Is a hair system worth it? Why don't people just get a surgery?

[flow]

Just curious, because it seems like the long-term costs of buying/maintaining hair pieces are outweighed when you consider you do a surgery and be done with it.

 

Somehow, though, I feel like I'm missing something obvious and there's probably many legitimate reasons why someone would consider a piece over surgery, can someone tell me the advantages?

[Icecreamman]

Crickets.....I'm sure there's many reasons why one might choose a system over a ht, personally I can't imagine why but different strokes for different folks

[James23]

I had surgery 20 years ago. This only works temporarily, as with the passing years the hair around the transplanted hair will go, there will eventually not be much hair left to transplant from, and the areas the transplanted hair was taken from will become bald revealing the many scars from the hair plugs removed.

 

Hair units from a good supplier at a reasonable price and properly cut-in and maintained will (in my experience) be a much better solution for many people.

[Mikeylad]

because a good hair system looks better, is quicker and cheaper than a hair transplant and is totally undetectable

[Blake Bloxham]

because a good hair system looks better, is quicker and cheaper than a hair transplant and is totally undetectable

 

Mikey,

 

This is at least the second time I've heard you say this on the forums. Any particular reason? While systems can be advantageous for a certain patient population, I've never really heard anyone recommend them so passionately over hair transplant surgery (which doesn't require the continual maintenance and is made from natural, permanent scalp hair). Care to share why you believe hair systems are superior to surgical hair restoration?

[Spanker]

Mikey,

 

This is at least the second time I've heard you say this on the forums. Any particular reason? While systems can be advantageous for a certain patient population, I've never really heard anyone recommend them so passionately over hair transplant surgery (which doesn't require the continual maintenance and is made from natural, permanent scalp hair). Care to share why you believe hair systems are superior to surgical hair restoration?

 

To be fair, he is in the "hair systems" forum. I think some people see a bad transplant (or in my case, a bad system) and can't let it go, then lose all consideration the the technique in question.

[Blake Bloxham]

To be fair, he is in the "hair systems" forum. I think some people see a bad transplant (or in my case, a bad system) and can't let it go, then lose all consideration the the technique in question.

 

Completely agree. I was more curious as to why Mikey felt this way and thought an explanation would help add some balance in the thread.

[gmonasco]

Somehow, though, I feel like I'm missing something obvious and there's probably many legitimate reasons why someone would consider a piece over surgery, can someone tell me the advantages?

 

1) Hair systems don't require surgery.

 

2) Hair systems don't produce permanent scars.

 

3) Hair systems don't require long waiting periods for results.

 

4) Not everyone is a good candidate for a hair transplant, but nearly everyone can wear a hair system.

 

5) Hair transplant results can be unpredictable.

 

6) Hair systems aren't permanent -- if you don't like the results, you can give up wearing them or change them any time you like.

 

7) Hair loss is progressive; hair systems can keep up with ongoing hair loss easier than hair transplants can.

[Mikeylad]

didnt realise i had been so passionate about it to be honest as i've only posted on one other hair system thread, but for all of the reasons mentioned above by the previous poster. I did consider a transplant for a while but I didn't believe it would give me the results I was looking for and I felt that in another year or 2 I might have suffered more hairloss around the transplant area which would take me back to square one. Also the surgeon I consulted suggested that I might be best to take propecia after a transplant to retain the hair - I had very bad side effects when previously on propecia so not an option for me. I have since found a system that works really well for me and has given me what I was looking for. I agree it's all down to personal opinion but the cost of a transplant and the uncertainty of the results put me off doing it. A personal choice for me. Hope that answers your questions :-) I am more passionate about propecia than I am about hair transplants as I had a very bad experience on the drug ...

[Shampoo]

flow....there are lots of ups and downsides to both.

 

Each person must decide what fits them best, their budget best, their individual tastes, goals, comfort level, ect....

 

Depending on how large of a hair transplant one needs, a hair system can be much less "up front" cost and that can be a huge issue for many. Hair systems can in most cases provide greater density than a hair transplant. With a hair system you truely do have "unlimited donor hair".

 

I've had both and my personal choice is a hair transplant. Although my hair system looked great, I just never could get over the fact mentally that it was fake and that other's may detect it was a fake. Plus the tapes/glues were another part of wearing a system that just made me decide it wasn't for me.

