What to do about a hair transplant

[universal]

Hi there guys,

I just signed up to this forum. It looks great i like what you have going here. I will breifly tell you my story. At the age of 15 when swimming my dad noticed a receeding hair line. Dad is a macho type of guy and wanted to get it fixed so we consulted a 'specialist'. We ended up going the route of 2 hair transplants and propecia (age 16). I just tried to live my life but i suffered bad anxiety and never really felt too good. Fast forward 9 years later and i realised that i had no libido, problems downstairs, anxiety, poor cognition. I did some research and quit propecia. My anxiety is totally gone now, libido still non existant (might never come back!) My hair is ever so slowly receeding again.

I want to be bald. Oh how i just want to be free. I have a strip scar on the back of my head from ear to ear. Im not sure what i can do. Im thinking soon i might need to try to lazer the hair at the front off. Does anyone with hair transplants have experience with just shaving it? Will it grow during the day and look bad by night? I have also considered having some hair put into the scar so i can buzz it quite short.

Ive included some pics of me after shaving it all off a year or so ago. Also another picture of the scar and of me with short hair. Any advice / comments would be welcome. My mum doesn't like the idea of me being totally bald and i am not sure about it myself. I always liked the idea of a bit of hair, but because of the strip scar it looks bad. I dont look very happy in the bald photo as i was in a bad way at that time  

Thanks all

[marty22]

Been there with transplants and had corrective surgery. Look up my postings.

FOr what its worth: a-I think u were too young. b-Consult a surgeon/dermatologist to get dermabrasion. Ive seen a few people have that strip scar worked on and make it quite more appealing. Long term, youre probbaly now better off bald.

[warhawk]

hey universal:  1st of all welcome 2 the sly fraternity.  u look like a natural with the sly, smooooooth dome.  it's a keeper.  keep us posted on all the reactions of your new look.

WARHAWK

[Tyler]

Welcome to SBG. Thank you for posting up your story so that you may help others from dealing with the same thing your dealing with now. 

[universal]

Cheers guys. Writing this on my way to work. Warhawk I'm not quite part of the club yet as I wasn't brave enough to keep the look going for more than a day. I'm trying to remember how bad the scar looked. My mum said it's a deal breaker. Nice to know at least from the front I can pull it off.

See ya

[chgobuzzbald]

Not sure if they have Pixel brand lasers in the UK (thats where you are ?). It is a fractionated laser that I have had 2 sessions with on my transplant donor scars which are all over the back of my head basically. JUst had the second session this week. So far the skin seems to be normalizing and tightening, making the scarred area smaller. The dermatoligist I found here in Chicago has never tried this before but feels my pain as he had transplants in 1969. He wears his hair quite long to cover the donor area. He comes from a time when being bald was not an option anyone would choose I guess. I would check into this type of laser as it used on all sorts of scars with good results and no real down time. Another option would be follicular unit extracrtion of SINGLE hairs to fill in the scar. But this extraction might cause some other scarring depending upon how the hair is extracted of course. But the laser will flatten and tighten the scar in any case. Also check the Tattoo section here about a UK company that does medical micro tattoos into hair transplant scars to make them look as it some stubble is there. I may do that after the laser if I am not happy with the results. It will be 2 or 3 more sesions for me with the laser to achieve the final result I am told. Both of us are here to warn guys off transplants for sure !

[Rusty Shackleford]

I can't believe any doctor would be willing to make such a major scar on someone's head who was only 16 years old.  I'm no doctor, but it would seem to me that someone who is balding at 16 wouldn't have a stable enough condition to know how the balding would progress.  It'd seem inevitable that you'd get some sort of hair island on your head as you lose more and more hair.

I think you need to seek out a dermatologist who can minimize the appearance of the scar through surgical means.  You may also be able to minimize the appearance of the scar by tweezing or killing off your hair with a laser.  One of the things that makes the scar stand out is that the scar does not have any hair follicles growing within it so it does not have a hair shadow.  The surrounding skin does. 

On the plus side, the scar is on the back of your head so you'll never have to see it.

[BaldMark]

Hey universal.  Welcome to the fourm.  First off you look great with your head shaved.   I think it's pretty sad that a doctor would preform a transplant on a 16 year old. (Not your fault)  I see in your picture that you have some stubble on your head showing the scar.  Do you have or have you razor shaved it?   I'm just wondering if  your head was smooth would the scar be as noticeable?  I can't speak from personal experience but I'm glad i read your post.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Bald Mark got me wondering, it does look like you have a razor-shaved head in that one photo so were you able to shave over that scar without slicing up the skin?  I have a new scar on my head that I often cut when I shave.  I hate this scar.

