Here's Where I Am At 50. Am I A hair transplant Repair Candidate?

[Oncall]

I saw Dr Bhatti today.

He was in Melbourne today for one day and I had a consultation with him. Sadly, he said that my scalp donor hair is depleted (from scars and thinning) and that I am not a candidate for repair hair transplants, even with using body hair also as a donor source, due to the unnatural results with the amount of body hair I would need to use. I've seen Woods and Umah's videos and I have to agree that body hair transplants do not look natural.

One thing I do feel is grateful that we have hair transplant surgeons who are honest! So my options are to keep wearing a hair system (which after 25 years I'm over) OR shave my head and have FUT with beard hair into the scars at the back and/or look at having SMP. Looking at my photos that I put up in this thread what do you guys think? The scar along my hairline I will have to live with.

And my last comment is this for those who are around 17-25. Before you think about having hair transplant surgery PLEASE remember this is a last resort and the expectations and the 'emotional' state you are in DOES change in your twenties. Meds like Minoxidil and Propecia should be your first port of call. Once you start carving up scalp tissue you can't go back to what you had before. Please learn from my mistakes not your own. It's not only cheaper financially if you do but more importantly psychologically. Be kind to yourselves.

Kind regards,

Oncall.

 

[Roberto_72]

So my options are to keep wearing a hair system (which after 25 years I'm over) OR shave my head and have FUT with beard hair into the scars

You mean FUE into the scars?
It could be a good option to be able to shave it...

 

[sunchyme1]

You mean FUE into the scars?
It could be a good option to be able to shave it...

lol how f*****g pissed off would you be having filled in one scar only to be replaced with another.

 

[sunchyme1]

hey oncall ive just read over your thread. i like your posts, a lot good words in there for us younger guys, especially the kids.

i think you should shave it man. ditch the wig and be free. your 50 now. enjoy the rest of your life with no more bullshit. definitely look to get fue into the scars. when u say smp, do u mean smp into the scar as well? or smp all over?

i think smp into the scar is a good idea. along with fue

but i think its a big mistake to get smp all over to give you that 3d shaved look. i just dont think it looks good on older guys. it doesnt look good in general but no way on older guys.

 

[sunchyme1]

f*** the body hair hair transplant. the docs are right, it would look unnatural.

and your scar at the front really does not look bad at all. i wouldnt sweat it man.

 

[Oncall]

Hey Roberto_72. Yes FUE (my bad)!

Thanks for the chin up sunchyme1. Yeah I'm soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo close to just shaving the lot and having SMP into the back scars. The only thing stopping me is that frontal hairline scar! I realize that to other people it's not a big deal at all, but I just can't seem to get past it and forget about it if I shaved my head. The greatest benefit I got from wearing a hair piece was being able to have it hidden.
I've already seen a consultant about SMP and I would definitely have the scars in the back filled and shave the lot. Later on at some stage I would have FUE using beard hair into the back scars.

 

[Kris89]

I'd go the SMP. I reckon it'll look great on you too. Otherwise you're gonna have to stick to the hair system. Heck, you could do the SMP and then wear the hair system if you weren't happy with the results. It'd still be heaps cheaper than a transplant (which I figure wouldn't get you as much coverage even if your donor area wasn't so damaged anyway). Whatever you decide, I hope it allows you to be at peace with yourself. This hair loss sh*t can eat large portions of your life if you let it. Speaking from experience...

 

[brohawk]

Oncall, have you thought about using a dermaroller to reduce your forehead scar? Now, while you still have the wig to hide things, would be a good time to try it out as it takes a couple/few days for the redness to go away.

 

[Oncall]

Hey Kris89. Thanks man for the good advice. I think the best thing is that I should just try and forget about my hair altogether. You know. Stop putting so much focus on it. You're right about the SMP in that I could still wear a hair piece if I didn't like it. I would probably only do the donor scar area anyway. Thanks man.

brohawk I have heard of the dermroller but I have never used one. I'll look into it. Many thanks!

Kind regards,
Oncall.