 

Hair transplants are expensive up front, require healing time, can involve some discomfort, usually an "ugly duckling phase" .....but they are 100% you.

Edited August 6, 2012 by Shampoo

[TakingThePlunge]

Just to add my two cents, prior to having my first hair transplant I briefly considered the hair system option. However, I had seen one of my best friends go this route more than ten years earlier. He was in his mid-twenties at the time and he and I had traveled together from AZ to CA in the early 90s to consult with Bosley so hair restoration had been on both of your mind's for quite some time.

 

I had no idea that he was planning to get the system. One day we met up for a movie with some other friends and I noticed immediately that his hair looked fuller. He noticed my wandering eyes and fessed up tot he system in private.

 

It looked very good and I admit that I was a bit jealous at that time that he now had a full head of hair and mine was still receded and thinning. That was until he and I became roommates shortly after.

 

We ended up sharing a tiny apartment with one bathroom and I saw first hand the time and effort he had to put into keeping his new "hair" looking decent. I believe most of it was woven into his existing hair necessitating a costly trim and tightening each month. He also had to glue down the hairline area regularly.

 

He complained of feeling like he was always wearing a hat and feeling like his scalp was unclean and sweaty beneath the system. We live in Arizona and I imagine having a non-removable system on your noggin in 110 degrees is probably not very comfortable.

 

I don't remember how long he kept it up be it eventually found a place in a shoebox in the closet and today he shaves his head bald and has learned to live with his hair loss.

 

I can't speak for all systems and I honestly don't know how newer products compare. Perhaps many of these issues have been resolved over the years. But, for me I decided that I'd rather be imperfectly natural via hair transplantation rather than perfectly fake via a hair system.

 

To each is own and I think that whatever works for the individual is the right choice.

[Shampoo]

It looked very good and I admit that I was a bit jealous at that time that he now had a full head of hair .... I saw first hand the time and effort he had to put into keeping his new "hair" looking decent. He also had to glue down the hairline area regularly. He complained of feeling like he was always wearing a hat and feeling like his scalp was unclean and sweaty beneath the system.

 

TakingThePlunge....that pretty well sums up my experience as well. Jezz it looked great, but just felt like I was wearing a hat. The glue/sticky feeling in the front was yucky. However I got a decent portion of my money back from HairClub when I had mine removed. HairClub was actually pretty good to me from start to finish. And I'd still go back to a hair system before "shaving it all off", but I much prefer having my own real living hair via a hair transplant from a top notch doctor. Like you say 2EachHisOwn.

[TommyLucchese]

Before I knew a HT was an option for me (student, wasn't aware parents were saving up for over 2 years for me! lucky I know), I was constantly on these forums looking at 'systems'. I loved the idea of having the perfect looking head of hair again, but I didn't like the idea of knowing what was on my head and being constantly paranoid that other people knew too. I used to watch videos on youtube and some people pull it off really well, but the upkeep put me off too.

 

I'm 5 weeks post op and constantly wearing a hat, which is absolutely horrible. If this is how a 'system' feels every day then I think I'd rather be bald. Though lets hope the HT and the meds keep that option at bay.

 

I admire the bravery of those who wear though, more cannolis than me.

[Mikeylad]

i think to be honest it all depends on the system - mine is a new european skin system and is only a partial crown system - i don't even know im wearing it as it is so light (it feels nothing like wearing a hat - in fact I can hardly tell its there on a day to day basis). It is also far less maintenance than when i was using topikk fibres. Don't get me wrong if I could afford a transplant and was guaranteed it would give me the results I wanted then I would opt for that too. However the system i use i find is the next best thing and is something I can afford

[MAGNUMpi]

 

This (HT's) only works temporarily, as with the passing years the hair around the transplanted hair will go, there will eventually not be much hair left to transplant from, and the areas the transplanted hair was taken from will become bald revealing the many scars from the hair plugs removed

Ouch! I often wonder what my hair will look like 10-15 years from now if I go through with a hair transplant. Do other people who have had some years living with a HT share this experience? Edited September 4, 2012 by MAGNUMpi

[SADbutTRUE]

i think most guys dealing with hair loss either think about hairpieces or hairtransplants, only exeption would be guys who dont care about being bald,which is fine ,but not everyone feels that way., both have pros and cons ,for myself hairtransplant is something im planning on doing, hopefully everything will grow and ill have a good scar, but you never know,u can research all you want and go to the top clinics in the game ,you give urself the best odds to have a great result, but there are no gaurantees, always a chance you wil be the guy who had poor growth. option two.hairpiece ,question is does it look natural,the upkeep, but you get a great head of hair in miinutes, where a hairtransplant you have to wait a year to see final results, pros and cons in both, it comes down to what you feel is right for you.different strokes for different folks.

