HT with Ron Shapiro next week

[Bertie]

I live in London UK. and am due to have a HT with Ron Shapiro next week (Monday 8th July). It looks as though he has a good reputation (do please tell me if you don't agree - it's not too late to change my mind!). I've been doing my scalp exercises and preparing myself mentally. Matt Zupan from Shapiro Medical Group has given me good advice and answered my questions. However, I'd be interested to hear experiences from those who've actually had transplants with Ron Shapiro and SMG. At the moment I have a few questions which I hope someone can respond to:

 

1) Fortunately I am teacher and have about 8 weeks where I can lie low to recover. However, I am committed to visiting my family in just a month. I am having 3000 grafts with my hair cut/shaved to enable work on the front, frontal core and crown. I'd like to know if my transplant will be noticeable after 4 weeks. I hope to keep it a secret from everyone and to make it look as though I just have a short summer cut. Is this realistic?

2) I’m wondering whether I need to tell my hairdresser that I am having a hair transplant. They say that when a HT is done properly by a quality surgeon even hairdressers can’t notice? However, how long would I need to wait before a hairdresser would not notice, particularly the scar at the back of the head? I’m a bit shy about telling my regular hairdresser (who lives just across the road from me) and am considering visiting a hairdresser further away until my hair becomes more natural. But I’m wondering if this is realistic, and how long would I need to wait until returning to my regular hairdresser.

3) I dye my hair regularly every 2 weeks, although SMG advise not to dye it for 8 weeks after the op. (other surgeons seem to think a shorter period is fine, perhaps just a month or less). I am quite grey at the sides and the back, but hardly have any grey hair at the front. As transplanted hair retains all it's characteristics, I will have likely have grey patches of transplant hair at my temples which will look very odd if I stop dying my hair, which I may wish to do in a few years. Therefore, I suspect a transplant will force me to keep dying my hair until I am a white-haired man all over. Strangely, I have never read any comments referring to this issue on any of the blogs or forums, although it seems an obvious and important one to me. Does anyone have any thoughts on this or have perhaps encountered this problem?

4) I have to buy a hat. As a 50+ man I can't help thinking I'll look a bit stupid in the recommended baseball cap + they seem to be half open at the back which would show the scar. I might go for a military-style cap instead. Any good places in London to buy a cap? Or perhaps I should order one online.

 

I'd be very grateful for some quick responses as I have to visit my hairdresser this week and am not sure whether to tell her about my op or not. I'd prefer not to but am wondering if perhaps I should.

 

Thanks in advance!

[SADbutTRUE]

welcome to the forums, SMG is a top clinic, your in good hands with them, im planning on having my HT with them,

[1978matt]

I live in London UK. and am due to have a HT with Ron Shapiro next week (Monday 8th July). It looks as though he has a good reputation (do please tell me if you don't agree - it's not too late to change my mind!). I've been doing my scalp exercises and preparing myself mentally. Matt Zupan from Shapiro Medical Group has given me good advice and answered my questions. However, I'd be interested to hear experiences from those who've actually had transplants with Ron Shapiro and SMG. At the moment I have a few questions which I hope someone can respond to:

 

1) Fortunately I am teacher and have about 8 weeks where I can lie low to recover. However, I am committed to visiting my family in just a month. I am having 3000 grafts with my hair cut/shaved to enable work on the front, frontal core and crown. I'd like to know if my transplant will be noticeable after 4 weeks. I hope to keep it a secret from everyone and to make it look as though I just have a short summer cut. Is this realistic?

2) I’m wondering whether I need to tell my hairdresser that I am having a hair transplant. They say that when a HT is done properly by a quality surgeon even hairdressers can’t notice? However, how long would I need to wait before a hairdresser would not notice, particularly the scar at the back of the head? I’m a bit shy about telling my regular hairdresser (who lives just across the road from me) and am considering visiting a hairdresser further away until my hair becomes more natural. But I’m wondering if this is realistic, and how long would I need to wait until returning to my regular hairdresser.

3) I dye my hair regularly every 2 weeks, although SMG advise not to dye it for 8 weeks after the op. (other surgeons seem to think a shorter period is fine, perhaps just a month or less). I am quite grey at the sides and the back, but hardly have any grey hair at the front. As transplanted hair retains all it's characteristics, I will have likely have grey patches of transplant hair at my temples which will look very odd if I stop dying my hair, which I may wish to do in a few years. Therefore, I suspect a transplant will force me to keep dying my hair until I am a white-haired man all over. Strangely, I have never read any comments referring to this issue on any of the blogs or forums, although it seems an obvious and important one to me. Does anyone have any thoughts on this or have perhaps encountered this problem?

4) I have to buy a hat. As a 50+ man I can't help thinking I'll look a bit stupid in the recommended baseball cap + they seem to be half open at the back which would show the scar. I might go for a military-style cap instead. Any good places in London to buy a cap? Or perhaps I should order one online.

