Anyone ever do a system behind a natural hairline?

[SD1984]

Even if the hairline has been transplanted, has anyone ever tried this or have experience with it? I'm pretty sure this is a thing in hollywood that some big time actors have done. Jon Hamm, Matthew Mcconaughey, Ted Danson and Brendan Fraser to name a few.

Edited June 28, 2021 by SD1984

[deeznuts]

Yeah it's actually a thing. Here's an example

 

 

[DrTBarghouthi]

I strongly believe that this is the best approach when it comes to hair systems. I personally never use a full system on male patients for the obvious reason that system hairlines are never perfect. A hairline from a system is what will make patients remove it as soon as it is attached. To solve this, I actually experimented with a good hair system manufacturer to design the system in a way that starts behind the natural hairline or even the areas that we can transplant. I believe we were among the first to actually demonstrate that and I coined it the “hybrid approach in restoration”. It really solves a lot of issues especially with depleted donor, large areas of loss and patients with high density expectations. 

[grincher]

Quite a few famous and "ordinary" people combine their own hairline and a system if the messages I have received and posts I have read over the years are a indicator 

[SD1984]

@DrTBarghouthiThat is a great result (the one from the thread). May I ask where the system is from and what the specs were? I'm assuming it was a bit of a light density system? Thanks.

[DrTBarghouthi]

6 hours ago, SD1984 said:

@DrTBarghouthiThat is a great result (the one from the thread). May I ask where the system is from and what the specs were? I'm assuming it was a bit of a light density system? Thanks.

Thank you for having a look. The gentleman had few failed procedures done and thus his donor area was depleted. We only managed to transplant the first 1.5-2 cm of the frontal zone (hairline and frontal zone). So in general just a 2 cm frontal border. The system was of medium density matching his hair calibre and curl and starts just behind that transplanted area. 

[Al - Moderator]

I've seen several examples of having a hair transplant in the front and wearing a hair system behind it. It works very well for certain people because if you can get the front hairline to look real then nobody suspects that you are wearing a hair system. The further back you are able to get real/transplanted hair the better it works. For example if you're a NW 6 and don't have enough donor to transplant your entire head, then leaving the crown bald and using a hair system just for the crown is an option. Then some years later when you are older and not so worried about having a thin crown you can get rid of the hair piece and maybe put a small amount of grafts there, so it isn't completely bald. This is a good long term plan for certain younger high NW guys who really want full hair when they are younger.

[ssimpson7511]

Theoretically its a good idea as the hairline is always the hardest thing to look realistic.  You would still have to match the density correctly.  But its certainly an option if you dont have enough donor.

[ML488]

This really should be something that is considered more. Looks amazing, and without the worry and maintenance of the hairline, it saves so much time and worry imo.

@DrTBarghouthi Is the system applied with tape or glue?

[DrTBarghouthi]

1 hour ago, ML488 said:

This really should be something that is considered more. Looks amazing, and without the worry and maintenance of the hairline, it saves so much time and worry imo.

@DrTBarghouthi Is the system applied with tape or glue?

It can be applied using different tapes or adhesives depending on preference, allergy testing and hair presence (or not). I find tape to be really good if no hair is present at all. For other cases I use a sort of a foam or liquid adhesive. 

[DMM]

Can someone recommend a company that specializes in a hair piece just for the back of my head/crown area?

 

[DrTBarghouthi]

I personally deal with a company called Cesare Ragazzi based in Italy. They have a very high end hair system manufacturing facility and all their systems are custom made according to your area of loss. 

[FUT4000]

On 6/28/2021 at 8:49 PM, deeznuts said:

Yeah it's actually a thing. Here's an example

 

 

Wow! That is some skill! both doc and hair system techs! 

[Gatsby]

This can give a very natural result when wearing a hair system. However, think long and hard. I wore a hair system for 25 years. You REALLY want to know for sure that you will want to wear a hair piece for the rest of your life! I got to the point that I was just so sick of wearing a hair system I wanted it gone. I was offered this hairline transplant by Dr Bhatti and declined for this very same reason. I haven't worn a hair piece now for six years. If you decide in the future at some point to get rid of a hair piece you will be left with a hairline band of grafts and nothing behind it. I'm just putting this out there for what is otherwise a very natural result! All the best!

[SeanT1]

It's definitely the best solution if you're wearing a hair system.

From time to time during travels I see people with a hair system that has an exposed hairline.  It looks awful.  No matter how 'thin' the base of the hair system is.
Having a hairline or transplant prior to a hair system goes a long way.  It really does a great job blending it all in.

As @Gatsby says, it's a lot of maintenance.  The glue and tape is an absolute nightmare to work with.
Personally I wore one for half a year, couldn't stick with it.  Even had issues reapplying it from time to time (ie. accidently getting glue into my natural hair and pulling it out by mistake). 

Another big issue with hair systems is that the color will never be perfectly matched to your native.

[ssimpson7511]

On 8/6/2022 at 3:27 PM, SeanToman said:

It's definitely the best solution if you're wearing a hair system.

From time to time during travels I see people with a hair system that has an exposed hairline.  It looks awful.  No matter how 'thin' the base of the hair system is.
Having a hairline or transplant prior to a hair system goes a long way.  It really does a great job blending it all in.

