Shaved head FUE - can it be disguised at 4 weeks?

[ersko72]

I'm booked in with Erdogan Koray in December. I'll have 4 weeks off before returning to work. I already wear my hair somewhat short, and on Day 1 back in the office I'm hoping like hell it's passable that I've decided to run with a buzz cut over the x-mas break.

 

I'll place make-up to cover any severe redness, but I'm worried the timing of the shedding, together with any shock loss will give me away.

 

I'm choosing to be very discreet with my HT, and because I'm NW2 I expect I might get away without sharing it with anyone other than my partner...but only if I can manage to conceal the tell tale signs in the early days.

 

How have other guys with FUE hairline/temple work looked at the 4 week mark? With only 4 weeks to grow native hair, have you found any tricks to disguise the work? If you tried to hide it, were people in the office able to guess?

[ZeoRanger]

Depends on your level of redness. If it's still there and you don't have a fringe long enough to conceal it, it'll look like a very odd sunburn.

[Spidey]

It will be hard to conceal it completely.. I was back to work 3 weeks after and it was still a bit red and I don't have that fair skin.. I am about 6 weeks out now and its still slightly pink.. I use a bit of powder makeup for the first 2 weeks back to work but stopped now.. It is only really pink after I get out of the shower but settles down to a very very faint pink now... People probably will only notice or say something the first time they see you.. If you say something like its sun burn from wearing a tennis/golf visor they will forget about it and go on with their life.

[Spanker]

I think you will be fine as long as your not too red in the recipient. If you did a no shave in your donor I would say you're fine for sure. Honestly, I'm not sure that you need any work at all, but small tweaks are usually easily hidden.

[TMNK]

I'm over 2 month and my recipient area is still pink and noticeable. I'm sorry, but you might get used to the fact that the pinkness sticks with you for a while. I had my HT in the summer and I said to people I was sunburned because of the short haircut. After that people didn't even ask questions about it.. I did buy some cheap make-up, but I haven't used it yet. I simple just wear a cap most of the time and when not - i don't mind. It's a rough time after a HT, but I think the ugly duckling face might stick with you up to around to 3-4 monts. Maybe someone could post there own experience too?

[ersko72]

Thanks for the responses everybody. I'll be morbidly self conscious on that first dreaded week back at work, but going by everyone's feedback it doesn't sounds like my colleagues will outright guess I've had a HT, and that's a huge relief. I have fair skin and expect to be cursed with the typical redness, and I'll gladly resort to make-up at 4 weeks to conceal the worst of it .

 

I wear my hair shortish already, and to ease into my new look will buzz down to a number 4 in the lead-up. I think I'm NW2, so hopefully that might add to my chances of of my HT going undetected. Better pics attached.

 

 

I'm 43, long time stable on Finasteride, this is my first procedure and have opted for a doc that I hope will deliver a aggressive/dense hairline - Erdogan Koray. He only does shaved donor and recipient, so I will be buzzing my whole head for sure.. I also plan to remain buzzed at number 4 through the ugly duckling months...unless someone who has tried that approach advises the regrowth in front of the native hairline is too obvious for that approach?

 

Also, just curious,was everyone's shedding complete at the 4 week mark, or was the process still underway?

 

Thanks heaps,

Ersko

[delancey]

I don't think you need a hair transplant. But good luck and keep us updated, please. Cheers!

[BadBeat]

I think you're making a mistake getting an HT but that's just my opinion. You're a NW2 at age 43......

[ersko72]

Hay Badbeat and Delancy - thanks for the honest feedback that I don't need a HT. Comments on my receding hairline started when I was around 23 and I was sensitive enough to research and jump onto Finasteride when it first came out 18 years ago when I was 25. I've stuck with it over the years and have been lucky; I've only seen very minor recession at temples and hairline in the 18 years since jumping on Finasteride and the remainder of my head was never impacted by MPB.

 

I sent my photos to H&W, Rahal & Erdogen and all suggested I'd need around 2K grafts to meet my hope of a dense restored hairline. The number was higher than I expected, but the consistency did assure me I wasn't crazy seeking a HT.

 

Badbeat, I'm booking flights but want to understand what you think my regrets might be before getting to the point of no return. Feel free to be brutally honest as I haven't yet committed $$ and I can consider your response in my final decision.

[pkipling]

I kept mine buzzed through the ugly duckling phase as well and it worked out really well for me. I stopped buzzing it around the 3-3/12 month mark once I started seeing new growth so that everything would grow in evenly.

 

As for the redness, mine stayed red for a while (about the first 6 weeks or so). I was fortunate enough to be able to wear a hat to work (and concocted a nice cover up story as to why I needed to that kept people from asking questions). I stopped wearing the hat though around the 4 week mark, since by that time it just looked like a mild sunburn. It was summer and I had a buzzcut, so it made sense. And it was much more noticeable to me than it was to anyone else anyway.

 

And since you have very minimal hair loss, I'm wondering if instead of keeping your hair buzzed for the first several months, if just letting it start growing right after surgery would be good option for you so that you can eventually start covering up the donor with your native hair. Your hair should grow about a half an inch those first four weeks, and if you don't have a lot of shock loss, it could be very passable by then.

 

I do agree though that being a NW2 at 43 seems pretty optimal.

[TMNK]

Also, just curious,was everyone's shedding complete at the 4 week mark, or was the process still underway?

 

I had my HT with Dr. Erdogan too. I think that 50% of my grafts was still there after the 4th week, soon after that almost all grafts fell off.

[hair112]

I'm at the 4th week now and my recipient area is still pinkish red. The donor is every thin so i wear a hat to conceal it in public. I had 5k graphs though. With 2000 graphs, your donor shouldn't be noticeable after a month.

[gillenator]

Even if the grafts shed by week four and there is still a little redness, you should be fine because most people won't notice it.

 

If they do ask about any redness, just tell them that you spent some time outdoors in the sun which we all do.

 

Doubtful that it will be very noticeable at all...