 

I'd be very grateful for some quick responses as I have to visit my hairdresser this week and am not sure whether to tell her about my op or not. I'd prefer not to but am wondering if perhaps I should.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Hello mate,

Good luck with it all, I'm in a similar situation to you (I also live in London and flying to the US in 7 weeks time).

 

Ron Shapiro is in the top 3 or 4 surgeons so you have nothing to worry about. You have chosen extremely well.

 

I'm taking 5 weeks off work and hoping it will be less noticeable after that period. A lot depends on the redness but in the final week I'll be experimenting heavily with concealers etc.

 

Yes, I'm thinking of going to a different hairdresser. Mine is very close to where I live. I'll probably only require a buzz cut anyway. How about searching for one that does home visits?

 

Large Tesco stores sell a lot of cheap hats/baseball caps. I went and tried lots on to see which had a loose fit. How about a Panama?

 

I dye my hair and have not asked yet how long I should wait. Hopefully I can do it before returning to work. I'm not that grey so it's less of a problem.

[Bertie]

Thanks for the tips. I'll check out Tescos for caps. Not so sure about the Panama hat though! It's a shame that it's not winter as I feel I could get away with a hat more easily in the cold. Good advice about concealers and mobile hairdressers. Getting my hair coloured tomorrow but decided not to tell my hairdresser. I'll see how it goes. It will be an interesting experiment to see if I can do this whole thing without telling a soul - no one need ever know! ;-) It's possible as I am Norwood 3 and still have a reasonable amount of hair and the op. will just restore density and fill in the temple areas. Shapiro recommends waiting 8 weeks before dye hair, whereas other surgeons, e.g. Bernstein Medical, think that a 4 week wait is sufficient. I'll quiz Shapiro on the necessity of the long wait and hope that it's not too critical. I've considered growing a big bushy beard to distract people from my hair transplant - who knows, it could work!

[Nick153452]

I had my transplant at Shapiro on May 22 although mine was with Dr. Paul. I did have the opportunity to speak with Dr. Ron for quite a long time prior to my surgery and I can assure you, this guy is very passionate about what he does, and his work speaks for itself. This guy wrote the book on hair transplantation and is a pioneer in the field. You have really chosen a great clinic.

 

As far as your hair 1 month post op. Yes, it's going to be noticeable I believe. They shave the recipient area and leave your donor area unshaved. You can, of course, even the lengths out, but you are going to expose your scar. Invest in nice caps... That's the best advice I can give to you. I think that your hairdresser will notice with a strip surgery for about 6 months. After that, as long as you don't get your hair buzzed, they shouldn't know. Dr Ron will make sure that everything looks natural. Once again, you've chosen a great clinic. Please update us as things move along.

[Bertie]

Thanks for your advice. I've only heard good things about Ron Shapiro so that's really reassuring.

 

Thanks for being honest about the likelihood of the transplant being noticeable after 1 month. How long, I wonder, before it's not noticeable? As hair grows half inch/month, when will I be able to even out my hair so that it looks merely short and not post-operative? Wouldn't a month's growth (half and inch) be enough to even it out and also cover the strip scar? How much longer will I need to wait? 6 weeks, 8 weeks? I asked Matt Zupan at SMG if I could see pics of patients and 1, 2 and 3 months so I could see what to expect. But he said he didn't have them available to send me. How can this be when they have performed 100s of operations? It makes me assume that their patients must look pretty terrible for the first few months, or at least until 6 months have passed, which is when SMG and other surgeons are prepared to release before and after shots. This is not reassuring! I was hoping to attend a conference 5 weeks after my HT, but now I'm thinking this may not be a good idea.

I'd be really grateful if someone can give me a link to show what to expect on a month by month basis when the hair has been shorn so as to work on the frontal core, the crown and the temples?

[1978matt]

Thanks for your advice. I've only heard good things about Ron Shapiro so that's really reassuring.

 

Thanks for being honest about the likelihood of the transplant being noticeable after 1 month. How long, I wonder, before it's not noticeable? As hair grows half inch/month, when will I be able to even out my hair so that it looks merely short and not post-operative? Wouldn't a month's growth (half and inch) be enough to even it out and also cover the strip scar? How much longer will I need to wait? 6 weeks, 8 weeks? I asked Matt Zupan at SMG if I could see pics of patients and 1, 2 and 3 months so I could see what to expect. But he said he didn't have them available to send me. How can this be when they have performed 100s of operations? It makes me assume that their patients must look pretty terrible for the first few months, or at least until 6 months have passed, which is when SMG and other surgeons are prepared to release before and after shots. This is not reassuring! I was hoping to attend a conference 5 weeks after my HT, but now I'm thinking this may not be a good idea.

I'd be really grateful if someone can give me a link to show what to expect on a month by month basis when the hair has been shorn so as to work on the frontal core, the crown and the temples?

 

I think it's a mixed bag. I've seen some people who look completely normal after 3 weeks and others who look obvious after 8 weeks. To a certain degree it is pot luck.

