My head is a mess. I have an unusual situation. First, I got a bad hair transplant back in the early 90's. (not bad for the time, but in today's standards it is). Large plugs that looked like doll hair. Fast forward to 2010, 2012, 2013- I had 3 more hair transplants (repair work) which really helped break up and hide some of the plugginess. Was, however, diagnosed with Lichen Planopilaris which causes scarring alopecia. So besides the large donor line scar almost from ear to ear in the back, plus some remaining plugginess of hair plugs, plus now, scars randomly places around my head from scarring alopecia, where the skin is dead and the hair follicle is gone (not peach fuzz, just weird patches of no hair follicles at all. It's spreading, so even some of my transplanted hair is being attacked by my disease, leaving scars. If I could do it over again, I would have just shaved it (though I knew no 19 year olds in the early 90's that shaved their heads (didn't know any adults either for that matter). Now I wish I would have. So, all that to say, I'm now thinking I may not have a choice but to shave my head, but worried about, the plugs and the scarring alopecia (the donor scar, i'll just deal with, it's in the back at least). Mainly wondering if shaving as close as you can, still would make it somewhat obvious, where I have plugs of hair, where I have thin hair and where I have dead/no follicles at all. Can you actually shave so close that you really can't hardly tell where there is hair and where there is not? (may not be as big of a deal with normal hairloss, but my situation is a weird one). Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Welcome, sir.
Don't let the imperfections scare you. Most of us have discovered that we are our own worst critics when it comes to seeing imperfections in ourselves. Usually, no one else notices anything.
Shaving to smooth will make the hair less noticeable, but will not hide your hair follicles completely if they are dark and your skin is light. Most of us have shadows. The good news is that your skin will tan once it is exposed to sun, and the shadow fades as the contrast between hair and skin lessens.
The only way you are going to know how you will look shaved is to shave.
I agree with Cave.
The hair, where it is still in place will be hard to 'not see' - at least until the skin colors in. That can be challenging during the winter months too. But it can be done.
None of the domes are perfect, but it's really wonderful to see shaved domes. Good luck, I hope it's "not as bad" as you fear it is.
And...welcome to SBG!!
Thanks guys. I'm going to be moving out of state in a few months and, in a lot of way, plan to "start" over w/ a new me once I'm there. Maybe this will be one of those new things about me- shaving after I move. We'll see- still nervous about it, but thanks for the encouragement!
Welcome to the forum, and good luck with everything!
Hope everything turns out well for you, sir.
Let us know how it goes.
Thanks guys. I'm going to be moving out of state in a few months and, in a lot of way, plan to "start" over w/ a new me once I'm there. Maybe this will be one of those new things about me- shaving after I move. We'll see- still nervous about it, but thanks for the encouragement!
I think that sounds like a great idea. A new beginning. I think it would be cool to shave it at a hotel on the way to the new location... that way, you will enter the new location with the new look. Good luck and we look forward to your comments on the forum.
Hey everyone. I'm new here, and I could really use some input.
I was diagnosed with lichen planopilaris (scarring alopecia) three months ago and my hair is shedding like crazy.
Here’s my story: four pluggy HT surgeries in 1988 that left a gazillion white round scars in the donor site (this was before the days of strip harvesting) and three long strip scars to correct the mess. The final results were pretty good and I stopped thinking about hair – finally. That was 2008. Then about six months ago it all started falling out and I was like, what the hell!! The diagnosis felt like a death sentence.
Goal: I want to buzz it down or shave it. I have no choice. It looks nightmarish right now.
Problem: What to do about the cobblestone scarring on top (from the 1988 plugs) and all the donor Frankenscarring from six surgeries.
I’d also like to know if any of you have shaved because of scarring alopecia OR want to shave but have held back because of hair transplant scarring. I’ve never met anyone who has BOTH of my problems.
The scarring part is definitely freaking me out. FUE is not an option for me because the grafts will be destroyed by the disease. Anyone have any luck with lasers, scar revision, tattooing…anything?
Thanks guys
Hi HTGuy, Im in your spot right now. This past Friday I had the barber shave down my hair. I had hair transplants done back in 89 and 90. Now with my hair shaved the plugs are noticeable and the scars in the back you can see also. I just like to know since its been over 3 years for you how things are going. Since last Friday I have been working from home and the stress level is off the charts. THis has been really rough for me.... Thanks