Considering a Hair Transplant at 53.

[Gatsby]

Hi all,

I'm 53 and I'll go back to where I began. At 18 I became concerned about my temples slightly receding. I've always had a high hairline which I guess made me aware of this. Unfortunately I went for a hair transplant consultation and the next thing I knew I was in the chair with a butcher at the age of 18! At the time I had never even seen what a hair hair transplant looked like! I had two punch graft 'doll's hair' procedures to fill in the temples and lower my hairline. After 12 months I was now so self conscious that I had the plugs removed over the next few years in several strip type excisions. This resulted in me having a lateral scar running across my hairline (or where my hairline used to be). My hair up until about the age of 23/24 was still able to cover the hairline scar and my constant enemy was always the wind! By age 25 I wanted to have more 'punch grafts' to hide the scar but thank God this time the surgeon I met rejected me and could see the distress that I was going through. He recommended that I wear a toupee which I immediately balked at the idea! However he insisted that I meet one of his young clients that wears one. So I did. It actually looked okay. I naturally have/had curly hair so I went to this 'wig place' recommended to me by the surgeon and a hair dresser permed and colored the piece and then cut and blended it into my existing hair at the time. It actually looked good. To prevent being the source of more ridicule I told everyone before this that I was going to get a wig! I thought by striking first friends/people would have little in the way of comeback. I actually had a 'hair party.' Amazingly 99.99% of people told me that it looked great and most people who didn't know didn't believe me when I told them that it was a wig. My young age at the time helped.

After 25 years of wearing a hair piece, it went from being a way of hiding my baldness and my frontal scar, to being such a pain in the arse. I was just over it!  By about the age of 40 or so I just wanted to shave my head now, with the likes of Bruce Willis, The Rock, Vin Diesel, etc, making a shaved head look acceptable. If I shaved my head at 18 I would have been considered a skin head! I no longer gave a care about how the hair piece looked, because by my 40's the density of the hair piece was way too thick for someone of my age. In my 40's I got onto YouTube and started to look at all the natural looks of FUT and FUE. After several years I began thinking about going down the path of a hair transplant again. Four years ago I spoke to a few surgeons here in person and I was told that it could be done but it would bring me back to say a Norwood 4 or 5 (BTW their are no hair transplant surgeons in Australia worth touching). I saw Dr Bhatti from India when he was out here in Australia (who I had been following on YouTube) and he mentioned that I would not make a good candidate for a hair transplant. I respected this as I have a lot of respect for him and the work he has done. I did more research and in order to just get rid of the hair piece and attempt to hide my scars I had my head shaved and had SMP. Because of the low level of my scar on my forehead my hairline is lower than I would like but I was finally FREE of hair pieces!!!!

At first the front scar was improved by about 80% and the back donor scars by about 60%. I reminded myself that this was still a major improvement. However over time though the SMP settles in and fades revealing the scars, so I would have little touch ups to the scars in order to try and conceal them better. From a distance they are fine, but at work people can tell it's SMP and they can see the scars.

Last year while watching one of Joe Tillman's vlogs on YouTube I came across Eugenix Hair Scienes. I was absolutely amazed by the ability of Dr Pradeep and Dr Arika to cover Norwood 6 and 7 cases that other surgeons had rejected. About two months ago I started following their YouTube videos and I have been in contact with them recently. They have been fantastic. They have both said that they can cover my frontal scar (which would be like winning the lotto after having to hide my scar since the age of 18) and give me good coverage. Dr Pradeep said he would be able to extract 7,000 grafts of scalp/beard hair and cover the entire bald area  as well as the scar and Dr Arika believes that I would be able to use 5,000 scalp and beard grafts. I really want to go through with this however;

1) After being through two bad hair transplants I'm concerned that I won't be happy with the results (I know this illogical as I have seen their amazing work and it's just a psychological hangover/hurdle from what I went through).

2) I'm just worried that they both feel that I will be able to harvest a difference of 2,000 grafts? This is something I need to discuss with them. I only mention this because it's 'my' issue. I don't want a hair transplant if I can't get some scalp coverage for the crown

3) I wish that I had the opportunity for them both to see my donor supply 'in person' in order for them to get a better idea of my scalp situation.

