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How short can you cut hair after FUE so that scars are undetectable? (1 year post op)


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Hey, I am having a hard time figuring out how short hairs can be cut at donor area after FUE transplant (micromotor), so that they are undetectable. Some say #1 guard shave, some say #2 or #3. Have you got some video links showing head shaven or #1 guard shave in donor area around 1+ year post FUE?

Is military cut a viable option with FUE?

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I think there’s a lot more to it as many factors can affect scarring. Punch size is an example. The persons own physiology is another. For example. If someone has very thick donor it might not show as much as someone with thinner caliber hairs. Or if someone has black hair and very Pale skin, scars show more. I can go on and on.

 

if I had to guess, I’d say a majority of people can get away with #3. I’ve seem some people still show scarring at #2.

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5 hours ago, rotrichrich said:

Hey, I am having a hard time figuring out how short hairs can be cut at donor area after FUE transplant (micromotor), so that they are undetectable. Some say #1 guard shave, some say #2 or #3. Have you got some video links showing head shaven or #1 guard shave in donor area around 1+ year post FUE?

Is military cut a viable option with FUE?

It really is person-to-person. I've even seen guys who had FUT go with a super low guard, as their physiology and surgery were both optimal. 

With FUE you should be fine with a #2. One thing to consider, is that 99% of people won't even realise.

We are all trained to analyse anything hair-related down to the microbial level. The average person on the street doesn't even take a second look. I.e. even if you went with a #1, the only people who might realise are other transplant patients. 

Edited by Greg_Swanson
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3 hours ago, Greg_Swanson said:

It really is person-to-person. I've even seen guys who had FUT go with a super low guard, as their physiology and surgery were both optimal. 

With FUE you should be fine with a #2. One thing to consider, is that 99% of people won't even realise.

We are all trained to analyse anything hair-related down to the microbial level. The average person on the street doesn't even take a second look. I.e. even if you went with a #1, the only people who might realise are other transplant patients. 

Very good point. When I first started looking at hair transplant results all I saw was the hairline and if there was ok coverage I was blown away. After getting a procedure and becoming hyper aware, now I notice all small issues regarding density, hairline, placement, temple points, etc. it’s a huge mind fuck now tbh

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I've seen some results of fairly pale skin caucasian with no sign of fue surgery on #0. I would suggest go to a barber and ask for #4 and check if you can notice anything, if no, go to #3 and so on. Ask your barber for opinion. Go as low as you can/want until you see visible scarring. Hair grows very fast, so you will be able to get one guard up in a week or so.

1st FUE28/01/2020 - 3659 grafts - Dr. Bruno Ferreira
2nd FUE - 03/06/2021 - 2881 grafts - Dr. Bruno Ferreira

Follow me on YouTube

I'm not a medical professional, thus any information given by me is my own observation and should not be treated as professional advice.

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How short the hair needs to be will depend on a number of factors as many have pointed out above...I think it depends on ethnicity. If you're Anglo, and the hair drops right away, 1/4" ought to be sufficient.  If you are Asian, for example, the hair tends to stick out when short.  It requires length, (and weight) to drop. So maybe an inch?  

My suggestion is go to the barber and ask them to cut it as short as possible without being able to see the scars.  Once you have the info you can then cut it yourself.  

One last thing.  The difference between a bad haircut and a good one is 1 week.  So, if you do go too short, by mistake, it'll will be OK in a matter of days.

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15 hours ago, Greg_Swanson said:

We are all trained to analyse anything hair-related down to the microbial level. The average person on the street doesn't even take a second look. I.e. even if you went with a #1, the only people who might realise are other transplant patients. 

Probably you are right.

 

 

4 hours ago, LaserCap said:

My suggestion is go to the barber and ask them to cut it as short as possible without being able to see the scars.  Once you have the info you can then cut it yourself.  

 

37 minutes ago, det9925 said:

test and find out bro, everyone has different hair characteristics... its not rocket science

I haven't got the procedure done yet. I just contacted a clinic and now we are "discussing" but they are very slow to reply.

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8 hours ago, Rolandas said:

I've seen some results of fairly pale skin caucasian with no sign of fue surgery on #0. I would suggest go to a barber and ask for #4 and check if you can notice anything, if no, go to #3 and so on. Ask your barber for opinion. Go as low as you can/want until you see visible scarring. Hair grows very fast, so you will be able to get one guard up in a week or so.