[s2thoudriver]

I think one of the biggest reasons people go for a hair piece is they are scared to death of needles and surgery.

 

Personally, i couldn't walk around with something stuck to my head, regardless of how natural it looked, i just couldn't do it through fear of being noticed, or it coming loose etc and i'm too fussy over cleanliness. I'd constantly be worrying about it.

 

I actually think guys who wear a system are very brave to do it, my hat (or piece) goes off to them.

[feelzgood]

Reason:

NW7 that wants to have NW0 type of hair. Simple as that. Coz no transplant surgeon in this world at the present time would make that possible. Period.

 

/thread

[jackisback1]

I recently had a surgery for the hairline and I'm in the ugly duckling stage right now.

 

I starting taking Propecia again, but at a much lower dosage to try to avoid sides....I've tried to be positive, but it appears those sides may be coming back anyways, and I probably must discontinue. I am very concerned about how this will affect my hair, as I did not want to see the hair behind my transplant continue to thin and recede, and my father is completely bald.

 

It seems I have no choice though. Right now, I'm just hoping that my HT grows in well, and the surrounding hairs maintain until another treatment (like PGD2 inhibitors) becomes available. If nothing else works, I'll be stuck with getting a piece eventually, but I'm hoping to at least get a few more years of youth with my own real hair before that.

[imisshair]

I wore a piece for 2 years. I got the piece because I felt I was too young to go bald. The only feeling worse than being bald was the feeling people might notice I was wearing a piece. Lap dances suck when you're wearing a piece (probably not important). Yes, pieces look great and even getting them replaced every 2 months was not enough to over come my fear of people discovering my miserable secret. Again, I got the piece to cover up hair loss but wearing the piece was more embarrassing. I have since had 3 transplants.

 

All in all, fake is fake. Hard to get over that part!

[billymontreal]

I dont have that problem

nobody has been able to notice and when i tell them they are amazed

 

but u do need to go to a good company

[jackisback1]

Who the **** cares if something happens and the piece slips out so it's detectable?? How often does that even happen?? I just had an HT that mostly covered my temples, and I'm *just now* coming out of the embarrassing stage, but I *still* have thinning in the front and center. Sometimes I think I look good, then I get to the mirror and I realize my hair was out of place and a bunch of scalp is showing and I look like a big ******bag!

 

And the 3 months post op....don't even get me started! That was **** brutal day in, day out. Had to just keep my head high, and that was not easy. 5 years ago when my hair was thinning, a gust of wind threatened to make me look like a complete ****in creepo on my college campus on a DAILY basis. So I don't understand the paranoia about hairpieces. If you look good, you look good. If I ever wear, and it slips out in an embarrassing way once a month, I will not give a ****. I will just dominate the 98% of the time when I look good in the public eye.

 

John Travolta kind of looks like a ****** in his, but Burt Reynolds has always looked like a G.

 

Everyone knows it's a rug on top of his head, and not his real hair. Do you think he gives a ****?

 

The answer is NO.

Edited November 1, 2012 by Future_HT_Doc
LANGUAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[billymontreal]

well if you would rather be bald and unhappy the rest of your life stay bald

I love my hair

sure its fake i dont care but im happy with myself once again

im meeting women i love my new look

and until u try the non surgical hair replacement like John travolta did u will never know what we feel like

 

like u said jack like burt reynolds doesnt give a **** neither do i

Edited November 2, 2012 by Future_HT_Doc
language.

[wideparting]

It all depends on what you have got to work with with regards to HTs.

And there are plenty of guys and gals out there who are not in a fortunate position financially or for health reasons or simply like me, do not have enough donor hair to cover the balding area.

If my hair loss wasn't so bad then it would be a viable option for me but as it stands I get great results with a system with little to no hassle with regards to maintenance etc...

I have been looking at restoring my temple points through HT some time in the near future and hopefully I can find a good surgeon here in the UK to perform this task.

[TommyLucchese]

Look at all the names that crop up on here in terms of hair surgerons, they're not from the UK. Belgium, US, Canada...