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I don't mind seeing my baldness, ... But I do mind seeing a Hair Transplant

H

headon

Valued member
I DON'T MIND SHOWING MY BALDNESS ... BUT I DO MIND BEING ABLE TO SEE A HAIR TRANSPLANT.
I have had 9 Hair Transplants dating back to the Mid '80s. The Last 2 were 'repairs' (2015) involving Punchouts of old BIG grafts (and redistribution) Including a Final Strip surgery consisting of 1680 grafts and 600 FUE. This is me after a Buzz Cut No.2. They were taken in ultra-bright light at close range with Hi-Def camera for the purpose of re-evaluating what's 'hidden underneath' my long and carefully styled hair. My Situation is as follows: I am TIRED of having to 'cover-up,' of having to hide and carefully style my hair. I love the FEEL of having short hair, although I couldn't get away with a Buzzcut No. 2, as the pics illustrate. But maybe I could get away with a Buzzcut No. 4 around back and sides and a short scissor cut on top. The series of photos includes a photo taken in late March of 2020 where MY HAIR IS LONG all over and combed back (no concealer) and illustrates the illusion of hair, But as I mentioned earlier I am tired of the need to 'cover-up,' and would love to be able to wear my hair 'very short' without seeing signs of a Hair Transplant.
I am stripped out and although I have been told that I have about 400-500 FUE still available I don't see it from these Hi-Def Pics. I am at an age now where I DON'T MIND SHOWING MY BALDNESS ... but what I DO MIND is being able to detect a transplant. For a time I was even considering punching out everything and accepting my baldness fully but seems a bit drastic after all the time, energy, and MONEY over so many years.
MEDS: Nothing has changed having taken about 2.5mg daily of Finasteride (is Proscar better?) for about 10 years. I take no other meds or topical solutions.
ANY ADVICE THOUGHTS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED... Thank-you!

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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Headon, sorry to read about your predicament. Your strip scars look ok, they`ve not stretched. Your appearance in the long hair picture does look good, you have a more density along your hairline which creates this appearance. Your donor is very depleted now, getting another 600 grafts will be pushing it. Maybe they will take from areas just outside the safer zone making the whole area more uniform. You might be able to pull off the military cut look, buzzed at the sides and back with it slightly longer on top. SMP may be an option, although with the grey I`m not sure how effective it would be.

It would seem you have continued losing hair while on Finasteride, I am not sure if Proscar would make any difference as they are essentially the same thing. Most move on to Dutestaride when they feel Finasteride is not or has stopped working.

Has your latest clinic suggested any treatment plan going forward?
 
Arnold6

Arnold6

member
How many grafts have you had with 9 transplants? If you punched them out you may end up with lots of scarring.
 
H

headon

Valued member
Hi Headon, sorry to read about your predicament. Your strip scars look ok, they`ve not stretched. Your appearance in the long hair picture does look good, you have a more density along your hairline which creates this appearance. Your donor is very depleted now, getting another 600 grafts will be pushing it. Maybe they will take from areas just outside the safer zone making the whole area more uniform. You might be able to pull off the military cut look, buzzed at the sides and back with it slightly longer on top. SMP may be an option, although with the grey I`m not sure how effective it would be.

It would seem you have continued losing hair while on Finasteride, I am not sure if Proscar would make any difference as they are essentially the same thing. Most move on to Dutestaride when they feel Finasteride is not or has stopped working.

Has your latest clinic suggested any treatment plan going forward?
I appreciate your input Bigmac. Always good to get feedback from someone like yourself. My (2) repairs were done from one of the Top Docs in the US. I always planned on going back to him for a 3rd and final repair. But of course, with borders closed and current world health situation, it's been delayed. But have sent him my latest pics with the Buzzcut. Here is his reply below... I trust him implicitly but always good to get another POV.

The goal is to look as natural as possible under as many situations as possible.
  1. What medical regime are you currently on?
    • What length do you plan on wearing your hair? This hair cut is much shorter than before and under bright light which is the most unforgiving and is good because it illustrates the problem areas. But with limited donor, it is important to prioritize and the approach may be different if you do not plan on wearing it this short. For example, I can slightly see the donor scars at this length and the density drop off behind the hairline is more obvious than with your hair a little longer. If we want to go for this length we may have to incorporate some:
  • SMP to hide the scar and homogenize the top,
    • more punch of more obvious larger graft and maybe some of the ring of the hairline to put back in the central core. I would probably want to punch out some in the crown also. You could probably do this in the same visit as a procedure as the large grafts are spread out.
  • consider the use of some new regenerative techniques like exosomes ( look up online exosomes and Dr McGrath or Dr Cole) These have been very exciting for regrowing hair in some patients
    • You may need to incorporate beard and body hair. The beard hair is taken below the chin so you can still have your goatee.
  1. Depending on length and style desired some people look ok with a thinner short look if you can get rid of the things that catch the eye and others may do better with a longer look.
Doing some test SMP and exosomes may be worthwhile in the interim if done right they can be really helpful.

I am not really interested in doing BODY HAIR, but I am open to BEARD hair. I am a little nervous about taking Dutasteride. Don't know about the Exosomes, particularly that it's still in a 'trial period.' Anyways Bigmac ... would be interested to get your thoughts on the above.

thanks again for your reply,

Headon
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
I think it sounds good. It`s what I would be saying in my non medical opinion.
Punching out some of the larger groupings/plug-grafts especially from the hairline and redistributing them. This will create a more natural thinning look if you`re going for a more even coverage.
As for Exosomes, check out Dr Baubac, he has quite a bit of info on the subject.
I hope that helps.
 
H

headon

Valued member
I really appreciate your feedback with all this Bigmac. I agree about the punching out of some of the hairline for the reason you give. I think my doc is thinking along the same lines. And thanks for the Dr. Baubac reference, I will most definitely check it out.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
No problem. Helping people is why the forum is here. I already knew of Dr Boden but I took another look on his website to check it out a bit more. His results look good and patient feedback is also good. If you choose to stick with the doctor, I think you will be in safe hands.
Dr Baubac has some very interesting information on Exosomes, he has been using them for some time.
 
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