I started wearing hair in 1992. At that time lace pieces or skin pieces were not widely available to the public at large. The pieces I got from companies like Hair Club were very thick and bulky. If even one square millimeter of the base were to be exposed, it could be easily seen by others that a wig was being worn. To fully cover these bases, the hair densities on these units had to be unnaturally high. Although salons advertised or told potential clients on the phone that the hair in their pieces could be combed straight back, this was b.s. unless the wearer didn't mind looking ridiculous. To get these tanks to look anything close to natural, they had to be well styled. I remember my first stylist using a technique called back combing. She said she did that to "fool the eye". Unfortunately, the only eye that was fooled by this was one that had vision of less than 20/100 or one that wasn't paying much attention.
There was no internet to turn to in those days and thus there was no good, reliable information available for consumers. The toupee industry was a very corrupt one full of companies perpetrating frauds, cons, and ripoffs. They promised the consumer the moon but instead delivered football helmets with straw attached to them. I was ripped off time and time again. I paid thousands of dollars to companies for crappy units that cost them less than $50 each.
It wasn't unitil I purchased my first Coolpiece in 2002 for the price of $200 that had a wig that I thought looked really good, one with a thin density that exposed what looked like scalp and showed a hairline that looked as though it was hair growing out of skin. At that time Hairsite had the most popular hair replacement fourms. The excitement there was about a company called Farrell Hair Replacement. Farrell offered lace units that did indeed have better hair and hairlines than those of the big chain companies and most other salons out there. But after seeing a Coolpiece, it became obvious to me that Farrell was full of marketing bullspit and that the thousands he was charging per wig was a ripoff. The Farrell cult, who thought they had found their hair replacement hero in Richard Farrell, was at first not easily convinced that top-quality hairpieces that were as good, and in most cases better, than what Farrell was offering could be purchased for as little as $200. Eventually though, many Farrell customers began to order from Coolpiece. Time after time their reviews said that their Coolpieces were equal to or better than their Farrell pieces.
But Farrell was a sponsor of Hairsite. He paid money to owner David Tse for advertising. The honest message that Coolpiece units were better than Farrell units at a fraction of the price was damaging to Farrell's business. So the Farrell shills such as a poster known as MSG and Hairsite owner David Tse set out to squelch this message. Criticism of Farrell was no longer permitted. Also deleted time and time again were favorable reviews about Coolpiece and later Toplace.
That Tse worked so hard to silence the truth at the expense of hair replacement consumers both saddened and angered me. I was angered enough to take action. Over and over Tse would delete favorable Coolpiece reviews from former well-established Farrell wearers and forum posters. I would copy and repost them. When BA started this forum, I would post it's web address on Hairsite telling consumers to come here if they wanted to hear the truth about Farrell, Coolpiece, and hair replacement in general. Tse would delete such posts and I would repost them. I truly believe I helped some hair replacement consumers avoid the ripoffs and learn the truth and for that I am very proud. I am at heart a consumer advocate. One who deserves more credit than me though is BA. He started this forum at just the right time....when David Tse had lost all his credibility and the Farrelll forum was imploding. He gave us a forum where the truth could openly be discussed.
I always liked the way I looked in my Coolpieces and Toplaces. But I am very physically active and although I tolerated it, I never liked the maintenance required of wigs. I also didn't like the fact that no matter how good a hairpiece was, it was still just a hat with hair, something that just disguised my real appearance. So I began to consider removing it.
At the same time, I began to research hair transplantation. I'm really not especially high on hair transplantation because for all the traffic hair transplantation forums get, I believe only a small percentage of those with male-pattern-baldness, are very good candidates for a procedure. The hair transplant industry is as corrupt as the hairpiece industry so one must procede with caution.
My research, which included seeing several hair transplant patients in person, gave me the opinion that I was lucky and would be one of the good candidates. Reasons: At the age of 42 I still wasn't even close to being considered bald. Although my MPB has been way to aggressive for my taste, it wasn't the aggressive kind that takes all or nearly all of a person's top hair away in 10 years. On the Norwood scale I was considered to be about a NW 3 1/2v with the v referring to thinning/balding in the vertex. Secondly, the hair on my sides and back was still as thick as it was prior to any hairloss. The average balding white man has about 85 follicles per square cm in his donor area. The average non-balding white man has about 100. I was estimated as having about 115. In addition, I still had my original temple points. Finally, one rarely discussed topic in transplant circles concerns the size of one's head. I had a melon that is far below average in size. That would mean that I would have less surface area that needed to be covered and I could get more density than others with the same number of grafts.