I really believe that they are the only team to give me the best results for a Norwood 7. Thanks for reading this peeps and I would love to get your feedback. I will add some pics of my journey.

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by Gatsby

[Tbcruz]

The smp work looks very good and I’m impressed how well it covered the scars on the back of your head. I think you look good with smp tbh. But if you really want hair I think eugenix is a great clinic to achieve what you want. They seem to be doing good work with higher Norwood’s because of their experience with body hair. If you go through with this would you copy the smp outline you have or go lower? I think your result will look very good because of the smp as well it will help give the illusion of density!! Good luck 

Edited May 9, 2020 by Tbcruz

[Gatsby]

Thanks Tbcruz! I will have to copy the SMP hairline as it just covers the scar along the hairline which I wish to hide with grafts. It's really too low for an age appropriate hairline and it will use precious grafts that could be used elsewhere too I guess but unfortunately that's the situation I'm in. Dr Pradeep and Dr Arika don't feel that it will be too low to cover though which is encouraging. The SMP covers the donor scars a lot better a week after it's first healed. I will add another pic of the SMP  in the donor region a week after it was first done. However over time SMP settles in and strip scars become increasingly difficult to hide. I'm due for a top up but I'm holding off in case I go ahead with Eugenix. Eugenix also said that the SMP will also help to give the illusion of density with a hair transplant. Dr Arika said to hold off on anymore SMP but that they will still be able to locate grafts under their microscopes no problem.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Gatsby

[GregHair]

Very interesting read your story. SMP and short hair look does suit you !

[nishchd]

Yes I would double that, The SMP work is looking amazing. Do not go for a Hair transplant if you don't get the density and coverage you want. Your current situation is way better than a less denser and low coverage hair transplant. 

[Melvin- Admin]

Great story man, and thank you so much for sharing photos. It really does paint a full picture. @Eugenix Hair Science are fantastic at restoring NW6/7 patients. Check out some of their patients like @Zoomster @paddyirishman @ahmedabad_guy @harin just to name a few. 

I think you’ll find our site provides a precious resource, which is the ability to speak and message other patients, and see their results from start to finish. 
 

Btw who did your smp? It’s outstanding work.

[Gatsby]

Hey thanks Melvin. My SMP was performed by Caitlin James who is the owner of SMP Australia. She’s been doing this for nearly ten years and has a massive volume of work clients can view. A lot of FUT/FUE scars, alopecia, MPB, etc. I was prepared to go O/S for SMP but her follow up procedure and after care is brilliant! 

I approached SMP the same way I would with a hair transplant. I actually like the shaved head look but I would still love hair. I’m still self conscious of the hairline scar but it has improved with the SMP. 

[GregHair]

The SMP look is really good. You look neat and sharp with the buzz cut look !

How many sessions did you have?

[Gatsby]

GregHair,

I had what is considered in SMP the 'usual' which is a first light SMP and then a second session a week later (?). The first session is a conservative one where you can have your hairline slightly higher because it can always be lowered in the second session. I opted for a hairline that I thought was age appropriate which meant it was just above the frontal scar. On the second session we went slightly lower to cover about 80% of the scar (in the photos you can see the remainder of the scar in the temporal area on both sides). The third session is around 3 or 4 weeks later to see how the second session has settled in and in this final session the final finish is done to complete all areas.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Gatsby

[Zoomster]

Hi @Gatsby..

Youve shown a lot of resilience along your journey.. I had a similar story in some ways in that I was deemed unsuitable for surgery back in 2013 by a well known  clinic in the UK.. Hubby and wife team.. I wish them every success but they dropped the ball big style in my case... 

6 years forward and another Husband and Wife team could only see solutions where others could only see problems..namely Dr Sethi @ Dr Bansal at Eugenix.. 

I'm thrilled you've eventually arrived at their door after all the hardship and adversity you've been through.. 

