How long to keep discrete?

[bandersnatchi]

Hey all

I have a procedure with Erdogan coming up. Between 1800-2000 grafts to a NW2 hairline.

I've been able to plan out over 60 days off starting the day if my procedure. I'm planning on taking about 4 weeks away from friends and family and making a vacation out of it. I'm also planning on holing up in the hotel for 10 days while the ugliest stage progresses.

I was wondering how long I will need to be away before the procedure is unnoticeable. I'm cutting my hair to a 2 guard a month prior so that won't be an issue. I'm also relatively young and have tan skin (not fair) so I'm mostly concerned about redness at this point.

[Hairbrain]

Hey all

I have a procedure with Erdogan coming up. Between 1800-2000 grafts to a NW2 hairline.

I've been able to plan out over 60 days off starting the day if my procedure. I'm planning on taking about 4 weeks away from friends and family and making a vacation out of it. I'm also planning on holing up in the hotel for 10 days while the ugliest stage progresses.

I was wondering how long I will need to be away before the procedure is unnoticeable. I'm cutting my hair to a 2 guard a month prior so that won't be an issue. I'm also relatively young and have tan skin (not fair) so I'm mostly concerned about redness at this point.

Good question. Everyone heals at a different pace. I think 4 weeks away from friends and family is good. After a few weeks and making sure your recipient sites are healed,you can always experiment with concealers such asr Topik or Couvre. You can also use your existing hair to comb over the recipient areas, hairspray may become your best friend at this point. It is a benefit to you having tan skin as opposed to having white or pale skin where the redness would stand out and be more evident. The redness will dissipate at its own pace, and from what I know time is the only healer to connect these broken blood vessels. From my own experience, and I think for most, the redness will be at around 75% gone by the end of week three. But again everyone heals differently and at a different pace. The fact you are able to get 60 days off is incredibly to your advantage. By then you will have figured out how to deal with it. You may not need to do anything at that point. I always got a kick out of the infomercials for hair transplants when they would claim "return to work the next day". That was a bunch of bullshit and still is for any clinic or doctor making that claim. Fact is anyone getting a transplant needs to carefully plan their schedule and take off as much time as they reasonably can. Even after one week anyone who doesn't know anything about hair transplants will take one look and guess that person had a hair transplant. From my experience and many others the fact is you need some personal down time.
It will be interesting and helpful to others if you might continue this thread, not only to share your experience but to let others know of how you will have dealt with the concerns you have now. Good to know it looks as if you've chosen a great doctor. Good Luck and keep us posted in the future!

[bandersnatchi]

I'd be more than happy and willing to create a progress thread once I get the procedure done.

Unfortunately I am shaving down for the procedure (hence the reason I'm buzzing to a 2 beforehand) so I won't be able to use longer hair as cover up. I figured by the time I see friends and family again the 0 guard shave for the procedure will have grown out to at least a 2. My hair grows extremely fast. Originally I was going to do his new long hair FUE but I want better yield and I feel that shaven will allow the team to graft and reinforce thinning areas better. Essentially I want to stick with the tried and true. I don't really mind buzzing my head.

Also, when I said tan skin I'm not necessarily "olive" but I am also not fair skinned. I would say I'm a few shades darker than average Caucasian. I have never burned and get a bronze tan extremely easily and never have had burn issues. I have researched a lot over the past few months and it led me to believe there is a chance my redness won't be as bad, but I'm planning for the worst as well.

Currently my gameplan is to hole up in my hotel for 10 days where I'll be able to go to the clinic every day for washing, and I already have HairCycle, Copper Peptide solution, and Aloe Vera solution for post-op to try to eliminate as much redness as I can. I may venture out with a nondescript hat to check out the city. Because this procedure is for filling in my temples/lateral hairline and straightening out the hairline, my redness will be mostly on bare skin, at least on the sides. Thankfully there won't be much work done to my forelock as it has not receded at all; in the event that it eventually does thin, I'm hoping that Erdogan will put some preemptive grafts there but I am not sure how he views that.

