Not Shaving Entire Head

[MizterKewl]

I am an African American male looking for a hair transplant. Do you think it's possible to get a hair transplant without them shaving my entire head? My hair is currently long and I was thinking I could just have my hair cover my temple areas while the hair grows.

 

The one doctor I reached out to said I need to cut all my hair off! 😩

[Shera]

Many patients can get away with the no shave technique if the graft recipient area is restricted to an area that can be covered by existing hair during the growth phase. E.g. the temples as you mention, the hairline if there is ample hair further up to hide the recipient area (fringe) and the crown through strategic styling. It's when the area to implant is bigger, then no shaving becomes problematic. Also most surgeons will say that 1500 - 2000 grafts is the maximum for no shave otherwise the donor area will become uneven.

If more grafts are required in a number of areas then it will be necessary to shave the donor area in order to extract more grafts evenly but depending on the areas of placement it may still be possible to not shave the entire head.

If you post pictures then we can offer you better guidance.

[markymarc123]

Its called U-FUE. I had it done. Check out my own thread for more details.

Note i only had the hairline and temples done. Its only available for some cases. It has many advantages in terms of returning back in to public life a lot quicker.  Its generally more expensive.

[MizterKewl]

5 hours ago, Shera said:

If you post pictures then we can offer you better guidance.

I understand...well here are some pictures I sent in. Maybe it’s just not an option.

[MizterKewl]

4 hours ago, markymarc123 said:

Its called U-FUE. I had it done. Check out my own thread for more details.

Note i only had the hairline and temples done. Its only available for some cases. It has many advantages in terms of returning back in to public life a lot quicker.  Its generally more expensive.

Yeah seems like mine is farther back. That’s probably why. I also was trying to go to Dr Erdogan.

[Shera]

MizterKewl,

Judging by your pics, I would suggest you are a definite candidate for the no shave technique however the donor hair at the back will be best shaved but you have the style to carry that off no problem. I would suggest approx 500 grafts for each temple.

Also, I take it you aware of the risk of high transection in extracting Afro-Caribbean hair grafts due to the nature of the curl under the scalp surface. Also you should be aware that successfully grown out transplanted hairs will cover more area than straight hair, again due to the curl.

[Melvin- Admin]

If you want to undergo FUE only the back and sides of the scalp need to be shaved. 

[MizterKewl]

9 hours ago, Shera said:

MizterKewl,

Judging by your pics, I would suggest you are a definite candidate for the no shave technique however the donor hair at the back will be best shaved but you have the style to carry that off no problem. I would suggest approx 500 grafts for each temple.

Also, I take it you aware of the risk of high transection in extracting Afro-Caribbean hair grafts due to the nature of the curl under the scalp surface. Also you should be aware that successfully grown out transplanted hairs will cover more area than straight hair, again due to the curl.

tbh even if they wanted to shave it back just a little to give good density I would be fine with that. I just didn't want to cut all my hair off because I was hoping to cover it up. My hair is pretty long. It will cover my forehead and the back too.

yes I am aware. I think a big issue is the coarse hairs that most people have. although my hair isn't straight it's not very coarse and I think it will not be an issue for extraction.

I just need someone that's willing to not cut my hair on top. guess Dr Erdogan is out.

 

[MizterKewl]

3 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

If you want to undergo FUE only the back and sides of the scalp need to be shaved. 

Yes that is what I wanted to do so I'm aware. Just the coordinator I was talking to said my whole head needed to be shaved. That was Dr. Erdogan...

[Stevie La]

On 3/28/2019 at 10:43 AM, Shera said:

MizterKewl,

Judging by your pics, I would suggest you are a definite candidate for the no shave technique however the donor hair at the back will be best shaved but you have the style to carry that off no problem. I would suggest approx 500 grafts for each temple.

Also, I take it you aware of the risk of high transection in extracting Afro-Caribbean hair grafts due to the nature of the curl under the scalp surface. Also you should be aware that successfully grown out transplanted hairs will cover more area than straight hair, again due to the curl.

Sorry could you please explain the high risk of transection in Afro hair and the possible consequences? 

Thanks in advance 

[Shera]

23 minutes ago, Stevie La said:

Sorry could you please explain the high risk of transection in Afro hair and the possible consequences? 

Thanks in advance 

Hi Stevie,

Please have a read at the link below

https://darlingbuds.com/african-profile

It's not as straight forward as Asian/Caucasian hair. Also be aware of potential Keloid scarring which is more prominent with patients of African descent.

[Stevie La]

2 hours ago, Shera said:

Hi Stevie,

Please have a read at the link below

https://darlingbuds.com/african-profile

It's not as straight forward as Asian/Caucasian hair. Also be aware of potential Keloid scarring which is more prominent with patients of African descent.

