Are Hair Transplants an “Illusion” of density?

[Melvin- Admin]

2 hours ago, gbhscot said:

Anecdote from today at work : I'm 5 weeks post op, shed maybe 30/40% maybe. Big red head, ugly duck hairs poking straight up everywhere. Colleagues know about HT. One of them who is NW7(more NW34) asks me if I'm happy with it. I say it's early days so need to see. His reply "But it looks like a full head of hair now, you wouldn't notice a thing wrong with it, I'd be thrilled". Other colleagues agree are are already impressed with density. I know it's 5 weeks in and looks terrible. Shows you the difference of experienced eye and what everyone else see's. Your illusion is an illusion to you only.

Did you update your thread ?

[LonelyGraft]

21 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

My entire head has that appearance if it’s wet under direct light. That said, it doesn’t have a thinning appearance when its dry. As shown in the picture above. 

I chose the worst possible angle and lighting to prove a point. If you want your HT to look bad you can definitely do it. 

Kind of off topic but how did you clear up your acne? I remember back in the day you used to have some but now ur skin is as clear as ever?

[Melvin- Admin]

9 minutes ago, jj51702 said:

Kind of off topic but how did you clear up your acne? I remember back in the day you used to have some but now ur skin is as clear as ever?

Nothing tbh I used to get alot of acne on my forehead. But I think that was due to wearing hats to the gym and sweating. I stopped doing that and no more zits lol. Never really had acne anywhere else besides my forehead.

[LonelyGraft]

Just now, Melvin-Moderator said:

Nothing tbh I used to get alot of acne on my forehead. But I think that was due to wearing hats to the gym and sweating. I stopped doing that and no more zits lol. Never really had acne anywhere else besides my forehead.

Oh I totally got the same when I was wearing a hat all the time in the gym too shortly after my operation. Probably all the sweat feeding the bacteria

[Melvin- Admin]

12 minutes ago, jj51702 said:

Oh I totally got the same when I was wearing a hat all the time in the gym too shortly after my operation. Probably all the sweat feeding the bacteria

Yea that’s definitely it, I don’t even use face wash. Regular old soap from the shower does the job. 

[gillenator]

On ‎8‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 12:28 PM, BeHappy said:

Great video, Melvin. Most men going for hair transplants have a tendency to compare themselves to others and while that's understandable and fine, you also have to compare yourself to the previous you. Take a look at Melvin's pre transplant NW 6 pictures and compare that to his hair now. Which hair would you like to have if those were your choices? I'm sure Melvin would like to have thicker hair, but what he has now is so much better than where he was a few years ago. Nobody is going to look at him today and call him the bald guy.

 

 

Could not agree more with you!

[Helper]

Did you or anyone else find the front hairs coming in more slowly? DH has salt and pepper hair, and the ones in the front( mostly on one side) about 1/4 inch deep, look fairly sparse. You can see more skin than compared to the other side. He is 7.5 months FUT, so we keep thinking more will pop out over the next few months.

when he’s outside and the sun is behind him, you can really see his scalp throughout looking straight on. Did anyone else have this issue? I’m thinking it must be because those hairs closest to his scalp are the thinnest and lots of white. 

Edited August 16, 2019 by Helper

[Melvin- Admin]

I decided to pin this topic. Frankly, this thread needs to be seen. It can stop unrealistic patients from having a procedure and being disappointed, even help some patients change their outlook and perception. 

[Mycroft]

Good call. I actually think the comparison between the video and the still is a great contrast. I hardly gave the scalp appearance in poor conditions a second thought on video because it was only evident for half a second, unlike the image which was obviously capturing that least flattering instant.

[Melvin- Admin]

43 minutes ago, Mycroft said:

Good call. I actually think the comparison between the video and the still is a great contrast. I hardly gave the scalp appearance in poor conditions a second thought on video because it was only evident for half a second, unlike the image which was obviously capturing that least flattering instant.

Yea,

 I realize I probably should’ve been still in the video. That said, I’m putting this comparison just to show how vastly different my hair appears when it’s dry. The difference is night and day. 

These things matter when you have a hair transplant, you cant expect to have native density. Unfortunately, some guys didn’t realize this before having procedures, so hopefully this thread helps a lot of guys out there.

[Guy73]

On 8/15/2019 at 9:40 AM, Melvin-Moderator said:

A lot of the guys who post here have slight OCD and will obsess over any tiny imperfection. While I agree, it’s clear my hair is see through when wet. This fact is unacceptable to a lot of guys here.

That said, any person losing hair who saw me in the pool would probably say I’m losing hair too. That’s 100% fine by me. I made peace with not looking perfect the day I got in the surgeons chair.

