Nervous as all get out

[SargeC]

I'm looking into hair transplants. I met once with a guy at Bosley. It didn't sit well with me. He was wearing a white coat like he was a doctor but I knew he wasn't. I asked if the scarring would be significant enough that if I was unhappy about the procedure, I could just shave my head. He responded that guys with scars shave their heads all the time. I am thin at the crown and have the typical receding hairline with some some left in the front towards the center. I currently just shave it and have for about 3 years. I'd way rather be like I am now than get a botched job- or have to keep going back-I'm not rich. I am 43 and my hair loss has been stable for a number of years. I descibe myself as half bald ( so do others

My question is this. I am in a highly visible job and am relatively short 5'5". Can anything be done to help while waiting the year or so for hair to grow back in? Hair extensions etc... I don't want to change my existing hairline much if at all, and I don't at all like how my hair looks while growing in as it is. If something could be done to provide more density while I'm waiting for the transplants to grow in, that would be great. I ask because I'm assuming I can't shave my head beause of a big smiley face scar that I guess you can't get around- or can you. Forgive my ignorance.

[RobinSigismondi]

You are correct that shaving your head would not be possible. Even in the best of hands, a transplant will leave a scar. Extensions are possible if they are done correctly, but you have to have enough hair to attach them to in the first place and you need to work with someone who is experienced in using them WITHOUT damaging your existing hair. (Brittany Spears - bald spots were from extensive use of extensions applying tension on the scalp.) They are also more applicable with longer hair, but not an impossiblity with We have had a number of patients use a product like DermMatch to help improve the appearance while the transplant grows in. You need to practice with it to put in on correctly, but it could be an inexpensive temporary fix.

[CIT_Girl]

Your best bet, if you want to keep your hair short and avoid a long linear scar, is to avoid having a strip surgery altogether and opt for a FUE procedure. Instead of excising a large portion of tissue from the back of your head, and then closing the wound with sutures, the doctor removes individual follicular groupings one at a time, which are then transplanted to the recipient areas you wish to fill. This type of procedure leaves little to no visible scarring and allows you to wear your hair very short without risk of detection. Some patients will experience areas of hypopigmentation where tiny white dots can be seen where follicular units were extracted from the donor site.

CIT (Cole Isolation Technique) is Dr. Cole’s proprietary FUE method. Dr. Cole also offers a procedure he calls C2G, or CIT to Go. This is an unshaven version of his CIT procedure which allows patients to return to work, even in the public eye, the very next day. You could opt for a shaven or unshaven procedure but, either way, you don't have to worry about the 'smiley face scar' if you go the FUE/CIT route.

[RobinSigismondi]

However.....

Keep in mind that whether you opt for FUE or the strip method, any procedure will create scar(s). It's a question of what type of scar. Regardless, if the procedure is done well, the scar(s) will be minimal and should be nearly invisible once healed.

During the healing process, there will be redness with FUE's or strip method, that will be visible when you shave your head. This redness can last several weeks in some cases, it really just depends on your body's own healing process.

[SargeC]

I have two main concerns. I don't want my HT to be detectable at all is the first. How to have reasonable looking hair while it's in the "ugly duckling" phase is the second. I don't think shaving my head anymore after HT will be an option. Point is- I shave it for a reason. I think it looks terrible with a big thin spot at my crown (I say thin because it's not actually bald but has maybe a fourth of the density it once had). So, while waiting for it to grow, are there any options? - since I wil really no longer be able to shave it?

I probably could use some work on the front but will probably forget about that since I don't think I want to trust anyone with my hairline. No offense to any doctors, but I've seen transplant photos touted as examples of what some Docs can do that are not convincing at all- and these are from members of the professional organization to which a lot of the physicians on this forum belong. I'm not rich, and simply could not afford $20,000 in corrective procedures. If I'm gonna do this, it absolutely has to be right the first time- and preferably in one procedure.

[SargeC]

I'm actually starting to lean toward just living with what I have. Both Dr. reps who have responded were at least honest enough to admit there would be some scaring. For me, to have HT- "minimal scaring" and "barely visible" don't quite get it for me. For me, undetectable would have to mean just that. I would find it difficult if not impossible to have to walk around with transplants that were IN ANY WAY detectable. At the very least, I'm gonna have to do a whole bunch more homework. Maybe just looking to add density, and not messing with the hairline will make things more do-able. I'm definitely not ready to take the plunge yet. Maybe I never will be. Going bald does bug me, but it's not that bad- I don't want to die over it like some folks on this site, but having a butchered head might get me there- so I just want to do a lot of research before doing anything. I have seen some fantastic results, I just need to make sure that would happen with me. I don't know if anyone can realistically make that assurance. I guess the problem is distinguishing between those who can and those who only say they can.