Dr. Diep FUE Appointment in 3 weeks - Question about shaving head prior to procedure

[shookwon33]

Hi guys, excited and nervous to have my FUE procedure with Dr. Diep in about 3 weeks. I am estimated about 1500-2000 grafts just to lower my hairline. I just had a question if anyone has had any experience or knowledge about shaving the entire head prior to procedure versus shaving just the donor areas prior to procedure and leaving the hair on top long to hide any observation of a transplant being done. 

Is there any benefit to shaving the entire head prior to the procedure? For example would it be easier to clean and manage the recipient area post op for better results due to not having to maintain the native hair as much? Or is there a benefit that implanting into the recipient area with a fully shaved head?

Or is it okay to just shave the donor areas and leave the top long like some people do?

[FUEblonde1985]

I think I can answer this, having left the hair on top long with the same doctor.

There are no substantial benefits to shaving the entire head in terms of your long term results. Having your head shaved will make it easier to clean when it times to get the scabs off. Having long hair on the crown will cause lots of bits to get stuck in the hair, and you will be really nervous the first time rubbing the area, so it can be kind of a hassle.

There is also the possibility that your hair will get stuck to existing scabs during the first few days where you will be pouring water on the recipient area - theoretically you could dislodge grafts that way - though I imagine just being cautious can easily avoid that.

Diep is not going implant hairs into an area that is not shaved. So, the hairs directly on your existing hairline will be shaved back about half a cm or so for him to implant into the area.

I would also add that you should be realistic about your ability to cover the hairline. You will need really long hair on the top to be able to effectively cover it, and its probably going to look goofy when the the sides and back of your head are shaved all the way up to the vertex. I had asked to have my hair left long on top for my procedure, and it "sort of" worked out, but the tech shaved WAY up on the back and sides so I had no hair near the temple area to push forward. Leaving the hair long on top seems to work better for other doctors when they don't extract from so high up on the back and side so you are able to leave hair in the temple area long, but for me it looked a bit awkward. It took about 5-6 weeks for the back and sides to be long enough to look relatively normal.

The pictures below show how it looked by day 12

Edited May 12, 2019 by FUEblonde1985

[JCw]

This is about a month post op.  Look what Dr. Diep did to my donor area.

[Shifty]

@JCw I imagine as you heal and hair starts growing that will be fine.

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, Shifty said:

@JCw I imagine as you heal and hair starts growing that will be fine.

^this at one month you’re still healing and in some cases dealing with shock loss. 

Also, shook you’ve been given excellent advice by @FUEblonde1985 

It depends on how you wear your hair, from what I remember you wear sort of a medium length fringe. May be better off with a partial shave, as long as you keep your hair long enough on top.

[Lennney]

On ‎5‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 6:05 PM, shookwon33 said:

Hi guys, excited and nervous to have my FUE procedure with Dr. Diep in about 3 weeks. I am estimated about 1500-2000 grafts just to lower my hairline. I just had a question if anyone has had any experience or knowledge about shaving the entire head prior to procedure 1. versus shaving just the donor areas prior to procedure and leaving the hair on top long to hide any observation of a transplant being done. 

2. Is there any benefit to shaving the entire head prior to the procedure? For example would it be easier to clean and manage the recipient area post op for better results due to not having to maintain the native hair as much? Or is there a benefit that implanting into the recipient area with a fully shaved head?

3. Or is it okay to just shave the donor areas and leave the top long like some people do?

1. Dr. Diep has good work, and shouldn't change what he does so long as he and his patients are achieving the expected results... Don't take this the wrong way, but Dr. Diep isn't known around here for his sneaky HTs. The punch size alone will make the HT look more prominent than other docs' work. 

This is one of multiple posts recently about HTs being done on the low. I think there are ways to minimize the evidence, but any passive observer will see something isn't "normal" with your hair after a procedure, and many weeks after. Maybe you should ask what can be done to minimize the look. I wore a hat everywhere, but I think if I could not, I would look at cosmetics. The redness is the biggest issue for me, and I think I would have invested in a concealer to blend away the different skin tone. I wasn't bothered by the "no-hair" look, I was bothered by the redness.

2. Many. As @FUEblonde1985 stated, short hair helps with the washing portion immediately post-op. Think about it, you have hair that needs to be washed. The last thing you want to do post-op is being concerned about keeping your hair clean while also not fucking your HT up. Spending more time in the shower increases risks for your HT as funny as that is to type out. You can scratch follicles out as you attempt to clean your head. You can direct the high pressure water coming from your shower head at the recipient area (inadvertently or not, the effect is the same) and through the "water needle" (forgot term, can explain if you don't get it) effect you push out the neighboring hairs as they are not fully anchored. It should be said, your hair is naturally oily, and could make your recipient area oily/ cause infection from the excess bacteria. It's a low risk if you keep your head clean (which will require additional effort).

It is substantially easier to keep my head clean with a shaved head post op. I really enjoyed being able to ever-so-gently clean my head. I can't imagine what the mix of care I should do when 1. Your scalp is completely numb 2. You need to still wash your long hair 3. you need to apply medication to the treated areas, and you will have to move your long hair out of the way to do so...

Did you also think about: You want to keep long hair - which will continue to grow. Are you going to go 3+ months of not cutting it? Are you going for the Goro Mortal Kombat look of having super long hair on top, or are you going to the barber/ cutting it yourself? It'll look bad/ you'll have to deal with people directly dealing with your HT, which I thought was your effort to "hide".

3.Is it okay, sure. Does it look better or worse? Up to you to decide. Just know the pros and cons of your decision. There are few, if any, pros from my perspective.

Best of luck.

[Legend007]

Keep ur top hair long n comb it forward .. if I had to shave my head I probably wouldn’t do it .. but that’s just me .. since I never shaved my head before .. people will notice once I do .. 

- if u plan on shaving ur head .. I would do it weeks before the surgery so people get used to u with no hair .. so once u do get a transplant they won’t think much of it .. 

u can easily hide ur transplant with ur current hair right now .. u just having hairline work ..  just tell the office how u style ur hair so they can shave accordingly .. if u don’t say nothing, they will just shave u how they want .. 

best of luck in ur upcoming surgery shook .. 

[Legend007]

Oh yeah ,, don’t forget to tell them to extract from both sides of ur head .. if u don’t say nothing u just end up complaining about it later .. 

[Lennney]

5 hours ago, Legend007 said:

 

- if u plan on shaving ur head .. I would do it weeks before the surgery so people get used to u with no hair .. so once u do get a transplant they won’t think much of it .. 

Maybe it depends on doc, but mine wanted it long before he shaved it. Several docs want to see which way the hair grows before they remove it. I think it doesn't matter much for FUT, as the strip will tell which way it grows. But again, I would find out from your doc what he wants your pre-op hair to look like. No harm done by asking.