FUE Scars?

[Kvn]

This question is mostly for guys who have (or know someone who's) had a hair transplant and ultimately ended up clean shaving their head anyway. One of the things that makes me hesitant about a HT is potentially losing all of my hair anyway, exhausting my donor, and then rocking a head full of visible scars for the remainder of my life. 

How visible are the scars? Do they attract any attention in public? Other than SMP, are there any other successful options in mitigating the visibility of the scars?

 

Any input is appreciated

[Melvin- Admin]

If you ever plan on shaving your head my advice is to not get a hair transplant. Instead, shave your head and see if you like it. FUE is not scarless and anyone who tells you otherwise is not being truthful.

[bonkling]

5 hours ago, Kvn said:

This question is mostly for guys who have (or know someone who's) had a hair transplant and ultimately ended up clean shaving their head anyway. One of the things that makes me hesitant about a HT is potentially losing all of my hair anyway, exhausting my donor, and then rocking a head full of visible scars for the remainder of my life. 

How visible are the scars? Do they attract any attention in public? Other than SMP, are there any other successful options in mitigating the visibility of the scars?

 

Any input is appreciated

This is honestly what has stopped me from pulling the trigger.

I've always worried that even if I get a HT, for one reason or another, it may fail - even if it's within a few years.

I'd rather have a fully shaved head than a receding/messy hair line, and not being able to shave it if something went wrong is my ultimate concern.

Unfortunately, all transplants will have scarring, especially at a buzz cut. 

[HLPToronto]

1 hour ago, bonkling said:

This is honestly what has stopped me from pulling the trigger.

I've always worried that even if I get a HT, for one reason or another, it may fail - even if it's within a few years.

I'd rather have a fully shaved head than a receding/messy hair line, and not being able to shave it if something went wrong is my ultimate concern.

Unfortunately, all transplants will have scarring, especially at a buzz cut. 

After FUE, patients can wear only 2 hair styles on the donor side.

1. 3/4 inches minimum length so they cover up/overlap each other and cover those minor patches that are visible especially under sunlight. If one hair is 4 inches longer, it tends to cover the hair next to it in descending order. 

2. Buzz cut - it wont be detectable to average person, only those who are either HT patients themselves or those who notice very closely.  Its all in the mind of patients as they think its scars ( those white dots) but its normal and undetectable totally in regular life. no one cares to both too much and it looks fine in most patients post 1 year of HT ( 90%)  this is the sole main reason  - No scars that  made FUE overtake FUT market.  I

[Kvn]

16 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

If you ever plan on shaving your head my advice is to not get a hair transplant. Instead, shave your head and see if you like it. FUE is not scarless and anyone who tells you otherwise is not being truthful.

 

15 hours ago, bonkling said:

This is honestly what has stopped me from pulling the trigger.

I've always worried that even if I get a HT, for one reason or another, it may fail - even if it's within a few years.

I'd rather have a fully shaved head than a receding/messy hair line, and not being able to shave it if something went wrong is my ultimate concern.

Unfortunately, all transplants will have scarring, especially at a buzz cut. 

Personally, I'm in the same boat as bonkling. I'd prefer anything but complete baldness, however, there's a point where trying to have hair looks silly. I'm a NW 3 at 25, and I foresee myself reaching NW6 territory by the time I'm 30 based on the current pattern/progression. So there's a real possibility I won't be able to cover the necessary ground to maintain a natural look. Which is probably an even harder hit to self confidence than shaving your head to begin with. 

I've only noticed one individual with FUE scars. But he kept his hair faded to the skin on the sides and had a full head of hair on top, so I doubt he cared.

[Steeeve]

I’m with Melvin on this one. Shave your head first and then see how you feel about it. I would say to stay away from hair transplants if you feel nervous about the scars. It is not a scarless procedure and despite what others might tell you “regular people” can absolutely see them if you buzz your hair down.

A 2 or 3 are typically safe options for your clippers depending on how you scar. Some guys don’t scar as well as others and they can be quite visible with a very close cut.

Do some digging on the forum. Lots of guys post their ongoing FUE procedures and show pics of their donor shaved down post FUE. 

