HT expectations (HT patients please respond)

[UGLY MAN 4 LIFE]

Hi guys,

 

I was wondering if you former transplant patients out there could please give me your best description of what HT hair - both coverage, texture and anything else, is like?

 

Is it anything like early diffuse thinning? Any analogies you can give would be much appreciated as travel distance prevents me from seeing the number of HT patient's I personally would like to see.

 

Thank you for your time fellas.

[UGLY MAN 4 LIFE]

Hi guys,

 

I was wondering if you former transplant patients out there could please give me your best description of what HT hair - both coverage, texture and anything else, is like?

 

Is it anything like early diffuse thinning? Any analogies you can give would be much appreciated as travel distance prevents me from seeing the number of HT patient's I personally would like to see.

 

Thank you for your time fellas.

[finallyfree]

Good doctors can pack the grafts densely.

If donor is not a limitation, (that would mean that the person has robust body hair), there is no reason why HT should mean just illusions of fullness. Full hair restorations, all weather proof, sunlight, wind, beach proof HTs just need a lot more grafts. They are not impossible.

 

People should not settle for thin coverage HTs, IMO.

[GuitarPlayer]

Ugly Man,

 

First off, you should not expect teenage density with a transplant no matter how many grafts you have. The only exception to this would be if you had a very small area to cover and you used a tremendous amount of grafts. This probably wouldn't be a smart move as you could lose more hair in the future.

 

Regarding transplanted hair, in most people it tends to be a bit darker and a bit coarser than your original hair. It seems to "blend" a little more over time though. It has in my case anyway.

 

One more thing... it is imperative that you have a good maintenance plan in place. Hair transplants will not prevent you from losing hair in the future.

 

GuitarPlayer

[UGLY MAN 4 LIFE]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

I guess what I was trying to get at was can you essentially look 'non-balding when dry' in all weather if you are a high level NW and continue the HT process to its completion?

 

P.S. - I know there are often problems completely filling in the crown for NW6's, so excluding that, is it possible??

 

Also non-balding to me means most people won't recognise you as having MPB, that doesn't necessarily mean you will have the thickest hair in the world (so some may even say it's thin, but won't link it to MPB is what I'm trying to get at).

 

Cheers.

[UGLY MAN 4 LIFE]

One more question guys, say with 7000-8000 grafts on a NW6 with average donour hair - will the hairstyles be restricted to straight back or combed to the side, or is it reasonable to be able to pull off other styles and do it without raising eyebrows?

 

Thanks for your time fellas

[finallyfree]

Originally posted by UGLY MAN 4 LIFE:

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

I guess what I was trying to get at was can you essentially look 'non-balding when dry' in all weather if you are a high level NW and continue the HT process to its completion?

 

P.S. - I know there are often problems completely filling in the crown for NW6's, so excluding that, is it possible??

 

Also non-balding to me means most people won't recognise you as having MPB, that doesn't necessarily mean you will have the thickest hair in the world (so some may even say it's thin, but won't link it to MPB is what I'm trying to get at).

 

Cheers.

Given sufficient number of grafts you can pull it off- the non balding look in dry hair, I mean.

Transplant at 45-60 FUs a sq cm over all the bald area and you can pull off any hair style.

But for that a NW6 will need a lot of grafts.

Say if the area is just 200 sq cms, at 50 FUs per cm that becomes 10,000 grafts.

 

Without good, robust bodyhair being used in conjunction with scalp donor, that figure can not be reached.

 

That brings us to the obvious question. What is your body hair like?

[spoon]

Body hair and bank account. Let's not forget that transplantation is not free. Besides which BHT is highly unproven.

 

To answer UMFL's question, it's all in the eye of the beholder. My personal opinion is that if you get 45 grafts per cm2 and you don't look like you're balding. That's pretty much what I did and I am absolutely thrilled. I can't even put into words the difference that HT has made in my life. I don't feel like I have a hairloss problem anymore and I don't look to me or anyone else like I do either. I would gladly double my density but guess what, I don't have that luxury and I can live with that. I might progress to a higher NW and need the donor, and besides that I might have better uses for the money. So, I might be exposed as having thin hair in certain situations but so what? Thin hair doesn't equal bald. It takes all kinds to make up the world, some are thin, some are not, some are tall, some are short, and guess what, some have outrageously thick heads of hair while others have thin hair. I accept it and do what I can.

