Living with a Hair Transplant-25,000 hairs over 25 years-HT Class #4

[JoeTillman]

Hair Transplant Class is back in session.

In class #4 I'm showing what it's like to live with a hair transplant. Over the past 25 years I've had about 25,000 hairs transplanted so in this episode I'm giving you a peek into what it's like living with a hair transplant. Even with so much hair transplanted there are still compromises to deal with.

[Dispare]

Thank you.

Very informative.

I have a lot of thinking to do. I'm not sure I'm going to get the look I want.

[JoeTillman]

Thank you.

Very informative.

I have a lot of thinking to do. I'm not sure I'm going to get the look I want.

BOOM! And THAT is why I made this video! It's potential patients like you that I'm targeting. If this makes you think twice then the video has done it's job.

[HTsoon]

Interesting video Joe, I think you've grown in to your transplant well, what I mean is that it looks completely normal for a middle aged guy to have a thin crown and a salt and pepper beard, the issue is would this look good on a 20 year old kid, idk and that's the dilemma for young guys.

I've always thought some hair is better than no hair, so I plan to grow well in to my transplant as you have, I certainly feel that having a thin crown at my age 31 is still not socially acceptable, however thinking long term, if I stay similar to how I am now in another 15-20 years ill be in good shape.

What are your thoughts on crowns, how about next class session discusses crowns, how old should you be? How many grafts? Will you be satisfied? Maybe title it "nice crown" lol. I think less is more when it comes to the crown, the problem is growth IMO, I know there are other factors that contribute to it being cosmetically more difficult, like the size and angle, plus the fact that hairs lay flat around the whirl making it difficult to layer and create coverage. However, I feel the elephant in the room is poor blood supply which leads to poor growth thoughts?

[JoeTillman]

Interesting video Joe, I think you've grown in to your transplant well, what I mean is that it looks completely normal for a middle aged guy to have a thin crown and a salt and pepper beard, the issue is would this look good on a 20 year old kid, idk and that's the dilemma for young guys.

Who are you calling "middle aged"?

I keed

I agree with you. I have indeed grown into my hair transplant but I don't know if I agree with you about the 31 year old/thinning crown point. I was 32/33 when Dr. Wong hit my crown for the first time and while I had VERY light coverage it was VERY thin and VERY see through. I'd call it almost wispy back then but it didn't seem to really affect me socially. In fact, when I was 31 and had my first repair and my crown was wide open I was still having "fun". I just came across some old photos yesterday as a matter of fact with me and my shaved head, new sprouts coming in, and I was on a camping trip where I hooked up with a good looking lady that I wound up dating. My donor scar was visible, too Part of what helped at that time was that I have a good head shape for buzzing. I think a lot of it comes down to attitude and how one presents oneself. But I get what you're saying, too. There are a lot of variables to consider but your idea of growing into your transplant(s) is logical. I'm so grateful I didn't go through with some of the ideas I had early on about lowering my hairline

I'll be talking about crowns in a future class, for sure, but it will be the class that addresses "supply vs. demand" in general. Crowns will be a part of it but there is so much to that subject that I may separate crowns into a separate class due to the details you mentioned. I'll know when I try to flesh out the outline but I try to keep these classes under 5 minutes (latest class is an exception). I don't think blood supply is an issue, however, as the scalp is generally considered to be the most vascular part of the body. I think that if there is any deficit with crown growth compared to other areas it is because fewer doctors feel comfortable with performing surgery in the crown overall so fewer have the experience to do it right. When you're having to make grafts grow at a more obtuse angle the incisions will be more shallow and the creation of a whorl pattern can create more native hair transection due to the ever changing directions of growth. Other reasons can contribute as well.

Thanks for your comments, HTSoon. I wish you a Happy New Year!

[HTsoon]

Maybe you're right Joe, who am I kidding 31 is not that young anymore I guess im going through some post op blues, my crown looks worse then it did before surgery so im being a bit self deprecating. But yes it is DEFINITELY mental, I got my GF when I was completely bald looking like Mr. Burns. So I am definitely grateful to be able to have a hairstyle at all.

Looking forward to the crown series, I think that the crown is so complex it definitely deserves a series on its own. Another thing is what is the best placement for the crown, my thinking was placing higher density in the anterior transitional zone of the crown with less density going down, my thinking is that when the hair is grown it will provide more coverage. Thanks Joe, Happy New Year to you and your lovely wife.

[Nadal]

Joe please do your next videos as soon as you get a chance
Look forward in anticipation

[JoeTillman]

HTSoon,

The Mr. Burns comment is fantastic! This proves you don't need hair, it's just nice when you do have it and nicer when you get it back

You question about the anterior placement is correct and logical and is in fact the way I had my first crown transplant. I had some miniaturized hair in the bottom half of my crown already so the top half was addressed with the idea that once grown out the length would aid in coverage for the bottom half that wasn't touched. It served me quite well for a number of years as my hairstyle was brushed back, pompadour style as seen in some of my older photos and even some older videos that may or may not still be online somewhere. It wasn't until 2010 when I decided to move toward shorter hairstyles that I realized there would be an issue. The terminal hairs of my crown transplant made the bottom half of my crown stand out as the hairs here were still miniaturized so we did another procedure where close to 1000 grafts were placed into the bottom half to help even things out. It worked quite well and allows me to have a more balanced and even appearance for the back.

Thank for the well wishes and Happy New Year to you and your GF.

