balder areas in distant areas of the scalp.

 

Click the links for a patient I did a few years ago that exemplifies this approach perfectly. We did only one procedure on him:

 

http://www.fellermedicaldata.com/images/fm/5.jpg

http://www.fellermedicaldata.com/images/fm/1.jpg

http://www.fellermedicaldata.com/images/fm/2.jpg

http://www.fellermedicaldata.com/images/fm/3.jpg

http://www.fellermedicaldata.com/images/fm/4.jpg

[the B spot]

This process is usually referred to as "weighting" and is a great option for patients who are comfortable with a specific hairstyle and possess reasonable expectations.

 

As Dr. Feller pointed out, limited resources force different strategies.

 

Imagine if Dr. Feller's patient frontloaded his frontal 1/3 with 4000 grafts at 25?

 

Thanks Dr. Feller & NN for a great topic.

 

Jason

[Glock08]

NN:

Good topic...I can hide more scalp by brushing my hair straight back..but then the scarring in the front hairline is visible. I choose to brush it to the side, which looks better, eye-to-eye and in photos, even though the top down looks thinner. Also, if I style it straight up, it makes it more "see- through" (eye level-but not top down) than having the hair lay down. I attribute that to having thin coverage with thick hair"???if that makes sense.

 

Glock08