As @Gatsby says, it's a lot of maintenance.  The glue and tape is an absolute nightmare to work with.
Personally I wore one for half a year, couldn't stick with it.  Even had issues reapplying it from time to time (ie. accidently getting glue into my natural hair and pulling it out by mistake). 

Another big issue with hair systems is that the color will never be perfectly matched to your native.

You only spot the bad ones though, like bad HT's.  And if your  system never matched your native hair then someone made an error.

[SeanT1]

18 minutes ago, ssimpson7511 said:

You only spot the bad ones though, like bad HT's.  And if your  system never matched your native hair then someone made an error.

I don't know man...
I've also tried several pieces from several places, all with different prices.
They just never seem to get the hairline right.

[Al - Moderator]

6 hours ago, ssimpson7511 said:

You only spot the bad ones though, like bad HT's.  And if your  system never matched your native hair then someone made an error.

 

I wore a hair piece before I had a hair transplant. I absolutely hated it. From my personal experience even if I got the front to look perfect I still constantly worried that it was noticeable any time somebody got up close or especially if there was some wind blowing. It can look great at home when you comb it in front of the mirror, but the hair is not going to stay perfectly in place all day. At work I did a lot of walking, moving around, and constant interactions with people and I kept running to the bathroom to check my hair all the time.

With the color not matching, it could match perfectly when you first get it, but the color fades after a little while especially if you spend a lot of time outside in the Sun. The sun fades it pretty quickly.

[ssimpson7511]

On 8/19/2022 at 12:56 AM, BeHappy said:

 

I wore a hair piece before I had a hair transplant. I absolutely hated it. From my personal experience even if I got the front to look perfect I still constantly worried that it was noticeable any time somebody got up close or especially if there was some wind blowing. It can look great at home when you comb it in front of the mirror, but the hair is not going to stay perfectly in place all day. At work I did a lot of walking, moving around, and constant interactions with people and I kept running to the bathroom to check my hair all the time.

With the color not matching, it could match perfectly when you first get it, but the color fades after a little while especially if you spend a lot of time outside in the Sun. The sun fades it pretty quickly.

Yeah its not for everyone.  I remember as I wore a hairline piece deciding  that I'll  keep my hairline and instead fill in the recession, but I was so obsessed I kept looking in the mirror.  But as soon as I went back to my hairline piece I hardly ever thought about it, so the opposite was true for me I thought about my hair more when I wasn't wearing it.  Of course if the colour doesn't match that's a big problem, I don't have that issue. Some people just can't seal with it, for me its been incredible.  Not ruled out a HT though but so thankful I have other options in the meantime.

 

[Vic]

I wore a hair system for about 2 months; keeping my natural hairline and getting the front, mid and crown shaved for the hair system. It made wonders to my confidence getting that awesome density and making me feel 10 years younger! However, I very quickly got tired as it felt like a mat sitting on my head and scratching my head felt so odd. Also, i stopped going in water not due to fear of it coming out, but due to my natural hair and system hair not looking same after getting wet. I was wearing a Swiss Lace system and it was perfect with the place i got it from doing 3 maintenance sessions within the package; however it got expensive after i had to get off the package and get on a monthly payment schedule, was around $400.00 per month to maintain, colour, clean, re-apply etc.

As a result, I made the decision to get an HT as my donor is pretty good. Once I took the system off, my scalp thanks me every day as feeling of something holding your head is gone and I can feel my own scalp when itching!

[ssimpson7511]

On 8/23/2022 at 1:53 PM, Vic said:

I wore a hair system for about 2 months; keeping my natural hairline and getting the front, mid and crown shaved for the hair system. It made wonders to my confidence getting that awesome density and making me feel 10 years younger! However, I very quickly got tired as it felt like a mat sitting on my head and scratching my head felt so odd. Also, i stopped going in water not due to fear of it coming out, but due to my natural hair and system hair not looking same after getting wet. I was wearing a Swiss Lace system and it was perfect with the place i got it from doing 3 maintenance sessions within the package; however it got expensive after i had to get off the package and get on a monthly payment schedule, was around $400.00 per month to maintain, colour, clean, re-apply etc.

As a result, I made the decision to get an HT as my donor is pretty good. Once I took the system off, my scalp thanks me every day as feeling of something holding your head is gone and I can feel my own scalp when itching!

Blimey $400 a month?  I only pay around that for a whole year...you really didn't need to pay that kind of money.  Never had a feeling that I was wearing or itchiness.  Good luck with your HT.

Edited August 26, 2022 by ssimpson7511

[Vic]

1 hour ago, ssimpson7511 said:

Blimey $400 a month?  I only pay a little more for a year...you really didn't need to pay that kind of money.  Never had a feeling that I was wearing or itchiness.  Good luck with your HT.

In the $400.00 monthly package, they were providing for 4 new hair systems within the year(meaning one new every quarter) including hair cut, colour, removal of hair system, its cleaning and putting it back on a bi-weekly basis. The itching was not related to the system, but just that when i had to, it felt weird. Separately, it seems that the glue they were applying was making me light headed, not sure if that happened to anyone!