In continuing with the theme from yesterday of old links I forgot to post sooner…
Check out Connery’s hairpiece at the Guardian Unlimited in the UK for a short editorial on Sean Connery’s lack of hair. In talking about his early career (in which he wore a hairpiece), the article begs the question of whether or not James Bond himself could’ve been a trailblazer for balding men everywhere.
Article: Connery’s hairpiece
I’ve been wearing a toupee for the last 10 years. I am a 35 year old male. I’ve recently had some issues with my scalp being irritated, so I’ve decided to take the toupee off while at home and allow the scalp to heal and recover a bit. I actually have not reattached the toupee to my head in a week or more, and still have a couple of areas on my scalp that remain red and dry, where the tape track has set for years.
My question, will these red marks go away over time? Is there anything I should be doing to moisturize or care for my scalp?
Your advice is greatly appreciated!
I do not have the benefit of examining you in person, but you seem to describe some local irritation. These marks should go away in a few weeks, but without a physical exam I do not know what you have. The red marks can be a local irritation, or a permanent scar, or an infection, or even cancer (though it is not likely from what you describe). Please follow up with your primary care physician.
Was sold a tunnel graft system (San Francisco) in the 80’s but switched to a bonded system. Do you know how much it costs to remove the tunnels? Who would you recommend in CA?
Thanks
I would have to see you to determine what has to be done. I have removed tunnels in the past. Fortunately, there are not many people who have them anymore. I have an office in the Bay Area (San Jose), so you can come see me. Please call my office at 800-NEW-HAIR if you’d like to setup a free consultation.
For the readers, a tunnel is a bridge of skin created in the scalp so that a wig can be secured to the bridge, holding it in place. The wig has ‘string’ attached to it and these strings are passed under the tunnel and then tied in place, like tieing your shoe lace. Some people have more than one tunnel to hold the wig in position.
Is it advisable to use a great portion of your donor area to create a really dense fontal area and then wear a hairpiece behind it? It would seem better than a relatively sparce whole head transplant??
If you are willing to continue using a hair piece, then this is an excellent way to go. I have done this many times so that the people who have ‘obvious’ hair pieces can be closer to completely undetectable.
I am 41 years old. I suffered from Trichotillomania for many years. The hair on top of my head never completely grew back, but there was always some. About 5 years ago, my hairdresser gave me some hair pieces to clip in to my existing hair. This has worked great until recently. It seems that over time, this has made me completely loose the hair on my scalp where the clips attach. I am interested to see if I would be a candidate for your services.
If you have stopped picking at your scalp, hair transplants work well for dealing with either the bald area from the picking or the area where the clips caused hair loss. They key is that the offending process must be stopped or the balding will return again.
For more about trichotillomania, see Trichotillomania Learning Center.
can you still grow healthy hair while wearing a weave?
Yes, hair will grow under a weave.
Doctor,
Does your clinic do transplants to recreate temple points to be blended into a hair system? Though I am only twenty, the severity of my hair loss is such that I am not a transplant
candidate. Therefore I am considering doing FUE into the temples and at the nape of the neck, where a hairpiece can then be integrated. Have you heard of or done such a procedure before?
Yes, we can do what you are asking, but I would want to know much more about you and why you are looking to do this., particular at the age of 20. I am a doctor first and foremost, so I must make my own determination on what is in your best interests. We may not agree, yet we might!
I received this email from a patient of mine and I have reposted it below with his permission (removing any identifying information, of course). This was not solicited, and it serves as an example of those men out there that are looking into hair systems (otherwise known as wigs or toupees). The price chart at the end of this post could be a wake-up call to many that think hair systems are cheaper than hair transplants.
In the end, transplanted hair is YOUR hair and the only maintenance you might need to do for it is to use shampoo and perhaps even use a comb. Oh, and visit a barber from time to time, if you’d like. You know, the things you did when you had hair the first time.
And now, the patient email…
Dr. Rassman:
As usual, it was good to meet with you to discuss my case. It is amazing that what we (operative word here) will accomplish in 21 months negates over 13 years of living with worry and dread about my hair loss! On some level I am certain you understand the value of your work; on the other hand, it is impossible for you to fully comprehend what you and your great staff at NHI have done for me and your other patients!
