The Key to a Buzz Cut HT

[HairHunter]

Hi,

I am interested in hearing any professional opinions on the above topic.

The hairstyle is becoming more popular and achievable after HT's

What are peoples opinions on-

Less fu's/cm2 for people looking for a Buzz cut Look, is this fact or myth?
What grade would be best for a buzz cut after HT #1 #1.5 #2?
Splitting fu's into singles to give a more stubbley effect, is this a good idea? or would it cause too much unnecessary trauma to the head
best plantation angles for the style
combining your HT with Micropigmentation

these are just a few of the issues off the top of my head all opinions on the topic appreciated

 

[richfrog]

Yeah would be good to hear views on this. Alot clinics promote the fact that FUE gives you the option to shave down.
Ive seen a few good results shaved to number 1 after.

 

[sl]

This is an important point when designing a HT. A HT is all about the illusion of density as we can't obviously replace like for like hair. The shorter you go the more light penetrates and reflects off the scalp and gives the appearance of less thickness, but when grown out the hair thickness can give the illusion of a good head of hair.




I've buzzed my hair short for years before I had a HT and wanted to keep the same look after, having no intention of growing my hair longer, Dr. B went about my surgeries with this in mind and designed slit making, orientation, angles accordingly to ensure even with short hair I still maintained a natural look and not thin.





Some people get disappointed when they shave and the illusion is not as thick, if you like this is the pay back of a HT, it is not your natural hair growing and it will have some restrictions, and you must let your doc know your intentions before hand so they can plan otherwise it will look thinner if "normal" placement designs are made.





I've had over 8000 FUE now scalp/beard from hair line to crown, the crown is still a little thinner than the frontal third and mid sections so it takes a lot of grafts when you are a NW5 above.




Also something else to remember is the contrast that can be more visible the shorter the hair is, the contrast between the HT hair and the native hair behind; often the native hair behind maybe slightly finer than the HT hair which comes from a rich source of strong hair, when grown out it again is much less visible and when shorter a larger contrast. The HT hair does relax over time, but time can be a couple of years while the HT hair goes through growth cycles; something else to consider especially if your hair is coarse.

 

[HairHunter]

Thanks for the post Stephen.

What grade do you think your hair looks best at now and would you ever consider micropigmentation to give more density to your crown?

What Density/cm2 do you think is required to pull of a buzzcut?

Im pretty sure every NW5 on here would be delighted with a result like yours!!

 

[sl]

Hi Hairhunter.

Density is only a part of the equation, hair to skin colour, natural hair groupings, coarseness etc, so many variables and some will need less than others to get the desired result. The design also plays a part in order to achieve an illusion of coverage.

For me personally micropigmentation is not something I would do, i've met several who have undergone it though and I undertand the motives for doing so.

I buzz my hair to 1mm a few times a week and have a good illusion of coverage.

 

[HairHunter]

1mm!!!! :O amazing you can pull this off with the amount of grafts taken from your donor.

In relation to Hair Groupings, do you think its a bad idea to split all fu's into singles if the patient is planning on never growing the hair out? I think splitting grafts for a buzz cut result is a good idea as more individual hairs in a cm2 will give a better illusion of density/fullness in a tight buzzcut e.g 40 single hair follicles in a cm2 will look far better buzz cut than 10 quad follicles in a cm2 (I know you wouldnt plant 10 quads in 1cm2, its just a simple example to explain my thinking!!

I could be completely wrong, just an idea in my head.

 

[sl]

It's rarely a good idea to split unless the op requires, maybe repair cases in certain circumstances and for hair line work to get enough singles; but a naturally head of hair has a % of multiple units and depenedent on the scalp position there will be more or less. A hair line in the first 2-3mm's can raquire around 500 or so single hair units otherwise it will not look dense enough to be natural, if you continued to place single units around the same density to ensure it looked natural you would run out of donor in a relatively small area of coverage and the distribution would not be natural anyway.



If you place say a 70 density of single hair units in a cm2 you will have 70 hairs, behind this if you place a 50 of 2 hair units you have 100 hairs and the distribution cosmetically will be more and look more, if then you place 40 density with 3 hair units you will have 120 hairs in the same area, and in areas behind the hair line this will be important otherwise the result will look thin, especially the shorter the hair is cut.

 

[HairHunter]

I understand what your saying in the second paragraph of your last comment and agree 100% if the person is planning on growing the hair long but I just cant see the benefit of multiple units if the hair is only a couple of mm's long.

Surely the 70 singles in the front will look far better buzz cut than the 50 2hair units?(This is what I cant get my head around!) and if you split the 2hair units in singles and go with a 70 singles density throughout you can cover more area. Take 3000grafts which may equate to 7500 hairs (in some cases) 75 Single grafts could cover 100cm2.

I understand this wouldnt look great growing out but it may suit the higher NW's looking for coverage and a buzz cut style.

 

[sl]

It's basically all about the need for correct distribution of the natural FU, the need for some area of the scalp to have single hair FU and other areas needing multiple hair FU.

The hair count in relation to the distribution is a vital aspect of making a hair transplant look natural, long or short hair. You'll see we often post the hair count and distribution of grafts alongside the actual number of grafts placed, SMG do the same, the reason being is a successful HT requires the natural distribution and ratio % of various sized grafts to make it work, splitting them down would result in an unnatural looking pattern of growth and thickness, not withstanding the fact that even if it were to be a good idea the density placed would have to be so high to get anywhere near how it should look the chances of lower yield and impaired skin are likely potentials, and for no good reason. Somethings can be played with when designing a HT but others have to follow nature and the FU distribution of singles and multiples has to be followed.

 

[HairHunter]

Ok I understand better now thanks for clearing that idea up!!! lol