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Are Hair Transplants an “Illusion” of density?


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After much hysteria on the forum, this issue has to be addressed. Anyone reading this that is interested in getting a hair transplant, it will either deter you away from one or entice you. If it does either my job is done.

First of all, pictures can be deceiving both to present good and bad results. However, most only think that pictures can be deceiving to present good results, this is not true. 

I would like to start off by saying, I’m ecstatic about my hair transplant and it has changed my life, but I do not have true density. I have the “illusion of density” meaning I have to comb my hair a certain way and have it dry for my hair to lookst its best, but certainly it can look bad if I intentionally try too.

I will be writing an article on this, because it is important to get out there. I’ve always said, id rather someone not get an HT if they’re not gonna be satisfied with the reality. Here are my pictures

first one hairline spread apart in bright light looks horrible. Second one in normal room lighting, but not facing the light. Third one in bathroom lighting, with the light source behind the hair. See how each lighting changes the appearance and also how combing and layering the hair provides “illusion” of density.

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I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

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Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

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Yep that's the reality folks, like Melvin I am delighted with my transplant  and it has given me a new lease of life ,in  normal lighting including out doors   ,it looks great ,but if I stand under harsh over head lighting it will expose certain weaknesses and I believe if you go to the best clinics in the world this will be the case ,Melvin went with a top Doc and he has had a life changing result , but he is honest and realistic enough to acknowledge he has had a very good illusion of density ,it comes down to expectation and just because you are possibly a NW 2-3 it still applies ,the bottom line is  transplanted hair will never be the same as native density 

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4 minutes ago, CosmicGate said:

keep in mind what you're talking about applies to everybody except for maybe NW1s with very thick hair with great density


I know 40 year old co workers who are solid NW1.5s but if I see their hair in the wrong light with wrong combing, I can see plenty of scalp. Most people don't care as long as you can make it look decent overall

This is true, but I created this thread for the purpose of some who present their results by spreading their hairline apart under bright light to make it look worse.


I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

View my thread

Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

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Just now, Melvin-Moderator said:

This is true, but I created this thread for the purpose of some who present their results by spreading their hairline apart ynder bright light to make it look worse.

As you say Melvin this is a new thing , and just as dishonest as someone taking a pic in dark/shadow lighting 

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Most believe and go on to explain that you are born with 100,000 hair.  By the time you are a teenager you've lost 1/2 and still do not realize that hair loss is involved.  So let's say that 50,000 hairs represents a full set of hair. 

Would you agree that someone with decent donor can harvest 5-7000 grafts.  With an average of 2.2 hair per graft you are talking about 15000 hair.  

So how does the doctor take 15000 hairs and place them in such a way that gives you the 'look" of a full set of hair, equivalent to the 50,000?  Artistry, knowledge, experience.

I think it is smart for patients to style their hair from one side to the other.  The hair then shingles and gives you the illusion of a fuller set of hair.  Typically, during a consultation with the doctor the dialogue of concentrating more grafts towards the part-line always comes up.  That will always be the weakest point and, as the hair grows, it will allow for more density on the other side.  The problem, by working asymetric, is the fact that if you decide to change your hairstyle now you will have more density on one side than on the other. 

 

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Man, that sure is a super big difference in the photos. 

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I am an online representative for Dr. Raymond Konior who is an elite member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

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I am not a medical professional and my opinions should not be taken as medical advice.

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We must keep in mind that it is never the goal of surgical hair restoration to achieve native density levels.  It simply cannot be done.  But that leads to the whole basis of why HT restoration is an illusion of coverage.  On average, it only takes 50% of native density to achieve decent visual coverage.

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Gillenator

Independent Patient Advocate

I am not a physician and not employed by any doctor/clinic. My opinions are not medical advice, but are my own views which you read at your own risk.

Supporting Physicians: Dr. Robert Dorin: The Hairloss Doctors in New York, NY

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6 minutes ago, Spanker said:

Man, that sure is a super big difference in the photos. 

Yup, the difference is I walk around looking like the last two pictures. No one walks around holding a light to their hairline, with their hairline spread apart.

It’s important to be cognizant of these things, especially when seeing how others present their results online and vice versa for clinics. When I documented my journey, I always included inside, outside, natural and artificial lighting pictures. Also, I would regularly style my hair, because that’s how the world and others would see my hair.

 

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I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

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Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

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Try adding some Toppik to that hair volume and see what a difference that can make...it sure does with mine...:D

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Gillenator

Independent Patient Advocate

I am not a physician and not employed by any doctor/clinic. My opinions are not medical advice, but are my own views which you read at your own risk.

Supporting Physicians: Dr. Robert Dorin: The Hairloss Doctors in New York, NY

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5 minutes ago, gillenator said:

We must keep in mind that it is never the goal of surgical hair restoration to achieve native density levels.  It simply cannot be done.  But that leads to the whole basis of why HT restoration is an illusion of coverage.  On average, it only takes 50% of native density to achieve decent visual coverage.

I completely agree. Unfortunately, many patients do not understand this and become extremely dissatisfied with the reality of how hair restoration works. I would rather someone not get a hair transplant, then get one and become dissatisfied with the results, because of their expectations.

