Requesting advice, if hair system is a way of life for me.

[Discipline hair]

The biggest issue, for me, regarding transplantation is....

Just because you receive a transplant, does not mean the rest of your hair will stop falling out. Nature will continue and you will forever be doing additional transplants... making the donor area more sparse, until nature wins out... and you no longer have enough doner hair to move.....

Yes. that's true. I guess it's just about how long can one hold existing hair.

I'm a Norwood 7 bald guy myself. Aged 38
I wear a hair system mainly as I miss having hairstyles.

However I've tried many many tapes and glues with Walker max hold sport scalp protector and without and I get irritation and annoying itching after a few days(3-4 days) on the tape/glue areas.
I'm close to giving up on hair systems and going back to shaving my head.

Shaving head may actually be a good thing, once you are in late 40s. That time onwards it can actually make you look younger. But I guess it will depend on face type too. Wishing you all the best my friend. I am pretty sure a balding hair doesn't affect the professional life. I am really good at what I do. It is the personal and social life, that gets affected. Just few years back, you used to get all the attention, now all those who gave you attention are like ''oh you have started loosing hair''.

 

[kashmoney]

I’m 28 been wearing for 2 years now. For me it’s been worth it. I’m a diffuse Norwood 7 at this point. I tried finasteride and minoxidil for a year and had side effects the entire time. Tried a bunch of other things too with no results. Ultimately while a system has its issues, for me it’s given me my confidence back. I never worry about my hair anymore and I just live my life. For me it’s definitely been one of the best things I’ve done. And while systems may not look perfect, I feel like most people aren’t analyzing your hair in that much depth to notice. I dated my current girlfriend for 2 months before telling her and she had no idea. And she definitely got very up close.

In your case being a NW3, you have options with a transplant. But I really don’t like the idea of being on meds for the rest of your life. Ultimately it’s a choice you need to make for yourself but no harm in trying out a system and seeing if it’s something you want to do

 

[TooBad]

I’m 28 been wearing for 2 years now. For me it’s been worth it. I’m a diffuse Norwood 7 at this point. I tried finasteride and minoxidil for a year and had side effects the entire time. Tried a bunch of other things too with no results. Ultimately while a system has its issues, for me it’s given me my confidence back. I never worry about my hair anymore and I just live my life. For me it’s definitely been one of the best things I’ve done. And while systems may not look perfect, I feel like most people aren’t analyzing your hair in that much depth to notice. I dated my current girlfriend for 2 months before telling her and she had no idea. And she definitely got very up close.

In your case being a NW3, you have options with a transplant. But I really don’t like the idea of being on meds for the rest of your life. Ultimately it’s a choice you need to make for yourself but no harm in trying out a system and seeing if it’s something you want to do

Would you be willing to share some pictures?

 

[whatintheworld]

I wore a system for two years and then went down the strong drug route (oral minoxidil, dutasteride, etc.)

Despite that I looked good and had an instant perfect norwood 1 again from my early 20s, I still prefer the drug route on the balance.

A hair system is a huge deal and the question of "worth it" very much factors in, in contrast to the easy and "biological" path of taking pills and having singular procedures. Frankly I would go so far as to say that a hair system is only worth it if your job and overall existence relies heavily on your appearance (actor, presenter, salesman, etc.); whereas most likely you are just some fat ugly old family man. With a system you are effectively trading one problem (the ugliness of balding) for another humongous problem (the existential problem of having to affix and manage a fragile synthetic object against your natural body forever on a 24/6 basis).

Remember that even the best hair system will never truly blend to your mind's satisfaction to your native hair, considering how the sides and temples themselves thin and recede, hair has minute differences in shading and also goes grey, and that you can never have a realistic hairline. And I say this as someone who had a good "profile" for blending: good temples, black hair, young face, comb forward hairstyle.

Yes, you make very good points.

I have never tried a system, but I also have quite sensitive skin, that gets inflamed and itchy quite easily when it is irritated. I can only imagine having glue and something on my head all day how difficult it would be for me to bear. Even wearing a hat for a longer period of time makes my head irritated.

I am nevertheless happy they exist, because it can be a solution for some. Maybe your wife or girlfriend won't care, or even like it. Maybe your skin won't get irritated by it. Then you can style your hair however you want and enjoy your life with looking better. That seems like a great outcome, but a person just needs to evaluate if it is for them and their lifestyle.

 

[NW9000]

I have never tried a system, but I also have quite sensitive skin, that gets inflamed and itchy quite easily when it is irritated. I can only imagine having glue and something on my head all day how difficult it would be for me to bear. Even wearing a hat for a longer period of time makes my head irritated.

I do not have sensitive skin - I would count that as one of the "pros" I have on my side as a wearer. However itching is an inevitability, a cost of doing business.

Looking back, if I could do it again and do it right I would have paid for the full salon package. They place it exactly and they regularly cut your sides for optimal blending, which is what you lose when you go with DYI. Yes, it's expensive, but what do you expect?

 

[DarthJoking]

If I could get over the issues of irritation and itching after a few days from tapes, then I'm almost happy about everything else with wearing a hair system. I tried about 15 different tapes.
Yes I tried with and without Walker max hold sport scalp protector which makes no real difference to me.
Maybe buys me an extra day or 2,big deal. lol
I haven't tried as many glues. But glue + a full French lace base would be a pain to clean.