 

One thing to remember is that 99% of the population know nothing about HTs. With a bit of luck you can make up a story like: "I had an alergic reaction to L'Oreal shampoo" or something; or how about "I went to a new barber and it was so bad I had to shave it off.."

 

The best place to find examples is in the hairloss blogs:

 

Hair Transplant Blogs

[Nick153452]

So when you go in for your procedure, they are going to shave your recipient area and only shave the donor area that they are going to cut out. That being said, they recommend that you leave about 2 inches of hair behind your head so that your scar will be concealed. Normally, it's not the scar that makes it obvious that you had something done (from what I've heard) it's the unevenness between the top of your head (which was shaved), and the >2 inches of hair in the back. Since you said that hair grows 1/2 in/month, it should mathematically take roughly 3-4 months for your hair to be equal (assuming that you get your hair trimmed in the back.

 

This period of time is well known across the hair transplant world as the "Ugly Ducking Phase". Currently, I am going through it. I just use a hat to cover it up... However, hats aren't appropriate for every circumstance...

 

Matt doesn't have examples, because it's not normal to take photos during 1,2,3 months post-op, because nothing happens during this time normally. Clinics usually take Pre-op, Post-op and 6+ month photos in order to show results. Remember, the majority of patients only start getting results at 3-4 months....

 

If you are really concerned, I would talk to Matt about Concealers. They will be able to mask the effect of a hair transplant heavily! There are many products out there, I just am not a specialist in them.

[Nick153452]

Also Matt is right; nobody will connect the dots between funky looking hair and a hair transplant. Most people don't even know that hair transplantations is a thing. Coming up with a story should be a problem.

[Bertie]

Thanks Nick. It's good to hear from someone who's already had it done with Shapiro Medical. Can I ask, have you had the hair shaved back with only the hair at the back kept long? If so, I assume you're anxious to even it all around as soon as possible. As you had the op. in May, I'd have thought you could now even things up pretty much - the average hair grows 1/2" per month, so wouldn't an inch of reasonable density be enough at the back to cover things? You say that SMG don't take pictures at 2,3 and 3 months because "nothing much happens", but untransplanted hair will continue to grow and prospective patients will naturally want to see the aesthetic effect of this, to ascertain how much of an "ugly duckling" they are likely to become. If you have to wait until your hair grows to 2 inches to even it up it will take 4 months on average - a very long time! I'm anxious to know this as I'm a teacher who has to return to school in 8 weeks. As you imagine, kids can be pretty merciless in their comments and I won't be able to wear a hat in class! I'm already trying to think of plausible excuses and half wondering if I shouldn't temporarily become a Sikh and wear a turban until my recovery is complete! I'll keep you all informed of my ongoing experieneces.

[Slickers]

Thanks Nick. It's good to hear from someone who's already had it done with Shapiro Medical. Can I ask, have you had the hair shaved back with only the hair at the back kept long? If so, I assume you're anxious to even it all around as soon as possible. As you had the op. in May, I'd have thought you could now even things up pretty much - the average hair grows 1/2" per month, so wouldn't an inch of reasonable density be enough at the back to cover things? You say that SMG don't take pictures at 2,3 and 3 months because "nothing much happens", but untransplanted hair will continue to grow and prospective patients will naturally want to see the aesthetic effect of this, to ascertain how much of an "ugly duckling" they are likely to become. If you have to wait until your hair grows to 2 inches to even it up it will take 4 months on average - a very long time! I'm anxious to know this as I'm a teacher who has to return to school in 8 weeks. As you imagine, kids can be pretty merciless in their comments and I won't be able to wear a hat in class! I'm already trying to think of plausible excuses and half wondering if I shouldn't temporarily become a Sikh and wear a turban until my recovery is complete! I'll keep you all informed of my ongoing experieneces.

 

Bertie I'm going through the same thing. I had surgery 7 weeks ago and return to work in 2. The answer to your question is, unsurprisingly, it depends. It depends on the number of grafts you get, how much existing hair you have and therefore whether concealers will be useful. Your skin type, how quickly you heal, the surgeon etc etc.

 

You really need to post a pic to be able to get more specific opinions/ suggestions as to how you will look and ways you could cover it up.

 

On the plus side SMG post ops always really impress me. Very neat with minimal trauma to the recipient.... needless to say, an excellent starting point.

[Nick153452]

I am extremely anxious to even it out. my head looks very irregular right now. But hopefully it's just a temporary look; that's the goal!

 

Just go with it, don't look back.. Look for temporary solutions that will help you cover up, such as conceilers. Do some research on those, unfortunately I can't help much.

[sl]

Hi Bertie, all the best for the surgery. You will be in good hands with doc and team.

 

I imagine school is merciless but be positive, you are making a decision for good so focus on the gain to come. Follow the post op to the letter as I am sure any good teacher would.

 

Looking forward to the updates.