You deserve a break.. and I think you've just got it by deciding to engage with Eugenix.. The very best of luck as you proceed onwards 

I'll be keeping an eye out for you 

 

Z

 

[Gatsby]

Hey thanks Zoomster!

Means a lot and sometimes the best things to do in life are often the hardest! 👍

Cheers,

Gatsby!

 

[Guy73]

Wow dude, you came a long way! That smp looks better than most I have seen. That placed you mentioned does really good work. I would say if they feel they can help I would go with it because I haven’t seen any failures from them yet and I am sure they would really showcase their work with you. 

[Looking for HT]

On 5/9/2020 at 2:57 AM, Gatsby said:

Hi all,

I'm 53 and I'll go back to where I began. At 18 I became concerned about my temples slightly receding. I've always had a high hairline which I guess made me aware of this. Unfortunately I went for a hair transplant consultation and the next thing I knew I was in the chair with a butcher at the age of 18! At the time I had never even seen what a hair hair transplant looked like! I had two punch graft 'doll's hair' procedures to fill in the temples and lower my hairline. After 12 months I was now so self conscious that I had the plugs removed over the next few years in several strip type excisions. This resulted in me having a lateral scar running across my hairline (or where my hairline used to be). My hair up until about the age of 23/24 was still able to cover the hairline scar and my constant enemy was always the wind! By age 25 I wanted to have more 'punch grafts' to hide the scar but thank God this time the surgeon I met rejected me and could see the distress that I was going through. He recommended that I wear a toupee which I immediately balked at the idea! However he insisted that I meet one of his young clients that wears one. So I did. It actually looked okay. I naturally have/had curly hair so I went to this 'wig place' recommended to me by the surgeon and a hair dresser permed and colored the piece and then cut and blended it into my existing hair at the time. It actually looked good. To prevent being the source of more ridicule I told everyone before this that I was going to get a wig! I thought by striking first friends/people would have little in the way of comeback. I actually had a 'hair party.' Amazingly 99.99% of people told me that it looked great and most people who didn't know didn't believe me when I told them that it was a wig. My young age at the time helped.

After 25 years of wearing a hair piece, it went from being a way of hiding my baldness and my frontal scar, to being such a pain in the arse. I was just over it!  By about the age of 40 or so I just wanted to shave my head now, with the likes of Bruce Willis, The Rock, Vin Diesel, etc, making a shaved head look acceptable. If I shaved my head at 18 I would have been considered a skin head! I no longer gave a care about how the hair piece looked, because by my 40's the density of the hair piece was way too thick for someone of my age. In my 40's I got onto YouTube and started to look at all the natural looks of FUT and FUE. After several years I began thinking about going down the path of a hair transplant again. Four years ago I spoke to a few surgeons here in person and I was told that it could be done but it would bring me back to say a Norwood 4 or 5 (BTW their are no hair transplant surgeons in Australia worth touching). I saw Dr Bhatti from India when he was out here in Australia (who I had been following on YouTube) and he mentioned that I would not make a good candidate for a hair transplant. I respected this as I have a lot of respect for him and the work he has done. I did more research and in order to just get rid of the hair piece and attempt to hide my scars I had my head shaved and had SMP. Because of the low level of my scar on my forehead my hairline is lower than I would like but I was finally FREE of hair pieces!!!!

At first the front scar was improved by about 80% and the back donor scars by about 60%. I reminded myself that this was still a major improvement. However over time though the SMP settles in and fades revealing the scars, so I would have little touch ups to the scars in order to try and conceal them better. From a distance they are fine, but at work people can tell it's SMP and they can see the scars.

Last year while watching one of Joe Tillman's vlogs on YouTube I came across Eugenix Hair Scienes. I was absolutely amazed by the ability of Dr Pradeep and Dr Arika to cover Norwood 6 and 7 cases that other surgeons had rejected. About two months ago I started following their YouTube videos and I have been in contact with them recently. They have been fantastic. They have both said that they can cover my frontal scar (which would be like winning the lotto after having to hide my scar since the age of 18) and give me good coverage. Dr Pradeep said he would be able to extract 7,000 grafts of scalp/beard hair and cover the entire bald area  as well as the scar and Dr Arika believes that I would be able to use 5,000 scalp and beard grafts. I really want to go through with this however;

1) After being through two bad hair transplants I'm concerned that I won't be happy with the results (I know this illogical as I have seen their amazing work and it's just a psychological hangover/hurdle from what I went through).

