Guard #1 after FUE transplant

[GeorgeL]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm considering doing a FUE transplant, and I've been told by a few doctors I need about 3000 grafts. My hair is thin on the front but the balding is general so I need the new grafts to be blended with my existing hair.

 

I like shaving my head to 3mm or 4mm which I think is equivalent to #1 guard. So I have two questions: Will scars in the back of my head will be visible if shaved to 3mm?

And more importantly, will the frontal area look natural? Will the new grafts blend well with my existing grafts when I shave to 3 mm ?

 

I know about SMP, but I don't want my "hair" that short, and also I go to the beach a lot and under the sun a lot.

 

What do you think? Is it too risky?

 

Thanks a lot in advance,

George

[Shera]

Hi George,

 

Its recommended to keep your transplanted hair a certain length to help create the illusion of density and a natural full head of hair. Going so short as you want may therefore not have the desired affect, the transplanted zones will still look thinner than your naturally thick areas. It is possible that you go for more grafts to achieve the look you want which will mean more cost of course if you have the required donor grafts.

 

If you go to a decent doctor who won't ravage your donor area with a monster punch then your scarring will be barely visible to the naked eye. 3mm should be an ample length.

 

You will have to stay out of the direct sun for a good few weeks following your surgery.

Edited March 23, 2018 by Shera

[GeorgeL]

Hello Shera and thank you very much for your detailed answer.

Just to see that I understand you, you are saying that with 3mm haircut and about 3000-3500 grafts, itmight look unnatural? So for the donor area 3mm is enough to hide the scars, but for the recipient area what would you say is the minimun length of milimiters?

Would you say that I need more than 3500 grafts to be sure that is looks natural?

 

Thanks again in advance,

George

[Shera]

Hello Shera and thank you very much for your detailed answer.

Just to see that I understand you, you are saying that with 3mm haircut and about 3000-3500 grafts, itmight look unnatural? So for the donor area 3mm is enough to hide the scars, but for the recipient area what would you say is the minimun length of milimiters?

Would you say that I need more than 3500 grafts to be sure that is looks natural?

 

Thanks again in advance,

George

 

Hi George,

 

I'm not saying it will look unnatural, what I am saying is that it will look better than it does now but still when compared to the other thicker none balding areas of your scalp it will appear not as dense. Unfortunately you need to accept that you will never get the density back from your youth, you just haven't got enough grafts.

 

Hair transplantation is in essence the art of creating an illusion of a full set of hair. You can as you have indicated in a further thread have SMP alongside the transplant to help you create the look you are looking for. The SMP is best completed a few weeks/months post hair transplant surgery so the new transplanted hairline can be matched.

 

It's difficult to say how much difference 3500 grafts will make without seeing pics of your current state.

 

For the donor area 3mm - 4mm is enough to hide the scars if any, but for the recipient area I would say from my own experience that a length of 25mm to 40mm is the optimum length to create the best effect.

Edited March 23, 2018 by Shera

[GeorgeL]

Thanks a lot Shera.

 

So in that case, maybe I'm better off just having SMP instead of hair transplat?

As you said I'm guessing it's hard for you to say without seeing my scalp so I attached two photos.

 

What do you think? Also would you say it's possible to combine SMP with a haircut of 3mm, or do I have to shave my head completely?

 

I appreciate your help

 

Thanks again,

George

[Shera]

Thanks a lot Shera.

 

So in that case, maybe I'm better off just having SMP instead of hair transplat?

As you said I'm guessing it's hard for you to say without seeing my scalp so I attached two photos.

 

What do you think? Also would you say it's possible to combine SMP with a haircut of 3mm, or do I have to shave my head completely?

 

I appreciate your help

 

Thanks again,

George

 

Hi George, it's perfectly fine to combine SMP with a haircut of 3mm. After seeing your photos, I strongly feel that SMP alone will give you the look you require. There is no need for you to go down the hair transplant route..................just yet.

