Have you ever considered surgery to alter your noggin?

[MarkMusicNYC]

RFN, I see this is causing you a certain amount of pain, and for that I'm sorry.

Have you ever actually tried shaving your head to see just how noticeable the dent is? Why I ask: it seems to me that in the photo you posted of the side of your head, what was making it slightly noticeable was your hair. Your hair was mostly likely cut to the same length throughout the dent area. Because of the dent, you're ending up with a highlight/shadow effect. If you were shaved, that would be gone. It might well be quite difficult to make out the dent in that case. I have a crease on the left top part of my head that runs from front to back (kind of like a side part). If I grow my hair out for a week, the stubble actually makes it more noticeable than it is when I'm completely sly.

Having said that, I'd also like to point out that the only people inclined to notice small imperfections on sly guys' heads are those that have a reason to. I'm sure someone like you might see me on the street and immediately notice my crease. But 99.9% of people wouldn't--all they'd see was a guy with a shaved head. I think it's important to realize that the vast majority of people that see you are not nearly as aware of your dent as you might imagine.

[rfn]

I figured I'd post a follow-up for anyone with a similar issue.

I went to visit a plastic/reconstructive surgeon the other day.  He looked at my head, and he gave me three options - 1.) Fat injections (but he said that he'll struggle to find enough fat on me - I'm skinny); 2.)  Artificial fillers; 3.) Surgery.

The issue with options 1 and 2 is that my body will reabsorb the fat/filler, which means that the results could be inconsistent.  It also means that I'll have to go back again and again, which means that it'll be expensive in terms of maintenance.  Finally, it only fixes half the issue, because the raised bone around the dent will still be there - personally, I despise the top and left views of my skull.   The view from the right is awesome though - that side of my skull is, as far as skulls go, pretty great.

Just like the neurosurgeon, the plastic surgeon advised me against surgery.  He said that it'll leave a conspicuous scar, which might look worse that the dent.  It is, however, the only way to completely fix the dent and the lumps around.  It looks like there's no easy way to win the battle against a broken skull.  It seems that the universe has a wicked sense of humour.

For now, I've started throwing money at Mr. Minoxidil.  I've got my fingers crossed that it'll work.

P.S.  For the record, does anyone here have cranioplasty scars on their bald heads?  How noticeable are they, compared to the picture of my dent that I posted earlier in this thread?

[TheSlyBear]

Fat re-absorption is one of my biggest concerns with fat injections - I don't want to spend a lot of money, only to have the effect disappear a couple of months down the line.

And yet you will thrown your money away on Minoxidil?

When the medication is discontinued, the hair loss will return to normal rate within 30 to 60 days. {1}

Minoxidil stimulates hair follicles and growth, but does not reduce DHT or the enzyme responsible for its accumulation around the hair follicle, 5-alpha reductase, which is the primary mediator of male pattern baldness in genetically susceptible individuals. Therefore, when treatment is stopped, the DHT has its expected effect of shrinking and ultimately destroying the genetically predisposed hair follicles. {2}

Sorry to hear that you've decide to go that route.

[rfn]

And yet you will thrown your money away on Minoxidil?

You make a valid point SlyBear, but on the other hand, the price of a single fat injection can buy me four years worth of Minoxidil.  It's not ideal, but after weighing up my options, it seems like my best bet.

[schro]

Are you in any pain as a result of the dent? If you're not, I (like everyone else) suggest the money you spend on Minoxidil could be better spent elsewhere.

[geeman]

welcome dude, it's all been said, but for my part, my noggin has an odd shape, I think I have a large head, but as previously said, most guys you see shaved have in perfections, very few have the perfect shaped head, I was a little self conscious at first, but the 30 day rule put pay to that, I rock the sly look, you'll rock the sly look, and my brothers all rock the sly look, good luck which ever route you decide on, we'll all be here whatever...

[rfn]

Are you in any pain as a result of the dent?