Thanks for sharing this information, I was aware of keloid scars however only expected them via FUT. Seriously considering FUE myself but didn’t even consider scarring, being bi racial (50% white English & 50% West Indian - Dominica) I’m really unsure how to proceed tbh

[Shera]

36 minutes ago, Stevie La said:

Thanks for sharing this information, I was aware of keloid scars however only expected them via FUT. Seriously considering FUE myself but didn’t even consider scarring, being bi racial (50% white English & 50% West Indian - Dominica) I’m really unsure how to proceed tbh

PM me and I'll try to explain things in more details.

Edited May 26, 2019 by Shera

[DrTBarghouthi]

You can certainly carry out a U-FUE. Your donor area is already trimmed down by how you style your hair. As for the recipient area, this should not be a problem too as the temple recessions are quite clear and empty.   Given the density in your mid frontal zone, I would suggest something in the region of 2000 grafts to match the middle density. As members outlined here before, you should always be aware of the fact that your curls could in some cases lead to a higher transection rate. Few “test” extractions could be helpful.

[MizterKewl]

Well I've contacted several doctors and most aren't willing to do it or want to shave off all my hair, which I don't want. Hair of Istanbul will allow me to do the U-FUE. They have been very informative when responding to my questions, but I can't seem to find much information on them. Was wondering if anyone knows anything.

[DrTBarghouthi]

You should really shave the donor area as it matches the current styling you have. It will be shorter than what is in the photos but it will grew fairly quickly. The front doesn’t need shaving much. 

[pkipling]

On 7/2/2019 at 5:28 PM, MizterKewl said:

Well I've contacted several doctors and most aren't willing to do it or want to shave off all my hair, which I don't want. Hair of Istanbul will allow me to do the U-FUE. They have been very informative when responding to my questions, but I can't seem to find much information on them. Was wondering if anyone knows anything.

Doing a non-shave FUE is not only tricky, but can be very time consuming (and therefore, more expensive), hence why it's difficult to find surgeons who offer this.

It is something Dr. Mohebi provides (called his "Celebrity FUE" - because we're in LA ;)) if you want to look more into what it entails. I'm happy to discuss with you if you want more info as well.  

[home1212]

When I had my procedure I was very hesitant about shaving my entire head, which I had never done before and thought I would feel odd. Take the plunge and don't worry about it. You're going to be going thru a transition phase and will need to spraying and cleaning your grafts thru a cleaning regiment for a while after surgery. The last thing you want is to worry about styling and cleaning your hair or trying to cover up the recipient zone with hair etc. While I was afraid of what others might think, its the last thing other people worry about. You may get a quick glance or two, but people move on with their lives. Just do it!

Edited July 5, 2019 by home1212

[pkipling]

On 7/5/2019 at 3:26 PM, home1212 said:

When I had my procedure I was very hesitant about shaving my entire head, which I had never done before and thought I would feel odd. Take the plunge and don't worry about it. You're going to be going thru a transition phase and will need to spraying and cleaning your grafts thru a cleaning regiment for a while after surgery. The last thing you want is to worry about styling and cleaning your hair or trying to cover up the recipient zone with hair etc. While I was afraid of what others might think, its the last thing other people worry about. You may get a quick glance or two, but people move on with their lives. Just do it!

I agree with this. It's a much bigger deal in our minds than it is in reality. I literally have friends who knew about my HT when I was going through it who have forgotten all about the time I "shaved my head and wore a hat a lot and had a 'sunburn' on my hairline." Lol. I understand still wanting to keep it a secret, but knowing what I know now, I would definitely save myself the stress of making sure nobody found out.  

[MizterKewl]

Hi everyone,

 

Just wanted to update you to let you know that I was able to find a clinic I was happy with and I got the procedure done. I decided to document my journey that there is not a lot of information out there for African American Men or African American People that want to keep their hair during the transplant process. I will post some pictures here when I get a chance, but the latest information can be found on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJOUc8_q1lhnThE07MHiI8A/

[LonelyGraft]

52 minutes ago, MizterKewl said:

Hi everyone,

 

Just wanted to update you to let you know that I was able to find a clinic I was happy with and I got the procedure done. I decided to document my journey that there is not a lot of information out there for African American Men or African American People that want to keep their hair during the transplant process. I will post some pictures here when I get a chance, but the latest information can be found on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJOUc8_q1lhnThE07MHiI8A/

Thanks for sharing. That clinic looks very fancy red carpet and all lol. I’ll be following your progress 

[didit07]

name of clinic and price you paid? Im guessing hair of istanbul.

[MizterKewl]

It's been one week since my procedure and this how things look so far.

[MizterKewl]

Here are my two week results so far.

Youtube - Two Week Results

 

Edited August 29, 2019 by MizterKewl

[pkipling]

I hope the direct sunlight on your recipient area was just for the photos - but just in case it wasn't, please avoid direct sunlight for the first 6 months. There's actually not a whole lot that can be done to damage the grafts after the first 10 days or so, but direct sun exposure (particularly sunburn) can really mess things up. 

Regardless, happy to see you seem to be on track otherwise.