[universal]

Hey guys. Thanks for replying i really appreciate it. You are all very perceptive, i didn't explain the pics very well. I did have stubble when the pic with the exposed scar was taken. That is partially why it looks so bad i think, because there is no hair growing there as Rusty said. I did go totally sly as you guys would call it, and to be honest i cannot remember what the scar looked like at this stage. Partially because i was in a bad way and partially because i cant see the back of my head lol.

I think the options you guys have given me are what i was thinking.

If i went totally sly i could possibly do dermabrasion on the scar. I wish the bugger wasn't that long though i look like i had a labotomy. Im from Australia by the way chgobuzzbald. Another option as you said could be FUE. I was thinking of taking arm pit or chest/stomach hair and having it placed into the scar. That way i might get away with buzzing it quite short. I have been dreaming about taking the hair out of the front via micro FUE and placing it in its rightful place at the back. This is probablly a ballsy/stupid idea though as if the top of my head scars i think im done for.

Do you think i will need some type of lazer surgery on the implanted hair Marty? Im gonna look like a doll in the next few months. If i shaved it in the morning am i stil going to have some type of shadow?

Anyway thanks for all your help. I really wish i had a site like this back when it all happened. I agree i was too young but now i have to man up and deal with this bullshit once and for all. I am now an advocate against non essential medications and of hair transplants. If this didn't happen im sure i could have rocked it like a bald man instead of becomming so insecure. Perhaps one day me and my scalp will get our day in the sun 

[marty22]

if u can take some closeups with a shaved or close to shaved head showing the front, it would be helpful.. start with a quality dermatologist and then a plastic surgeon to get a few answers. take your time and dont make a hasty decision. Im here to help. I went thru a version of it and there were days, when I was ready to totally freak out. Lets take it one step at a time. There is NO instant cure here.

Options may be: dermabrasion, folding over or rolling over the old scar on the back of head, etc. I just dont know what will work for ya.

[universal]

Cheers dude. By the way i tried to read your history but couldn't figure out the best way to search it! I will have to consider giving it a shave again as i want to know what im dealing with. Im just finishing exams and i work so shaving is not very simple but there are ways. Im certianlly not going anywhere as this problem wont fix itself lol.

[Timmay]

Universal, welcome to the site bro.  I think it looks totally fine shaved down.  OK so you have a scar....big deal.  The biggest thing is you need to become comfortable with yourself.  If anyone ask...just tell them what happened.  Why continue living a lie?  Be proud of who you are.   Does it look bad?  Well not really but in the pics it is noticeable.  Just think of it this way....maybe those who are thinking about doing the hair transplant will see the scar and then see you shave your head.  That should be a real easy answer to their questions of whether they should do it or not.  To me, if I see a guy walking around with a scar from hair transplants and now has a SLICK SHAVED HEAD...that would tell me to just go ahead and shave it and save the money.  Dont fret it bro...ENJOY IT!  Just because you have a scar doesnt mean you are a freak or anything.  I would hang with ya...but then again..look at me! lol 
Keep us posted bro
Timmay

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Welcome.  You've got a remarkably positive attitude in light of what you've been subjected to.  But putting aside what could be said about that, it is what it is, and you've wisely chosen to address it head on--no pun intended.  
You're receding hairline is symmetrical so a Statham close buzz is possible for the time being.  There doesn't seem to be a hole in the back, some guys never get that so that helps that look too.  
In addition to the ultimate selection of a competent and ethical plastic surgeon to address the appearance of the scar to the extent medically possible, you might also want to consult a responsible and ethical endocrinologist to see if there are any means to restore the other parts of your life have been disrupted by this event.  
Whatever you do you seem to have a good mind and you will get this behind you.  Meanwhile, please stick around.  There are so many guys who come here thinking the drug treatments don't have side effects and they're willing to take a chance.  You could make a positive influence on some other guy's life.  

[Tyler]

Universal, my suggestion is the same that I give every guy that comes to SBG looking for help.  Shave it down for 30 days.  After 30 days, see how you feel and then make a decision.  Right now you are playing out a lot of "what if" scenarios in your head and all it's doing in delaying your ability to get past this season in your life and move forward.  After 30 days, you might determine that you want to get some dermabrasion, or you might think that the scar offers you uniqueness that you enjoy.  You'll never know until you do it.