Getting a hair transplant and Continue Shaving Head?

[Odelay]

Just wondering if anyone has thought about getting a hair transplant or had one done just to make it look like they have a decent hairline but continued to shave their head ? I shave my head now, or at least keep it trimmed really close, and would be content to just keep the appearance that I still have a decent amount of hair on the top until some great treatment/cure becomes available.

The donor site couldn't be taken out as a single patch for obvious reasons, but instead as a U shaped line from ear to ear or it could even be removed from the bottom of the hair at the back of your head and move upwards as needed. It would be great if the doctor would remove less noticed hair and randomly take out hairs from the rest of your head to keep an overall balance going, but that seems unlikely.

I really wouldn't mind having a thin head of hair as long as I had stubble giving the appearance of a decent amount of hair, even if it would be thin as hell if I let it grow out.

 

[daedalus]

I'm in the same boat as you, Odelay. I keep it buzzed very short, and it looks like I have hair despite the fact that it's very thin. If I let it grow out, it would look horrible. My temples have also receded, but I'd be happy just keeping what I have. It seems unlikely though, and I think I'll be forced to shave it eventually. It's funny how even a couple millimeters of hair can make a big difference.

 

[Odelay]

To be honest I wouldn't really care so much about the top as long as I had a noticable hairline up front that made it look like I still had a decent amount of hair. I don't mind keeping my hair really short or shaved because I can pull off that look, I just don't want to have that noticable Norwood 7 slick on the top of my head that is still a little visible even when you shave your head.

If the scars would be very minimal and donor area was well hidden I am pretty sure I would have the surgery, I was just hoping someone else had already gone down that road.

 

[Uiskii to Biiru]

Firstly, I have never had a hair transplant and am no expert, so take my reply with a grain of salt:

Based on the questions that you posed, it would seem that you have not been seriously researching getting an hair transplant (I apologize if I'm wrong). The procedure that you describe would most likely have no chance whatsoever of success, and is unlike anything being performed by any reputable doctor today. You cannot simply cut out a patch of scalp and plop the thing down on your frontal hairline.

There are currently two major ways of having an hair transplant done: Strip, and FUE. This is how they work:

Strip: A strip of scalp ~2cm high and of varying width is excised from the "donor" area of the scalp (that which an NW7 maintains). This strip is then worked on by assistants of the doctors who dissect the entire stip into manageable units, called grafts, which contain anywhere from one to four individual hair follicles. The doctor will then pull the areas above and below the strip together, and staple the two sides: this prevents you from walking around with a 2cm wide area of scalplessness, but it will leave you with a scar running the length of the area that was extracted.

While the assistants prepare the grafts, the doctor will make lateral slits on the recipient area of the scalp (i.e. where you want the hair to be transplanted to). Next the grafts will be inserted into these slits, and usually one hair follicle containing grafts will be used on the hairline while the 3's and 4's will be used further back. After that, you wait ~10 days for the grafts to "set"... the transplanted hair will fall out leaving the follicles behind. Then, in 3-6 months the transplanted hairs will begin to grow once again.

FUE: The only difference between this procedure and the one just described is how they remove the hair follicles from the donor area. Instead of excising a ~2cm wide strip of scalp, the doctor will use an extraction tool that will take 1mm or smaller diameter grafts directly from the donor area. The advantage is that you will not be left with a gigantic scar (length-wise) a good doctor will leave you with a thin though long scar. The disadvantages are: the cost, it will usually cost twice as much per graft as strip, and the relatively lower yields, the process of manually extracting grafts is more time-consuming. Also there may be some minor scarring in the extraction areas.

That said, if your goal is to shave your head after getting an hair transplant, your only option is FUE; unless you are prepared to shave your head while exposing a long noticeable scar. Another difficulty will be finding a doctor who would be willing to transplant only to the hairline; you'd probably have to convince him that the prospect of losing all of the hair on the top of your head while leaving an intact hairline does not bother you in the slightest.

 

[Odelay]

I am well aware of the all the techniques available for a hair transplant, so there must have been some confusion somewhere in my post that made it seem like I was suggesting what you were talking about. I don't see where it might of happened but who knows.

I was simply talking about getting a normal FUE transplant without having a typical donor area, which for many hair transplant's the donor area is all taken from one area on the back of head in the unaffected portion of the hairline. If you kept your head shaved or cut close a large donor area like that would be noticable to anyone who looked at the back of your head. The best way for the donor area to remain less noticable in your remaining hair would be to either randomly remove hairs from the unaffected areas or use the less commen U shaped donor area.

I hope that cleared up any confusion.

 

[hairschmair]

I have a friend who is slick bald in the front and shaves his head. The other day I thought of this idea. He could just tattoo a fake hairline! Just draw a bunch of small dots and it'll look like you have a hairline but you like your head completely shaved.

Thoughts?

 

[Odelay]

Only drawbacks I can see is if the tattoo person uses the wrong color ink. :lol:

I would still like that stubble feel when someone runs their hands over my head.