 

[sunchyme1]

I'd go the SMP. I reckon it'll look great on you too. Otherwise you're gonna have to stick to the hair system. Heck, you could do the SMP and then wear the hair system if you weren't happy with the results. It'd still be heaps cheaper than a transplant (which I figure wouldn't get you as much coverage even if your donor area wasn't so damaged anyway). Whatever you decide, I hope it allows you to be at peace with yourself. This hair loss sh*t can eat large portions of your life if you let it. Speaking from experience...

he should definitely not do smp. it would look ridiculous. even more pathetic than a bullshit lifeless hair transplant. he should just get rid of the wig, fix the scar at the bad of his head and be done with all this mess

hes 50 years old. time to be free. smp works on VERY few guys. you need to be young, dark skinned, dark hair.

oncall is a middle aged man, with fair skin and ginger hair. he would look TERRIBLE. if he got permanent smp he would be fucked forever. he would be FORCED to wear a wig forever if it didnt work out, which is the most likely case.

oncall just ditch the wig man and forgot about.it. smp all over the scalp is the worst idea out of them all

 

[shookwun]

Krusty the clown inspired mane


Great every day look.

Easy to maintain without a ton of drugs, and plugs.

 

[Oncall]

"Krusty the clown inspired mane"

Lol! That's actually my nickname from my friends! (No BS)! Well I went out today and I bought some Dermatch scar concealer. I think it improves my frontal scar by 50%. It's less hassle than f*****g around with the hair piece so I have finally decided to shave my head!

I will though have SMP in the scars in my donor area at the back of my head. I won't do the rest of my head. I agree that at my age it would look ridiculous and as we all know despite fading and needing a touch up down the track it is still permanent. I think SMP is really best suited to black, Afro/American men and for people who have hair transplant scars at the back of their head. Even with laser therapy you will not be able to get all that ink out. So now it's time to find a good SMP artist! If anyone on here is from Australia and can recommend a good SMP artist. please feel free to let me know. I would like to thank the 'honest' hair transplant surgeons who were straight with me (Dr Bhatti, etc) who told me to forget about having a hair transplant (regardless of the so called 'excellent' results you see on the internet for Norwood 6 people ).

But most importantly of all, I would really like to thank ALL OF YOU GUYS who have contributed to this thread, given me great advice, lifted me up when I felt gutted and given me your honest advice. In return all I can say is this. At 50, it is a myth that you will not be concerned about balding like when you are in your late teens and early twenties, etc. The decisions you make at that young age, suffering in silence (or on hair forums) will dictate your quality of life for the rest of your life. I fucked up big time at 18 by undergoing two 'monstrous looking' punch graft hair transplants. At the age of 18 on wards I was consumed and obsessed by the fear of going bald (despite ironically having a great head of curly hair at the time). I wasted a lot of 'happiness' on 'feeling depressed' and after the hair transplants I felt even worse for a while. It was only by having the personality to be able to wear a hair piece that brought back my confidence as I just didn't give a f*** what people thought about it. In fact, ALL of my friends said it looked great! The most important thing is that 'I' thought it looked great and my self esteem came back. PLEASE try the meds that are available now that were not available back when I was young. Remember a hair transplant is surgery!!! It should be your last resort when all else has failed and your hair has stabilized and you have been confirmed by MANY reputable hair transplant surgeons that you are a good candidate for one.

It's only recently since late last year, that after all these years, that I have decided that I am over wearing wigs. It still looks 'ok' but I want to put this thing to bed and get on with my life. I've just taken some photos with the dermablend scar concealer on the front scar and I will post these pics up. They aren't great quality but will give you an idea of how the scar looks with Dermablend. I will post up some pics once I have shaved my head and finished the SMP treatment at the back. Then I'll hit the gym! Again, I can't thank you guys enough!

 

[Oncall]

Apologies for the grumpy look. The light was killing my eyes.

 

[Oncall]

..