[JoeTillman]

Joe please do your next videos as soon as you get a chance
Look forward in anticipation

Hi Nadal,

Thanks for your support. I'll get one out in the next few weeks, maybe sooner. If I can arrange it I'll start uploading a new class at least once a week when I get some other projects out of the way. Editing these videos takes a lot of time and effort.

[scar d]

Joe some excellent points in the video. Its very hard though to capture on video even with a good quality video what is seen in real life. Your hair looks quite good in the video but someone who has also experienced a transplant I know exactly what you mean about the density issues compared to pre hair loss, and also the harsher hairs from the donor trying to replicate the original hairline. But you have good skin hair contrast which would be helpful compared ro myself with light skin dark hair.

There is also another issue which doesnt get spoken about with regards to hair transplants, this is swimming outdoors and the density issues and also scar from an FUF proceedure. And also harsh sun light in sunny countries eg where I live. Im not sure the summer sun gets as bright in Canada as other parts of the world.

But I love your honnesty Joe and I think you have come a long way from the first proceedures and all the years of proceedures you have gone through to correct the original mess, its an emotional roller coaster which many people would strugglewith even going through one proceedure. As you said you have a good shaped face for the shaven look, which if I was educated enough I would of gone this route if I was in your shoes.

[Nadal]

Could you please explain the issues with swimming indoors and outdoors for somone with a HT .

What of the indoor pool has no chlorine ? Is that an issue ? Or is chlorine the issue

What about sunlight in the UK ?

[JoeTillman]

Joe some excellent points in the video. Its very hard though to capture on video even with a good quality video what is seen in real life. Your hair looks quite good in the video but someone who has also experienced a transplant I know exactly what you mean about the density issues compared to pre hair loss, and also the harsher hairs from the donor trying to replicate the original hairline. But you have good skin hair contrast which would be helpful compared ro myself with light skin dark hair.

There is also another issue which doesnt get spoken about with regards to hair transplants, this is swimming outdoors and the density issues and also scar from an FUF proceedure. And also harsh sun light in sunny countries eg where I live. Im not sure the summer sun gets as bright in Canada as other parts of the world.

But I love your honnesty Joe and I think you have come a long way from the first proceedures and all the years of proceedures you have gone through to correct the original mess, its an emotional roller coaster which many people would strugglewith even going through one proceedure. As you said you have a good shaped face for the shaven look, which if I was educated enough I would of gone this route if I was in your shoes.

Hi Scar d,

Thanks for commenting. Yeah, the swimming issue is another problem that many have to deal with. I actually have footage from when my hair was wet where I combed my hair and showed how thin it looks not only in the recipient but also the donor. Luckily, my donor scarring is not an issue and doesn't really show easily when wet. I didn't include it because it was so tough to edit this down to "only" ten minutes. I think I have footage of my swimming somewhere in my server so if I can find that I'll share it. It's indoors however since it was during the winter. But, swimming is a bigger issue for guys like us, for sure, because there's no hiding the degree of hair loss we've suffered from. Not to mention we still get sunburned on our scalps

Summers here can get quite bright so the issues are the same here as in other parts of the world.

[JoeTillman]

Could you please explain the issues with swimming indoors and outdoors for somone with a HT .

What of the indoor pool has no chlorine ? Is that an issue ? Or is chlorine the issue

What about sunlight in the UK ?

The issues are that the hair will look much thinner when you're swimming and if you're outdoors you've got the exposure from full daylight sunshine. Chlorine doesn't affect the hairs any more than it does for someone without a hair transplant. I believe Scar D is just talking about this aspect of having a hair transplant. There is also the scarring that may be revealed due to swimming as well, which would be more of an issue for strip patients than for FUE patients but with time FUE patients that have donor depletion in isolated or larger areas may be more common and they too may experience issues like this.

[jmq50]

Hi Joe,

I'm a 28 year-old and was planning on getting an FUE transplant w/ 1500 grafts w/ a reputable HT surgeon in the near future. Primarily, the plan is to fill in the receding areas around the tuft, no plan to lower the hairline at all. I'm not thinning on the crown but obviously somewhat worried about how quickly the balding will progress in the coming years - I'm aware I will almost certainly need a 2nd procedure at some point down the line. Recently, I've been having some second thoughts about going through with it and would really appreciate to hear your opinion as to whether or not you thought this was a reasonable plan, especially given my age. I attached some current photos. Thank you!

https://www.flickr.com/gp/149565074@N07/6Z4o4P

https://www.flickr.com/gp/149565074@N07/F6oLSK

https://www.flickr.com/gp/149565074@N07/8WB16d

[Dan26]

Hi Joe,

I'm a 28 year-old and was planning on getting an FUE transplant w/ 1500 grafts w/ a reputable HT surgeon in the near future. Primarily, the plan is to fill in the receding areas around the tuft, no plan to lower the hairline at all. I'm not thinning on the crown but obviously somewhat worried about how quickly the balding will progress in the coming years - I'm aware I will almost certainly need a 2nd procedure at some point down the line. Recently, I've been having some second thoughts about going through with it and would really appreciate to hear your opinion as to whether or not you thought this was a reasonable plan, especially given my age. I attached some current photos. Thank you!

https://www.flickr.com/gp/149565074@N07/6Z4o4P

https://www.flickr.com/gp/149565074@N07/F6oLSK

https://www.flickr.com/gp/149565074@N07/8WB16d

youll prob need more than 1500 grafts...prob 2000 atleast