Here is a breakdown of my costs from a hair replacement salon in Los Angeles from June 2000 through January 2006. I wore a competing hair system from 1995 through 2000, but did not keep thorough records of those costs. Therefore, the $16,000+ indicated on the spreadsheet does NOT include the previous five years, so the total amount I spent on hair systems is actually higher that what my spreadsheet shows. In fact, I am certain I spent more on hair “replacement” than what I will spend on 5000+ transplants with NHI.
To be fair when you reprint this spreadsheet, post the the following as well:
- This spreadsheet is ONE PERSON’S experience with hair systems. It was my reality and should be viewed as such. Your costs will vary from my mine.
- The price for a hair system included two of them: wear one while the other gets service or cleaned.
- The months where there is no dollar amount were the times I did not go to the salon for servicing.
- I work in an industry that required my systems to look absolutely real at all times. The months where you see me spending $200-$400 were instances when the unit had to be colored or have hair added. Again, in my case it was a necessity. If you are in, say, another profession like a machinist, you may not have to obsess over your hair system. You WILL have maintenance, though, perhaps not as much. Also, to be fair, some people do most of their own maintenance, so their costs would be lower as well.
- In June 2000 the systems were just over $3000. Flash forward to 2004 and they were over $5000. I got 4 years use out of mine before they were replaced, and that was on the higher end of the average life cycle because of my meticulous maintenance. They might have had to be replaced before that if I did not treat them so well.
I wonder what systems cost today in 2007?
Bottom line: I spent $16,000+ over five years wearing hair. Sure, the initial costs for systems were cheaper than surgery, but their VALUE quickly fades over time. It costs more upfront for a high quality transplant, but its VALUE over the course of your lifetime is incalculable.
Thanks again for everything. Looking forward to my next transplant session.
Here’s the spreadsheet he sent me with the costs incurred for purchasing and maintaining his hairpieces.
Hair System Costs By Month |
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| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2006 | Grand Total (after only 5.5 years) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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$16,257.40 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I live in Washington, D.C. and I have the hair loss problem, but I’m 18. I have tried Rogaine, I have tried Fo Ti, I have tried everything (except for Propecia) including going to the hair club, where they would glue a wig to my scalp. I called hair loss clinics all around my area to ask them when it would be right to have implants/ transplants done and they say that I have to wait 6 years, that is, until I have completed my transformation into Patrick Stewart. I am about a 50% on the Norwood scale and I don’t want my life to pass me by. Do you think that it would be right to get surgery done at this point in time? I don’t see any other way. Is there a minimum age for implants and if done before the minimal age will the implants fall out? Also, is there a way to keep them in (rogaine, propecia, etc.)?Thanks for your help
I hope to hear from you soon
When a wig is applied to your scalp with glue and other similar attachments, it will pull out the hair and produce more hair loss (traction alopecia). As a result of this, you can be ‘hooked’ on the wig for the rest of your life. There is no real minimum age for a hair transplant, but generally speaking, we tend not to do these in young men under the age of 24, because the hair loss pattern is not clearly defined. Simply said, hair transplants are performed by moving the hairs from the back of the head (donor area) to the areas you need hair (front, top, crown, etc). So as long as you don’t have an underlying genetic condition such as alopecia, your hair transplants will stay in forever (independent of age). As we always want a Master Plan for each patient and their balding pattern, we need time to get there. Propecia (finasteride 1mg) works well in young men to prevent or stabilize the hair loss and that should be your first line approach.
Hello,
I had 1600 hairs transplanted in March, 2006 and it seems that I need a little more fullness. I was thinking of purchasing some clip-in hair extensions around 1″-2″ wide to add fullness here are there. They are apparently undetectable and can be taken out easily. Do you think these could cause any damage at all? Thanks again for all your great work.
Clip-ins may produce traction alopecia (hair loss), particularly when applied in the same place each time. As the clips are generally fixed to the wig, they almost always may be applied to the same place or the wig is out of place. I would think twice about producing that type of damage for the long term.
