For you wearers both short and long term, how much thought did you give to a transplant at first?

[Smartone84]

I'm just curious. As I approach going with a hair system, I can't deny that part of me still often thinks about just saying F it and going the transplant route. I've studied transplants for years upon years. I consider myself all but an expert on hair transplant knowledge. As a norwood 5 I'm well aware that I would never get that full dense head of hair that a system would give me and that's actually fine by me. As long as I got decent coverage and something to work with for the rest of my life, even if that meant continuing with some fibers, I'd be a happy man.

That being said, of course we all know the many potential downsides to a transplant. Just the fact that you could drop thousands upon thousands only to have a mediocre or even bad result is horrifying. There are also always those cases of even with a great surgeon, the grafts sometimes just don't take well on certain patients. My bottom line is if you could guarantee me a solid result for a fair price I'd be in the chair tomorrow, never worrying about hair systems. Sure it would be hell having to hide your hair for half a year and basically put your life on hold in certain ways (i.e. Dating), but it would all be worth it in the end for me. What are everyone else's thoughts and how close if at all did you once come to going the hair transplant route?

I feel like my most realistic path is to at the very least try hair systems at first for a while, and see where the journey takes me. If they really do not work out for whatever reasons then I would revert to seriously considering a transplant.

 

[JohnathonNY]

I've considered hair transplants, but here are my reasons in order of why I jumped to a hair system instead.

It's far cheaper. Hair transplants are too expensive for me. If I had the money for one, I would still second guess getting one based on the price alone. I also know I would need multiple hair transplants to even get a decent density.

It's an instant result. A hair system can be thrown on (DIY) in a weekend and you are all set. A hair transplant like you said will take several months to up to a year. I'm a diffuse center, so one transplant won't be enough.

Medications. From my research, most people whom have gone through hair transplants still need to be on finasteride/Propecia. I don't want to take any medications that mess up my hormones, so I never went down the pharmacologic route.

I'm not a good transplant patient. I'm a diffuse thinner, and I don't have enough hair on the back of my scalp to cover the amount of hair I've lost. There's no way I would approach a descent density, even if I used hair fibers afterwards.

To summarize. A hair system is a better choice for me because it's cheaper, instant, doesn't require medications, and cause I don't qualify for a hair transplant. Obviously these reasons do not apply to everyone.

 

[hair4meTomorrow]

I wanted a transplant. And I've considered going full on with finasteride, min and needling for 18 months and going for a transplant.

But there's just a risk in that approach. I don't want the risk of wrinkles from min or making my existing hair dependant on it.

I take finasteride just to safeguard my bio hair though.

 

[Nostab2]

Transplants are only realistic for a low Norwood 2,3,4 imo ,remember, it's just moving existing hair, not adding new.

 

[Smartone84]

Transplants are only realistic for a low Norwood 2,3,4 imo ,remember, it's just moving existing hair, not adding new.

This is the general idea, yes, but as someone who is a thinning NW5 with a rather small top scalp area, I can personally say that if I were to just get the front done nicely I would be thrilled. Then I'd do fibers in the crown for as long as I possibly could. To me it's all about the front. Framing your face and having the appearance of good healthy hair when looking at others.

 

[BaldBearded]

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[Nostab2]

This is the general idea, yes, but as someone who is a thinning NW5 with a rather small top scalp area, I can personally say that if I were to just get the front done nicely I would be thrilled. Then I'd do fibers in the crown for as long as I possibly could. To me it's all about the front. Framing your face and having the appearance of good healthy hair when looking at oth

This is the general idea, yes, but as someone who is a thinning NW5 with a rather small top scalp area, I can personally say that if I were to just get the front done nicely I would be thrilled. Then I'd do fibers in the crown for as long as I possibly could. To me it's all about the front. Framing your face and having the appearance of good healthy hair when looking at others.

Sure, it will work. But the Norwood 5 will not stay at Norwood 5 forever. I figure as hair loss continues you would need another transplant for the new thinning. My point is its probably not going to be a long term result your happy with unless your hair loss completely stops witch is unlikely.

 

[George Hen]

I spent years contemplating a transplant before eventually booking one. The idea of a hair system was also on my mind at the time but as more of a last resort.

As time went on I consulted with my Hair transplant surgeon and he admitted that, as I’m likely going to end up NW6, I’m unlikely to ever have the density I really want with a transplant, so I eventually cancelled the appointment.

Even worse than that for me was the thought of having a permanent scar.

A hair system was, as I say, THE last resort for me. If it worked, great! If not, I haven’t lost anything I can’t get back or caused any permanent damage in any way.

I’ve never really looked back since I started wearing a hair system (3 years ago). It’s not always perfect and requires time, patience and sometimes comes at a considerable cost. The positives by far outweigh the negatives though, especially if you’re young and feel that losing all your hair in the space of a few years has made you look 10 years older and completely unrecognisable (as I did).

The positives of a hair system Vs a transplant are also pretty clear:

You have full control your hair density and hairline. Want a luscious full head of hair? Easily done. Regret trying a hair system? You can take it off any time you want.

I’d definitely recommend that some people look into a transplant, but I’d only suggest it to people who aren’t going to lose a significant amount of hair.

 

[Smartone84]

I spent years contemplating a transplant before eventually booking one. The idea of a hair system was also on my mind at the time but as more of a last resort.

As time went on I consulted with my Hair transplant surgeon and he admitted that, as I’m likely going to end up NW6, I’m unlikely to ever have the density I really want with a transplant, so I eventually cancelled the appointment.

Even worse than that for me was the thought of having a permanent scar.

A hair system was, as I say, THE last resort for me. If it worked, great! If not, I haven’t lost anything I can’t get back or caused any permanent damage in any way.

Seems like our stories are quite similar. I too eventually went for a consultation, but just wasn't sold on the idea very well for various reasons.

Just curious how old were you when you began wearing?

 

[George Hen]

Seems like our stories are quite similar. I too eventually went for a consultation, but just wasn't sold on the idea very well for various reasons.

Just curious how old were you when you began wearing?

I was 26 when I first went for a hair system consultation and 28 when I started wearing.

 

[Diesel guy]

Transplant was my first route as well, but as I learned more about systems, it was the clear choice. But, to satisfy my curiosity, I went ahead with my transplant consultation. It wasn't for me, and I would probably step on a limb and say that alot of the guys who do go the transplant route - they may not know about hair systems. Only now are we starting to see advertising for this industry - transplants have been around for eons.

 

[Fanjeera]

Minimal. Hair system just seemed an easier, better looking and more reachable option than body hair transplant.