I realize I may have been too quick to move on camera so I’ve taken a still picture of my hair at a perfect angle directly in the sun, wet and slightly spread apart.

You can definitely see scalp. I could’ve easily came here and raised a stink and bashed my surgeon, by only posting pictures like this. 

Fuexpert seems to have results with no see through. If your happy with that it's cool but your definitely could use another 2000 grafts in front. And if you have the donor then why not? I don't know about you but I seem to be in harsh lights in a lot of situations. So yes that would bother me. 

[Melvin- Admin]

13 hours ago, Guy73 said:

Fuexpert seems to have results with no see through. If your happy with that it's cool but your definitely could use another 2000 grafts in front. And if you have the donor then why not? I don't know about you but I seem to be in harsh lights in a lot of situations. So yes that would bother me. 

You probably shouldn't get an HT 

[Sean]

Melvin, your result actually looks good.  Have you taken a pic in the sun outside?  

Your front looks natural and normal.  I cant say the same for me, but id take where you are in a Heartbeat . 

[Guy73]

2 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

You probably shouldn't get an HT 

Lol maybe you should follow the advice of lasercap. That guy knows his stuff. I know a few things he said to me in a private email were spot on and contradicts a few things you say on here. Joe Tillman has no see through in his front under any light and that guy had no hair to start also. Just saying powder is ok but many people don’t need it with the right surgeon. 

[Fozzie]

1 hour ago, Guy73 said:

Joe Tillman has no see through in his front under any light and that guy had no hair to start also.

On a unrelated topic, over the years I actually feel Joe Tillman's hair has regressed somewhat even though he is on finasteride. The hair doesn't look as strong as it was after his first few procedures imo and maybe lends credence to the fact that although hair in the safe zone is considered more resilient  to DHT compared to hair on top, it isn't totally resilient, especially if someone is in NW 6-7 territory like he was. Maybe why some guys make the switch to dutasteride after being on fin for so long. However JT styles his hair very well and still looks good. 

[Guy73]

3 hours ago, MPBsucks4545 said:

Not necessarily, some people had great donor density and are able to get alot of grafts out. Others might get say 6000-7000 and it is always going to be possible to get complete coverage. It is not just the right doctor but alot is down to the patient. A NW 5 is going to be able to get more coverage than a NW6. 

I guess your right in a sense. I mean me personally have fine thin hair so not to sure if I have more donor than anyone else. But I kinda feel the doctor does matter. I researched a lot before having my own done I am sure most everyone else too. But the DHI method using implanter pens does yield good results staying in a certain graft per sq cm range. Maybe I am a odd case or just got lucky. 

[Al - Moderator]

17 hours ago, Guy73 said:

Joe Tillman has no see through in his front under any light and that guy had no hair to start also. Just saying powder is ok but many people don’t need it with the right surgeon. 

Joe Tillman has a much higher hairline than Melvin, so actually some of the area that Melvin's is see through, Joe Tillman's is non existent. It looks fine on Joe, but Melvin wanted a lower hairline which happens to look fine on Melvin.

 

On 9/28/2019 at 10:07 PM, Guy73 said:

If your happy with that it's cool but your definitely could use another 2000 grafts in front. And if you have the donor then why not? I don't know about you but I seem to be in harsh lights in a lot of situations. So yes that would bother me.

If you are a NW 6 and the see through look in bright lights would bother you then you should think hard about choosing a high hairline. You don't just have more grafts because you want to have more. For example, the difference in hairline placement between Melvin and Joe Tillman is more than 2000 grafts worth, so Joe can get a more dense look for at least two reasons. One is because he doesn't have any hair at all in the area you are telling Melvin he needs more. That is all part of the illusion. Two is because since he didn't use a few thousand grafts to go lower with the hairline, he can use them to increase the amount of grafts in other areas.

 

[Guy73]

22 minutes ago, BeHappy said:

Joe Tillman has a much higher hairline than Melvin, so actually some of the area that Melvin's is see through, Joe Tillman's is non existent. It looks fine on Joe, but Melvin wanted a lower hairline which happens to look fine on Melvin.

 

If you are a NW 6 and the see through look in bright lights would bother you then you should think hard about choosing a high hairline. You don't just have more grafts because you want to have more. For example, the difference in hairline placement between Melvin and Joe Tillman is more than 2000 grafts worth, so Joe can get a more dense look for at least two reasons. One is because he doesn't have any hair at all in the area you are telling Melvin he needs more. That is all part of the illusion. Two is because since he didn't use a few thousand grafts to go lower with the hairline, he can use them to increase the amount of grafts in other areas.

