Has anyone ever heard?

[otto]

Has anybody ever heard of anyone shaving there whole head and not having it be noticed that they had a ht? I think I really made a BIG mistake. Is it possible to have a plastic surgeon take care of the scars. I would probably pay anything to reverse this. I way more bummed out now than what I was before I got it. And I dont conisder my self to have got butchered.

[HairBeThere]

otto,

I'm confused. You last posts said you would only need 500 grafts for density to be complete.

Why did you go and shave your head, and how close of a shave was it?

[baldcasanova]

i went to eat the other day at this restaurant and noticed this bald waiter. of course since I am balding i took notice, and was wondering why he shaved it in the first place. then when he turned around to attend to another table i noticed he had a scar on the back of his head. a small one, sorda like mine. so then i looked very closely at his head and noticed a small area in his temple region where he had an ht. apparently he got fed up at his advancing hair loss and couldnt keep up, or it was botched. either one i guess. Anyhow, the moral is i doubt anyone else noticed this, because not to many people know what an ht looks like.

[otto]

Hairbethere: he said it would only be 500 for density on the hairline. But I am 27 and starting to thin on the crown. It didnt help seeing my Dad this weekend either with his bald head. I just dont want to play catch up the rest of my life. I am sick of spending an hour at time in the bathroom trying to make my hair right. And it is really taking a toll om personnal life. My whole life seems to revolve around it. And right now I have to many great things going for me to let my hair get me down

[otto]

Casanova: How did the waiter look with his head shaved?

[gillenator]

Hi Otto,

 

Wow, from your foregoing comments maybe you should wait and really take some time and put some thought as to whether or not you want to move forward with another HT procedure.

 

Your comment, "I would pay anything to reverse it" is indicative that you are not sure along with "I don't want to play catchup the rest of my life". Utimately with more strip the incision is going to get longer and potentially more noticable if you do shave your head compared to the scar that is there now.

 

It is very probable that you may end up with as much hairloss as your father, then again maybe not. No one knows for sure. Yes you do have genetic profiles from your mother's side. Any hairloss on the maternal side? Also, you do have finasteride available to slow down the loss in your vertex and crown. If finasteride works efficiently for you, you won't have to chase this around as much as you might think.

 

If you are not willing to consider finasteride or even minoxidil, would you shave your head if you lost as much as your father? Interesting question is it not?

 

Well, if you are concerned that you may one day shave your head yet still want to do some level of hair restoration, stick with good FUE work as a very high percentage of FUE cases do not show "visible" scarring. I know you mentioned in a different thread that FUE was not attractive to you because of the increased cost but better you eventually get yourself restored with time than regretting a situation you "cannot" reverse. You can even consider having FUE done "in the scar" to camaflouge it one day. The outcome does vary. Best wishes!

[Robert_]

To echo Gillenators sentiments and to add some of my own:

 

It seems like you are "on the fence" on your thoughts of hair transplantation. You say that you would possibly pay anything to have the procedure reversed but you are scheduled for another small session in about a month.

 

Perhaps you should hold off on that small session and reevaluate your goals. Do you want to be able to shave your head one day (just being a realist here, but you already have a strip scar) or do you want to keep the goal of a possible full (or fuller) head of hair?

 

FUE is a definite option if you want to limit the scarring in the donor region. You seem truly knowledgable, I just think that you are at a bit of a crossroads as to what you want to do.

 

I really don't want to tell you to hold off on your upcoming procedure. That is a decision you have to make. I just want you to be absolutely positive that it is something that you want to do and consider looking at the bigger picture in terms of grafts transplanted vs. the risk of shockloss. Perhaps holding off for a larger session will bring more "pros" to the "con" of possible shock loss?

 

Whatever your decision, I wish you the best of luck.

 

-Robert

[Robert_]

Otto and anyone else interested in the differences of FUE and strip methods of extraction go here.

 

-Robert

[arfy]

Otto

If you're thinking about shaving your head and undoing your HT already, and you also have a surgery scheduled in the upcoming weeks, you should postpone your surgery.

 

YES it is possible to undo a transplant to a small extent, and a lot of your satisfaction will depend on how much damage was done, and what your definition of success is. If you want to undo things, better to realize that now, than later!!!!

 

Take some time off, and think about what you want to do.

 

Some guys can go through a post-op depression, which doesn't get discussed much. Make sure you have your head on straight before getting additional surgery, and that you are making a good decision that you can live with.

 

Hair transplants are not the right solution for every guy with hair loss... make sure you are making sound decisions.

[Robert_]

Some guys can go through a post-op depression, which doesn't get discussed much.

