Can I Wear My Hair Long after a Hair Transplant?

This question, which was answered by Coalition Surgeon Dr. Cam Simmons, was asked by a member of our Hair Restoration Social Community and Discussion Forums:

I’m a 33 year-old male with very fine, straight shoulder-length hair. I began experiencing hair loss in my mid/late 20’s and now, at age 33, I’m a solid Norwood 3 with deep temple recession. The hairline itself is a very steep V shape. I wear my hair long with a part in the center but these days when any of my frontal hair falls forward it exposes big gaps in the temple region. It is very important to me to wear my hair longish as I would look absolutely terrible with short cropped hair or a bald head.

I’ve been investigating both follicular unit transplantation (FUT) and follicular unit extraction (FUE) but I never see any photos of people who wear their hair like I do so I’m not sure if a hair transplant would work for me. I have actually started looking more at female hair transplant photos because I never see men on these sites with long hair. Is surgical hair restoration even an option for guys like me?

If you have a narrow center part through your natural hair in the midline, you could keep wearing that style. If you later began balding in the midline or needed to transplant it, you would likely choose to stop wearing a center part because transplanted hair is not as thick as a teenager’s. Furthermore, the tops of our heads reflect overhead lights, and that combination would make a center part look wider.

You still want a mature man’s hairline. Just because you prefer longer hair does not mean that you should be looking for similarities to a woman’s transplant.

You are right that you get more layering if the transplanted hair is kept 2 inches or longer. Some of my patients do wear their transplanted hair shorter and it still looks natural but doesn’t look as dense. Some also use gel or pomade, which also make the transplanted hair look thinner than a “dry look.” I can make suggestions but it is their hair so they can wear it however they like and feel comfortable.

Dr. Cam Simmons

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David – aka TakingThePlunge
Assistant Publisher and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum
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