How to live with Strip Scar? Had SMP to help cover Scar but this has not worked

[stinger007]

Hi everyone

I’ve been a reader of this forum for a while and wanted to share with you my struggle with living with my strip scar at present. I know there is no magic cure but do feel extremely down about the whole situation at the moment.

Maybe by opening up about the whole story I may help other people in my situation or people thinking about having a HT. I’m also hoping I may get some guidance myself along the way

To keep it short my journey was a good head of hair until late 20’s. Started to thin around 28 and had a HT at 30. As I got to my mid 30’s hair was thinning all over even when using fin tablets

Finally had the balls to shave July 2018 and then had SMP 3 months ago at SKALP UK in my strip scar and on the top of my head over 3 sessions.

The SMP looks good, but the major issue is the scar hasn’t blended at all and I’m now left not knowing what direction to go with any of this.

It’s affected me so much so I’ve just lost my job as I now live under a cap all the time. I don’t take my little girl swimming anymore, avoid any sort of interaction with people outside and it’s also having a huge impact on my relationship with my wife. She’s very supportive but as my mental health has suffered it’s also affected her

I’m happy to post pictures and will do so if there is much interest

I’ve read so many people say they regret getting a HT and I indeed fall into that category. I think having the SMP has made me feel worse as if it wasn’t for the way the scar looks I would be very very happy with the current result that SMP has given

Hope I’ve not moaned to much

Happy New Year all

[Sir Harry]

Welcome to the board!

So is the scar sticking out after the SMP? Did you follow the aftercare instructions carefully? Maybe your scar was still too raised at the time you had the job done. Happy New Year, and yes photos would help.

[chgobuzzbald]

I had a similar HT raised scar. Before I did SMP I had 4 sessions with a Fraxel laser on it which smoothed it out significantly. Then the SMP worked well and its 90% concealed. Ask a dermatologist to try the Fraxel laser on it, using increasing intensity in each session. This may erase the SMP but you can do it again later. My avatar pic is right after my 5th SMP session 5 years ago. The scarred area  now needs a touch up. HIS Hair did a great job 5 years ago but in the US they have turned over their business to Bosley and they  do not do  touch ups they tell me. Oddly they  scar you first with HT then offer SMP. So disappointed in what HIS Hair has done in the US with Bosley taking over their SMP business.

[stinger007]

Thanks for the responses...here are some pics.  Will post some more up today and add comments so you have a visual view of my journey the last few years.  My scar doesn't look very raised in these pictures but it is.

@chgobuzzbald - your SMP looks great do you have any images from the back that show the scar more, thanks

This one is a day after my 3rd session of SMP as you can see there has been some bleeding of colour as this time he went a little darker on the scar. 


Same day a pic from the other side


A Pic from the front about a week after my last SMP (you can see my hair is starting to grow back).  Overall im very happy with the top


Taken today 5 weeks after last SMP - I've started to let my hair grow out as i'm unsure what to do.  As you can see the SMP in the scar has faded.  I've been told I can have a few more top ups, but kinda lost faith it will help in any way

[Sir Harry]

@stinger007 Thanks for the pics and your willingness to share them. Much respect to you for that.

As someone who had SMP done (original sessions in 2015, touchups in 2018) I was balding, but I had mine done due to surgical scars from keloid removal. My scars weren't as big as yours but, I discovered something that will keep your scar flat. I have a scar massager that I use once a day over the scars and they stay flat. Another option is, like chgobuzzbald said, to laser over the scar and then have SMP done over it. This is my personal opinion but the scar stands out more with your hair grown out. I think the scar is a little bit less noticeable with your hair shaved. Also, as OCD as we are about our heads, it will never be completely normal, but if you can get to the point where it's not a big deal, I consider it to be a success. Keep in touch and feel free to PM me if needed.

[Tyler]

@stinger007 I get what you're going through with a scar, I had surgery as a kid and have lived with a large scar on my chest since I was 4 years old. I grew up in an area where we spent a lot of time in the water, so I always had my shirt off. In 2017 I lost my leg, so now I get looks every day for only having 1 leg. While the guys above have given some good advice to reduce the scarring, the reality is that you need to find a way to say, "f**k it! Who cares if I have a scar?!"

It sounds like you have a wife that loves you and a little girl that depends on you. Why do you care what others think about a scar on your head?  99.99999% don't even know why you have the scar. The real truth is that they're too worried about what others are thinking of them, versus what your scar looks like.

[kcbizguy]

Hi everyone

I’ve been a reader of this forum for a while and wanted to share with you my struggle with living with my strip scar at present. I know there is no magic cure but do feel extremely down about the whole situation at the moment.

Maybe by opening up about the whole story I may help other people in my situation or people thinking about having a HT. I’m also hoping I may get some guidance myself along the way

To keep it short my journey was a good head of hair until late 20’s. Started to thin around 28 and had a HT at 30. As I got to my mid 30’s hair was thinning all over even when using fin tablets

Finally had the balls to shave July 2018 and then had SMP 3 months ago at SKALP UK in my strip scar and on the top of my head over 3 sessions.

The SMP looks good, but the major issue is the scar hasn’t blended at all and I’m now left not knowing what direction to go with any of this.