2) I'm just worried that they both feel that I will be able to harvest a difference of 2,000 grafts? This is something I need to discuss with them. I only mention this because it's 'my' issue. I don't want a hair transplant if I can't get some scalp coverage for the crown

3) I wish that I had the opportunity for them both to see my donor supply 'in person' in order for them to get a better idea of my scalp situation.

I really believe that they are the only team to give me the best results for a Norwood 7. Thanks for reading this peeps and I would love to get your feedback. I will add some pics of my journey.

 

What a journey mate. I have to say that you look great with your current look and SMP. If you still want to have hair, surely go ahead and do your research. Eugenix are great with higher norwoods. I am not higher norwood myself but Eugenix patient. Check out Zoomster as he had HT the same days as myself. It was a pure coincidence as we both are from Ireland. You can also follow my Jorney. Right now 4.5 months. 

I wish you all the best !!

[Gatsby]

Thanks Guy73 and Looking for HT! Yes i believe they are the only team that would be able to help me. I have just sent them more pics and a short video on my scar level across my hairline and I'm looking forward to their response. Both Dr Pradeep and Dr Arika have been great and believe that I would get a great result. I'm just ensuring that we are on the same page with my goals matching what can be achieved. Many of the great Norwood 6/7 results seem to have used upwards of 7,000 plus grafts. Everyone is unique even in the same Norwood range. This means that this can work for you or against you.

[Looking for HT]

8 hours ago, Gatsby said:

Thanks Guy73 and Looking for HT! Yes i believe they are the only team that would be able to help me. I have just sent them more pics and a short video on my scar level across my hairline and I'm looking forward to their response. Both Dr Pradeep and Dr Arika have been great and believe that I would get a great result. I'm just ensuring that we are on the same page with my goals matching what can be achieved. Many of the great Norwood 6/7 results seem to have used upwards of 7,000 plus grafts. Everyone is unique even in the same Norwood range. This means that this can work for you or against you.

Yes, everyone is different for sure but you are doing your research and thats the most important. 

I will follow your journey in whatever you decide. Ask me if you have any questions and ill be happy to help. Cheers

[Gatsby]

I usually shave my head everyday to help the SMP look it's best (for camouflaging the scars). I haven't shaved my head now for only three days but I can see my donor area in a much better light. I'm just posting this to stay positive (and for others in a similar situation) as I really doubted that I would be a candidate again (as several doctors have told me before). I'll grow my 'horse shoe' for another day (before I go back to work) then shave it back. I wish this whole international flight lock down was over but in the same breath maybe it's a good thing to still balance things up in my head. My one concern is that coveing the hairline scar will look too low for my age but Dr P and Dr A believe that it will still look natural. Stay safe everyone and thanks to those who pm'd me. I appreciate anyone's feedback whether it's yay or nay about going forward with Eugenix. It all goes into the melting pot when making big decisions. Stay safe peeps!.

[HisHairness]

Hi Gatsby.

Great detailed write-up here. 

I tend to agree with the others before me on their suggestions. 

1 - the SMP job looks really great. I think 99% of normal folks would think you're just a guy with a good head of hair that chooses to shave it down. It's a good look for you.

2 - if you do want to go the HT route - I have definitely seen good things from Eugenix for NW7's on this forum. Best advice would be to talk to those members who have experienced results there, as  others have suggested. 

Either way, keep us up to speed on your decision!

[Gatsby]

I'm just posting this as it really answers my concerns about age appropriate hairlines. One of my big worries is that with wanting to cover my forehead scar with a hair transplant, the height of my hairline will be too low for my age and therefore not look natural. This is a very low hairline in this video and lower than mine. I guess that resolves my concerns on this issue now!

