HT - Can't quite take the plunge. Need advice

[garethbale]

Hi Guys

 

I've been giving thought into having hair transplant surgery for some time.

 

I would class myself as a NW 2.5, with mild recession at the temples and hairline, which I can disguise quite well by combing my hair forward. Despite this however, I would like to address the recession and undergo an FUE transplant to fill these areas in.

I am fortunate in that I have been receding slowly since the age of 19, am soon to be 33, so I think in respect of age I'm at a reasonable safe time to proceed. I use proscar daily which I think has helped strengthen my crown hair, and apply minoxidil, though I do this more out of habit than anything else as I haven't noticed regrowth. My hair on top is pretty strong.

 

 

A HT is something I want to go ahead with and am pretty sure I will, however I'm finding it hard to just have the courage to go ahead with it. I have the following issues/questions:

 

1. For anyone who has undergone hairline / temple work, did you find that as it grew in it felt reasonably dense, dense enough to style? I'd really like the option again of combing my hair forward or up, whatever look I feel like.

 

2. This is more of a practical issue. I work in an office and my job is a profession, so shaving my head isn't ideal. I accept that the donor needs to be shaved but Is it possible to only shave the recipient in the areas that will be filled in? I would hope that my existing hair might cover up the recipient. I understand Dr Erdogan can perform partially shaven FUE and this is something I'm looking at.

This issue is a real pain for me as I'd like to have it done but the idea of going back to work with fresh scabs on my head terrifies me. I'd struggle to hide it from colleagues.

 

3. How long do I need off work for colleagues not to notice? Following on from point 2 above, I really don't want people knowing. However if I can conceal the area of surgery with native hair, this could help here.

 

 

Finally I've attached a number of photos with my hair wet and dry. How many grafts do you think I would need, and are my points raised in 2 and 3 reasonable? I really don't want to lower my hairline drastically - I think that adding a bit of volume to the areas just behind and in my temples would do for me and allow me the styling options I seek.

 

So far I've been looking at the following doctors/clinics: Erdogan, Lupanzula, HDC Cyprus. I am based in the UK so Europe is likely to be my destination, rather than America.

 

Many thanks

[garethbale]

Apologies for the upside down pics. Not sure how this happened, they were the right way up when I uploaded them.

[Spanker]

I wss your age when I had my transplant with a similar pattern. Went well. I think your fine.

[aWidowsPeek]

garethbale I was the same age and pattern as well. Finally pulling the trigger and getting a FUE procedure was the best decision i ever made. I wish i had done it 5 years earlier. I was scared to get a strip procedure due to the scar, scar stretching, nerve damage, etc.

 

You won't be able to hide your transplant if you work in a office. You'll just have to suck it up and tell people...or have a good excuse. HDC does some fantastic work. You'd be in great hands with them.

 

I pm'd you.

[Swooping]

You seem to be a good candidate. I'd say you need 1500, max 2000 grafts.

[mattj]

I agree that you're a very good candidate, considering your age, age of hairloss onset and use of treatments. You're a good example to those younger guys who have started losing hair and assume that they'll be bald by 30.

 

1. The hair will grow in sparse at first but will become more dense as time goes on. IMO even when thin, a reconstructed hairline with closed temples will provide much better styling options than before.

 

2. Surgeons vary in their approach to shaving. Many doctors (including mine - Dr Rahal) want to shave the donor and recipient areas and I don't have to be a doctor to see how this would be the optimal conditions for the procedure. Just be aware that you might need grafts placed within areas of existing hair along the hairline, where it has thinned. This would of course mean that your hairline would be shaved back a bit.

 

3. After 10-14 days the scabs will be gone and in most cases so too will most of the redness. Most people don't tend to notice the smaller changes after this - the new hair growth which begins at about 3 months. For a while you might look a bit worse than when you started, but with a fairly small hairline procedure like yours, the difference won't be huge. It might be an idea to cut your hair short before the procedure, so people can get used to seeing you with shorter hair.

 

I think approx 1800 grafts would do the job, but your photos are quite small so it's hard to judge how thin you are behind the hairline.

[garethbale]

Thank you all for the responses, I appreciate the comments.

 

Yes, in hindsight I am glad I have waited a number of years before seriously considering doing anything. Can't imagine how my hair would look now if I'd gone aggressive with a HT 10 years ago.

 

I plan to stay on the meds in order to stop or at least slow my loss down. I was hoping for some kind of miracle cure but this isn't coming any time soon.

 

 

Matt

 

Thank you for your very detailed responses to my questions. I appreciate hairs will shed and then grow sparse, however I currently use Toppik which I know from experience can work wonders on thin hair. So I'm happy to do this as the new hair grows.

 

I have checked your result and it looks great. As previously mentioned however, I want to try and avoid the surgery being apparent to my colleagues. I guess I'd need around two weeks off (can't really take any more leave in one go).

