Residual scalp hair thinning - what to do

[EddieOS]

I’ve been wearing a system for many years. In my late 50s.

I’ve recently noticed that the systems no longer blends naturally with the scalp hair which appears lighter in colour.

I don’t think it’s an issue with the system colour. It’s more to do with density with the scalp hair becoming more sparse relative to the system which can’t be thinned out too much before it falls apart.

I’m thinking of getting SMP on the exposed scalp so that it gives a better illusion of density that would look more aligned to the system.

Grateful for any views, particularly from anyone who had faced a similar issue. 

[davidn]

How was your Overall hair System Experience?

[EddieOS]

Unspectacular. Forced to wear it because of botched surgery many years ago. Wouldn’t recommend it.

[Berba11]

54 minutes ago, EddieOS said:

Unspectacular. Forced to wear it because of botched surgery many years ago. Wouldn’t recommend it.

Are you able to maybe share a few pictures so we can see what you're currently dealing with in terms of getting the blend between system and native hair? And are you able to share some before and afters of your surgery?

Repairs have come a long way - I'm just wondering what options you've explored with regards to maybe correcting the botched HT and moving on without going down a system/SMP-combo rabbit hole.

[Gatsby]

3 hours ago, EddieOS said:

I’ve been wearing a system for many years. In my late 50s.

I’ve recently noticed that the systems no longer blends naturally with the scalp hair which appears lighter in colour.

I don’t think it’s an issue with the system colour. It’s more to do with density with the scalp hair becoming more sparse relative to the system which can’t be thinned out too much before it falls apart.

I’m thinking of getting SMP on the exposed scalp so that it gives a better illusion of density that would look more aligned to the system.

Grateful for any views, particularly from anyone who had faced a similar issue. 

@EddieOS this was exactly my experience at the tail end of wearing hair pieces fit over 20 years. They work well when you’re young but as you get older your donor hair thins and changes color. I had a lot of scars from bad transplants from when I was young. The hairpiece helped hide the scars and the baldness. But the last ten years was a drag with the hair piece so I buzzed my head and had SMP. 
 

[EddieOS]

Many thanks Gatsby. What a stunning result you achieved. It’s very encouraging.

[Al - Moderator]

Hi @EddieOS. Welcome to the forums.

These days you can use beard hair as donor, so if you have a decent amount of beard hair (or chest hair as secondary, but not as good), you may have several options depending on your situation. If you have a lot of beard hair you could try using several thousand beard grafts to add hair all over your head to completely eliminate using a hairpiece. You may not get a very dense amount of coverage, but for someone in their late 50's you may be OK with that especially if you really want to get rid of the hairpiece. Another option is to just add some beard grafts to the old donor areas on the sides and back of your head. This would take less grafts, but could give you a better blending of that hair with the hairpiece which is what you mentioned in your post. Covering the old scars with beard grafts may also allow you to buzz or possibly shave down and eliminate the hairpiece by going with a shaved head without worrying so much about the old scars showing.

 

Do a search on these forums for Dr Felipe Pittella and you will see what an amazing job he is doing with beard hair. You can also take a look at Eugenix who are also doing great work with beard grafts. There are several others as well.

 

[ssimpson7511]

4 hours ago, Gatsby said:

@EddieOS this was exactly my experience at the tail end of wearing hair pieces fit over 20 years. They work well when you’re young but as you get older your donor hair thins and changes color. I had a lot of scars from bad transplants from when I was young. The hairpiece helped hide the scars and the baldness. But the last ten years was a drag with the hair piece so I buzzed my head and had SMP. 
 

Doesnt change colour if you've got lots grey like me LOL.

Blimey if anyone deserves good results its you, look like you've been through the ringer mate.

 

[EddieOS]

3 hours ago, Al - Moderator said:

Hi @EddieOS. Welcome to the forums.

These days you can use beard hair as donor, so if you have a decent amount of beard hair (or chest hair as secondary, but not as good), you may have several options depending on your situation. If you have a lot of beard hair you could try using several thousand beard grafts to add hair all over your head to completely eliminate using a hairpiece. You may not get a very dense amount of coverage, but for someone in their late 50's you may be OK with that especially if you really want to get rid of the hairpiece. Another option is to just add some beard grafts to the old donor areas on the sides and back of your head. This would take less grafts, but could give you a better blending of that hair with the hairpiece which is what you mentioned in your post. Covering the old scars with beard grafts may also allow you to buzz or possibly shave down and eliminate the hairpiece by going with a shaved head without worrying so much about the old scars showing.

 

Do a search on these forums for Dr Felipe Pittella and you will see what an amazing job he is doing with beard hair. You can also take a look at Eugenix who are also doing great work with beard grafts. There are several others as well.

 

Many thanks for the reply @Al - Moderator It’s very good of you to explain the various options.

Ive already looked into surgical options and was in touch with Eugenix in particular to discuss options. I’ve plenty of beard and chest donor but the cost would be astronomical. It would take about 10,000 grafts to get a decent coverage and would probably need to go with Dr Sethi. 
 

Beard grafts to the sides and back to achieve a better blend with the system might work but would be likely to be more expensive than SMP.

[ssimpson7511]

Have you considered a full cap?

[EddieOS]

8 hours ago, ssimpson7511 said:

Have you considered a full cap?

Not really no. But I may have to.

I’ve always thought they’re easily detected but maybe they’ve improved in recent years.

[ssimpson7511]

2 hours ago, EddieOS said:

Not really no. But I may have to.

I’ve always thought they’re easily detected but maybe they’ve improved in recent years.

The ones I've seen, i always felt the longer fringed full caps always look better the ones kept a little unkempt if you know what i mean, and probably much eaier maintainance wise.  Quite a few websites that show full caps as well as youtube videos.

I remember reading peoples posts on northwest lace and being really impressed with some of them, this was years ago though.

Not sure if the site is still being used.

 

Customer Gallery - Northwest Lace