Least Awkward Ways to Tell Boss and Coworkers You Will Be Getting a HT

[HappyMan2021]

Looking for experiences and tips on telling the boss and coworkers you will be getting a HT. 

I work remotely, am not client-facing, and will be able to have my webcam off for team meetings, so logistically and in terms of productivity there will be zero impact. 

But even so, I don't want to get ribbed on and overall I just want to make it as much of a non-issue as possible. 

My current plan is to tell my boss about 2-3 months before surgery, that I will be having a HT. I am hoping she will keep it to herself. I plan on taking the entire week off work for my HT. 

The week after, I will have my webcam off, and only then would like to reveal to my coworkers that I got a HT. 

Once the gnarly scabs go away post 2 weeks I will go back on webcam and rock the shaved look for a few weeks. 

Short story is there is no hiding this from my team. Just looking for messaging in terms of what to tell my boss and coworkers. 

Any tips on what NOT to do or say would be appreciated as well. 

[WhiteyUK]

Simple ... “I’ve had a hair transplant “ 

who gives a shit... I never kept it a secret and everyone I’ve told are fascinated and most men who are balding have said things like “I’ve always thought about it” or “can you let me no where you went” etc etc

[Gokuhairline]

if you work remote, it does not get simpler than that....wear a hat, turn camera off....many more but yeah or u can just tell them and get it over with. 

[NARMAK]

Personally i'm of the opinion they don't need to know. It's none of their business. If you were feeling pressure to appear on webcam, a private chat with your manager that you had a procedure on your head and its not something you feel comfortable being on camera with or similar should suffice. 

I work in an office environment and right now they're having a week in the office and some remotely, but i've already requested to have the entire time i'm recovering be more remote. You're not exactly allowed to wear hats around the office it seems. So i'd have to request that. 

As i said, i don't think it's anybody's business unless i specifically decided to share with them. Not cause i was feeling forced to tbh. 

[Mike10]

It will always be awkard. you do not have to tell though

[Al - Moderator]

Don't tell anyone if you don't want to. If you are taking a week off for the transplant then you should be past the swelling stage by the time you are back on the webcam. They'll see you shaved your head and they may see a lot of redness and scabs, but so what. If they ask then tell them you had a hair transplant. If they don't ask then move on and act normal.

 

[Spring15]

You don't

[rob7331]

When I booked my HT I made sure to arrange at least 10 days of vacation/sick/weekend after the last day of surgery before returning to work. This way the scabs would be removed and I'd look like I shaved my head, nothing more.

It went exactly like that. Not a single person commented that anything looked odd, besides a few "Oh you shaved your head" in which case I answered "Yup" and then the conversation moves on. I have a public-facing job and see my colleagues often, so I was quite pleased with how little an impression my hair change made. I think people on this forum forget that we spend a lot of time looking at post-op pics, but the average person has no idea what a HT looks like.

So I guess what I'm saying is don't worry about it. I also agree with the above posters that it's nobody's business but your own and you're under no obligation to share if you're not comfortable. I told some family and close friends, but didn't feel like telling anyone else.

[Lightmare]

Agree with what Rob said above and also hid mine completely.  When asked about the short haircut I just said I wanted to try a new cut for the summer.  Nobody asked twice and I don’t think people noticed.  You can just tell your boss you are going for a week of vacation.

You don’t need to wait til scabs are completely gone if you work remote - no need to keep camera off entirely for weeks on end.  You can just dim the lighting, make your camera more upward and less top facing or change your work environment for a while, perhaps after the ugly duckling phase if you had your hairline lowered with no natives around it.  You’ll look normal enough after a week that people won’t notice.  

Edited March 1, 2022 by Lightmare

[Gatsby]

I told two colleagues who were extremely excited for me prior to surgery. So much so that when at one point I was thinking of cancelling my surgery they desperately tried talking me back into having it! 😆The rest of the staff we didn't tell because I wanted to see their reactions. Not one of them has commented or even knows. Personally I don't care what people in life think about me. I did this for me not anyone else. In a month from now they will not be thinking about your hair transplant.

[NARMAK]

34 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

I told two colleagues who were extremely excited for me prior to surgery. So much so that when at one point I was thinking of cancelling my surgery they desperately tried talking me back into having it! 😆The rest of the staff we didn't tell because I wanted to see their reactions. Not one of them has commented or even knows. Personally I don't care what people in life think about me. I did this for me not anyone else. In a month from now they will not be thinking about your hair transplant.

Hear hear. 

Exactly right bud. We do this for ourselves firstly and getting ourselves to that point where we feel more confident and by extension i think the other things are a byproduct. 

A lot of people who don't understand call it a vanity etc. but its only when i think it actually hits them they realise its not as easy as "Just shave it bro(!)". 

Personally i don't intend to be at my current workplace that long and i prefer my privacy generally speaking. Even here on the forum whilst i generally like to be open, i feel this is a safe space for like minded individuals who understand each other and the struggles around hair loss generally even if they're maybe 5 Norwoods apart. However, i think i still like the idea of maintaining anonymity amongst regular shmoes IRL i interact with even if i did share more details like here on the forum or spaces online.