Not very happy with HT, thinking about shaving my head

[Abby]

I know what the guys going thru. I was roughly a NWS 6 and thought 1 H/T will solve my problems. Being a very athletic guy my self it made me feel stressed. I buzzed down and slapped a bit of nanogen on. It almost did the job for me and nobody was any wiser. I alo had moments of anxiety and stress thinking where was this head of hair????. Since then ive had a 2nd H/T and hope that at least this will give me some density. If not, then I will buzz back down and go back to using nanogen.

[bllorayne]

MAN O MAN I AM ALSO 27 AND THINKING ABOUT SHAVING MY HEAD..I AM SICK OF MPB MAN...WE ARE YOU AND YES WE CAN SHAVE...DO WHATEVER YOU WANT DEAR.ITS YOUR LIFE AND YOUR DECISIONS.YOU WILL ROCK MAN DONT WORRY.....SHAVEOFF IF YOU WANT.

[imissthebarber]

Judge - I'm sorry to hear things haven't worked out. Blaming yourself is not a good idea. I'm sorry the #1 hasn't worked out hopefully it might look better at #2 or #3 especially with nanogen and/or dermmatch.

 

Like LMS I totally hear what you are saying. Remember there are options which have been mentionned here and some which haven't.

[alwayswaiting1]

Dude...I was in your boat for atleast two years. My first HT from the Bosley rip off artists was great at first, but 750 grafts can only help so much! I started thinning more and more. Within two years I had whispy strands and a damn comb over. Life was not fun....I looked twenty years older than I was.

 

I had no choice...HT 2 was done last year by a much more competent doctor and life is slightly more normal. My hair looks a thousand times better, but I am still not completely where I want to be. HT #3 has been paid for and scheduled for next month with the Vancouver guru's.

 

I'm lucky that money is not a deciding factor, my happiness and piece of mind is.

Unfortunately once you start traveling down this road the path can become complicated. You just have to choose qualified moral surgeons to help you take the nearest exit.

 

I wish you the best during this emotionally difficult time.

[TheEmperor]

Originally posted by 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.

 

I think I know where you are coming from. I am older than you and was a NW5. I had 4500 grafts placed in the front/top 2/3rds.

 

I went from having no hair to having bad hair.

 

The fact that I _must_ style my hair carefully has made me a hostage to it. I look better overall when styled carefully, but it is much higher maintenance. I think my scar is worse than yours, my hair needs to be 1.5 inches to hide the scar. Absolutely no hope of ever buzzing again.

 

I believe the clinic oversold the benefit of the procedure. I had asked them about my expected outcome and they said my result would be better than so-and-so, but lo and behold, my result is near the bottom of what I have seen. Its not that I think it did not grow, just that they did not communicate just how poor (fine) my hair is.

 

I think the only solutions for me are to:

 

A) Be realistic, and just live with what I have. When styled right, I do look better and I dont think anyone is laughing at me.

 

B) GO Back for more grafts.

 

I can understand why you would be anxious at 27 with thin hair. My hairline is a 55 year-olds hairline and I am 40, is thin as hell, but not looking bald has got some positive feedback from the ladies.

 

If I had a low armani hairline with my fine hair characteristics, it would be a disaster. Certainly, the lower you go with the hairline demands greater density. I do not really like my hairline, do not feel it frames my face that well, but understand the wisdom of where it was placed.

 

I would recommend SAVING SAVING SAVING til you can afford another 2500 with Rahal and that should get you where you need to be. Tough it out, look forward, not back.

 

I think the current lie of the HT industry, even the best clinics, is the myth of "one and done".

 

We see some guys get respectable density with one pass into the front, then they go back for the crown and look great. Or they get 7000 grafts front to back and look great.

 

But having talked to some other doctors, I have found that even today, most patients take more than one pass into a given area to give passable density. In my case, the original plan was to return for 2500 in the crown and be done. Now I find that there is more to it that that. Another procedure in the front means shaving down. And perhaps an even wider scar. I am very concerned about having another procedure, but did not get where I had anticipated with the first.