I decided to go ahead with it because I reasoned that even the poorest result I could get would leave me with enough hair to get rid of the wig. I'm now about 7 1/2 months post-op and I didn't get a poor result. I got a good one that met what I thought was possible. It's not one of those thin jobs that some people think of when they think of hair transplants. The hair density is good and when the hair is dry it gives me the appearance of a very nice head of hair, especially for a guy in his forties. The transition from hairpiece to transplant was a bit tricky because I didn't want people who didn't know I had been wearing a piece all that time to know in retrospect that I had been wearing. For a couple of months I had to wear a hat in front of those who didn't know because the I had too much tranplanted hair and native hair growing in (the native hair on top of my head had always been shaved to accomodate a hairpiece and was reshaved at the time of my transplant) to wear a hairpiece but not enough for a difference not to be noticeable between my hairpiece density and the transplant density. At about 6 months post-op I made the full transition meeting with friends, going to the gym, going to work etc., sans hat or hairpiece. It seemed to go seamless as nobody who only knew me with a piece has said anything or has paid any attention to my hair.
I'm still in the honeymoon phase and couldn't be more happy. Having a good head of growing hair and being able style it in about 20 seconds and then just forget about it i is something I didn't think I'd ever experience again. I've had a woman run her fingers through my hair and for the first time in 13 years I didn't flinch, change postions or have to worry about it. There's so much good here for me but I won't bore anyone by listing them all. I'll only say that I share the same feeling that others have reported (although often they removed a crappy Hair Club type piece and moved on to a bald or shaved look), a feeling of freedom and that the reflection I see in the mirror is now "the true me".
One prominent poster on this forum once called me the "hair replacement forum historian" because of my penchant for keeping up with all the latest news and remembering and posting copies of posts from past years in internet hair replacement history. That title no longer fits me. I haven't visited this forum since my last post which was a while ago. So I don't know the latest about how well people are liking the latest thinskin unit which BA talked about or how well it improves on past models. I do hope that hairpieces continue to improve and that some of the negative stigma about them softens.
To all my internet friends I've interacted with over the years on the hair replacement forums I say a heartfelt goodbye. But for me, 13 years of wearing hair has come to a happy end.
Yes i recall the days at hairsite, i was after all taken in by Farrell for thousands like many others....I remember briefly meeting a very nice young guy who was also getting fitted , in chicago when i went to the consultation with farrell. He was also a regular poster on the farrell hairsite forum. He was on a fixed inocme working as a janitor in Iowa , and i am sure struggled to pay the thousands of dollars to get a farrell unit. The sad part is , he died a short period later. The good part, shortly before he died, he decided to shave his head, and go the natural way...He actually looked good that way. He mentioned how he felt happier and less anxious.
I am sure you probably knew who i am talking about ..Glen....you are after all our hair historian.
I am not sure if it was you Glen, or someone else, who told the story about your almost blind uncle who couldnt see the fork infront of his face, but managed to bust you out about your hcm system telling you "what the hell is that thing on your head."...That story was hillarious when you mentioned it.
Anyhow... the closer to a natural hair resolution you get, the less stressful and happier one can be... As you seem to be Glen..
Wow! The timing of your post is very ironic, as we share more than a few similarities...
I too was disgruntled with Hairsite and the Farrell shills, and did all I could to incite a painful experience for Mr. Tse and his quest to censor the truth. Unfortunately for me, all this was AFTER I fell victim to an overpriced wig from Lord Dick. Oh well live and learn, but I wasn't about to let others be victims if I could help it. Then of course Tse made that portion of the site "private", and any chance of open and honest discussion there was effectively destroyed.
Through that experience I found Toplace and this site. Thank God! I don't wear full time, only trips, and fortunately I have been able to utilize partial systems to sit behind my mostly in tact hairline. As we've all come to expect, BA and Mike have been most attentive and patient in dealing with my particulars.
So the rest of the irony? I'm also 42, have very dense side/back hair left and a decent hairline. That, and after years of contemplation, tomorrow I will finally take the plunge and go for a transplant. Appx. 1700 "grafts" to fill in from my hairline backwards. It won't cover the crown. I'm not able to afford that right now. However, with ONLY the crown left to cover I am certain Toplace can design a piece that will cover that area perfectly.
