HT with Ron Shapiro: 6 weeks post op

[Bertie]

I've just passed the 6 week post op. stage following a HT with Ron Shapiro. I've got pictures on my blog. so would be interested in any feedback. At the moment I'm concerned with folliculitis (painful bumps, raised red areas and spots) and the fact that my own non-transplanted hair is growing back slowly and looking diffuse and thin, possibly as a result of some shock loss. I am a school teacher and have to return to school in two weeks. I'd hoped, perhaps too optimistically, that an 8 week holiday would give me sufficient time for a smooth transition to keep my transplant a secret. But I'm now wondering what story I can possibly concoct to explain the huge contrast between when the kids last saw me with quite good hair coverage to the man who will appear substantially bald at the front come September. I will probably use Toppik but kids are sharp-eyed and don't miss a lot. They also love to tease, so I need to think of how best to pre-empt potentially embarrassing scenarios. Any advice will be appreciated.

 

View my post on my blog

Edited August 21, 2013 by Bertie

[SADbutTRUE]

welcome to the forums, hang in there in a few months your hair will look great, how many grafts did you get? heres to great growth, keep us posted.

[Spanker]

Your blog is not embedded correctly. If you are really 52 years old, do you think it will be a big shock to them?

 

You seem to have had pretty decent shock loss and you need to contact the doctor if you have folliculitus. You may need an antibiotic. You can just say you shaved your head and got sun burned because you didn't put on sunscreen there. Or just be honest, at 53 I wouldn't think it would be as big of a deal. If they can tell you have had a HT, it is better to be the honest ht guy than the lying ht guy.

 

How many grafts did you get?

[Blake Bloxham]

Hi Bertie,

 

Looks like everything is coming along as expected. It does look like you may have some scalp irritation or possibly a folliculitis-like issue, but I don't think it's overly noticeable or anything that would prevent you from going back to work. Maybe you could say it's some sort of scalp sunburn?

[StaggerLee123]

First off congrats on your procedure I am a huge SMG fan. I would call them right away as you may have something going on in your recipient area, and you have two weeks to get it to settle down a bit. I would just use some Toppik and maybe some type of makeup concealer in your hairline area to even out the redness. I'm not sure I agree with Spanker about telling your students about your transplant as in my mind it would be more awkward than just getting back into a routine and moving forward, but that's just me. If you feel you need to explain something you can always say it is folliculitis which is absolutely true and leave it at that.

 

It may just well improve a lot over the next few weeks.

[Bertie]

Thanks for the helpful advice. I have had 3632 grafts so should get a good head of hair if they all grow as planned. Ron Shapiro sent me an email this morning advising a treatment program, which will hopefully clear up the folliculitis. I knew all about the risk of shock loss going into this thing, so am not panicking just yet, and am hoping this difficult transitional stage will soon pass. I like Stagerless123's advice to just say/imply that I have lost some hair through folliculitis and shaved my hair short. I'll add that it is being treated with pills and the doctor thinks that my hair will grow back quite soon. This has the advantage of being absolutely true and will probably explain my hairloss to most people's satisfaction. I agree that honesty is usually the best policy. But it's one thing telling friends and family, and another being teased by school kids who aren't always as sensitive as they should be. I'd prefer to avoid the gossip that would be inevitable if they discover I've had a transplant.

[Pulpedfiction1]

I'm also a teacher, and had my HT (my 2nd) about two weeks after yours. While I'm pretty much back to where I was prior to HT #2, my hair was very short prior to the procedure...so I'm still having to cover up the donor area with Dermmatch. It looks acceptable but a total pain due to the mess.

 

Getting back to your situation....have you considered buzzing the front to blend everything together, and going as short as you can in the back while still covering up your scar? The shock loss won't be nearly as noticeable with a buzz-cut, and people will just assume that you went with a shorter haircut for the summer (which is very common).

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the helpful advice. I have had 3632 grafts so should get a good head of hair if they all grow as planned. Ron Shapiro sent me an email this morning advising a treatment program, which will hopefully clear up the folliculitis. I knew all about the risk of shock loss going into this thing, so am not panicking just yet, and am hoping this difficult transitional stage will soon pass. I like Stagerless123's advice to just say/imply that I have lost some hair through folliculitis and shaved my hair short. I'll add that it is being treated with pills and the doctor thinks that my hair will grow back quite soon. This has the advantage of being absolutely true and will probably explain my hairloss to most people's satisfaction. I agree that honesty is usually the best policy. But it's one thing telling friends and family, and another being teased by school kids who aren't always as sensitive as they should be. I'd prefer to avoid the gossip that would be inevitable if they discover I've had a transplant.