Two users on the forum that come to mind are Yaz89 and Gatsu. Yaz had work done with Asmed and Gatsu went with Lupanzula for a 3rd procedure on his temples. With respect both guys have had phenomenal results once their hair had grown out but they post some very realistic pictures both pre and post transplant of what their donor looks like with a shaved head. Search their names in the search tool to see if you would be willing to buzz it down with those scars. You can also make the argument that the pictures you’ll see are shaved with no guard. That to me though is what a buzz cut looks like. Both of those guys keep their hair fairly short and the scars aren’t visible but they by no means “buzz” their hair down.

Another way to look at it is that if you’re going to spend thousands of your hard earned dollars on an elected procedure then why would you shave your head? I understand your dilemma-the fear of the transplant failing (everyone having had a transplant share your same worries)-but if you do some solid research and pick a good surgeon the chances of it failing drop drastically.

Good luck, buddy.

[gillenator]

Definitely buzz cut your entire scalp first because if you don't like it, chances are you will never buzz cut in the future.

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, gillenator said:

Definitely buzz cut your entire scalp first because if you don't like it, chances are you will never buzz cut in the future.

^this 

I shaved my head for a year, that’s when I knew I’d never do it again. Try it out, trust me. It will either stop you from having a hair transplant or push you towards one. I don’t suggest having surgery with the thought of shaving your head afterwards. Like gillenator said if you don’t like it, you’ll probably never do it.

[Kvn]

On 6/22/2019 at 1:17 AM, Melvin-Moderator said:

^this 

I shaved my head for a year, that’s when I knew I’d never do it again. Try it out, trust me. It will either stop you from having a hair transplant or push you towards one. I don’t suggest having surgery with the thought of shaving your head afterwards. Like gillenator said if you don’t like it, you’ll probably never do it.

I've been told I don't look terrible bald, but I don't want to accept it as "me" myself. I recently tried buzzing my head being as I'm in Afghanistan currently (I figured it'd be practical now, if nothing else) and I was definitely not happy with that.

My hairs thinned pretty noticeably in the last 4-6 months, and with the pattern that's showing, I'm mostly worried about the amount of coverage I will be able to get down the road. I'd actually say my progression is somewhat similar to yours Melvin, from what I remember yours being like anyway. I feel like recovering from NW6 territory (and hair transplant success in general) is sort of a shot in the dark, but that's by no means steering me away from the procedure. 

[gillenator]

Most individuals I know that have received larger procedures always seem to grow out their new hair and not cut it down.

Kvn, do you have any pics of yourself that you can share?...or if you do buzz cut your scalp in the near future possibly you can share some pics and get some feedback from us.

[Melvin- Admin]

On 6/23/2019 at 2:17 AM, Kvn said:

I've been told I don't look terrible bald, but I don't want to accept it as "me" myself. I recently tried buzzing my head being as I'm in Afghanistan currently (I figured it'd be practical now, if nothing else) and I was definitely not happy with that.

My hairs thinned pretty noticeably in the last 4-6 months, and with the pattern that's showing, I'm mostly worried about the amount of coverage I will be able to get down the road. I'd actually say my progression is somewhat similar to yours Melvin, from what I remember yours being like anyway. I feel like recovering from NW6 territory (and hair transplant success in general) is sort of a shot in the dark, but that's by no means steering me away from the procedure. 

If you can’t accept a shaved head now you wont ever trust me. You can always use hair fibers to augment the results as well.

[home1212]

I agree with everyone here. Even with a hair transplant, you need to find a "sweet spot" on length and style. Because my density is not great - I went from bald to balding - I still need a decent length on top to give it some layering and the illusion of coverage. I can get to a grade 4 or so on the back and sides and definitely see no scarring from my FUE procedures. Beyond that I would not feel comfortable with shorter hair. Those couple of months after my transplant when I had a fully shaved head were really so liberating, just getting in and out of the shower, no worries about styling hair, towel dry head and go! For some, maybe shaving your entire head is the way to go, its just what you can accept, and there are definitely limitations to both options.

Edited July 5, 2019 by home1212