 

Melvin looks great! No doubt about it! Maybe he took offense but honestly I was just saying based on his pictures and videos. It just looked like he had a lot of donor left to do more and anyone can look good a few feet away from a camera. Joe does have a high hairline but it does look good in most lights melvins is lower but it’s not that low. Either way I only said that because his donor looked thick. 

[Al - Moderator]

10 minutes ago, Guy73 said:

Maybe he took offense but honestly I was just saying based on his pictures and videos. It just looked like he had a lot of donor left to do more and anyone can look good a few feet away from a camera. Joe does have a high hairline but it does look good in most lights melvins is lower but it’s not that low. Either way I only said that because his donor looked thick. 

 

I don't personally know Melvin. I never met him, so I don't know what his donor situation is or what his current hair loss situation is (is he still losing crown hair? I don't know), but I totally get what you mean. However donor hair is finite, so you don't always have the choice to get exactly what you want. A lot of times it does come down to choosing either a lower hairline with not as much density or a higher hairline with thick density.

We all want more hair and some people feel like it's not really worth spending thousands to still not have what they want. I totally get that. I see a lot of "after" pictures of some guys that look fine, but it isn't what I would have chosen to do. But everyone is different. I think generally most men are looking to get back to what they used to look like before they lost their hair or at least close to that. Men who had high hairlines when they were younger are usually OK with a high hairline because they are used to it. It looks like them when they look in the mirror. Getting too low a hairline for them would make them not feel like themselves. The idea is to get back to the younger you. This goes for straight hairlines and widows peak hairlines and everything else as well. Guys who always had a widows peak are uncomfortable with too straight of a hairline, etc, etc. I think some people and especially the Drs. should pay more attention to that. I think more Drs. should be asking to see older pictures of their potential patients to try to design the hair style in a similar manner to how it used to be. I think there would be more happy patients that way. I understand why they don't. They don't want to give the impression that they can get you totally back to that look, but I do think explaining that they are using it as a reference and then creating the plan for that patient would really help.

 

 

[Melvin- Admin]

2 hours ago, Guy73 said:

Melvin looks great! No doubt about it! Maybe he took offense but honestly I was just saying based on his pictures and videos. It just looked like he had a lot of donor left to do more and anyone can look good a few feet away from a camera. Joe does have a high hairline but it does look good in most lights melvins is lower but it’s not that low. Either way I only said that because his donor looked thick. 

No offense taken at all man. Look, the reason I show my hair in the worst situations, is I want the public to have realistic expectations. Comparing yourself to anyone else is a dangerous proposition. Our donor density, characteristics etc are not the same. There is a point of diminishing returns, like the saying goes "every loser in Vegas, thinks they can get a little more" hair restoration is a marathon. You have to keep some donor hair in the bank for the inevitable. 

[Guy73]

3 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

No offense taken at all man. Look, the reason I show my hair in the worst situations, is I want the public to have realistic expectations. Comparing yourself to anyone else is a dangerous proposition. Our donor density, characteristics etc are not the same. There is a point of diminishing returns, like the saying goes "every loser in Vegas, thinks they can get a little more" hair restoration is a marathon. You have to keep some donor hair in the bank for the inevitable. 

Ok glad to hear! I did post some of my results here to take a look. Not worried about losing too much hair because I was at least a 5

 

[gillenator]

I think all of you look so much better than before you started!...

[JayLDD]

On 9/30/2019 at 4:46 AM, Guy73 said:

Lol maybe you should follow the advice of lasercap. That guy knows his stuff. I know a few things he said to me in a private email were spot on and contradicts a few things you say on here. Joe Tillman has no see through in his front under any light and that guy had no hair to start also. Just saying powder is ok but many people don’t need it with the right surgeon. 

Utterly clueless. Keep kidding yourself if you like, but 99% of transplants except insane dense packs in a tiny area are see-through under certain lights. If you think someone in the hairloss industry called "lasercap" is a 100% trustworthy source of info don't know what to tell you apart from that I have a few bridges to sell you. 

[gillenator]

That is why I still use Toppik.

[Guy73]

On 10/2/2019 at 9:14 PM, JayLDD said:

Utterly clueless. Keep kidding yourself if you like, but 99% of transplants except insane dense packs in a tiny area are see-through under certain lights. If you think someone in the hairloss industry called "lasercap" is a 100% trustworthy source of info don't know what to tell you apart from that I have a few bridges to sell you. 

Mr. lasercap seems to have been in the business since the beginning. So yeah he does make sense. 30-35 graftsper sq cm for front to midsection 3 passes would give you as close to natural density you possibly could get. The problem is there is no way to achieve that in one procedure and even two!  Now being I am on that 3rd pass I will see if your right or wrong. I hope 🤞  

Edited October 4, 2019 by Guy73