 

[Oncall]

Well I've decided after talking with Joe Tillman and Dr Bhatti and doing a lot more research that I will be ditching the wig and have SMP in the donor scarred area. I may also have beard FUE into the donor scars down the track but I'll see how I will get used to the new look. I will use Dermatch on the frontal hairline scar on days that I feel the need.
I've also decided to have SMP in the crown and forelock region in a very conservative, soft style. The aim is to have an age appropriate, receded look.
I've culled through quite a few SMP clinics and none of them had any idea between SMP and trichopigmentation. I have finally found a lady who works along side a hair transplant surgeon as well as SMP alone and has studied abroad with some names from Nth America and Europe. From the questions I asked her she was the only one who knew her sh*t. I'm having a consultation with her and meeting up with some of her patients. I'll post up some pics of me in a month or so once I have my final treatment. I'll also be hitting the gym too!
Kind regards,
Oncall.

 

[sunchyme1]

Well I've decided after talking with Joe Tillman and Dr Bhatti and doing a lot more research that I will be ditching the wig and have SMP in the donor scarred area. I may also have beard FUE into the donor scars down the track but I'll see how I will get used to the new look. I will use Dermatch on the frontal hairline scar on days that I feel the need.
I've also decided to have SMP in the crown and forelock region in a very conservative, soft style. The aim is to have an age appropriate, receded look.
I've culled through quite a few SMP clinics and none of them had any idea between SMP and trichopigmentation. I have finally found a lady who works along side a hair transplant surgeon as well as SMP alone and has studied abroad with some names from Nth America and Europe. From the questions I asked her she was the only one who knew her sh*t. I'm having a consultation with her and meeting up with some of her patients. I'll post up some pics of me in a month or so once I have my final treatment. I'll also be hitting the gym too!
Kind regards,
Oncall.

man i would seriously consider having the smp done.

older men just dont look good with it.

plus you are very light skinned with redish hair. i dont know how they could blend that in.

and you have zero hair on top. this only works well imo with having some hair on top to make it look more natural

but if you are gonna do it, do the temporary smp. in case you dont like it

but seriously man think twice

 

[Oncall]

Thanks sunchyme1,
I've thought long and hard on this. I was originally going to have trichopigmentation (the more temporary version) done but their will be more time with it fading than lasting. Also the more frequent need to top it up every 12 months or so means that you can risk tiny scars developing as you are having the tattoo needle being used more often.
My hair is actually brown as I have died the sides that came out that color.
Kind regards,
Oncall.

 

[Oncall]

Well I finally did it! I had the lot shaved off yesterday and had my first SMP treatment. I couldn't be happier. I'm no longer thinking of the frontal hairline scar (which was actually my biggest worry) as I have a light SMP hairline above this that kind of distracts it I guess. The back scars were not so hot when my hair was shaved as I haven't seen these scars for 20 years!!!!

Everything is still slightly red at the back. The top has settled down. The top is going to be a very light SMP as I think for a 50 year old guy, I don't want to rock the look of a 20 year old who has just shaved off a full head of hair. I told people at work that I was going ditch the wig, shave my head and have a 'head tattoo.' Some of the newer staff still didn't know that I wore a wig. None of them had any idea what I meant by a 'head tattoo' but they still said go for it. Lol!!

The best thing for now though by far is that I am FINALLY DONE with not only a hair piece (for the past 25 years), but actually MORE SO, just the whole hair thing in general!!!!

I'll put some pics up when I get a chance but I want to thank all of you guys on this forum for taking the time out to listen to this old bloke about his hair issues while you are all so young and still trying to deal with yours. My parting comment in this post is PLEASE REMEMBER that a hair transplant is a last option in the hair loss journey. Their are just too many variables involved and scars are just one of them. Just like losing hair itself can sap your confidence at best and at worst send you into a dangerous spiral of serious clinical depression, so too can hair transplants. Don't be like me when I was 18 and losing hair, because today a young guy (thanks to the likes of Bruce Willis, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham just to name a few) can shave his head and look hip. When I started receding if I had have shaved my head I would have looked like a skin head punk! Also today their are meds, etc, that weren;t on the market when my hair began receding. Like I said I'll put up some pics of me now, just 24 hours old. I now can't wait to hit the gym and lose a bit of weight and build up some muscle.

Once again thanks to you guys and be kind to yourselves.

Kind regards,

Oncall.

 

[Oncall]

 

[Oncall]

I still have two more sessions to go. I'm going to stick with a 'thinner' coverage on the top to look like my hair is not as dense but it will still frame the face.
More to come.