Not very happy with HT, thinking about shaving my head

[Judge Holden]

I've been seriously considering shaving my head down to a 1 lately as I am not very happy with my HT and I am so sick of all the anxiety I am feeling about the future. Is there anything that can be done to minimise the scar? How much do you think people take notice of it?

[Ron J]

Sorry to hear this. As a temporary solution you could try using nanogen &/or some combination of concealers in the scar; although at a #1 grade it's probably going to be difficult to conceal. Do you have to go that short to hide the pluginess &/or lack of density? How short is your hair now? I think at a #2-#3 it would be much easier to try and pull off. As a permanent solution you could look into FUE into scar, but yield can be dicey and I don't even know your situation. How many months post op are you & what's the status of your growth so far?

[Judge Holden]

Thanks for your reply. Here is the situation, I am 27 years old, had my HT 3 years ago. Its not that it doesn't look natural, its just that its not as dense as I'd like it to be. Sometimes I think it looks good and I'll go out and look in a mirror with bad lighting and my hair looks see through and my confidence is crushed. Its hard to explain but if I were 40 it would be a good look, but being a young athletic guy I look good with a shaved head. I think mostly I am just sick of the anxiety about what I will look like in the future, it has really had a negative impact on my enjoyment of life and if I shave my head there's none of that worry.

[wantego]

Originally posted by Judge Holden:

I've been seriously considering shaving my head down to a 1 lately as I am not very happy with my HT and I am so sick of all the anxiety I am feeling about the future. Is there anything that can be done to minimise the scar? How much do you think people take notice of it?

 

I totally understand. I'm sorry you are feeling this way. Have you seen your scar at a #1? Some scars heal much better than others. Some you cant see at a #2 so maybe yours will be OK at a #1.

[HairIsThere]

Judge, if you don't mind sayin, how many grafts did you have and about what stage on the Norwood scale were/are you at?

[stilldeciding]

have you thought about a 2nd op to increase density?

[Ron J]

Originally posted by Judge Holden:

Its not that it doesn't look natural, its just that its not as dense as I'd like it to be.

Well, that's good it's only a density issue & has nothing to do w/naturalness. Have you looked into getting another ht? If money is an issue have you tried nanogen (a concealer)? It's supposed to work wonders in exponentially aiding in the illusion of density.

[Judge Holden]

I was a norwood 2/3 and I had 2500 grafts. I talked to Dr. Rahal about a second HT and he said he could fit 1000 grafts into my temples but he wouldn't want to go any deeper because the hair behind Is thinner and he would fear shock loss. Money is a factor though and I am just almost sick to my stomach about worrying about it and I dont think I want to deal with it any more.

[Ron J]

Are you on meds to halt future loss? 2,500 is a pretty solid # for a NW 2/3, depending on hair line placement. Sorry, it's caused you so much trouble. Try nanogen as a fast & effective way to boost your density, and possibly take it off your mind.

[Judge Holden]

Thanks for all the help/concern gentlemen I am heading to first choice to get a #1. I am lucky to have to benefit of being off all summer so I can wear a hat backwards while it grows out if I dont like it. Cheers

[JMan0067]

Judge, did Dr. Rahal perform your 1st HT?

[Judge Holden]

Armani did my HT. Well I shaved to a #1, I like the look but the scar is definitely noticeable. Damn

[HairIsThere]

Yeah if you were only a NW 2 or 3, 2500 grafts seems like that would do the job...did you have all of them placed in just the fronal area or all over or what?

[Judge Holden]

They were placed in the frontal region. I guess the problem is I am thinner behind as well. I don't know what to say, when I met with Dr Rahal he said they did a good job I just know I'm not happy. Too bad you cant turn back the clock, now I'm stuck with this hideous scar.

[Judge Holden]

Does anyone know how effective FUE is on the scar? Could you go down to a #1?

[HairIsThere]

So the main problem is you have decent scalp coverage but just have overall pretty thin hair? And as far as the scar goes, I think it looks pretty hardcore/badass especially with a shaved head..you may get a lot of looks especially at first but most probably won't ask questions...just start pumpin some Fe and you'll be the most badass guy at the bar!

[M&M]

Judge,

 

Do you have any photos you could share to help guide us a little bit further? (You can certainly block out your face or crop it to keep your identity hidden)

 

I'm certainly not surprised that a #1 will show your scar - it would be very rare if it didn't. I haven't seen many Armani scars, so I can't comment on how his typically look.

 

Okay, you've tried out your first option of shaving, now perhaps you should see how short you can get away with - a 2 or 3 perhaps?

 

You can also start to consider the rest of your options: do you want FUE into your scar so you can continue to shave your head and not worry about the thinning behind your hairline? Or have another HT so you can cover up the thinning and keep your hair a little longer in back to cover up the scar. Or have a larger FUE session to add some density to your mid-scalp as well as into the scar. These are just a few of the available options.

[lost my swagger]

Originally posted by Judge Holden:

Thanks for your reply. Here is the situation, I am 27 years old, had my HT 3 years ago. Its not that it doesn't look natural, its just that its not as dense as I'd like it to be. Sometimes I think it looks good and I'll go out and look in a mirror with bad lighting and my hair looks see through and my confidence is crushed. Its hard to explain but if I were 40 it would be a good look, but being a young athletic guy I look good with a shaved head. I think mostly I am just sick of the anxiety about what I will look like in the future, it has really had a negative impact on my enjoyment of life and if I shave my head there's none of that worry.

