I'm not in need of a hair transplant yet, but I will be in a few years if things continue at the current place. But I'm trying to inform myself of how everything works ahead of time. I've been envisioning future balding and hair transplant results, and I can't help but think that I don't really care, in the grand scheme of things, if I have a large bald spot on the back of my head. I just don't care to be honest. If I have hair on my sides and back (which shouldn't fall out), a strong hairline, and strong top hair all the way back to the crown, I feel like I would be at peace with a 3 or even 4 inch diameter bald spot in the back. Do a lot of people go this route? I understand that there is only so much donor hair, and it's generally impossible to get back all the density you once had. Well, I want to be able to style my hair. I care about density. Is leaving the crown bald and going for high density on top and in the front a viable strategy? Of course this is somewhat subjective, as some people care about the crown more than others. Suppose I don't care about the crown so much. Am I thinking straight here?
Does anyone opt to leave their crown bald and have a strong hairline / top region?
- Thread starter abcstruck
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arfy
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Yes. This is called "reasonable expectations". Yes, a lot of people go this route, but not always out of personal choice (it's just the way it has to be, often times).
Since you live in NY, your Senator Chuck Schumer is a good reference point. You can probably get a more refined result than him (his work is a little dated and looks... umm... clumpy) and possibly your hairline can start a little lower. But a somewhat recessed "mature" hairline and bare crown is a reasonable expectation. Senator Schumer didn't run out of money - he ran out of donor supply. Also, he might use concealers to get a little extra density up top (I don't know). Also, Schumer's older style grafts were not the most efficient use of his donor hair. It's very possible you are a better candidate than him, and can expect more refined results, and a less-recessed hairline. But that's the basic template, and a decent reference point.
If you still have a lot of hair in front, you need to be aware of the possibility of 'shock loss' (telogen effluvium). The surgery can accelerate the loss of "at risk" hairs, directly in the recipient area, but also anywhere else on your head actually. You don't want to spend money to replace your "original" hair with transplanted hair, or end up with less hair after a hair transplant than you had beforehand. If you are thinking about mixing transplanted hair into your existing hair, this is especially a concern.
Since you live in NY, your Senator Chuck Schumer is a good reference point. You can probably get a more refined result than him (his work is a little dated and looks... umm... clumpy) and possibly your hairline can start a little lower. But a somewhat recessed "mature" hairline and bare crown is a reasonable expectation. Senator Schumer didn't run out of money - he ran out of donor supply. Also, he might use concealers to get a little extra density up top (I don't know). Also, Schumer's older style grafts were not the most efficient use of his donor hair. It's very possible you are a better candidate than him, and can expect more refined results, and a less-recessed hairline. But that's the basic template, and a decent reference point.
If you still have a lot of hair in front, you need to be aware of the possibility of 'shock loss' (telogen effluvium). The surgery can accelerate the loss of "at risk" hairs, directly in the recipient area, but also anywhere else on your head actually. You don't want to spend money to replace your "original" hair with transplanted hair, or end up with less hair after a hair transplant than you had beforehand. If you are thinking about mixing transplanted hair into your existing hair, this is especially a concern.
Oh wow. Schumer's hairline starts halfway to the back of his head. That's a little disconcerting (though I did register the things you said about his being less refined). I would have thought that leaving the crown bald would allow for a much stronger, lower, hairline with more density on the top of the head. Clearly this depends on the individual's donor supply, surface area, etc., but I'm sure hoping for a better hairline / front than Schumer's when the time comes. But anyway, thanks for the info.
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I have one more question as well. I tried finasteride and had bad side effects (some of which I still struggle with, but not in a major way). So finasteride is out of the question for me. Is this a no-go criterion for a hair transplant? I know the donor hairs are supposed to be pretty safe but regardless of how it works in theory, in practice, do they tend to miniaturize faster when transplanted to the top of the head than they otherwise would have if left alone in the donor region?
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I have one more question as well. I tried finasteride and had bad side effects (some of which I still struggle with, but not in a major way). So finasteride is out of the question for me. Is this a no-go criterion for a hair transplant? I know the donor hairs are supposed to be pretty safe but regardless of how it works in theory, in practice, do they tend to miniaturize faster when transplanted to the top of the head than they otherwise would have if left alone in the donor region?
If you have an FUT procedure they should take the hair from the area least likely to be lost due to male pattern baldness, but if you do FUE they seem to take that from lower and higher up as well which is susceptible to it.
I don't like a bald crown so would have it filled in, it is not that many more grafts. You can always have one procedure to fill in other areas and leave the crown bald and decide later if you wish. That happened to me as I could not do 100% coverage in one procedure.
I don't like a bald crown so would have it filled in, it is not that many more grafts. You can always have one procedure to fill in other areas and leave the crown bald and decide later if you wish. That happened to me as I could not do 100% coverage in one procedure.
Chris for GLL does this. Google "chris GLL how I trick you into thinking" and click the first Link. He basically has restored a strong hairline in the front (minus the temples) and uses toppik for the back.
I would probably somewhat do the opposite myself. Probably have a pretty massively receded hairline with good density in areas within my hairline. My goal if I can keep hair into my 30s-40s would be like a chris nolan type look.
I would probably somewhat do the opposite myself. Probably have a pretty massively receded hairline with good density in areas within my hairline. My goal if I can keep hair into my 30s-40s would be like a chris nolan type look.
arfy
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The crown usually uses up lots of grafts. In the front, hair typically goes in the same direction, and you can get an illusion of coverage as the hair "builds up" because it is all laying on top of each other. (I hope that made sense). However in the crown, there is a circular "whorl" pattern and there is less chance for the hairs to "lay on top" and build up an illusion of coverage, because the hair is going in many different directions. Also, the top of the head is relatively flat, while the crown is dome shaped, which also contributes to the problem I'm describing (transplanted crown hair can't build up the same visual density that it does in the front). So a bald crown could use up a guy's entire donor supply, if you wanted to really put a lot of hair there.
Maybe your crown area hair loss is small and you are referring to your own particular case, in which case I apologize for misunderstanding. But I wanted to clarify that in general, the crown can require a high number of grafts.
Wylie
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You really think you can wear a "micro-system"? I bet you couldn't, or wouldn't. Most guys wouldn't, including myself.
To the original post, yes, I have a bald crown, and I could care less. My face is framed nicely, and I'm not going to waste the money to molest my crown. I have neither the money to waste, nor the donor supply of scalp hair. Once you reach a certain age, you no longer care about your crown