[Gatsby]

1 hour ago, HisHairness said:

Hi Gatsby.

Great detailed write-up here. 

I tend to agree with the others before me on their suggestions. 

1 - the SMP job looks really great. I think 99% of normal folks would think you're just a guy with a good head of hair that chooses to shave it down. It's a good look for you.

2 - if you do want to go the HT route - I have definitely seen good things from Eugenix for NW7's on this forum. Best advice would be to talk to those members who have experienced results there, as  others have suggested. 

Either way, keep us up to speed on your decision!

Thank for that HisHairness!

[FoxtrotChi]

I also agree that the SMP looks really good.  I've always felt like this was a pretty great option if you have the head shape for it.  

[harin]

@Gatsby, my sincere apologies that I hardly visit the forum now-a-dayz and thus the delay in responding to your query about the Eugenix and @DrPradeep and @arika9ab, I tend to stay busy given the current COVID - 19 times.

you are very lucky in the sense that your SMP does really look great and it suits you well (shape of the head as well), I think the person who did the SMP has done excellent job. From these pictures I really cannot tell that you have lost much hair, looks like u have shaven out of choice!.

Given this you need to decide whether you really want to got for HT or not?. If you do  go for it then expectation needs to be managed beforehand. I am not a HT expert but being a naturally inquisitive physician myself have learnt quite a bit, only one thing I can confidently tell you is that there are very few doctors who can do the justice to high Norwood folks and in my opinion probably @DrPradeep and @arika9ab are at the very top.

I do have difficulty in figuring out how your donor density is?. How many of those dots are from SMP and what percentage represents real hair follicles?, how thick is the beard when grown out?, beard hairs can be wiry and may not be suitable for everyone.

You do have a large area to be covered and there are permutations and combinations doctors need to work on and this judgement could only be made via in-person consultation in my humble opinion.

If after the in-person consultation you feel that your expectations are met with, then you certainly could go ahead with HT, and I strongly believe that you would be in THE best hand in the business, they are also very compassionate and very professional couple as well.

Good luck with your decision and your results. again apologies for delayed response.

(for those who have sent me messages, I check my private messages less often now-a-dayz, will respond as time permits, I am happy if I am of some help at-least to some folks here in their journey).

[BaldReaper]

On 5/9/2020 at 3:57 AM, Gatsby said:

Hi all,

I'm 53 and I'll go back to where I began. At 18 I became concerned about my temples slightly receding. I've always had a high hairline which I guess made me aware of this. Unfortunately I went for a hair transplant consultation and the next thing I knew I was in the chair with a butcher at the age of 18! At the time I had never even seen what a hair hair transplant looked like! I had two punch graft 'doll's hair' procedures to fill in the temples and lower my hairline. After 12 months I was now so self conscious that I had the plugs removed over the next few years in several strip type excisions. This resulted in me having a lateral scar running across my hairline (or where my hairline used to be). My hair up until about the age of 23/24 was still able to cover the hairline scar and my constant enemy was always the wind! By age 25 I wanted to have more 'punch grafts' to hide the scar but thank God this time the surgeon I met rejected me and could see the distress that I was going through. He recommended that I wear a toupee which I immediately balked at the idea! However he insisted that I meet one of his young clients that wears one. So I did. It actually looked okay. I naturally have/had curly hair so I went to this 'wig place' recommended to me by the surgeon and a hair dresser permed and colored the piece and then cut and blended it into my existing hair at the time. It actually looked good. To prevent being the source of more ridicule I told everyone before this that I was going to get a wig! I thought by striking first friends/people would have little in the way of comeback. I actually had a 'hair party.' Amazingly 99.99% of people told me that it looked great and most people who didn't know didn't believe me when I told them that it was a wig. My young age at the time helped.