It doesn't cause excruciating pain, but it does have an almost-permanent discomfort associated with it, and my headaches tend to centre around that area.  The isn't anything, to my knowledge, that can be done about the headache pain, although I vaguely recall reading about similar cases where patients stopped experiencing discomfort after having head-injuries repaired, even though the repairs were only cosmetic.

[stasiu]

hey rfn !  Glad to see you back at SBG !  My head is terribly flat in back but head transplants not the answer - haha !  You look totally cool with facial hair and smile ... so don't worry about the head shape, etc.  Afterall, that is what makes you unique !  My only headaches come from too much Rum + Dr. Pepper (haha) and appreciate your ordeals.  Enjoy life !  Buzz it, Shave it, be happy !

[Focus]

If you ever have a few weeks of vacation this summer, why not shave it all and wear a cap? And you progressively take your cap off from time to time - when you enter a house, a store...

You would probably become aware that people don't pay much attention to the shape of your skull. You just need to be conscious that you are not the center of the world and very few people take care of what your skull looks like. And it is in no way definite : you can let your hair grow again if you are not comfortable with baldness.

A few months ago, I had very short hair and did not like my flat skull at the back of my head. So I hesitated to shave myself. But I tried and I think my flatness is LESS visible without hair. By now, I am pretty sure no one ever noticed that flatness.

Try to keep confident.

[rfn]

If you ever have a few weeks of vacation this summer, why not shave it all and wear a cap? And you progressively take your cap off from time to time - when you enter a house, a store...

You would probably become aware that people don't pay much attention to the shape of your skull. You just need to be conscious that you are not the center of the world and very few people take care of what your skull looks like. And it is in no way definite : you can let your hair grow again if you are not comfortable with baldness.

A few months ago, I had very short hair and did not like my flat skull at the back of my head. So I hesitated to shave myself. But I tried and I think my flatness is LESS visible without hair. By now, I am pretty sure no one ever noticed that flatness.

Try to keep confident.

Thanks Focus, this is a nice idea.  If I'm lucky enough to be able to take a couple of weeks of vacation sometime during the year, I might actually try this.

[schro]

I second that.

[ShavingWaving]

Hi rfn

I'm going through exactly the same thing. I've got a dent like yours, and as you described, it results in your skull sloping to one side.

I also totally relate with what you are saying. Going bald is one thing but having a uneven skull profile can really make the whole thing a lot worse. Plus there is age too. Going bald when you are still trying to look good for the ladies is quite different from losing your hair later on.

So I think looking at skull surgery is understandable. I've even thought of it myself. The way I see it is if you were born bad at maths, does that mean you are simply going to "accept" it as it is and move on, or are you going to do something about it? Work hard, take action and kick butt till you are aces at the subject? What you decide to do, comes down to you and whether you feel it is necessary. For example if you aspired to become an engineer then becoming aces at maths would be a requirement, but if you aspired to become an English teacher perhaps it wouldn't matter.

If I was in your position I would shave it first to check it out, it might not be that bad. From your skull picture it actually doesn't look too bad, I don't think it will be that noticeable if I was looking at you from the front, or from the side. From the back, maybe. How quickly does your hair grow? Could you give it a shave on Friday? Then let it grow till Monday?

The other thing I would say is you do have some pros. You aren't too bad looking, plus with the facial hair you could draw attention away from any head shape flaws. I think your facial features would suit the full sly look.

Lastly attractiveness is subjective and has changed throughout history. Just look at what attractive women looked like hundreds of years ago, larger around the waist and pale as can be! Believe it or not in the UK it is attractive for women to have huge gaps in their front teeth. Young girls even want to alter their teeth so they can have gaps too, I know ridiculous! People like Patrick Stewart who was considered ugly in his early career because of baldness is now attractive? What??? So perhaps by wearing your dent well you could lead to a trend where young men want surgery to have dents in their head? That might be the new style.

Below I've included my picture so you can get some idea of what your dent will look like. Mine is more on top of my skull, and it's noticeable looking at me directly, when I look down and also from the back. It doesn't look too bad, but in real life it really is quite obvious so don't have unrealistic expectations.