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How long after a HT does your head look okay?

alex5

alex5

member
Hey all,

I am currently doing a lot of research on Hair Transplants and trying to work out if I want to pull the trigger!

The good thing with the current climate is I now work from home which would make the whole healing process much easier.

I understand I am going to have to shave my hair off which I have never done before so it's going to be a bit of a shock to myself and friends/family.

My question is, how long after a HT will it take my head to heal and just look like a normal shaved head with no redness or holes etc?

Am I right in presuming around 2 weeks?

Thanks a lot
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
2 weeks is the average time frame to heal and have it looking like it did before surgery. Redness can linger for months for some people, this is something to take into consideration.
Lots of people will cut their hair short prior to surgery. This allows you and others to get used to the look.
Are you thinking of FUE or FUT surgery?
 
alex5

alex5

member
Thanks Bigmac for the answer.

I'm thinking FUE and around 2000 grafts as I don't need to touch the crown.

I am weighing up the pros and cons of either telling people I have had it done or not, which is the reason for my question on how long the redness stays for.
 
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Baldingman23

Valued member
My opinion on this as I’ve just had my HT done is that depending what work you have done and how you used to have your hair will depend how obvious that you’ve had a HT will be. I’ve never had Right short hair and my frontal quarter where I had most of my work done is not as thick as my native hair areas. When I’m out I still wear a hat due to people Probably asking what I’ve done to my hair. I’m thinking in about another 3 weeks I might be able to get away without wearing a hat.
 
alex5

alex5

member
Are you keeping it a secret or telling people? If you are telling people then I guess a hat isn't needed?

Does your normal hair grow back to how it was before whilst the new hair sheds/regrows?
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Alex.
If everything heals without any issues the recovery period is quite quick but like any surgery, there are risks that you need to be aware of.
We`ve discussed the redness which can last months. Depending on how much existing hair you have, you may be able to cover the transplanted area once your hair is long enough.
You may suffer shock loss, this can leave your donor area looking sparse and patchy until it recovers which again can take months.
If you can tell people it would be best but I do understand why many keep it a secret.
Maybe mention someone in a conversation who has had a HT and say you`re thinking about it.
 
alex5

alex5

member
Hey Bigmac,

I have attached a picture of my current hair to give you some idea, I believe I am a Norwood 3?

I have never shaved it before but I am hoping that if I have a HT, there is just about enough hair to help disguise it once it starts growing?

Thanks for your help so far
 

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Baldingman23

Valued member
Your hair loss looks exactly how mine was. I’d say you will be in the same boat as me. Have a look at my Journey on here as it might give you some idea what it will look like
 
alex5

alex5

member
Just read through it all, definitely resignates with me and helped me a lot.

Dr Ashrad has said 2000 grafts to me over email but I haven't done a video call yet. The Maitland said 1500 that seemed too low?

The phase you are going through now scares me the most, shaved head and all the transplanted hair has shedded so it's going to look worse before it gets better.

One other question I am really struggling with. I live in London so I have no idea how I would get home from Leeds/Portsmouth after the surgery!
 
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Baldingman23

Valued member
Yep I had 2100 in the frontal quarter. Don’t be scared of the shedding stage just think how happy you will be when it all grows, that’s what I tell myself at the moment.

My dad drove me back after my HT we did stay in the holiday inn the night before though so that could be an option for you after the HT
 
Alien Spyder

Alien Spyder

member
Less than a month ago I had an FUT procedure with 19,00 graphs.

By day 2 nobody could tell I had anything done to my head.

I will say that I had a pretty good amount of hair on top so it was pretty easy to cover it up.
The hair was so thick in the donor area that it would be impossible for anybody to ever see my scar unless I shave my head or have to go through chemo or something.

Best of luck with whatever you decide on.
 
Alien Spyder

Alien Spyder

member
Alex, I struggled with questions like this as well.

No, no need to have your head shaved with the FUT procedure.

If you were considering an FUT procedure your doctor will look for a few things.
1) Do you have a lot of thick hair in the donor area?
2) Does it seem like as you age you will probably shed hair in the donor area as you continue to age and loose hair
3) How old are you now.

For me, I wanted to get a FUE procedure but my surgeon said that I would be a perfect candidate for an FUT procedure.
I have a ton of thick course hair in the donor area. He doesn't think I'll ever go completely bald. I'm showing no signs of thinning in that area and probably never will because I'm already 57 years old.

If I was 30 and I was thinning very badly he would be concerned that within the next 10-15 years I could continue to keep loosing hair and it's possible that I would go so thin in the back of my head that the scar would eventually show.

Every person is different and I think he made the right decision for me. A positive is that the FUT was considerably less expensive than the other option so my wife was happy.

The below PIC was taked 1/2 an hour after my procedure. You'd have a tough time finding a scar in that mess!
 

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