#0 with not visible scars? Don't think this would happen to me. I haven't got my procedure done yet. I am trying to get as much info of what I should expect because I am just about to make a decision whether I should do FUE or not.

Edited by rotrichrich
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18 hours ago, jj51702 said:

I’ve seem some people still show scarring at #2.

Oh noes. ;(

I have pale skin and fine hair. They look kind of "transparent" when are short, but look very dense when grown longer (curly).

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It all comes down to punch size and skin/hair contrast. I have light brown/dark blonde hair and fair skin. I had a skin fade a few days ago and tbh the scars are hardly noticeable to a untrained eye. This is my donor now probably grown out to 0.5 grade. 5CDF90CC-6A88-4C2C-A0A7-288EDC509E6C.thumb.jpeg.b01181b687bb672461873d2390ec2d4e.jpeg

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I agree with Mr S, 

it really depends on the skin/hair contrast and the punch size. This is me at 0.5 guard with .09 and 1mm punches. My scars are more visible because I have dark hair lighter skin. 

 

F9B30E85-5E3C-4E99-B199-FDA5E2E1CBCE.jpeg

39057F42-D793-4B4C-ABAE-4300D5793B7C.jpeg

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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.

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54 minutes ago, rotrichrich said:

#0 with not visible scars? Don't think this would happen to me. I haven't got my procedure done yet. I am trying to get as much info of what I should expect because I am just about to make a decision whether I should do FUE or not.

Check Dr. Bhatti videos for caucasian patients on YouTube. Some of them shave all the way down to 0 and you can't really tell they had something done. Obviously for trained eye you could see but compared to many other results some of those patients donor looks amazing.

1st FUE28/01/2020 - 3659 grafts - Dr. Bruno Ferreira
2nd FUE - 03/06/2021 - 2881 grafts - Dr. Bruno Ferreira

Follow me on YouTube

I'm not a medical professional, thus any information given by me is my own observation and should not be treated as professional advice.

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11 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I agree with Mr S, 

it really depends on the skin/hair contrast and the punch size. This is me at 0.5 guard with .09 and 1mm punches. My scars are more visible because I have dark hair lighter skin. 

 

F9B30E85-5E3C-4E99-B199-FDA5E2E1CBCE.jpeg

39057F42-D793-4B4C-ABAE-4300D5793B7C.jpeg

Looks neat! I've seen some people naturally have similar "patterns" without ht. Obviously not as many.

Is it possible to get tan on the scars so they get darker if let's say you shave it all the way down to 0 and wear it like that while on the sun?

1st FUE28/01/2020 - 3659 grafts - Dr. Bruno Ferreira
2nd FUE - 03/06/2021 - 2881 grafts - Dr. Bruno Ferreira

Follow me on YouTube

I'm not a medical professional, thus any information given by me is my own observation and should not be treated as professional advice.

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59 minutes ago, Mr S said:

It all comes down to punch size and skin/hair contrast. I have light brown/dark blonde hair and fair skin. I had a skin fade a few days ago and tbh the scars are hardly noticeable to a untrained eye. This is my donor now probably grown out to 0.5 grade. 5CDF90CC-6A88-4C2C-A0A7-288EDC509E6C.thumb.jpeg.b01181b687bb672461873d2390ec2d4e.jpeg

I can't tell you had FUE. Incredible. Who was your doctor and what punch size was used?

 

 

30 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I agree with Mr S, 

it really depends on the skin/hair contrast and the punch size. This is me at 0.5 guard with .09 and 1mm punches. My scars are more visible because I have dark hair lighter skin. 

 

F9B30E85-5E3C-4E99-B199-FDA5E2E1CBCE.jpeg

39057F42-D793-4B4C-ABAE-4300D5793B7C.jpeg

Your scarring is a bit more visible than previous poster, but it  actually looks very good. I wouldn't know you have scars if I wasn't a Norwood Marine. Who was your surgeon?

 

Thanks guys for photos, I appreciate it.

 

EDIT: How many grafts you guys had?