It’s affected me so much so I’ve just lost my job as I now live under a cap all the time. I don’t take my little girl swimming anymore, avoid any sort of interaction with people outside and it’s also having a huge impact on my relationship with my wife. She’s very supportive but as my mental health has suffered it’s also affected her

I’m happy to post pictures and will do so if there is much interest

I’ve read so many people say they regret getting a HT and I indeed fall into that category. I think having the SMP has made me feel worse as if it wasn’t for the way the scar looks I would be very very happy with the current result that SMP has given

Hope I’ve not moaned to much

Happy New Year all

I feel your pain with all of this.  I am at that research phase and am leaning towards SMP.  I am going to schedule an appointment for a consultation about my strip scar.  I have no faith in BOSLEY.  :: quick gripe:: My original transplant was doing from a BOSLEY-acquired company formerly known as Medical Hair Restoration from a Dr Carlos J. Puig, DO - whom I was very unhappy and felt mislead from his team.  :: end gripe ::

I feel like keeping my head clean-shaved keeps my scar least visible, but I still get questions about it from time to time.  I wear hats or this bandana type thing brand name BUFF when I go out.

Here is my current head, no SMP Done:
About 3 days without shave:


After freshly shaved clean:



Definitely better razor shaved clean! 

[stinger007]

@Sir Harry - Thanks for the advice.  I was going to go down the laser route but at present i don't have the funds to do this, also I think for what it will cost V's the outcome i'm unsure if it will make much difference. The trap I fell into was seeing all the SMP results on websites was setting my expectations to high thinking that SMP would cover 70-80% of my scar when the reality is that I would say it's covered up 0% of the scar.

It's a good overall treatment for people who are bald or balding, but I think it's being mis-sold as this miracle answer to HT Scar cover up which is a bit sad

@Tyler - I take my hat of to you dealing with the issues you've had and I understand in the grand list of things that a HT scar is not up there with other life events that could happen.  I think that's why i'm so pissed off with myself for letting it affect me so much.  I have a wonderful child and a wife, but even having these things doesn't stop me feeling the way I feel inside.  I've been looking at some sort of counselling but see this as weakness as its a scar FFS not a death in my family.  I should be able to deal with it

@kcbizguy - How long have you been shaving your head for? scar looks much better when head is shaved

[Sir Harry]

@stinger007  If you have a chance, check out the "Hair Transplants and Toupees" thread. There are a few stories there that can possibly help as well.

[chgobuzzbald]

I understand your concerns. For both of you I would still strongly suggest a Fraxel laser on the scars. I found a local dermatologist who just charged $100 US for each session. Dont go to a place where they sell Laser for everything, they will be expensive. Laser will not totally reduce the scar bit it will induce collagen to help normalize the odd color of the skin as it did on me. It was never a solution in itself as I had hoped but it prepared the skin to better accept the ink of SMP later. I did mine at HIS Hair in 2013 but just learned they sold out their US business to Bosley who I do not trust. Plus Bosely raised the prices. Im exploring other companies as I need a touch up in the scarred area some 6 years later.

[Sir Harry]

@stinger007 @kcbizguy:

Forgive me for going the long way about this, but I may have a suggestion that may help both of you. In August I had a work accident which resulted in me tearing two tendons in my right hand. The surgery was a success, but I still have a raised scar on my hand. Toward the end of my physical therapy sessions in October/November, my therapist would put lotion on the scar and rolled over the scar with a scar massager. The scar was flattening so good I decided to invest in one through Amazon and I then tried it on my scars where the SMP was done (the scars are still covered nicely, but they raise up slightly time to time) I use a scar cream called Mederma over three spots on my head where the scars tend to raise a little, but after a couple of months the appearance is starting to minimize to the point of where I'm starting to be a little OCD about them. The point is this method is do not expect overnight results, it takes time and consistency (every third day at the very least) Another option is to look around for some concealer, go to the makeup department and tell them what you are looking for to match as close as possible to your natural skin. The key with concealer is to use a small amount so it won't look like someone painted something in a straight line over your scar area. I'm out of town on a job assignment until Monday, but if you guys would like, I can post some pictures of the items I was referring to.

@chgobuzzbald: Check out Scalp Aesthetics. I know a few artists (not necessarily where you live) but many say they give a cut rate for touch-ups over small areas even if the original job was done by another company. When I did my touchups in April/May 2018, I was charged about 40% of what the cost of the original job I had done in 2015

Sorry for the super long post guys, just try to offer some help and/or hope.

[stinger007]

I understand your concerns. For both of you I would still strongly suggest a Fraxel laser on the scars. I found a local dermatologist who just charged $100 US for each session. Dont go to a place where they sell Laser for everything, they will be expensive. Laser will not totally reduce the scar bit it will induce collagen to help normalize the odd color of the skin as it did on me. It was never a solution in itself as I had hoped but it prepared the skin to better accept the ink of SMP later. I did mine at HIS Hair in 2013 but just learned they sold out their US business to Bosley who I do not trust. Plus Bosely raised the prices. Im exploring other companies as I need a touch up in the scarred area some 6 years later.

Thanks for the advice I really think I want to try the laser. Would you be able to post or PM me an image of what the back of your head looks like today. Would be good to see what a real life result looks like on someone. Thanks again dude