I appreciated grafts may need to be placed around thinning hair which may make shaving necessary. Cutting my hair very short before is a good shout though as it would turn anyone off the scent somewhat.

 

One question - do you think that after 10 or so days, assuming the redness had gone, my head would look 'normal'? I'd plan to be back at work by this point, and I commute to work on the train - so with this in mind I'd like it to look less obvious. Black dots aren't so much of an issue but I'd like redness and scabs to be gone.

 

I'm leaning towards HDC at this stage - they have suggested around 1500 grafts. Dr Erdogan suggested 2000. I've seen his work and it's great but I feel he does go a bit heavy with the number of grafts he uses and I don't want to run the risk of donor depletion should my hair loss advance and I need more work done.

 

Congrats on the birth of your son by the way!

[home1212]

quite frankly, if I were you, I'd still hold off on getting a HT

 

your hair loss is not severe except for some recession in your temples and there is no apparent diffuse thinning across your scalp based on your pictures - unsure if you're a NW2?? also, based on some of your questions about density, styling, etc. your result could end up not meeting your expectations and therefore a HT may not be for you at this time..

[Stevedawg18]

I agree with the previous commenter. Not sure you really need one at this point. If it doesn't really bother you that much I'm not sure it's worth the trouble. I looked weird for months after my HT. All this stuff about going back to work in week is nonsense for the majority of people. That being said my results turned out very good and I'm happy now.

[Sean]

Your a good candidate but be weary of what you want and what can be done. Like you, I understand the importance of office job and people interaction that would limit certain haircuts/situations. If things go awry, and if you become a repair patient then imagine chasing repairs while at work and how it can destroy a lot of things. Think this through thoroughly and ask plenty of good questions and get answers from the clinics you pick in writing. I do not represent any clinic and i can even help derive some good questions to ask via skype, even meet if need be locally.

[Dolph1969]

Fue, three weeks off work and it should be undetectable. Only thing is, your new hair will shed and people may notice the redness. TBH, only one guy in work asked why i had more hair at the front and that was only about 4 months in, then it was starting to grow. You'll find it's more noticeable to you, than others.

[garethbale]

Thanks for the responses guys. Sorry I've been off the thread so long, I've been abroad.

 

Yes I'm well aware that a HT can fail. That's why I've spent a ong time contacting clinics, viewing results and reading this forum. My hair in the last few days has looked really full and it does make me question whether I need it. Other times it looks and feels worse and I just want to go ahead with it. Hair loss can be a funny thing, it can mess with your outlook as well as your perceived appearance.

 

One query about potential FUE with non shaven recipient hair. This is something that Dr Erdogan offers however when I queried this, the clinic's response was:

' We can perform the non-shaving FUE but it will be not easy for Dr. Koray to perform your incisions between your existing hair with long hair. He must see all the direction of you original hair.'

 

Are they implying the result is likely to be worse with unshaven hair, and that it's better to shave? I don't get the last part about the direction of my hair, isn't it easier to assess the direction when hair is longer?

[mattj]

Matt

 

Thank you for your very detailed responses to my questions. I appreciate hairs will shed and then grow sparse, however I currently use Toppik which I know from experience can work wonders on thin hair. So I'm happy to do this as the new hair grows.

 

I have checked your result and it looks great. As previously mentioned however, I want to try and avoid the surgery being apparent to my colleagues. I guess I'd need around two weeks off (can't really take any more leave in one go).

I appreciated grafts may need to be placed around thinning hair which may make shaving necessary. Cutting my hair very short before is a good shout though as it would turn anyone off the scent somewhat.

 

One question - do you think that after 10 or so days, assuming the redness had gone, my head would look 'normal'? I'd plan to be back at work by this point, and I commute to work on the train - so with this in mind I'd like it to look less obvious. Black dots aren't so much of an issue but I'd like redness and scabs to be gone.

 

I'm leaning towards HDC at this stage - they have suggested around 1500 grafts. Dr Erdogan suggested 2000. I've seen his work and it's great but I feel he does go a bit heavy with the number of grafts he uses and I don't want to run the risk of donor depletion should my hair loss advance and I need more work done.

 

Congrats on the birth of your son by the way!

 

Thank you!

 

After about two weeks, the most obvious signs of the surgery will be gone, including the scabs. If you can take longer then even better. I've often found it remarkable how people just don't notice things (my own experience and that of HT patients I've spoken to). However, it is possible that more eagle-eyed work colleagues could spot some changes and that's where shaving down prior to the procedure could be really helpful in 'confusing' people.

 

It is easier for a doctor to assess hair direction when the hair is shaved as the hair won't have to be pinned back out of the way, which of course bends it in unnatural directions. During the course of the procedure, the hair might have to be pinned back repeatedly in different directions to allow access to the entire recipient area. It's no wonder that some doctors insist on shaving and others (like Dr Koray) prefer to shave.