How long after treatment before people can't tell? (FUT)

[Cooper888]

I am really close to going ahead with a FUT treatment. The majority of the work will be on the crown but there will be some work done at the hairline as well. My last concern at this point is the timing. The earliest appointment they have is in early August. I am a teacher and I would strongly prefer my coworkers and my students did not know I had this treatment preformed. The surgery would be on 8/5. My first day back in school is 8 days after that. I might be able to take that Friday off and stretch it to 10.  My first day with students would be about 14 days after. They are telling me that it would not be obvious by that point. But when I do image searches for FUT recovery it seems pretty obvious to me 14 days out. All the redness and scabbing is gone but there are still many small 'dots' of hair that do not look natural at all. Obviously this could just be the images I am finding so I thought I would ask here.

Clearly I should have acted faster and had things scheduled at the start of summer. I am not against waiting until next summer to avoid my above worries.

Any thoughts are appreciated! 

[Britanium]

Are you going to have your head shaved or is it going to be long hair procedure? 

[gillenator]

I agree...at 14 days post-op the scabbing and crusts should be gone...there may be some lingering redness however should anyone ask about it, all you have to say is that you spent some time outdoors and leave it at that....the key is to act normal, no anxiety.

[Cooper888]

1 hour ago, JohnAC71 said:

Are you going to have your head shaved or is it going to be long hair procedure? 

My head is not shaved and I do not think there is a plan to shave it for the procedure. 

[Britanium]

3 minutes ago, Cooper888 said:

My head is not shaved and I do not think there is a plan to shave it for the procedure. 

Be sure of the plan, and go over your concerns with the clinic 🙏

[Britanium]

Can I ask who the clinic is ? Unless requested/discussed otherwise, they will shave the head. 

[deeznuts]

I think you should wait until summer starts next year if you're a teacher. Heal up for a couple months and hopefully even get through a decent chunk of the ugly duckling phase

[Cooper888]

8 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Can I ask who the clinic is ? Unless requested/discussed otherwise, they will shave the head. 

This will certainly have to be something I ask about. I know it was specifically mentioned (with example pictures shown) that the donor area would not be shaved.

It is the Van Scoy Hair Clinic in Columbus, Ohio.

Even if just the area where the follicles are being transplanted are shaved I think it would be pretty noticeable on me as even my balding crown area has a decent amount of hair in it currently. 

[Britanium]

What was your reason for choosing this specific clinic ? I ask as it’s not one I’m familiar with ? 

[Britanium]

 I will inbox you a message ... 

[Britanium]

Have you seen the forums recommended list.? 

https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/hair-transplant-surgeons.asp?sr=HRN-MOB

 

[Cooper888]

5 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

What was your reason for choosing this specific clinic ? I ask as it’s not one I’m familiar with ? 

After searching there appears to be only a handful of option in my area. I met with all of them and feel pretty confident with this clinic. They have been in the area for over 30 years and appear to have a good reputation. 

[Britanium]

3 minutes ago, Cooper888 said:

After searching there appears to be only a handful of option in my area. I met with all of them and feel pretty confident with this clinic. They have been in the area for over 30 years and appear to have a good reputation. 

All I would say is keep your options open, and consider traveling to get a better choice of clinics 👌

[Britanium]

Here is a elite coalition member:

https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/surgeon-list/OH/Ohio

[Al - Moderator]

3 hours ago, Cooper888 said:

It is the Van Scoy Hair Clinic in Columbus, Ohio

 

I didn't see any before and after photos on their web site.

 

[aaron1234]

6 hours ago, deeznuts said:

I think you should wait until summer starts next year if you're a teacher. Heal up for a couple months and hopefully even get through a decent chunk of the ugly duckling phase

Yup, right after school gets out in late May-early June.  And take a little more time to research in the meantime and don't let price or proximity be the deciding factor.

[BDK081522]

You will almost certainly have signs of a hair transplant at 14 days. The redness can linger for months. Honestly, I would advise you to rethink your plan for your hair loss. For starters, you need to do more research. You are basing your decision off of proximity to home. I made this same mistake and went to Bosley because it was close and it was the only hair restoration clinic that I knew of. Through years of research I've learned that traveling to the most appropriate surgeon for your case is how you will get a satisfying result. Van Scoy/PAI medical group are not up to par with the surgeons recommended on this forum. They are a similar model to Bosley. You may not even know the surgeon who is doing your procedure and the techs do most of the heavy lifting. Their website results show pictures from the 90's to early 2000's and they claim multi-unit grafting is state of the art. It's all marketing BS and not as refined as you could get with a top surgeon.  I would suggest cancelling your surgery for August and researching for the next few months. Top clinics have 6 months - 1 year waitlists so you could potentially schedule for the beginning of summer next year. Take the members of this forum's advice and avoid the common newbie mistake of going to a close clinic for convenience. 

Edited June 19, 2021 by BDK081522

[Britanium]

I have to agree with @BDK081522brief research does show they appear to be “Bosley” like. You can certainly do much better in choosing a suitable clinic for your particular needs. 
 

[aaron1234]

In the "Men's Gallery" section of the Van Scoy website, they don't distinguish between patients who have had HT's or who are wearing a system.  It's pretty obvious that a handful of them are simply wearing systems.  There are no immediate post-op pics or even graft counts.  Steer clear. 

[Rooster]

I'd strongly suggest waiting until next year so you have the entire summer to lay low, heal, and get through part of the ugly duckling stage. 

One of the most critical things I learned from this site before my own FUT surgery (done back in February) was how long it would likely take before I could realistically hide the fact that I had surgery.  It wasn't until about 3 months post-op that I felt I could start to hide it.  Before that, I wouldn't be caught dead outside the house without a hat.  Like you, I strongly prefer that no one (other than my fiance) know that I had surgery.  It would have been an absolute DISASTER (personally) if I had relied on the websites or clinics that said I could go back to work 14 days post-op, and if I had planned to do so.  

Thankfully, I followed this site for a while and reviewed countless people's experiences and pictures before I made the decision to have an FUT, and 3 months is roughly the timeline I was anticipating after looking through so many other people's journeys.  Of course, I realize everyone heals differently.  But honestly, if it wasn't for working from home for an extended period due to COVID, I don't know how I could have hidden my procedure. 

With all that said, my FUT procedure did involve shaving both the recipient and donor areas (which is the norm), and I've only reviewed a handful of "non-shave" cases on this website.  Therefore, I can't speak to what the timeline might look like for when you could hide a non-shave procedure, but I imagine it would be much earlier.