to shave recipient area or not?

[tempenet]

I had two consultations for HT so this will be my third procedure. One doctor is really pushing for cutting my hair in the recipient area to one centimeter or less because as he explained it it is very hard to do dense packing without cutting my hair very short. The other doctor said he is fine with any length of hair. My previous 2 HT I didn’t have to cut my hair short but the results were not great. The problem I am having is concealing the HT once I am back to work. Cutting my hair short in the front and leaving it long in the back will make me look funny, and in my line of work I can’t really wear a hat. Both Doctors are recommended here on this site and are very respectful. Any suggestions of what should I do?

Edited December 19, 2013 by tempenet

[Cant decide]

I say bite the bullet and shave it. Post op will suck but it will ensure the best possible result. Its only 2-3 months of your life and you can come up with a creative story to tell your co workers.

Edited December 20, 2013 by Cant decide

[tempenet]

did Dr. Rahal require shaving? did you cut your hair short? I think It will be best to cut it short in an ideal world, but it is a dilemma for me for sure.

[Spanker]

Everyone has different needs. I feel like you can dense pack better shaved but you can get a good result non shaved too.

[tempenet]

Spanker, did Dr. Konior prefer shaving?

[Cant decide]

Rahal does require shaving.

[Spanker]

I feel like he prefers it but he did quite a few unshaven as well.

[rev333]

I had two consultations for HT so this will be my third procedure. One doctor is really pushing for cutting my hair in the recipient area to one centimeter or less because as he explained it it is very hard to do dense packing without cutting my hair very short. The other doctor said he is fine with any length of hair. My previous 2 HT I didn’t have to cut my hair short but the results were not great. The problem I am having is concealing the HT once I am back to work. Cutting my hair short in the front and leaving it long in the back will make me look funny, and in my line of work I can’t really wear a hat. Both Doctors are recommended here on this site and are very respectful. Any suggestions of what should I do?

 

how many grafts per cm2 do you consider dense packing?

[augustya]

Antonio Armani talks about 100-110 !! Though can't believe it :rolleyes:

[hsrp10]

Shave to the degree that you can take time off for your down time.

shaving usually produces better results as the doc can see the hair placement angle better and reduces risk of shockloss.

if you cannot get the downtime consider a HT surgeon willing to transplant into longer hair.

some of the more famous ones will do but you have to push them for it.

[Noodles123]

If one's goal is to lower the hairline and place hairs directly in front of the existing hairline (where it is bare skin), is it really necessary to shave the hairline?

[tempenet]

rev333, the Dr. was talking about 40 cm2 as a dense packing. right now my previous HT left me with inconsistent coverage. right side is better than the left side. The previous Dr. started on my right side and than run out of hair. it was insane

 

I do agree with hsrp10. shorter hair will help the Dr. and will produce better result. the biggest dilemma is concealing the scar. I am planing on taking a week off

[hairbank]

If they recommend shaving it then I'd shave it. My first HT doc didn't require but it was only 1200 grafts and not dense packing. The last two shaved it down. It seems for really dense packing most docs prefer this.....,I'm sure it's easier to see and work with and you have to live with the results for life, right??

 

I was freaked about having them shave but did it anyway. I'm a professional who wears a suit everyday in an environment where a neat and clean appearance matters. I had some looks and questions from co-workers about the haircut but trust me, we're much more concerned with ourselves than others and if you handle it well your co-workers will be on to the next person or hot topic to discuss in no time. A couple of guys at the gym I frequent asked and I told them toying around with shaving down all the way but wasn't gutsy enough to go whole hog the first time. No biggie and in no time your hair grows back.

 

I took two weeks off from work and the day before returning strategically clipped all other hair to match the closely cropped top! Hard to remember for sure but I believe I used some dermmatch to help the donor area blend. It really looked okay just had a little bit of a red tint to it. When clipping the rest of your hair you just pay particular attention as you clip around the donor scar and go.

[tempenet]

hairbank, thanks for your encouragement and sharing your story. I totally agree that shaving is the way to go. I am working on my mental transition to just go for the it

[gonebutnotforgotten]

I didn't shave but it was cropped very short in front(12/18/13). I don't go back to work until Jan 6th so who knows what i'll look like by then. Unfortunately I was trying to set up a date with a girl I had just met before the procedure. Not sure what story I'm going to make up for her. Long story short, I'd go with the Doc's rec.

[zagh]

-----wrong thread