After 25 years of wearing a hair piece, it went from being a way of hiding my baldness and my frontal scar, to being such a pain in the arse. I was just over it!  By about the age of 40 or so I just wanted to shave my head now, with the likes of Bruce Willis, The Rock, Vin Diesel, etc, making a shaved head look acceptable. If I shaved my head at 18 I would have been considered a skin head! I no longer gave a care about how the hair piece looked, because by my 40's the density of the hair piece was way too thick for someone of my age. In my 40's I got onto YouTube and started to look at all the natural looks of FUT and FUE. After several years I began thinking about going down the path of a hair transplant again. Four years ago I spoke to a few surgeons here in person and I was told that it could be done but it would bring me back to say a Norwood 4 or 5 (BTW their are no hair transplant surgeons in Australia worth touching). I saw Dr Bhatti from India when he was out here in Australia (who I had been following on YouTube) and he mentioned that I would not make a good candidate for a hair transplant. I respected this as I have a lot of respect for him and the work he has done. I did more research and in order to just get rid of the hair piece and attempt to hide my scars I had my head shaved and had SMP. Because of the low level of my scar on my forehead my hairline is lower than I would like but I was finally FREE of hair pieces!!!!

At first the front scar was improved by about 80% and the back donor scars by about 60%. I reminded myself that this was still a major improvement. However over time though the SMP settles in and fades revealing the scars, so I would have little touch ups to the scars in order to try and conceal them better. From a distance they are fine, but at work people can tell it's SMP and they can see the scars.

Last year while watching one of JT's vlogs on YouTube I came across Eugenix Hair Scienes. I was absolutely amazed by the ability of Dr Pradeep and Dr Arika to cover Norwood 6 and 7 cases that other surgeons had rejected. About two months ago I started following their YouTube videos and I have been in contact with them recently. They have been fantastic. They have both said that they can cover my frontal scar (which would be like winning the lotto after having to hide my scar since the age of 18) and give me good coverage. Dr Pradeep said he would be able to extract 7,000 grafts of scalp/beard hair and cover the entire bald area  as well as the scar and Dr Arika believes that I would be able to use 5,000 scalp and beard grafts. I really want to go through with this however;

1) After being through two bad hair transplants I'm concerned that I won't be happy with the results (I know this illogical as I have seen their amazing work and it's just a psychological hangover/hurdle from what I went through).

2) I'm just worried that they both feel that I will be able to harvest a difference of 2,000 grafts? This is something I need to discuss with them. I only mention this because it's 'my' issue. I don't want a hair transplant if I can't get some scalp coverage for the crown

3) I wish that I had the opportunity for them both to see my donor supply 'in person' in order for them to get a better idea of my scalp situation.

I really believe that they are the only team to give me the best results for a Norwood 7. Thanks for reading this peeps and I would love to get your feedback. I will add some pics of my journey.

 

Hey Gatsby, 2 questions

 

1.The skin around the scar appears to be redish in the indoor photos, why is that so? in the outside photos it looks plane white

2. On the hairline the part that the SMP covered the scar was visible? or you couldnt tell there was a scar there at all?

 

Thanks

[Gatsby]

On 7/31/2022 at 7:00 PM, BaldV said:

Hey Gatsby, 2 questions

 

1.The skin around the scar appears to be redish in the indoor photos, why is that so? in the outside photos it looks plane white

2. On the hairline the part that the SMP covered the scar was visible? or you couldnt tell there was a scar there at all?

 

Thanks

The scar's appearance is seasonal. In that I mean in Summer it is more aggravated as my skin tans, etc. In Winter my skin is much more pale (as too is the scar).

To give the appearance of a 'natural' hairline, the SMP could not cover the entire scar so I had to compromise on this. Hope this helps.

[GeneralNorwood]

On 5/9/2020 at 3:57 AM, Gatsby said:

 

 

 

After reading this topic, now i understand better your journey. This "punch graft doll's hair" procedure must have looked really bad, that you decided to strip it out. Do you have pictures that show how it looked? 

Btw, With SMP you looked like a gangsta, but in a good way 😄

Edited August 23, 2023 by GeneralNorwood

[Gatsby]

@GeneralNorwood I was so self conscious of the ‘plugs’ that I never took a photo of them and always used my hair behind to cover them. This is a picture of pretty much what mine looked like. Lucky you weren’t born when I was!