[Bertie]

Good advice Pulpedfiction1. I will try to even out the length all over and blend as well as I can before returning to school. I got a mobile hairdresser to cut/colour my hair about 3 weeks ago and will do so again before the beginning of term. I'm staying away from my usual hairdresser for a few months more - too public! I'll ask the barber to cut it short as he can without revealing the scar and apply Toppik concealer. The only thing with this stuff, you need a certain basic covering in the first place, otherwise it's hair supplementing powder rather than the other way round! My HT surgeon has advised me against Dermatch, probably due to my folliculitis. If only it was the fashion to buzz it at the front and leave it long at the sides and back, they'd be no problem. Hair gets buzzed every which way, but no one buzzes it like that for aesthetic reasons! What are you going to tell the kids in September?

[Pulpedfiction1]

I'll likely need to use Derrmmatch for another 2 weeks until the shaved area grows to around 3/4". So when I return to work, I'll look just like I did at the end of last year...but with a slightly artificial look in the back to cover the donor. While the Dermmatch is a pain (have to either shower again in the evening, or else the stuff gets all over my pillowcase), it does a decent enough job. I've used Toppik, but didn't care for the mess involved with sprinkling flakes...and Dermmatch seems to look more natural, as well. I'm not overly concerned with getting back to work--nothing's really changed from the front now that my grafts have shed and the redness has disappeared--and with concealer the donor scar is really not detectable from any decent distance.

 

I wouldnt worry about anyone concluding that you had a HT--the overwhelming majority of the population hasnt a clue about what a HT is, let alone the concept of shock loss/donor scars, etc.

 

Try buzzing your hair down gradually in the back. You may not even need to use any concealer. From your photos, it looks like you'd buzz down to a #3 or #4 on the front. You could then try going with a #5 or #6 in the back (the slight difference in length wont be very noticeable, and a #5 or #6 will likely conceal your scar).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good advice Pulpedfiction1. I will try to even out the length all over and blend as well as I can before returning to school. I got a mobile hairdresser to cut/colour my hair about 3 weeks ago and will do so again before the beginning of term. I'm staying away from my usual hairdresser for a few months more - too public! I'll ask the barber to cut it short as he can without revealing the scar and apply Toppik concealer. The only thing with this stuff, you need a certain basic covering in the first place, otherwise it's hair supplementing powder rather than the other way round! My HT surgeon has advised me against Dermatch, probably due to my folliculitis. If only it was the fashion to buzz it at the front and leave it long at the sides and back, they'd be no problem. Hair gets buzzed every which way, but no one buzzes it like that for aesthetic reasons! What are you going to tell the kids in September?

[Bertie]

Thanks for the advice. I've just read your posts and am glad you managed to get a HT in this holiday period. It must have been pretty tough to have arranged a procedure with H & W only to be turned away on the day, although it looks as though things may have come good in the end. Good luck!

[Pulpedfiction1]

Much appreciated. Yeah, the H&W thing was a total nightmare, but I'm pretty optimistic about where I'll be in several months. This forum has helped a lot, too. I now know a ton about hair loss and at least feel like I'm attacking my problem head-on. Best of luck in your growth. Keep posting photos...it's especially nice to follow the growth of someone who had a HT right around the same time as mine!

[Octamus]

Hi Bertie, I found your story very interesting and real. I would love to know how you got on...

[Spanker]

Bertie, how's it coming along?

[Bertie]

Thanks for your interest. It's 31 weeks now since my transplant and my hair is continuing to grow/improve and I'm waiting to see how it develops. I had a lot of shock loss and it's taken most of this time, about 6 months, to get back to where I was before the transplant, which has been pretty tough. It's now at 7+ months and am pleased to report that my hair is looking generally better than before than my transplant op. - slightly thicker and better quality overall. However, I'm concerned that there hasn't been much improvement at the temple area and in my crown, which were my main areas of concern. However, I still feel stubble/new hair coming through (although not really at the temple area) so am hoping that I'll be one of those patients who have good growth at a later stage. At any rate, it looks as though the final result will be an enhancement on my pre-op condition, but I do find myself looking in the mirror and wondering whether all the 3632 grafts have come up or not. I don't want to make premature judgments, so I think it best to wait until a whole year has elapsed before posting up a thorough review with pics included. I hope by then that my concerns and anxieties will be behind me and I can post up a positive review.