Can hairdressers really not notice??

[Sunner]

Hello all,

 

Just have a quick question which has been bugging me for a while. I read somewhere that if a HT is done properly by a quality surgeon even hairdressers cant notice? Is this true? Im thinking of getting a HT done maybe next year but still looking at the pros and cons. Can a few patients please tell me about there experiences with the hairdresser, like how long after your HT would you go to the hairdressers? did they notice? also texture between transplanted hair and normal hair? Thanks in advance

[Sparky]

Yeah they won't be able to tell.

[JoeKid0000]

The transplanted hair should match the surrounding hair (if done correctly) so hair dressers should not notice. What other cons are you thinking of?

[Sunner]

Thanks for the reply.

 

Others cons would be the amount of surgeries needed, Im currently about a nw3 with no thinning in crown but forelock slightly going. I think the finasteride is holding up well for crown. I was planning to wait for the forelock to go then get the whole frontal third filled back in. Would that be a good idea? I have had a couple quotes of about 1500 - 2000 grafts. I would say my donor area would be above average as have really quite thick hair around back/sides. Then i would proberly only need another 2/3 surgeries altogether.

 

Also i was wandering about transplanting grafts where the hair is already thinning for example. To what degree would the surgeon put grafts into your native hair? I know that shock loss would occur if went too far back so where would the surgeon start transplanting the hairs? or does he just transplant grafts onto totally bald areas? Hope this makes sense.

 

Thanks

[JoeKid0000]

So, you have gone to a few consultations already? How long have you been losing your hair? How long have you been using finasteride?

 

The surgeons would seek to fortify the areas where native hair is present but still miniaturized. They would seek to give decent to good coverage (depending on the degree of loss, your age, and how much donor hair you have) but not too much in case you end up losing a lot more hair later on. I guess it is better to be conservative with transplants.

 

If you have been on finasteride for at least two months then you might not be too susceptible to shock loss. Of course, if the hairs are transplanted into a totally bald area then you wouldn't need to worry about that.

 

In any event, it really depends on what the doctors say when they look at your hair.

[Sunner]

I have had a few online consoltations with Rahal, Feller and hassan and wong which have all really said the same amount. I also had a face to face consoltation with farjo about a year ago. Im 27 and have been losing my hair for atleast 5 years and have been on finasteride for just over a year. Also using minoxidil around the hairline which has slowed down the loss a bit.

 

I agree with going conservative, my main concern is the framing of my face. I see you have had yours done fairly recently. Hows the progress? are you glad you have had it done? What were you on the norwood scale?

[mattj]

The degree to which the surgeon would plant grafts into areas of native hair would depend on how thin that area of hair is. Most if not all patients who need hairline work will have some thinning along the front of their receding hairline and many will also have a forelock that has lost significant density. To not work on these areas would leave patches of low density which might not blend with the thicker transplanted region. Not only that, but an area that has already lost density to an extent that extra coverage with surgery is considered will be more likely to continue to thin and eventually be left without any hair at all. Addressing this could greatly extend the time before a patient feels he needs a second surgery.

 

But of course these things are assessed on a case by case basis.

[Sunner]

thanks for the detailed explanation mattj.

 

So im my case i would say my forelock has lost about 50% density, my temples are basicly gone so if i wanted to get my hairline back would the surgeon not worry about the native hair on my forelock and just transplant the same density all the way round my hairline into my foelock so when the rest of the forelock continues to fall out it will still look normal? is that correct?

also is it worth getting a fairly small procedure (1500-2000 grafts) first or is it better to wait til you have quite a bit of loss then have a fairly bigger procedure (3000+)?

[mattj]

Most surgeons would take into account existing native hair and plant around them. There's no sense in treating the forelock like it's already gone.

 

The other question depends on your own state of mind and so only you can really answer it. It's better to minimize the number of times you undergo surgery, so if you're OK with waiting then that's never a bad idea. You could be waiting on a slow process though. At least you're aware that you may need further work down the line. Armed with all the facts, you have to ask yourself how much your hairloss state currently bothers you.

[RCWest]

My hairdresser was totally amazed when I had mine done. She was as excited as I was! If she really looks she can find the donor scars, but otherwise it's undetectable. And I have the old mini/micro grafts. With the new techniques she would be even more amazed.

[gillenator]

If the linear scar comes out real fine and without discoloration, then it can be difficult to see among exisitng hair. If the patient had a good trico closure done, all the more difficult to find.

 

Mis-angulations of one's hairline, etc can give away a HT. It's things like that that can be a give away.