We'll see how it goes. Hopefully I'll have good news 7 months from now too.
I am not sure if it was you Glen, or someone else, who told the story about your almost blind uncle who couldnt see the fork infront of his face, but managed to bust you out about your hcm system telling you "what the hell is that thing on your head."...That story was hillarious when you mentioned it.
Thanks for posting Glen, And if anyone is thinking of going the hair transplant route, You would do yourself a favour and asks Glens advice, The bloke is really clued up in all things Hair replacement. No transplant for me though
my bald area is 10" x 7"
I am considering the HT route primarily for the hairline as stage 1 followed up by the crown as stage 2 utilising the system for transition in between the stages.
As you are aware the HT industry sucks as there are many con artists out there.
Can I ask who you had your HT done from?
Wow...I totally understand your problems with wearing hair. For the active person, it can be really difficult. I can tell you the thousands of times over the years that I was late going somewhere, or had to wear a hat, because I didn't have the time to get it right, or the times I wished I could just slap some gel in, and be off in 20 seconds.
Unfortunately, my hair is not nearly as thick as yours sounds, and my temples are going bye- bye, so a transplant is out of the question.
I met a guy a few weeks ago who had decided to shave his entire head. He said that it wasn't the primary choice, but that now people don't see him as "balding", they just see him as a guy with a shaved head, so a lot, if not all, of the stigma goes away.
I know I blab a lot about this here, but man does shaving sound attractive...until I see myself in the mirror with this fake hairpiece hair that's a pain to maintain, and it actually looks great for the most part. Hard to think about having no hair, suddenly.
State of the art Hair transplants have come along way. But I see you were vigilant. did your homework and avoided some of the butchers in hair transplants.Good for you Glen and your new found freedom. I being a Norwood 7 with poor density, unfortunately cannot opt for that procedure. Hey, but the good news is if B.A. and team at innovative Toplace keep improving there systems. Good luck to you!
I'm like BA - a 10 x 7 barren head. And with thin sides, a transplant will never be possible.
Shaving my head? No bloody way. I have very sensitive skin. No matter if I use a blade or an electric, my face and my head look like blotchy hamburger when I shave
I think its great if you have other and easyer options to choose from rather then Hairpieces but I myself couldnt see myself in a state of shaving my head of going thru life bald. I see no problem spending extra time fixing my hair concidering I now spend about 30 minutes each morning in front of the mirror with my real thinning hair.
Hey Glen, thanks for sharing your story with us and enjoy your new found freedom. One quick question...Do you have any opinion of Hasson and Wong in regards to HT surgery?
Cool...glad you found something you feel great about. I would still tell anyone that will listen to never get transplants....it was the biggest mistake I made for several reasons. Even though it's your real hair, there are still limitations like a piece. You cannot have a really short haircut in the back because your "donor scars" easily show up...you also can never shave your head if you wanted to...the little dots look ridiculous and the donor scars would be in full view as well. I do totally see your point in it being your real hair though....brushing your hair and being ready to go in no time without maintenance is definitely an advantage of transplantation.
I have no experience with transplants but know that for most it is not a possibility. Plus it leaves you fewer options as you continue to thin. I'm glad you made this point.
*****
it was the biggest mistake I made for several reasons. Even though it's your real hair, there are still limitations like a piece. You cannot have a really short haircut in the back because your "donor scars" easily show up...you also can never shave your head if you wanted to...the little dots look ridiculous and the donor scars would be in full view as well.
*****
Sorry my friend, but you are talking about outdated technology. The newest method known as FUE when done by a competent team results in NO donor scarring and NO "little dots".
In fact, the trend among many, believe it or not is to get extensive FUE transplants and then go for a very short buzz cut. This actually creates the illusion of more hair than there really is. It still frames the face when seen from front on, and even guys with 100% of their hair have the scalp showing through with a short buzz. It's a very clever idea.
I've read this as well, and if the FUE method truly results in no scars then it is indeed a great breakthrough. My only hesitation is that even if the method is 100% scar free, there are just so many guys out there who thin out almost completely on the sides and back, and even with a full FUE procedure, if this happens to you, you're still left having to shave your head and then you've wasted tens of thousands of dollars.