As far as hairline design, I've messed around with Microsoft paint (lame I know) but from what I've read Erdogan is fantastic at designing natural looking lines that are best for the patients face, so I've stopped worrying about it and am going to wait for him to determine what's best.

Have there ever been any patients that have made rapid recoveries (>2 weeks) where the procedure is undetectable?

[Hairbrain]

I'd be more than happy and willing to create a progress thread once I get the procedure done.

Unfortunately I am shaving down for the procedure (hence the reason I'm buzzing to a 2 beforehand) so I won't be able to use longer hair as cover up. I figured by the time I see friends and family again the 0 guard shave for the procedure will have grown out to at least a 2. My hair grows extremely fast. Originally I was going to do his new long hair FUE but I want better yield and I feel that shaven will allow the team to graft and reinforce thinning areas better. Essentially I want to stick with the tried and true. I don't really mind buzzing my head.

Also, when I said tan skin I'm not necessarily "olive" but I am also not fair skinned. I would say I'm a few shades darker than average Caucasian. I have never burned and get a bronze tan extremely easily and never have had burn issues. I have researched a lot over the past few months and it led me to believe there is a chance my redness won't be as bad, but I'm planning for the worst as well.

Currently my gameplan is to hole up in my hotel for 10 days where I'll be able to go to the clinic every day for washing, and I already have HairCycle, Copper Peptide solution, and Aloe Vera solution for post-op to try to eliminate as much redness as I can. I may venture out with a nondescript hat to check out the city. Because this procedure is for filling in my temples/lateral hairline and straightening out the hairline, my redness will be mostly on bare skin, at least on the sides. Thankfully there won't be much work done to my forelock as it has not receded at all; in the event that it eventually does thin, I'm hoping that Erdogan will put some preemptive grafts there but I am not sure how he views that.

As far as hairline design, I've messed around with Microsoft paint (lame I know) but from what I've read Erdogan is fantastic at designing natural looking lines that are best for the patients face, so I've stopped worrying about it and am going to wait for him to determine what's best.

Have there ever been any patients that have made rapid recoveries (>2 weeks) where the procedure is undetectable?

You have a fantastic plan. I understand personally the anxieties, but they will subside after the first week or so. You should be fine. Rapid recoveries? Sure some individuals will recover quicker but I think two weeks seems quite a stretch for anyone shaven to go completely unnoticed. I've had multiple procedures and have always been noticeably red after two weeks. After week three my redness always seems to have subsided to the point it wasn't really noticeable unless looking close under bright lights. And then by week 4, gone. Of course that's just my experience. One thing I've always found out for myself and have heard others claim as well, is that is being noticeable seriously becomes less of a concern each and every day following the procedure. Like you, I too have always tried to conceal or get away with no one noticing. And to date I have been fortunate enough to say no one has ever mentioned or asked if I had anything done following a procedure. Like you I've always had a plan and it always worked out for me. For you I would expect no difference given the amount of time your able to "stay away". I've personally always enjoyed this time to myself, and used it as an extended vacation.

[bandersnatchi]

You have a fantastic plan. I understand personally the anxieties, but they will subside after the first week or so. You should be fine. Rapid recoveries? Sure some individuals will recover quicker but I think two weeks seems quite a stretch for anyone shaven to go completely unnoticed. I've had multiple procedures and have always been noticeably red after two weeks. After week three my redness always seems to have subsided to the point it wasn't really noticeable unless looking close under bright lights. And then by week 4, gone. Of course that's just my experience. One thing I've always found out for myself and have heard others claim as well, is that is being noticeable seriously becomes less of a concern each and every day following the procedure. Like you, I too have always tried to conceal or get away with no one noticing. And to date I have been fortunate enough to say no one has ever mentioned or asked if I had anything done following a procedure. Like you I've always had a plan and it always worked out for me. For you I would expect no difference given the amount of time your able to "stay away". I've personally always enjoyed this time to myself, and used it as an extended vacation.

