How do you explain the new hair?

[John_in_NC]

I realize that people who see you through the process see the new hair grow gradually, but someone who has not see you in a a while will notice the change. Even people you see dayily will sit back and wonder in the end. What do you say? And who do you admit this to? It seems like there is stigma

[John_in_NC]

I realize that people who see you through the process see the new hair grow gradually, but someone who has not see you in a a while will notice the change. Even people you see dayily will sit back and wonder in the end. What do you say? And who do you admit this to? It seems like there is stigma

[hoose]

Who cares what people say or think. You are going to feel much better about yourself after the HT Journey, that you won't care. You can just tell them you took Propecia (explain to them that it is an FDA approved drug for hairloss); most people that don't understand MPB won't have a clue that Propecia wouldn't grow hair like that especially at the hairline region. Only admit the HT to people you feel comfortable about telling. And remember, people like to gossip, so if you don't want certain people at your job, for example, to know about it, I wouldn't tell anybody you work with--keep that in mind.

[troy]

I have not had anyone say anything about mine, they say i look good, younger, but dont put there finger on a ht. I have found that i was more aware of my hairloss than anyone else.

[Hoping]

I tell anyone who asks. Somebody who works in my office remarked six months after my HT that my hair really looked good lately and she wanted to know what I was doing. I said I had an HT. Its nothing to be embarassed about in my opinion, course I'm not twenty one anymore.

[Hair Apparent]

I was as open about my two HT's as Hoping. I had no compunction about stating that was the reason why I took two weeks off work both times and have been completely open about it.

 

I know my new hair growth has been noticed. (I had a co-worker whom I see infrequently comment on how well the new growth was coming in; I replied that I was surprised that she noticed. She told me that lots of people did, but just didn't comment on it.) But I've gotten few questions about it.

 

My feeling about it has always been--in for a penny, in for a pound. After my first HT, I did away with the hairpieces I had worn for twenty-five years and never looked back.

[FacelessMan]

You touch on a valid question...part of my anxiey going into this, I have realized, is the "recovery" and growth period after the job is done -- how do I explain the sudden hat use and odd hair length, etc.. What I'm rapidly realizing, thanks in part to my girlfriend's advice to "own it," is that, this is a good decision, something I chose after much thought, and something I have wanted for a while, and anyone who thinks it's foolish, or some male midlife crisis thing...well, is entitled to their misinformation!

 

What I've found thus far is, in fact, pretty much what I expected...the people I know, work with, etc., are either supportive and a little curious, and the people who care about me -- like my girlfriend, who applauds my self improvement but has made it clear that she loves me, hair or no hair -- are happy to see me happy. Which I can only hope is fundamentally true for any of us.

 

All that aside...let's face it, a hair transplant is, after all, surgery, and that plus its expense and recovery period, so to speak, make it far more involved than most of the other ways we customarily choose to enhance our appearance, but whether you're choosing clothes, styling the hair you have, enjoying the cosmetic fruits of working out, or having your hair restored, it's all fundamentally the same principle...we're just using our assets to their best advantage (which may seem simplistic, but I see some truth in it). Hair transplants I think have had a stigma largely because of the bad old days of the 80's, and perhaps even early 90's, when the stereotypical pluggy look was all too common. If more people saw some of the before and after photos on sites like this, I suspect they'd think differently...!

 

Some $.02 as I sit punchily at my computer...

 

Benjamin

[wesley949]

My biggest hit came at about 4 months when three women I saw within a 15 minute period stopped me to say they liked my new hair style-and thought I looked different and good. They asked what I had changed. I told them that I had not changed anything thing since I had seen them a week earlier. I was miffed as to why on this day within this short period of time three different people would notice something had changed. I have not had anything else unusual happen and I have now passed 5 months. Maybe people are now just talking behind my back.

[JakeVig]

Other people don't pay nearly as much attention to your appearance as you do. I believe that most people wont even notice that you got 'more hair'. They may say you look younger, fitter or healthier but unless you've had a major cosmetic difference I doubt they will come to that conclusion.

 

As a young guy it definately would bother me if someone found out that I had a HT. If people have noticed that I got more hair I would just make a passing comment saying that I started treating my hairloss a while ago (with drugs) and wasn't sure if it was working or not and thank them for the compliment.

 

I am 100% confident that no one will question you further, as people who havent researched (i.e. not going bald themselves) do not know anything about how effective hairloss treatments are.

[JakeVig]

John_in_NC I think you're exactly right.

[JohnH]

Wow, there are some great comments here. I totally agree with everyone. Here's my 2 cents. If you take enough time off from work (work seems to be the main source of stress) you can avoid having to admit anything. I've recommended this before but I'll do it again. Schedule your appointment on a Friday. Take that Friday and the next week off for vacation. This gives almost 10 days for healing. By that time the scabs will have fallen off and much of the redness will be gone. You can even go to a tanning salon a couple of days before the procedure so that you will be "a little redish" before you leave for vacation. When you go back to work, do your best to comb your hair down to cover the recipient area. If you don't have any hair in front to cover - well you might as well just tell people up front what you're doing because they will know. After 3 to 4 months, your new hair will start coming in. You will be feeling so much better that you won't care what people think. But trust me, most people won't know that you had an HT. They will notice that your hair looks better. You can tell them a number of things such as - 1) using propecia and it's working 2) using a new gel or other product 3) found a different hair stylist 4) taking vitamins that are good for hair growth like flax oil

 

For me personally - I don't tell people that I've had an HT. I've always had enough hair to hide the work (now that the work looks so good).

 

I hope this helps.

[PB]

Originally posted by JakeVig:

Other people don't pay nearly as much attention to your appearance as you do. I believe that most people wont even notice that you got 'more hair'. They may say you look younger, fitter or healthier but unless you've had a major cosmetic difference I doubt they will come to that conclusion.

 

This is the only reaction I've had; people have asked what I'm doing when I look so fit and healthy, but nobody has mentioned my hair.

[Guest]

I think there may still be a stigma about it. No-one knows about mine. I went underground for about a month and Ive told everyone Ive started on propecia and minoxidil and the box says I'll have more hair in about 6 months.

[PB]

Originally posted by brianf:

I think there may still be a stigma about it. No-one knows about mine. I went underground for about a month and Ive told everyone Ive started on propecia and minoxidil and the box says I'll have more hair in about 6 months.

So this is how minoxidil and finasteride get a reputation for working...

[Guest]

Touche.

I will probably be personally responsible for falsely raising the hopes of dozens of unsuspecting suckers using rogaine over the next few years.

Muhuhahahaha