Royce....seems like you know a lot, have you actually had a hair transplant? That's terrific if they are able to perform the procedures with absolutely no scarring....that would take away the biggest negative. I still personally would never encourage it as you never achieve a full head of hair. Unless of course you are just beginning to thin and you fill in the thinning areas...but then when you continue to thin throughout your real hair you are left with more issues. There just isn't enough donor hair to achieve a full head of hair if you have extensive loss. But again, this is just an opinion from someone that has been there and feels putting yourself through surgeries for what could turn out to be a waste, is just not worth it. I think a hairpiece or shaving your head (if you can pull that look off) are the two best options.
I wish you the best of luck and I hope things work out in the future. If you don't mind posting I'm sure some people here would like to hear about which transplant surgeon you chose and what method they used.
Hans, you might be surprised. With the new techniques that have come into play in the last few years there are plenty of good examples of natural looking transplants out there. I know someone personally who has achieved excellent results.
Just as hair systems have a stigma attached to them because the old rule of thumb was awful results, the same is true for transplants. They've come a long way. But the one problem that has yet to be overcome with transplants (and never will be unless hair cloning is perfected) is that most people just don't have enough donor hair. Without a sufficient donor supply or thick back and sides you will never be able to achieve a natural looking transplant. There are just too many ifs as I see it.
If I could afford it and I was confident that my back and side hair would stay thick I would have my hairline and temples done with FUE and wear a Toplace unit only on the top area, behind the hairline. Imagine never again having to worry about getting the hairline right, or glue attachment, or temples receeding too far. It would be amazing. But there's always that worry of, "what if your sides thin out too far"? There's no answer to that and that's why I don't do it.
***
Royce....seems like you know a lot, have you actually had a hair transplant?
***
Yes. In 1994 I had a horrible punch graft proceedure done on the crown of my head by a surgeon in San Francisco. I would have just shaved my head instead but I'd already had a lot of unsightly scars on my head due to an auto accident. The transplants of course made it that much worse.
Rather than throw good money after bad, I opted for the hairpiece route spending many unhappy years with HCM, then later Hair direct and advent hair.
Eventually I opted to go the transplanted front method and have to date had 2500 grafts done by New Hair Institute. When I can afford it again (sometime in the next 6 months) I'll have 1000 more.
Behind that I wear a TL. Results are good. I have to vent and style everything a certain way for best results because the transplanted hairline area is still thin compared to the TL. But not bad. After the next 1000 grafts I should be all set.
I'm 37 and still have very solid sides / temples and back. How long that lasts I don't know. What I'll do if and when that becomes a problem, I also don't really know.
This combo is something I can live with. I would much rather just be bald and shave my head but thats not really an option unless I under go a lot of special surgery to remove the scars. NHI has been removing and reusing the old plugs and sealing up the old holes very nicely. They also did an excellent job with my original old donor scars (which were horrible).
Another new transplant technology, along with the FUE method, is using body hair transplanted to the scalp. While it is still rather experimental, it appears that the body hair when transplanted to the scalp takes on characteristics of scalp hair, growing longer than it does on your body. They have successfully used hair from virtually every part of the body. I'm hopeful that this could work for me in the future, if it proves to hold up long term.
Thanks Nube. Interesting. It's nice to hear he had good luck with it.
I'm thinking the same thing, that if you focused on a very high density transplant in the front/temples, it would look even more realistic, and be a fairly long term solution, considering you've replaced all of the front, and the crown is always covered by the piece.
It's a longer process, but a more complete, natural looking process, in the end, I think.
A few have done this including The Moderator on here Eric, Some like it some dont and I will leave it to those who have had the procedure to post thier experience.
Meandean (Login meandean) Convention Photos and Videos.
Re: cool.
October 26 2009, 12:57 AM
Great post Glenn,heres my thoughts.Many people have had transplants when they
had hair,a trick many doctors used, to sell a service to young balding folks.
It was great for a short time,add hair from the back and sides as you are
going bald,a cash cow for many doctors.Over time the balding area was winning the war
and you could see that the plugs just would not cut it and you started to panic,
so you did a few more transplants,but you still looked like ****.I wont even
talk about the mega thousands of dollars you have spent at this point.
We are talking about hundreds of thousands of males doing exactly what I have
talked about.Many would have been better just going bald,no lie.
One big problem with many,they cant go bald now,to many scars from donor areas.
