How do you not freak out your kids with a HT?

[Guest]

OK, so I am considering a HT. Like everyone else I want to make sure that my change is not so extreme (I have hair on my head), I choose the correct doctor etc etc. I have not seen the discussion on what to do abou tthe kids seeing the initial result. How does one handle a 7 and 4 year old seeing Daddy looking , well dare I say it, SCARY!!! I am sure many of you have had to deal with this issue. Further, given that I would like to keep my HT private (not shaving but that was another topic I started) I would prefer them not saying "Daddy has bloddy head, scary head etc etc. What have some of you done regarding your kids. Can I actually disquise it from them? Eventually my 7 year old will say "Dad, take off the hat already".

[Guest]

OK, so I am considering a HT. Like everyone else I want to make sure that my change is not so extreme (I have hair on my head), I choose the correct doctor etc etc. I have not seen the discussion on what to do abou tthe kids seeing the initial result. How does one handle a 7 and 4 year old seeing Daddy looking , well dare I say it, SCARY!!! I am sure many of you have had to deal with this issue. Further, given that I would like to keep my HT private (not shaving but that was another topic I started) I would prefer them not saying "Daddy has bloddy head, scary head etc etc. What have some of you done regarding your kids. Can I actually disquise it from them? Eventually my 7 year old will say "Dad, take off the hat already".

[Tubs]

I have two boys aged 6 and 4, in my experience, if you tell them then you can forget about trying to keep it a secret. I was OK as I never tried to keep it a secret in the first place.

 

I explained to the kids that I was off to America to get some of the spare hair on the side of my head moved to the top - I also explained that I would have a big cut held together with staples. They thought it was very exciting and when I got back I had to show them the staples every 5 mintutes for the first few days!

 

Before I went I made sure the kids sensed that I was happy and excited about getting it done and not at all worried, then it just became one of lifes adventures.

 

I find that Kids are not scared easily, as long as they do not sense any fear or apprehension from the grown ups!

 

 

Tubs

[Middleson]

Hey readyand40,

 

My HT was not so dramatic compared with many others. You mentioned you already have hair on your head so you might be similar to my case?

 

I will tell you that in my case it was not easy to tell I had a HT a few days after the surgery unless you looked closely. Take a look at the photos on my blog (post op pic) and you'll see how clean it looked right after the surgery. Each day got better & better.

 

I think the worst part for me was the scabbing at about the one week point..it looked kind of messy for a day or so until I got rid of them.

[Dewayne]

A couple of funny stories about my kids.

 

My 15 year old son asked my wife why I had these pictures of my head on the computer. She said he then pointed to his own head and said "is dad going to do like the commercials and get hair"? BTW, besides that he has no clue I've gotten a transplant.

 

Like Middleson said, if you can lay low a few days to a week, it'll be hard for them to tell unless they're up there digging around in your hair.

 

#2, my youngest son who is now 11, was very alert as a child. I did the Hair Club "system" for about two weeks. The day I got it, the wife and I drove to the church day care to get the boys and when I picked him up his eyes got real big and he leaned back in my arms looking at my head. He couldn't even talk yet, so he must've been about eight months old.

 

The wife and I still laugh about that one. I swear when I brushed that 'system' you could hear it 50 feet away.

[Middleson]

Hello dewayne,

 

Don't want to hijack the thread but I just checked out your log & noticed you're just under 6 months.

 

That was about the most frustrating time for me as there wasn't much going on at that point. I would bet by the time the holiday season gets here things will be improving more rapidly for you. Good luck!

 

Edited to add: regarding the topic of this thread, it looks to me from your after surgery photos that the most noticable thing for you would be where the plugs were removed, and not where you had hair transplanted.

[Dewayne]

Originally posted by Middleson:

Hello dewayne,

 

Don't want to hijack the thread but I just checked out your log & noticed you're just under 6 months.

 

That was about the most frustrating time for me as there wasn't much going on at that point. I would bet by the time the holiday season gets here things will be improving more rapidly for you. Good luck!

 

Edited to add: regarding the topic of this thread, it looks to me from your after surgery photos that the most noticable thing for you would be where the plugs were removed, and not where you had hair transplanted.

 

I'm very happy with my looks now that those old plugs are gone. But yea, I've got more hair now than I did before and I expect it to get much better, like you said. When he took the old plugs out, I looked considerably balder of course and hairs from the new transplant are growing.

 

I debated about it, but finally told Dr. Cooley my main goals were to:

 

1. Repair the old ht,

2. Create a natural look, and

3. Fill in my 'diffuse' thinning look.

 

My other option was to densely pack all the grafts into the front 1/3 or opt for a larger session. I don't mind my hair being thin, but I hope to not see any more skin.

 

Having said all that, I thought the pics showed considerable difference b/t months 3 and 5 on the top. And I don't think anyone would know now that I've had a transplant. Before, it was pretty obvious if you pay attention and the pics didn't tell the whole truth. Also, my scar is incredibly unnoticeable already.

 

I hope you update your pics, as I'd like to see some more of Cooley's work......