 

judge, i want you to know i relate to EVERY SINGLE WORD in the above post.. infact, on more than one occasion, i said F%*K IT! and i shaved and ya know what?? if i did not have a stretched(one one side) scar running from ear to ear id buzz on a 0 guard and be free from this..hell, if/when my hairloss is beyond saving i may find this to truly BE my best option..

 

i too did NOT have a terrible HT result, but thats really not the point as you know... its the worry, its the avoidance, of particular lighting when out in public or in the sun, its the fact that i MUST style my hair a certain way, and that i only feel comfortable with dermmatch in it.. its the reliance on meds, its the fact that my hairloss, and my hair situation both NOW and as my hairloss progress is never far from my mind... these thing often overwhelm me..

 

this stuff in NOT fun, but it is what it is at this point... what i try to do (although not always easy) is remind myself of what i DO have..

 

i have legs that work, a mind that works, there is much more to who i am then my apperance. and i just try to never lose complete sight of that... and then i do my best to keep going and find the enjoyment and happiness i know is out there..sorry to get mushy, but i can relate

[Judge Holden]

Thanks Lostmyswagger it definetly helps to hear about others in the same boat as you. I think you will agree that sometimes you will see a young balding guy with a buzzed/shaved head who has some style and confidence and be quite jealous. I think right now I can relax a little knowing that I still look good buzzed( apart from that scar) and I might talk to a good doc about maybe revising and Fueing the scar in the future. Anyways thanks for all the help guys it is greatly appreciated.

[hdude46]

this is why its important to think about things before one goes into a procedure. I'm sorry but if people are complaining about their hair looking "thin" then im sorry u should have known before the procedure what could be realistically achieved. Put the blame on yourself and your doc.

 

like they say, research research research

[hdude46]

Its hard to explain but if I were 40 it would be a good look, but being a young athletic guy I look good with a shaved head.

 

You cant blame your doc for this and imo you should commend him. People this young want to look like all their friends now but what u dont . understand is that this transplant lasts u for life and must be planned accordingly. there arent too many guys who have 20 yr old hairlines at age 40 or 50. if u looked so good with a shaved head then why did u go for a transplant in the first place?

[Judge Holden]

I guess I was hoping for a better result. I take accountability for my decision, I think what I really wasn't expecting was the anxiety. I think the problem with going to Armani is that you see all these guys working for him with perfect looking HTs but what you don't hear is that these guys really werent that bald before hand.

[lost my swagger]

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POSTED BY- hdude46--"this is why its important to think about things before one goes into a procedure. I'm sorry but if people are complaining about their hair looking "thin" then im sorry u should have known before the procedure what could be realistically achieved. Put the blame on yourself and your doc.

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hdude, it is possible that when making his HT decision, judge was not as informed as you.. it is possible that thru the fancy commercials, and the false idea that is put out there about HTs, that judge was under the impression that HTs could do more then they actually can... judge is not throwing a pitty party here, hes not playing the 'poor me' card, hes simply looking for some feedback at this point because he has found out his transplant was not as great an idea has he originally thouht going into it.. this is not something unique to judge holden...

 

be thankful you are so wise, and lucky enough to have found this place to use as a learning tool. not everybody is lucky enough to take the exact same "road to HT WISDOM" you took, and i hardly think criticizing him is productive at this point..

 

you want Judge holden to put the blame on himself, and thats fine if you want to take that close minded approach knowing NOTHING of how judge came to make his HT decision...we ARE all resposible for the decisions we make.... but understand judge holden is NOT out to put blame on ANYONE else... hes just sharing his experience, his feelings, and looking for feedback and options to better himself, and his situation

[wantego]

Many people especially on these boards do try to educate themselves as much as possible before a HT. I don't think anyone goes in to a HT thinking they will get a see threw HT or gappy HT. I do not think that is how HT's are presented to prospective patients. If you look at the website pictures you probably will not see pictures of patients with see through hair or gaps. I do not think it is fair to assume that all people that end up with see through hair or gappy hair after a bad HT did not try very hard to educate themselves before their HT.

[thanatopsis_awry]

Yes....I guarantee he was basically promised the moon and that after discussions with the *doctor* and the *doctor's* marketing he had total assurance and confidence that his result would yield the density he now realizes he does not have.

 

He's now in a difficult spot, which LMS has described well. Without seeing pics, I'd still guess his density is pretty good, and that with a bit of concealer (e.g. nanogen) it could look solid...it sucks that $ and the scar have to be constantly battled.....his best option might ultimately be a 2nd procedure to give him the density he wants.

 

Having to go through a 2nd procedure that was prolly not even discussed prior is a bitch...financially and otherwise....but, three choices basically exist:

 

Do nothing and decide if you can live how you want with your current hair.

 

Buzz and not care about the scar.

 

Take your time and look into 2nd strip procedure, evaluate the $ and time that would have to be committed, but a route which could in most likelihood give you the density you want.