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I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

View my thread

Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

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Just now, gillenator said:

Try adding some Toppik to that hair volume and see what a difference that can make...it sure does with mine...:D

I use Caboki all the time in the crown. In fact, it makes my hair look like a 10.  I can certainly live with needing to use hair fibers to make my hair look perfect. This is how I looked before, I keep these pictures as a reminder.

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I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

View my thread

Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

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Definitely an awesome transition Melvin...kudos!

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Gillenator

Independent Patient Advocate

I am not a physician and not employed by any doctor/clinic. My opinions are not medical advice, but are my own views which you read at your own risk.

Supporting Physicians: Dr. Robert Dorin: The Hairloss Doctors in New York, NY

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7 minutes ago, gillenator said:

Definitely an awesome transition Melvin...kudos!

Thanks Gil,

It’s all about perspective, I couldn’t be happier ?


I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

View my thread

Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

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I think everyone who’s had a HT would agree that a HT provides only an illusion of density.

A successful illusion is the best possible outcome of a HT and often not achievable without proper length and styling.

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So, i'm guessing people post HT don't go out without style their hair. 

you don't comb your hair when it's dry, right? so you wash it every morning? is it good for the hair to wash it everyday (not shampoo it).

i don't want to use hair products or use it for the necessary  minimum. it's been a long time since i comb my hair, but i would rather just wash and comb it.

if i wash the hair and comb it the hair is wet so it will look thin than when it looks dry, right?, also when i use gel or other products to have that "wet look", it will look thin, what can you do in that situation without adding fibers or something else.

when you do use hair products, what is the "safest" "cleanest" product there is?- gel, mousse, clay?. took me a really long time to find a shampoo.

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Isn’t the “illusion of density” argument valid for pretty much any man, regardless of whether he has had a hair transplant ?

Dudes that look like they have a great head of hair will come out of the pool and you see bald patches, recessions, thinness etc that you didn’t see before

 I actually think that trying to overcompensate looks fake. Like when people cake themselves in concealer or (more extremely) when a 70 year old wears a super thick hair system.

 

 

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If you are referring to the recent slew of unhappy Erdogan patients, I think the comparison is unfair as you were a norwood 5-6 and are comparing yourself to norwood 2.5/3's who have had an inordinate number of grafts put into a very small area and still don't have anywhere near your results. 

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7 hours ago, Payam said:

If you are referring to the recent slew of unhappy Erdogan patients, I think the comparison is unfair as you were a norwood 5-6 and are comparing yourself to norwood 2.5/3's who have had an inordinate number of grafts put into a very small area and still don't have anywhere near your results. 

Not really, my point is if you want to make your hairline look bad on purpose you can. In fact, when spread apart my hairline looks just as bad if not worse than yours. Obviously, this is not a fair and honest way to present results.


I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

View my thread

Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

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38 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Not really, my point is if you want to make your hairline look bad on purpose you can. In fact, when spread apart my hairline looks just as bad if not worse than yours. Obviously, this is not a fair and honest way to present results.

It's not easy showing the issues with a transplant using a mobile camera, we are not deliberate trying to trick you here, when spread apart with a higher resolutions shot you can see how sparse the hair is, the eye catches detail like a phone camera can not, and will even add some softness due to the image noise. Can you take a high resolution shot of your hairline as such?IMG_20181030_064457.thumb.jpg.729ec29c7aa691d5c7be8ec5d29c19b0.jpg

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Asmed know when you take a pic with a normal camera the hairline softens making look more dense when its not.

I dont know how people can say asmed results are good. they use far too many grafts, most of the grafts dont grow, hairline is far from natural, hairline has low density. 

 

JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH. 

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52 minutes ago, Payam said:

It's not easy showing the issues with a transplant using a mobile camera, we are not deliberate trying to trick you here, when spread apart with a higher resolutions shot you can see how sparse the hair is, the eye catches detail like a phone camera can not, and will even add some softness due to the image noise. Can you take a high resolution shot of your hairline as such?IMG_20181030_064457.thumb.jpg.729ec29c7aa691d5c7be8ec5d29c19b0.jpg

You say this and then proceed to post a picture of your hairline wet, this is exactly what I’m talking about. You’re deliberately trying to make your hairline look worse. Why? Because you don’t walk around spreading your hairline apart or constantly with your hairline wet. 

This is why we advise clinics not to present their before and after results with patients hair wet before and then their hair dry after, this is because it’s unfairly making the result look better. Present the results as you would wear your hair normally. Combed and styled as you normally would. If I wet my hair and go close to the light it will look just as bad as yours. Again, this is the reality of hair restoration, 


I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

View my thread

Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

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Here are some photos of my hair wet vs damp, look at how big the difference is, you can definitely see scalp if my hair is wet and if I were to post that as my result, I would be misleading the forum and others, because that’s not really how my result looks or appears day to day. Unless, I walk around dunking my head in water all day. This is why it’s important to post results as others see you, indoors and outdoors with your hair styled as you normally wear your hair. 

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I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

View my thread

Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

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Doesn’t look botched at all, could it be refined a bit? Sure, but then again 99% of transplants could be improved including mine and I’ve had three. Hair restoration is not a perfect science and its normal to desire refinement, more hair etc. If you have enough donor the refinement is quite simple and doesn’t require alot of grafts. - Also, your results look better than mine with wet hair.


I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

View my thread

Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube.

 

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