recovery time after shave-down, for UNNOTICEABLE result

[tremblant]

Hi,

Wish I didn't have to start a new thread, but after searching couldn't find answer:

 

Two part question:

1) If you shave recipient area pre-HT, how long will it take before you could go back to work without anyone knowing you had any surgery? I would imagine it would involve buzzing the rest of the hair to match length of recipient, and use of concealers on the scar areas?

 

2) If you do shave recipient pre-HT, is it better to shave your whole head and go to work with it for a few days PRIOR to HT so people get used to it, or better to just show up at work after the HT with shaved/buzzed head?

 

Any thoughts on this? Thanks. In my line of work I probably could only get 2 weeks off. Also, I have a small/fair amount of native hair in the recipient region.

[HTInitiate]

It depends: I would say that you only feel confident of dumping the cap after 3-4 months, since there might be associated shock loss.

[hair_care]

It took me 6 months before I could get rid of the cap.

[tremblant]

HTI and HairCare, To clarify,

I'm not as concerned with a "bald/balding look" or the "shock loss" as I am with someone noticing something (scar or otherwise) that makes them think "transplant surgery". So...how long?

[TheEmperor]

Lots of variables. These are some of the most important questions that will determine you quality of life and post-op satisfaction.

 

My advice is that a couple weeks prior to the operation, trim all your top hair to 1/2". Maybe keep the sides at 3/4" to help concealing the scar. This will get everyone used to your "bald" look. (Tell them you wanted to see what you look like shaved down.) The goal is to not have any drastic changes in your appearance post op.

 

Your ability to look normal post-op depends on many things. If you dont have much native hair, and your skin is fair, the recipient may be red for many months. It will be 6-8 months before your new hair grows in and looks "normal". However, if you have significant native hair, it will help to camoflage the redness.

 

Regarding concealing the donor, it comes down to your donor density and hair quality. (And healing characteristics.) If your side hair is fine and you have shock loss around the scar, it will be a few months before it looks "normal". Some guys with thick donor look normal with hair cut to a #4,only 2 weeks post. Those are the lucky ones.

 

I would say the biggest factor in looking "normal" is the density and quality of donor. If you are able to buzz down to a #4, you will look quite normal while your new hair is growing in.

 

If your donor hair is fine and you have shock loss, you will need to keep the side hair longer, and it will be much more time before the top hair catches up to the sides. (You will be bald and red on top with long hair on sides... not a good look, trust me.)

 

The tldr version: If your donor is coarse and dense, are not fair skinned, and you plan your preop shave down well, you can be back in action in 2 weeks with no one knowing.

 

If your hair is fine, your skin is fair, and you have shock loss in donor region, it may be 6+ months before you look normal.

[tremblant]

Emperor,

Thanks for the reply, some interesting thoughts.

Well, I have straight black coarse hair, probably avg to above avg density, and fair skin. It seems that if you strategize it and don't buzz down the sides/back but cut it short but not too short it could work (be back at work in 2 wks), provided top is not too red. And if there is some shock loss, do concealers do a decent job of concealing things, provided that you have let the hair grow at least 2 weeks post op?

[TheEmperor]

Originally posted by tremblant:

Emperor,

Thanks for the reply, some interesting thoughts.

Well, I have straight black coarse hair, probably avg to above avg density, and fair skin. It seems that if you strategize it and don't buzz down the sides/back but cut it short but not too short it could work (be back at work in 2 wks), provided top is not too red. And if there is some shock loss, do concealers do a decent job of concealing things, provided that you have let the hair grow at least 2 weeks post op?

 

Yes, concealers work to hide shock loss, but the side hair will need to be longer. Probably an inch or longer.

[HTInitiate]

Originally posted by tremblant:

HTI and HairCare, To clarify,

I'm not as concerned with a "bald/balding look" or the "shock loss" as I am with someone noticing something (scar or otherwise) that makes them think "transplant surgery". So...how long?

Very tough to answer. It all depends on how much shock loss you have. I would try and keep the hair longer than 2 inches at the back, and then try and use concealers, if necessary. HOWEVER, there are various factors in play here - Like shock loss in the recipient (Front 1/3) etc, that can make concealment very challenging.

[tremblant]

Originally posted by HTInitiate:

Very tough to answer. It all depends on how much shock loss you have. I would try and keep the hair longer than 2 inches at the back, and then try and use concealers, if necessary. HOWEVER, there are various factors in play here - Like shock loss in the recipient (Front 1/3) etc, that can make concealment very challenging.

 

The problem with this though is that you would have supershort hair on the top (b/c it had been recently shaved) and 2" hair on the sides/back? This would look very unnatural if you went to work w/out hat 2 weeks post-op.

 

To Emperor: initially you said that you may be able to get away w/buzzing to a #4 on sides/back and using concealers, which would make sense, then you said side hair would need to be an inch or longer for concealers ... I guess it depends on your hair characteristics/shock loss.

 

Anyone else had good experience w/recipient shaving and then returning to work in 2 weeks (without people knowing you had surg)?

[HTInitiate]

Originally posted by tremblant:

 

 

The problem with this though is that you would have supershort hair on the top (b/c it had been recently shaved) and 2" hair on the sides/back? This would look very unnatural if you went to work w/out hat 2 weeks post-op.

 

 

Agreed :-) This is the challenge, that we face ; hence the damn cap !