Are Hair Transplants an “Illusion” of density?

[gillenator]

The psychological benefits have never left me as I get older.

[TheGreatPretender]

5 hours ago, StillAlive said:

Also, something else to keep in mind that really helps with staying positive :

It may be an illusion of density and some of us may have the 'slightly thinning/starting to bald' look, but unlike our previous condition where we knew it was all headed south and it was truly depressing to look at, now we know that unless something goes terribly wrong, that's it, we are keeping that look into our old age. That's a tremendous boost to your psychology and it becomes ever more apparent as you get older, particularly when it comes to your hairline and frontal third that define your face.

Out of sight, out of mind as they say. 

[Recession1]

I think it depends on the surgeon performing the transplant and on how much area you are trying to cover. For instance I have seen results from Konior where he has brought people with extensive hair loss back to appearing like they haven’t lost a hair. Some of the guys even took pictures outside and it looked dense. I think what he does with 1500 grafts is what most surgeons would need 3000 grafts for.  I think it all comes down to the hairline. When you are in your 30s and 40s it’s more about the hairline framing your face than having crazy dense hair. The majority of men in their 30s and 40s have recession so if you have a good hairline you appear in better than most men at that age. Also, if you don’t mind sprinkling some fibers in with a skilled surgeon I think you can create a perfect full head of hair look. 

[gillenator]

There’s no question that surgeon skill along with outstanding artistic merit is paramount in producing the end result that not only maximizes visual coverage but also accentuates the individual’s hairline design accounting for age appropriate density and anticipated points of recession unique to him.

[TheGreatPretender]

Honestly I am a big fan of Long Hair so in order to try and make it look fuller I will always resort to Extensions. They will come with maintenance costs, howeaver they are great if you're looking to add volume and density. 

I am not a big fan of Fibers as I have used them in the past, but they're good for people who may like more buzzed styles, which in all fairness ain't my style. 

[gillenator]

No kidding?…I did not know you used hair extensions…my own hair is too short to wear them.

[TheGreatPretender]

On 7/28/2023 at 3:43 AM, gillenator said:

No kidding?…I did not know you used hair extensions…my own hair is too short to wear them.

Yep. But that is because I am looking for a more androgynous look overall so long hair matches my goals. And mine do grow very long pretty quick, even the thinning ones. 

I remember back in the day when I started thinning out they used to keep my hairline from being exposed.

The saloon lady just asked me if I wanted to get some extensions since they could help me mask my thinning, I told her to do what she had to so we opted for that. 

Once I cut them down it was a nightmare and I truly saw how bad it was getting. 

My biggest mistake was not starting fin by then, but that's another topic. 

[gillenator]

Would you mind sharing a few pics with and without the extensions?

[TheGreatPretender]

14 minutes ago, gillenator said:

Would you mind sharing a few pics with and without the extensions?

This was long ago, I dont think I have them anymore with me saddly. 

It was also shortlived because I cut them off 2/3 months later

Edited July 30, 2023 by TheGreatPretender

[gillenator]

Sorry, my misunderstanding, I thought this was something you were doing recently.

[jakos]

On 5/8/2022 at 5:56 AM, general-etwan said:

I agree very much with this.

I say it all the time: it's the MPB pattern (the horseshoe-looking pattern) that is the real killer. Attractiveness is found in uniformity. Even completely smooth bald all across the entire head can be attractive...but most men have that remaining ring shadow left over which will always been unappealing. 

I have an uncle who seems to have had some uniform diffuse thinning of his hair over his life (he's about 50). But it's still an absolutely fine look because there is no ring pattern visible from a distance. He still has pretty unform hair from front to back, and he buzzes his hair all one length, and it looks good. 

I strongly believe in almost every case, it is the ring pattern that must be eliminated. It's why I want to see more aggression in transplant clinics in taking the donor hair. In my opinion, too many clinics (and too many patients) are too concerned about preserving the donor area, when the ultimate point is that it's the ring pattern that creates the unappealing look above everything else. Enough donor hair should be taken and relocated to the top to equal out the density across the scalp and make it as uniform as possible. As an oversimplified example: If a balding guy's situation is 40 density on top, 100 density on donor area, every effort should be made to make that at least 70/70, or at least create the visual look that it is about uniform. 20/100 would need to go to 60/60.

And if one area is going to have "more" hair than the other, it really should be the top of the scalp. Hair on the top always looks you look taller, frames your face more strongly, and is a more attractive look. I see so many hair transplants where the donor area remains significantly more dense after a HT than the top and I just don't understand why clinics aren't going further to equal out the areas when I think they should be. 

I definitely understand your point, but i think you are not considering the scarring in the donor area. If my understanding of HT is correct, scarring in donor area is not 1+1=2. After a certain threshold, if scars ocurring after the extractions are too close, they combine and inflict greater scarring than if they were further away from each other.

What i mean is, if you extract double amount of grafts, scarring may be not double, but even triple. That is if number of extractions are more than a certain threshold for the patient. (or even with lower numbers, if they are too close to each other because they were all collected from the same narrow area)

If this phenomenon were not to exist, definitely what you suggested would be the way to go IMO.

However, I can be wrong, definitely not an expert on HT 😀

 

[jakos]

On 5/21/2023 at 7:44 PM, gillenator said:

Transplanted hair is not as susceptible to shock loss as native hair, especially native hair that is diffusing.

do you mean temporary shock loss or a permanent one?

[general-etwan]

12 minutes ago, jakos said:

I definitely understand your point, but i think you are not considering the scarring in the donor area. If my understanding of HT is correct, scarring in donor area is not 1+1=2. After a certain threshold, if scars ocurring after the extractions are too close, they combine and inflict greater scarring than if they were further away from each other.

What i mean is, if you extract double amount of grafts, scarring may be not double, but even triple. That is if number of extractions are more than a certain threshold for the patient. (or even with lower numbers, if they are too close to each other because they were all collected from the same narrow area)

If this phenomenon were not to exist, definitely what you suggested would be the way to go IMO.

However, I can be wrong, definitely not an expert on HT 😀

 

This is correct; that post of mine you quoted was well over a year ago and since I've definitely learned that the scarring is the major difficult thing that prevents this simple math in most cases. Most people's donor can't be massacred beyond a certain point without looking just bad from all the tiny scarring adding up. 

[Turkhair]

I learned this lesson the hard way. It’s funny when things actually happen to you then they become “real”. I had read this topic before and I believed it but after getting my HT did I fully understand what it meant.

It’s quite disappointing really. 

[gillenator]

On 9/15/2023 at 2:50 PM, jakos said:

do you mean temporary shock loss or a permanent one?

Temporary