Your opinion!!

[MAGNUMpi]

Hi Guys,

I'm a long time reader but this is my first post.

As you can see in the photos right now I hide my receding hairline pretty well (unless the wind blows etc.)

 

1. I am thinking about possible FUE and I'm wondering what you guys think would be a rough guess of how many FUE hairs I would need? (all comments are welcome!)

 

2. Is there anyway I can get through a FUE operation without shaving my head, doing some comb over and doing and a slit (?) shaving in the back so the shave is covered?

 

I know its asking a lot but 6 months out isn't possible and I would LOVE to try to get through this without anyone knowing.

 

Thanks for the great site!

M.

[BadBeat]

Well, the good news is that it looks like you have loads of hair! I think FUE would work really well for you. I think something in the neighborhood of 1500-2000 would look phenomenal. The bad news is there are very few clinics that won't shave your head for FUE procedures. It wouldn't be a 6 month healing period. You would be able to show your head in public within about a month as the donor area should be healed by then and the scabs and redness should subside in the recipient area. Of course, you'd have to have a buzz cut though. Could you get away with that?

 

If you really need to not shave down, with the length of you hair, you could probably go undetectable after a month or so if you did a strip surgery. Unfortunately, one of the downsides to HT's is there is a healing period where you look worse than you did before the HT.

[MAGNUMpi]

Thanks BadBeat!

[Spanker]

I am thinking you need about 2500. A lot of it depends on what your goals are.

[Janna]

I'd estimate a 2-2500 size session. If you did strip, you could cover the work with your native hairs easy enough. You'd be able to go about your business in little as few days.

 

For the number of grafts you need, the whole back of your head will have to be shaved if going for FUE. So you may as well shave the whole head in that case. You heal up relatively quickly and hairs grow 1/2 an inch a month on the average. Don't see why you'd have to hide out for 6 months even if you shaved your whole head. Have you seen fue patients at 10+ days post op?

[Spanker]

What is your age? Do you ever plan on shaving your head? You seem to be a better strip candidate IMO. Your hair is plenty long enough to hide the donor incision on a strip.

[MAGNUMpi]

Thanks Janna. Its just that I look really bad with my head shaved for some reason. Maybe Ill find some free time in the next year or so, and just go for it.

Spanker: Im 42 years old and have been taking Propecia on and off for the last 7 years. I'm pretty sure it has slowed my hair loss, but I guess there will be more loss in the future. I really would rather avoid a scar on the back of my head though, even if it means saving for another year for a good FUE and going underground for a bit.

Thanks all for the helpful answers!

M.

[mattj]

The donor area would have to be shaved of course, but most doctors would also shave the recipient area. You have thinning around the hairline that would require beefing up as part of any surgical plan.

 

You have enough hair to potentially hide the recipient area, even if you've 'lost' much of the front while it's shaved. There'll be no hiding the donor area though.

 

A full buzz is the most common choice as it keeps everything even. Like Janna said, hair grows quickly and patients soon transition from having buzzed hair to just having short hair.

[MAGNUMpi]

Could any of you imagine any potential damage to existing hairs through shock loss that wouldn't grow back?

I would hate to get in over my head here.

Thanks

[Gandolf]

You have great hair attributes and would probably get an amazing result from a transplant. Don't compromise your long term results by looking for a clinic that doesn't require you to shave down. All of the best doctors will require it and it's for your own good so they can make it look natural.

[Gandolf]

Could any of you imagine any potential damage to existing hairs through shock loss that wouldn't grow back?

I would hate to get in over my head here.

Thanks

You will find many anonymous people posting here who do a lot of fear-mongering about permanent shock loss, but you will be hard pressed to find any actual pictures of someone who went to a top doctor and experienced it so I wouldn't worry too much.

[MAGNUMpi]

Thanks Gandolf!