 

SO I AM IN LIMBO. Afraid to move forward, but not terribly happy with the work that was done. Like you, I cant shave.

 

This means that guys like me, who were led to believe the front would be finished with 4500, now has a dwindling graft supply, a bare crown, and what I would call "slightly more than a combover" in front.

 

Keep in mind that hairs placed behind the hairline can grow forward to provide additional coverage, so putting them behind you current work will improve the look, and in three years, you will notice lots of 30-somethings who are boald or have really bad hair. Its normal.

 

Good luck.

[Judge Holden]

I think the problem with me is that I look different in every mirror. I did keep my hair line pretty low so that is probably a good thing. If I was being honest I would say my hair looks pretty similar to Keifer Sutherlands which isn't that bad of a look. The problem with me is the anxiety about losing more hair in the future. Ill post some pics of myself when I find my camera to give you guys a better idea. Anyways I called my gf to tell her I shaved my head and she said she thought my hair looked great before so who knows, we tend to look at these things much closer than anyone else( friends and family included) thanks for all the help and encouragement guys it is appreciated.

[youngsuccess]

You can't blame yourself for over-analyzing the situation; it is your own head after all.

 

Really interested in seeing pics of your hair buzzed down if you have any.

[aaron1234]

I with you Judge Holden. I'm just hoping in 5-10 years there is some kind of hair multiplication or cloning technique available. I'm not holding my breath.

[Godzluv69]

This is the real problem. To blame this guy is very unfair "Hdude46" The Doc. (not all of them)create an unrealistic results to get the patient in the chair and get the dough. Unlike their colleagues, this is straight cash no insurance involvement. Their commercials and the guys you meet when you get there in the course of your procedure all have an amazing results. The Doc. will never say to you, to realize your goal you might have to come back 3, 4 times even more.

The problem are the Docs who create an unrealistic expectation and forums like this suppose to serve as watch dogs but, how can they do that when they get paid to promote the doctors. It's indeed a long road. If l known what l know now and a forum like this before l had my first strip, l would NEVER NEVER had done anything or at a minimum FUE.

HT Doctors should inform prospective patient the likely hold of not achieving and fulfilling there expectation so, there can make an informed decision.

[lost my swagger]

Originally posted by Godzluv69:

This is the real problem. To blame this guy is very unfair "Hdude46" The Doc. (not all of them)create an unrealistic results to get the patient in the chair and get the dough. Unlike their colleagues, this is straight cash no insurance involvement. Their commercials and the guys you meet when you get there in the course of your procedure all have an amazing results. The Doc. will never say to you, to realize your goal you might have to come back 3, 4 times even more.

The problem are the Docs who create an unrealistic expectation and forums like this suppose to serve as watch dogs but, how can they do that when they get paid to promote the doctors. It's indeed a long road. If l known what l know now and a forum like this before l had my first strip, l would NEVER NEVER had done anything or at a minimum FUE.

HT Doctors should inform prospective patient the likely hold of not achieving and fulfilling there expectation so, there can make an informed decision.

 

 

very good post..guys like yourself ought to post more often

[Logan_P]

I say if you want to shave it, do it. I just shaved my head down to a 2 today and while it was somewhat nerve-wracking, it was also empowering.

 

In terms of your scar I'm assuming you are talking about the donor area? If it were me I'd come up with a good lie about how you got it.

 

I'd say it came from a boating accident when I was a kid.

[Severn]

What length hair(or guard) is considered suffient to hide the donor scar?

 

I searched the net and this is a good approximation of hair guards:

 

000000 = 0.1 mm 0.250 inch (blade with no guard)

00000 = 0.2 mm 0.125 inch (blade with no guard)

000 = 0.5 mm 0.100 inch (blade with no guard)

0A = 1.2 mm (blade with no guard)

1 = 2.4 mm

1A = 3.0 mm 3/8 inch

2 = 6 mm 1/4 inch

3 = 9 mm 3/8 inch

4 = 12 mm 1/2 inch

[hair_care]

Who was your Doctor, by the way?