Edited by rotrichrich
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16 minutes ago, Rolandas said:

Looks neat! I've seen some people naturally have similar "patterns" without ht. Obviously not as many.

Is it possible to get tan on the scars so they get darker if let's say you shave it all the way down to 0 and wear it like that while on the sun?

Scar tissue is different from virgin skin and doesn’t tan from what I’ve read. So I think if you go that route they might be even more noticeable.

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44 minutes ago, Rolandas said:

Check Dr. Bhatti videos for caucasian patients on YouTube. Some of them shave all the way down to 0 and you can't really tell they had something done. Obviously for trained eye you could see but compared to many other results some of those patients donor looks amazing.

He does amazing job. Which one would you choose - Dr. Bhatti or dr. Demirsoy? I haven't done much research on Bhatti besides some Youtube videos.

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53 minutes ago, rotrichrich said:

I can't tell you had FUE. Incredible. Who was your doctor and what punch size was used?

 

 

Your scarring is a bit more visible than previous poster, but it  actually looks very good. I wouldn't know you have scars if I wasn't a Norwood Marine. Who was your surgeon?

 

Thanks guys for photos, I appreciate it.

 

EDIT: How many grafts you guys had?

Dr Keser. 0.7mm-0.9mm punches I believe. I had 1700 grafts.

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38 minutes ago, rotrichrich said:

He does amazing job. Which one would you choose - Dr. Bhatti or dr. Demirsoy? I haven't done much research on Bhatti besides some Youtube videos.

I'm still researching, but I think both surgeons are great. Seems like both docs don't have many recent reviews online and they are not active with posting their jobs as well. Since both of them are doing 80% of the procedure themselves and having 1 patient a day I assume it's difficult to spent time for posting. In the end of the day they're human beings like we are and wants to have their life as well.

If there would be a choice between these two surgeons I would go with my gut feeling.

1st FUE28/01/2020 - 3659 grafts - Dr. Bruno Ferreira
2nd FUE - 03/06/2021 - 2881 grafts - Dr. Bruno Ferreira

Follow me on YouTube

I'm not a medical professional, thus any information given by me is my own observation and should not be treated as professional advice.

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1 hour ago, Rolandas said:

I'm still researching, but I think both surgeons are great. Seems like both docs don't have many recent reviews online and they are not active with posting their jobs as well. Since both of them are doing 80% of the procedure themselves and having 1 patient a day I assume it's difficult to spent time for posting. In the end of the day they're human beings like we are and wants to have their life as well.

If there would be a choice between these two surgeons I would go with my gut feeling.

I have spent quite a lot of time checking dr Demirsoy and I think he will be the one who touches my head. xd

He is also more affordable and a bit closer.

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6 hours ago, Rolandas said:

Looks neat! I've seen some people naturally have similar "patterns" without ht. Obviously not as many.

Is it possible to get tan on the scars so they get darker if let's say you shave it all the way down to 0 and wear it like that while on the sun?

Melvin

has anyone ever commented on your scarring? Are you self conscious about the scars when you go that short? I have similar skin and hair contrast to you and I haven’t cut it short yet but I’m planning for the worst

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1 hour ago, jj51702 said:

Melvin

has anyone ever commented on your scarring? Are you self conscious about the scars when you go that short? I have similar skin and hair contrast to you and I haven’t cut it short yet but I’m planning for the worst

No one has ever mentioned anything. You have to realize that most people don’t focus on your head. In fact, most people don’t notice unless I point it out. If you really wanna play it safe go #1 that’s the guard I usually go down too.


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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Very good replies thus far. It absolutely comes down to skin type, how the patient heals, punch size, and the distribution of the extraction sites. For what it is worth, I tell all my FUE patients they can safely go down to a #2. There are obviously exceptions to all rules, but I think it's a safe generalization to keep expectations realistic. 

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23 hours ago, jj51702 said:

Scar tissue is different from virgin skin and doesn’t tan from what I’ve read. So I think if you go that route they might be even more noticeable.

I've read this too. Can anyone confirm that these scars cannot be tanned? It's a bit sad, because one of the reasons I want a transplant is to enjoy holidays on the sun and short hair is the best when its sunny.

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I think most guys can get by with a number 2 guide which is a nice length and SMP can also help visually detract the extraction sites.

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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.

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