Thanks for the quick replies hairbrain.

Yeah, that sounds about right based on what I've been told. I have seen some pictures of people at the 10 day mark where I don't think unknowing people would guess at a hair transplant. It's simply too rare of an event in the grand scheme of things in my opinion... almost nobody knows about it.

After my hole up after the procedure I was going to saddle up and travel around Europe checking stuff out for the remainder of my time. What is your opinion on that? Would just be a solo trip, but hopefully would still be able to do the proper post-op I mentioned earlier.

[Hairbrain]

Thanks for the quick replies hairbrain.

Yeah, that sounds about right based on what I've been told. I have seen some pictures of people at the 10 day mark where I don't think unknowing people would guess at a hair transplant. It's simply too rare of an event in the grand scheme of things in my opinion... almost nobody knows about it.

After my hole up after the procedure I was going to saddle up and travel around Europe checking stuff out for the remainder of my time. What is your opinion on that? Would just be a solo trip, but hopefully would still be able to do the proper post-op I mentioned earlier.

Dude you got it! You're post op planning is spot on. My personal advice is to make sure you don't bump your head on anything afterwards. I think you're very smart by staying holed up for a bit. You can't be too careful for the first few days, especially getting in and out of taxis or public transit or especially when flying (damn overheads). I habitually started putting my hand over my head anytime I needed to duck for anything. I'm not sure exactly when your procedure is but it seems you've done all the upfront work one can do... Your challenge now is to try to forget about it as much as you can until the day of. I know how obsessive it can become!

[bandersnatchi]

Dude you got it! You're post op planning is spot on. My personal advice is to make sure you don't bump your head on anything afterwards. I think you're very smart by staying holed up for a bit. You can't be too careful for the first few days, especially getting in and out of taxis or public transit or especially when flying (damn overheads). I habitually started putting my hand over my head anytime I needed to duck for anything. I'm not sure exactly when your procedure is but it seems you've done all the upfront work one can do... Your challenge now is to try to forget about it as much as you can until the day of. I know how obsessive it can become!

Hairbrain,

Had one more question for ya. As far as intense training goes, would I be safe at 2-3 months post op to resume a rigorous physical training program? Including swimming, running, sometimes in the sun, lifting, etc.

[Hairbrain]

Hairbrain,

Had one more question for ya. As far as intense training goes, would I be safe at 2-3 months post op to resume a rigorous physical training program? Including swimming, running, sometimes in the sun, lifting, etc.

You should receive those answers in your post op instructions. I was told no lifting for 6 months but I think that may be because of the strip which you don't need to worry about. There are however some moderate restrictions that you need to follow. I'm sure you will be advised to cover your head when in the sun for an extended amount of time for up to six months including tanning booths. Usually the advice is that you can pick up moderate exercise and running (50%) after about 10 to 14 days. Again your doctor will advise you accordingly. Good luck and keep us posted!

[Mountinvan]

I can't imagine that after a week it wouldn't be pretty undetectable. The shaving down is probably the only telltale sign after that time. Concealing with your current hair might be possible if they don't shave too much but it sounds like you'll just have to regrow some native hair. My bet is that after about 5 days you will be rearing to get out of dodge, although Turkey hs many non-medical attractions. Take it easy. Protect the new hairs, have some massages, and catch up on your snoozing.

[bandersnatchi]

what is the verdict on bandanas after the 9 day mark? thinking of rocking one during my travels afterwards.

I've also stocked on on HairCycle, H2Ocean, as Folligen sprays for post-op as well as whatever the Dr gives me. Trying to minimize downtime/redness as much as possible and keep as many hairs from shedding as I can.

I know people always say to refer to the Dr, but in the experiences of the members here, what is the amount of time I should spend away from wearing a helmet or doing anything that involves head contact? I am an avid MMA guy and also wear helmets a lot so would 2 months be enough time to be safe?