The Ugly Duckling Period/Stage/Phase - What Exactly Is It?

[nm76]

Hi All,

Reading through some posts I have always come across this term. I'm just a bit confused what this actually means?

Is it because of the redness that remains on the scalp for some time? Is it because of shock loss that occurs that results in you looking more balder than you were going into the transplant - i.e the loss of native hair?

.

Initially I thought people made a reference to this as being a loss in the transplanted hairs. For example an individual going into a HT, has no frontal hair and no hair on the top (keep forgetting what that is - vertex??) Well lets say they have a little bit of hair - diffuse - kind of here there but not everywhere. Now at a short length with the transplanted hair in - it would seem like they might have restored the loss they had - here and there is now everywhere. But then eventually they lose those transplanted hairs - and thus the ugly duckling stage/period has begun?

.

Or is it when someone has quite a bit of native hair - perhaps an inch or two in length and then the transplanted hair begins to grow. Is it the mixture of these new short hairs with the existing long native hair what is referred to as the ugly ducking period/stage/phase - (if what I;'ve described makes sense)

.

Thanks

[nm76]

Hi All,

Reading through some posts I have always come across this term. I'm just a bit confused what this actually means?

Is it because of the redness that remains on the scalp for some time? Is it because of shock loss that occurs that results in you looking more balder than you were going into the transplant - i.e the loss of native hair?

.

Initially I thought people made a reference to this as being a loss in the transplanted hairs. For example an individual going into a HT, has no frontal hair and no hair on the top (keep forgetting what that is - vertex??) Well lets say they have a little bit of hair - diffuse - kind of here there but not everywhere. Now at a short length with the transplanted hair in - it would seem like they might have restored the loss they had - here and there is now everywhere. But then eventually they lose those transplanted hairs - and thus the ugly duckling stage/period has begun?

.

Or is it when someone has quite a bit of native hair - perhaps an inch or two in length and then the transplanted hair begins to grow. Is it the mixture of these new short hairs with the existing long native hair what is referred to as the ugly ducking period/stage/phase - (if what I;'ve described makes sense)

.

Thanks

[nm76]

bump...

[thanatopsis_awry]

I've always interpreted The Ugly Duckling as when your growth has not yet become tangible, and you are left with some combination (if not all) of the following:

 

-- a scar

-- recipient redness

-- shockloss to either or both recipient and donor areas

 

So, basically, to varying degrees, you are/look worse off than you did prior to the HT.

 

It also would be occuring after you shed your luscious grafts that grace you with their prescence in a fleeting, teasing manner.

[Bill - Seemiller]

mm76,

 

Thanatopsis_awry is correct.

 

Not everyone experiences extended redness or shock loss, but it's quite possible and often makes you look worse before you look better. This is often a disouraging and worrisome time for some. To be honest, even before I was the Associate Publisher here, this forum was a Godsend to me during my first two surgeries in particular since I experienced a lot of shock loss. Getting comfort and support from the veterans of this community was invaluable to me.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[badger_01]

As someone who is in the ugly duckling stage right now...I'd say it simply means that you look worse than you did before the HT. If you look at people's hairloss blogs it will become obvious. There are parts of your scalp that have longer hair (that may not have been shaved)..there's parts that thinned due to shockloss, and theres other parts where the stubble is just beginning to grow.

It occurs differently for different people and lasts for a varying amount of time. The key take aways are that

1. It does happen - it gets worse before it gets better.

2. Its only temporary.

I have to tell myself that everyday now .

[nm76]

thanks guys. How long does this stage last for? Or does that too also vary for people?

Does it also depend on where you have the hair transplanted?

For example - I might have about 2500 grafts on the frontal third. I have some native hair, that is typically 2-2.5 inches in length. In fact these are links to the current state of my hair:

.

My Hair

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With the type of hair that I have would i be able to lessen the effects of the ugly duckling stage - or is this something that does not matter?

I do not plan to have my head shaved for the transplant.

If I do go through with this, I will have it done in december this year (subject to more research). I then have a wedding to attend in perhaps march or April - i dont want to worse than I do now for that. Though I guess i'll have to find some way to miss it, if need be.

thanks again.

[nm76]

badger - I have had a look at your weblog - I'm not sure how current those pics are - I speak of the last set - i guess 2 months into it. Now, I guess this is a mater of opinion, but i do not think you are in the ugly duckling stage - it does not appear to be as such to me in any case.

I say this because, if I look at your pics prior to your HT, your hair was longer - 2 months later you hair is shorter (for obvious reasons from the top). But to me it appears to blend in with the rest of your hair such that you look like any other guy i've seen who is losing his hair. Your 2 month pics I think , personally, look better than the pre op pics.

That said, If i buzz my hair, it looks worse than it does now - because the loss at the front becomes much more evident. I just wonder if I keep the hair at the length that I have or even shorter - how much of a difference that would make?

[nm76]

bump for http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/346...851079093#5851079093