Scar Grafting with Dr Cole

[Therealdeal23]

That makes sense. I'm leaning more towards the semi permanent SMP. I think getting touch ups every 2-3 years would be perfect as it isn't too often but at the same time isn't completely permanent. I might try temporary first though to see how I like it but ultimatley I want something that lasts a little longer.

It sucks that we have to go through this. I'm rooting for you and please keep us updated southeastguy. We need more of these cases online. Also, northeastguy please do not stop updating this thread even if people are not responding. There are countless people who aren't users that constantly are on forums reading threads like these and hoping for updates as I was one for the longest time. I hope we all can get to the point where we can style our hair how we want and not constantly dread what we have done to ourselves.

[southeastguy]

@Northeastguy...who at Shapiro has done your FUE into scar? I am scheduled with Dr. Josephitus and don't know much about him. Do you have any insight? I know Dr. Ron is a legend, but do you think Dr. Joe can get the job done?

[Therealdeal23]

Also, northeastguy when they did your SMP into the scar did they do it with ur hair shaved down to a 0 to most closely resemble the stubble or did they do it with your hair at the length you wanted (1.5-2 guard)? If you were to go a 0, would the SMP still match up with the surrounding stubble?

[southeastguy]

@Therealdeal23. Eric at Aheadink, who did mine, told me that its the same procedure whether your hair is a 0 or a 2. He is just making tiny dots. I did my procedure at a 0 which makes it easier for the practitioner to work because there is no hair in the way that obstructs their view. Right now I keep my hair at a 1.5-2 guard and there is so much volume loss from the scar it is difficult to even see the SMP. There is no question that the SMP looks best when you shave everyday. With longer hair it is almost unnoticeable. I am hoping the FUE will solve that problem. Hope this helps.

[Therealdeal23]

Southeastguy, would you mind exchanging emails privately so I can see pictures of your procedure? It would be a tremendous help. I can't find out how to send a private message on this site...not even sure it lets me.

[southeastguy]

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[northeastguy]

Hi Wylie,

glad to hear from you. Sorry for the delay in replying... I think we agree on a few things. first, nothing replaces the effects you get from real hair. Nothing. The SMP does a great job camouflaging the rest of the scar. So we agree on that. I do recommend however, If someone chooses to use beard hair, I recommend a good test. have them Implanted into the scar and wait a year. If there is growth before.... your good to go. I unfortunately did not wait for growth. was more concerned about scaring around the neck area so once that was safe I went with the beard grafting. I did not have success with grafting beard hair into the scar. I did have success with it growing into my scalp. That info leads me to your other question.... why after 5 years am I still working on this. Well, I lost a full year waiting for the beard hair to grow. I also lost a good 10 months waiting to have to Semi-permanent SMP to be removed and the shock loss to reverse. The tone was a very bad match for my skin tone. We learned the Temporary SMP was best. That's almost 2 years! I am also a perfectionist and its taken me this long to realize I will have to settle for a length that might be longer than I was hoping for but still achieve my goal of hiding the scar with a buzz cut. During this period, we removed hair along the scar line that was very dense and added it to the top sides to pull everything together. All in all I likely have about 1500 grafts in my scars. The rest is SMP.

I am so happy you found the right combination to reach the point your at. The very fact you can go with a 1 guard and walk around in comfort is astounding. Congrats
I had great results with Cole

[northeastguy]

@Northeastguy...who at Shapiro has done your FUE into scar? I am scheduled with Dr. Josephitus and don't know much about him. Do you have any insight? I know Dr. Ron is a legend, but do you think Dr. Joe can get the job done?

my work was done by BOTH Dr Josephitus and Dr Ron. I had one small pass of grafts into the upper scar. the larger work was removing the denser hairs along the scar line to even out the density and adding FUE onto the top sides to connect everything together. Yes, I trust Dr Joe.

[northeastguy]

Also, northeastguy when they did your SMP into the scar did they do it with ur hair shaved down to a 0 to most closely resemble the stubble or did they do it with your hair at the length you wanted (1.5-2 guard)? If you were to go a 0, would the SMP still match up with the surrounding stubble?

I would never go to a 0 guard. Can't stand the look and I just don't believe it hides the scar enough. you need some length... at least .5 or 1 guard to give it dimension. depth. the SMP adds to the camouflage. Keep in Mind, EVERYONE will have different results with different lengths. You need to experiment with what works for you. Don't always go with what others are doing.... yours might be completely different. Just use what others have done as a "guide".