 

You may want to also consider taking meds to further delay the need for surgery and help sustain your current native hair. Look into Finasteride (Propecia) and Minoxidil, do your research and understand the risks, speak to your GP if you feel the need.

[GeorgeL]

Thanks a lot Shera you really helped me make up my mind to postpone the hair transplat, for now as you said(:

 

Hope you have a nice weekend

[Shera]

Thanks a lot Shera you really helped me make up my mind to postpone the hair transplant, for now as you said(:

 

Hope you have a nice weekend

 

Thanks George,

 

Good luck with the SMP. Feel free to email me with any other questions.

 

And enjoy your weekend too..

[JohnCasper]

 

I like shaving my head to 3mm or 4mm which I think is equivalent to #1 guard. So I have two questions: Will scars in the back of my head will be visible if shaved to 3mm?

 

George

 

Hi "GeorgeL", "Shera" makes some really good points and offers very sound advice. In your original post you were wondering about evidence of FUE scarring if you wear your hair short. I've posted this picture many times but its relevant in this case as well. This is a picture taken about two years after my first surgery of 5,125 grafts and prior to a second surgery. The marked area in the picture yielded about 1,750 grafts in 2012. Dr. Vories used a 0.8mm punch which is quite small and as you can see, there is very little evidence of discernible scarring. So...I would think you could wear your hair very short and no one would notice any scarring at all. Hope that helps.

 

[kirkland]

Thanks a lot Shera.

 

So in that case, maybe I'm better off just having SMP instead of hair transplat?

As you said I'm guessing it's hard for you to say without seeing my scalp so I attached two photos.

 

What do you think? Also would you say it's possible to combine SMP with a haircut of 3mm, or do I have to shave my head completely?

 

I appreciate your help

 

Thanks again,

George

 

I think SMP would really be a better (and much cheaper) option for you at this point. I would ask the SMP technician to choose a shade that is slightly lighter than your native hair.

[GeorgeL]

Hello John and Kirkland thank you for your answers, I think too that Shera made some very good points.

 

John, your donor area looks good and really there is no evidence of any scarring! Just out of curiousity, do you like the buzz cut look with your hair transplant in the recipient area? Do the transplanted grafts blend well with your natural ones? Also, did you have SMP or just hair transplant?

 

Kirkland, I'll keep your advice in mind

 

Thanks guys!

[JohnCasper]

I was blessed with a great donor area. I've had over 7,000 grafts and could do more. I've never really worn a buzz cut on a regular basis but I bet it would look just fine. I've posted pictures for 6 years on my website and you can go into the archives an see how mine grew in over time. I documented everything with pictures and narratives. Go to MyFUEhairtransplant.com

 

All of my donor hairs blended very nicely with the existing hairs. I've had no SMP. I waited until I was 50 years old to have my first procedure. My degree of recession had greatly stabilized by then.

 

Keep us posted on your progress on the hair transplant network.

[Sean]

Your donor can be screwed if the doctor does extractions in a compressed pattern. You will showcase a halo in your donor if done wrong. It is too risky, if you need to do anything, smp may be the better option but it’s all risky though. You just have to pick the solution with the least long term risk.

[pkipling]

I had 2,000 grafts FUE and the shortest I've gone in the donor area was a #2. I use a #1 at the very bottom, then fade up into the #2. In my super critical mind (and obviously actively looking for something), there are parts on the side that I think are "almost/kinda/sorta noticeable" in terms of decreased density, but my barbers and friends who all know about my HT tell me it's all in my head. I might be brave enough and try a #1 at some point, but the #2 is generally short enough for me, so I just stick with that.

 

And as already mentioned, the main concern won't be the scarring as much as it would be that the illusion of density won't be as convincing the shorter the hair is - but again, those of us who are knowledgeable about hair transplants will be much more prone to noticing this than 95% of the population out there.

[JohnCasper]

Well said pkipling, the general public will never notice, even with a very short #1 or #2 hair cut.