They turn now to the hair unit vendors and they get some hair,and the
vendors get some cash,business is business.They have had lace systems for many many
years but few knew about them.John Wayne is a great example of what a lace could be.
Guys like BA come to town and wake people up.Lace hair can be used by all and
for under $200.00 dollars!Lets do the math and say you by 3 units a year and some glues
and tapes.Total cost is under @700.00 a year.Many here can get a lace unit to last
6 months easy,so we could also say $500.00 a year.That buys me great looking hair,
all year long.Yes,wearing hair has drawbacks,but you overcome them and learn.
The trick to the hair game,keep it real and dont fool the one person who knows you best,
yourself.BA has showed me this over the years,read his tricks and thoughts.You will
see this guy is you,looking for better ways to wear hair.If I could turn back the clock
I would have went bald when I was going bald but life is not a happy meal.
Obviously this game has to be affordable or many will just shave their head and just wont do it, Simple as.
The goal of any hair replacement company should be to be fair and help these people who are down about their hairloss, Yes they should make a small profit for their efforts but ripping desperate people off and selling them a toupee for ridiculous money is disgusting.
Good, with the new hair transplant technology they can take all the friggin hair that has fallen off my noggin and started growing on my back and ears! Kennedy was right, "life is not fair".
Lastly, why do so many alcoholic street people have great hair? They could care less. Ah, the irony of life, if there is a god, s/he is a prankster.
Dave-65 (Login Dave-65) Convention Photos and Videos.
Re: cool.
October 27 2009, 9:56 AM
You called it right Meandean,getting a transplant was one of the worst decisions I ever made.I had 3 transplant sessions back in 1990 when I was 25 years old.I fell for the sales spiel hook,line and sinker.I wasn't a suitable candidate for a H.T as my hair was very fine.Initially I was pleased however within 3 years I needed to wear a piece.
At the time I borrowed what was quite a tidy sum for me at the time for this treatment.As a result I have very bad scarring from the doner area at the back of my head.
I know that more modern techniques are now used but its not the answer for many people,often I thought I would like to be able to shave my head but thats not an option,I think the way for me in the near future is to go for a full cap.
Mr.Burns (Login MisterBurns) Convention Photos and Videos.
Re: cool.
October 27 2009, 10:26 AM
After reading through this post, I've realised that the reason hairwearing is the ultimate hassle free solution for me is because I'm actually not very physically active at all. I have a very healthy diet that verges on calorie-restriction (although I'm not that extreme) so I look like a guy who excercises. But I honestly don't really do much apart from some short Matt Furey "combat conditioning" on and off, or a little tai-chi. No major sweating going on.
I also live in a cold enough climate.
I can imagine that for someone who lives in a hot place and likes to do a lot of intense excercise, hair wearing would be a lot more hassle. This is something I need to consider more before I go shouting about how perfect hair wearing is (I guess it ain't for everyone)
Hey Mr. Burns. Oh boy. Now you've turned hairwearing on it's head for me once again. If you exercise, it's a hassle?
I exercise a lot. I'm also a astage performer, and the amount of sweat I produce is stunning, far more than if I exercise.
I remember I had a thinskin last year and it created an immense amount of itching whenever I exerted myself. Intense itching, unbelievable burning itching.
I thought it was because of the thinskin.
I've seen a lot of people say that with lace units they don't experience the same thing when exercising, so I hope they're right!
Meandean (Login meandean) Convention Photos and Videos.
Re: Hmm..
October 27 2009, 2:07 PM
Take some plastic and cover your head and see how hot it gets.
Where does the heat go or want to go?My limited public school logic
says up.When you trap heat it starts making water,or some say vapor.
The burning you talk about is your body telling you something is wrong.
Throw in some body salt,glue,and you have a problem.I had one all skin unit
many years back,not from Toplace,and it drove me crazy.It was so hot I
went crazy and had to remove it.Not a easy thing to do back then.They used
glue that could hold a wing on a 747 airplane back then.I used 3 bottles of nail
paint remover.My sclap was blood red for weeks.The guy at the salon got scared
I would sue him and gave me all my money back.It was a lot of money,like 1800.00
Some people just know when its time to fold and pay,they can sense it.
Right, but that's with a skin unit. I totally agree skin units suck when you break even the smallest sweat, I know mine did.
What about with lace? Big difference? I posted a separate thread about it here today, as this is kind of reviving an ancient thread and on a somewhat different topic now...