 

As to FF's comment about not "settling" for thin coverage, well why not? If you're 85 pounds overweight, should you not bother losing 40 pounds because you'll still be overweight? I would rather have my 40 or 45 healthy grafts per cm2 than be a cueball any day of the week. Depending on hair characteristics a person will find the right zone in terms of length and styling to maximize the cosmetic benefit, which is what you do with a full head of hair anyway.

[finallyfree]

Originally posted by spoon:

Body hair and bank account. Let's not forget that transplantation is not free. Besides which BHT is highly unproven.

 

 

As to FF's comment about not "settling" for thin coverage, well why not?

 

First off, BHT is not unproven.

Its just that its too much work and not many doctors are trained in it.

 

Second, I am not against you or anyone else "settling" for thin coverage.

I am against people being "forced to settle" for thin coverage thinking that more is not possible.

There is a big difference between the two.

You can have an option to choose between a Mercedes and Volkswagon.

But to have only Volkswagon offered because Mercedes is costly is wrong argument.

 

No one is going to spend a dime more than what they can afford to on their hair transplant.

But they must know that there are options available.

[the B spot]

Hey Guys, I think perhaps the most important thing being overlooked here is graft placement. What we need to focus on is the skill and artistry of the physician in properly angulating and placing grafts. Let's face it, we are not getting back to 18, but for some the illusion of that is all that is needed. Sure we see guys with excessive donor achieving amazing results, but for those like me, we need to spread our allotment around in the correct manner in order to get the best result. I think I might have 8000 grafts max, so with 200 cm/2 to cover it is imperative that the proper plan be drawn out for me. I think a front 100 cm at 45 to 55 and a crown of 30 to 40 is going to make me look pretty damn good. Either way, each of us needs to make sure we do the math and truly understand what coverage we can get, and go from there.

[UGLY MAN 4 LIFE]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

I guess spoon highlighted the fact that expectations differ between people.

 

My goal is not so much to have uber thick hair, and not even hair that people necessarily perceive as thick (by an illusion), but moreso I just hope to no longer be thought of as 'balding'.

 

I'd like to be able to have some freedom in day to day life - so I'd basically like to drop (if possible) the daily routine of having to 'fix' my hair because it looks thin as the day wears on, and preferably even be able to get away with it outside on a moderately sunny day.

 

I don't necessarily mind people thinking I have 'thin' hair, like I said my main concern is dropping the MPB badge.

 

From the photos I've seen (and I can't easily view a HT in person given my geographic location) it appears as though most guys have hair that can do that. I was just hoping to confirm that with some of the past patients on here.

 

As for body hair, I've got 3 cm (just over an inch) hairs on my legs at about 7-11 FU/cm2. I'd like to leave the arm hairs alone though because I like them. No hair on chest, back, abdomen, etc.

[dhuge67]

I think with my scalp donor, chest, and back hair, along with even leg hair...I could have more hair than Billy Joe Armstrong.

 

I'm a freak! haha

 

[hairworthy]

Originally posted by UGLY MAN 4 LIFE:

and preferably even be able to get away with it outside on a moderately sunny day.

Tell you what, during my trip to Tunisia back in September, where it was over 90 degrees every day without a single cloud, I kept checking my hair each time there was a mirror around (shops or other) and I was quite happy that no scalp could be seen through my hair, even with the sun directly above. It's in moments like that that you think "this HT was really a good idea". Posted some pics of this trip in the "photos" section. Though they are small, they give you an idea.

[UGLY MAN 4 LIFE]

hairworthy

 

Your hair looks great! If that's how it looks in your eyes when you go outside then that's about as non-balding as you can get!!

[hairworthy]

Thanks. Hopefully it will look even greater after my HT with Dr Epstein. 10 days to go!

[finallyfree]

Originally posted by dhuge67:

I think with my scalp donor, chest, and back hair, along with even leg hair...I could have more hair than Billy Joe Armstrong.

 

I'm a freak! haha

 

 

Body hair is an additional resource that helps acheive fuller restorations.

Its only downside being that not everyone has good body hair that can be used. But, if your body hair grows >1 inch long, you should go for a small test session of bht with your next HT.

Transplant that test session hair in an area where you can observe them. That way, when the time comes, you will know how your body hair looks like on scalp.