[northeastguy]

From what I have learned, you probably want to get to around 50-60 grafts/cm2 and then SMP should make up the difference. Native hair is 80-100 grafts/cm2. It depends on how long your scar is. My scar is 25cm long X .5cm which is 12.5 grafts/cm2. If you do the math I am probably looking at 500-600 grafts over two sessions. My guess is that at some point you will get diminishing marginal returns and it just won't make sense to keep grafting, not to mention each graft is another tiny scar. The scar will always be there, but the idea is that you are making it tough for the average person to notice it in a social situation. I am not trying to trick a hair transplant doctor that I don't have a strip scar....I am trying to trick the average person who sits behind me at a concert or walks past me at the mall.

If you get 50-60 grafts/cm2 in your scar you just kicked its A##. Those are very good results. Do keep in mind, hair that grows out of the scar is often less dense. over time, it should increase in density.

[northeastguy]

I want to start with this photo as a reminder of where I started. this was taken the day prior to my first procedure with Dr Cole. It is a 2 guard cut.

the last couple of years I have been experimenting with SMP at Shapiro's clinic with Nicole. She is exceptional at SMP. We learned the best option for my situation is using the Temporary SMP. It is a better fit for my skin tone. That will be used going forward unless there are changes.
I also did some FUE work with Dr Ron and Dr Joe. We did one small pass into the upper scar but most of the work was to thin out the hair along the scar line and add hair to the Top sides to pull everything together. I am only 8 months from that procedure so I have a few more months of growth to go. Unless there is ever the ability to clone, I am done with surgery. Temping to add beard to scalp areas but that wasn't what I started out trying to achieve during the scar repair. The focus will be on SMP going forward.



This photo is Pre SMP on 10/17. It is all FUE work.... hopefully it continues to improve and fill in as time goes on.



Took this 2 days post SMP.






Took these today after a haircut one with flash. again, it is a 1.5 guard length. 4.5mm

I will let it grow for a week and get a 2 guard cut to compare results..... I will share them here in a week or so.

..... hope this helps

[Therealdeal23]

So happy for you man I'm glad you have finally conquered this. Temporary SMP seems great it just kinda sucks you need 1-2 touch ups a year would be super cool if you got something that matched your skin tone for 2-3 years. Either way you've come such a long way I don't think anyone can really tell there was a scar there at the length you keep it at. How does it look at a 0.5 or 1 guard? Is it noticeable?

[Therealdeal23]

Would you be able to post a video of how it all looks? Pictures sometimes don't show it looks in real time/real life. I feel like videos capture that a bit better. If you don't mind that is of course. This has been such a help.

[wylie]

So happy for you man I'm glad you have finally conquered this. Temporary SMP seems great it just kinda sucks you need 1-2 touch ups a year would be super cool if you got something that matched your skin tone for 2-3 years. Either way you've come such a long way I don't think anyone can really tell there was a scar there at the length you keep it at. How does it look at a 0.5 or 1 guard? Is it noticeable?

You're getting yourself all worked up over nothing. No one said you have to go back once or twice a year, other than the practitioner, who is interested in doing as many sessions on you as they can. Don't opt for permanent SMP. Find an experienced practitioner who can do Milena Lardi SMP. Nicole at Shapiro is who I've been to.

[wylie]

Would you be able to post a video of how it all looks? Pictures sometimes don't show it looks in real time/real life. I feel like videos capture that a bit better. If you don't mind that is of course. This has been such a help.

He doesn't need to reply with a video, because THAT IS WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE. Those pictures don't lie, they are clear and reveal just how much his scar has disappeared. I don't even see any evidence there was one there, and NEITHER DOES ANYONE ELSE.

When someone spends night and day obsessing over something stupid like a strip scar, you go to bed every night with visions of strip scars dancing in your head. When there is a traffic jam on the way to work, it's because there is a giant strip scar in the middle of the road holding everyone up. When your boss smiles at you as he walks away, he is secretly laughing at your strip scar.

What I think might be beneficial for a lot of people is to either grow a pair or go see a counselor in addition to repairing their strip scars, dependent on how affected they are by it. Why don't you post a picture of your strip scar so we can see if it is even visible?