 

Arfy brings up a big point that surely does need to be addressed more often.

 

Guys can go months, even years, waiting and saving up for a hair transplant procedure just to spin into depression as soon as they are a couple of months post-op. I believe that this can be attributed to a couple of things:

 

1) They had a goal. They met the goal and now they have nothing left to look forward to or to strive to obtain.

 

2) They believed that the lack of hair was the root of most, if not all, of their problems. Now that the procedure is over and all the dust has settled they realize that everything (i.e. themselves) are the same.

 

Ex: "I would have that woman, job, life, etc. if only I had the confidence that comes with a full head of hair."

 

-Robert

[arfy]

Good points, Robert.

 

But also, I think there can be a gap between expectations and reality. Sometimes guys can expect that a Hair Transplant will restore their hair to pre-hair loss appearance. This is probably more of a problem for the younger guys. Hair transplants do have limitations, they are not a perfect solution.

 

Guys need to understand the limitations ahead of time. Many clinics will not discuss the limitations with a patient, because that's not good for sales. Unethical clinics will actually use a patient's unrealistic expectations as leverage to help make a sale. Sadly, it's up to the patient to do the homework and know what he can realistically expect.

 

Funny, but I think the clinics who allow patients to have unrealistic expectations can make money in the short run, but lose in the long run. They destroy their reputations by disappointing their patients. HT patients are most satisfied when they know what they can expect, and then get what they paid for. That's how a clinic builds a reputation for consistent results.

 

(Edit: I'm not suggesting this fellow had unrealistic expectations or that his expectations were not met, I'm just going off on a tangent.)

[gillenator]

Arfy,

 

I certainly did not think you went off on a tangent. You made some very good points. HTs are simply a matter of redistributing one's existing terminal hair. And obviously any of us would want it done in the most aesthetic way possible, to get as much visual bang for our buck. What we cannot change is the fact that once we lose our natural hair, the demand side undermines the supply side. It's a matter of mathematics. If we all start out with approximately 100,000 hairs and then lose say 30,000 to MPB, that only leaves approximately 20,000 for future HTs excluding the donor areas.

 

And that leads to a very critical point that you made. There is "no way" that a HT patient can gain back the original densities they once had. That's why the fully manifested result of "any" HT is an "illusion". EVERY individual considering hair restoration needs to know what the limitations are for them, not someone else. I also agree there are still clinics out there that tell the patient "what they want to hear" realistic or not, truthful or not.

 

That is the number one reason why patients do not return to their original HT clinic for a subsequent procedure. What they were told or sold does not pair up with the results. Or the patient states they want to have their youthful hairline back, a full head of hair back, etc, etc. The clinic knows then that this individual will want more and more and more. The question left unanswered is, "where does this all stop?"

 

Too many times the answer a unsatisfied patient hears is "oh, what you need is another procedure, you need more hair!" (yaddy, yaddy). It can be like like putting out fires on one's scalp yet more future fires ignite up (future hairloss) and then the clinic runs the firehose (more surgery) as the patient continues to lose more hair. Then the dreadful reality finally hits the patient square in the nose. They run out of donor! I have heard too many folks go down this road and end up very angry and regrettful.

 

Moral of the story? Do your research to understand the potential as well as the limitations of hair restoration. Then consider realistically what can be acheived for YOU and if in fact it is acceptable to YOU. I have a fair amount of Norwood 6s and 7s over the years who would comment on wanting a "full" head of hair again with a nice low hairline, etc. But is that reality? I think not.

 

I believe most patients want an honest assessment even if it means they dislike the honest and realistic feedback. Oh sure, maybe they won't end up enrolling based on surgical limitations undermining their unrealistic goals however, better that than having someone's life ruined.

 

I can't emphasize enough that there is NO ROOM for commissioned salespeople in medicine! Yet it still continues on.

 

The burden then falls squarely on each and every patient's shoulders. Get multiple opinions from surgeons with proven aesthetic talents and also proven ethics. Research, research, research.

[gillenator]

Robert,

 

You are so correct in explaining that a HT will not be the savior to life's challenges and shortcomings. We all needed to hear those words.

 

And I agree that although an improved appearance may very well increase one's confidence, we all still face those challenges so it's the internal decisions we make day-to-day in life that helps us determine our own destinies.

[gillenator]

Smoothy,

 

I agree totally with you in that it is more probable to "buzz cut" the head after FUE vs the clean shaved look like Michael Jordan.

 

Any incision will form into "some" level of scarring as the tissue repairs itself in the healing process.

 

The question is, how visible is it post op? Patients do heal differently so a buzz cut probably is the best way to go.