I am new to this site and would first like to thank everyone who has posted questions and pictures. You guys have really helped me out.

I received 1822 grafts 2 1/2 months ago and everything seems to be going fine. From all the research, I have realized that patience is the key. My question is about the donor site. My scar seems to be healing fine, but I have this indentation in the hair, from one ear to the other. The scar is not visible, but I seem to have constant "hat head" no matter how I comb it. I assume that there are shaved hairs that still need to catch up to the existing hair, but are there follicles that also went into shock? How long until it all blends in nicely? Does length have anything to do with it? It's about a inch long on the sides and back.

Any insight is greatly appreciated. I will also be posting pics in the future. Thanks.

Yeah, I had the same problem. I think it is mainly from that it is difficult to just cut the hair in the donor area only and not cut at least a little around it. In my case, it got better with time. Longer hair should help too. Hopefully, your scar is small. If the scar is wide, then that will make "hat head" more of a reality especially with shorter hair.
Right now, it is really hard for me to tell how wide my scar is. I'd say the pinkness is about 3mm wide with an impromptu measurement looking in two mirrors. So I can't say how wide the scar is, but the wider, the worse as far as "hat head".
Again, it should get better with time as you continue to get haircuts and the shorter hair surrounding the donor area from the "HT haircut" "catches up" to the longer hairs around it.
Hope this helps.

vocor1
Knowledge is Power
If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared.

vocor1:

Thanks for the reply. Today I went and got a haircut and my barber actually thinned out the area above my scar. This caused the hair to blend in better for some reason. I think the hair above was just hanging over and on top of the scar instead of intertwining with the rest. Anyways, it looks much better today. Almost perfect!

What a difference a day makes.

I don't know if this would work for everyone, or if it's just because of my haircut - "joe's disclaimer"

I think all of us who have had multiple transplants have had this problem. I have
had 6 transplants -somewhere around 6000=7000
grafts. I didnt have the scar problem until my
last two transplants when they took hair from the
sides -from temple area to temple area. Donor
was taken twice in two seperate sessions from this
area and needless to say with the scalp being
so tight after the 6th surgery there was going
to be some widening. It drove me crazy as I like
to keep my hair really short (A #2 or 3 on the
buzz cutter) but after the second surgery I
had to leave it longer to cover up the scar . Well
NO MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Four weeks ago I began thinking that the reason
its such a problem is that the scalp color doesnt
match my hair color. You've got black hair on top
of white scalp. There is no way to blend this except to try and cover it up. I saw a TV commercial on my local station about permanent
cosmetic makeup . Women go and get this done to
their lips ,eyebrows etc and it produces a permanent coloration for years to come. I thought
why cant I have him match my scalp in the scar
area to my hair. He applies some topical numbing
agent to deaden the pain. I was the first he had
ever seen to do this but he was excited to see the
result . WOWWW!! He did a first run to add some
pigment . UNBELIEVABLE. I waited a week to let the
pigment settle and went back once more to do some
fill in work where ever needed. After two trips
I got my (#2 buzz cutter ) out again and you
could never tell without knowing I had anything
done. The guy who did it is also an artist so he
is a true perfectionist. There is no need to go
back and try to waste transplants on the scar area
you just have it matched to your hair. As you age
and grey they can blend it in all along .This
works for all hair colors as he can mix any pigment color .

The one who did mine was Jason Saucier at
Coastal Body Wrap in Wilmington NC. Thier
website is www.coastalbodywrap.com . He is going
to be posting my pics soon as he took them
all throughout the process to show the dramatic
change. I'll try to get them on here soon.

YOu can also go to www.permanentcosmetics.net
to find someone in your state that offers this
MIRACLE !! Hope this helps.

Greg D.

I didnt realize Jason had added my pic's on
the site but you can go to www.coastbodywrap.com
and see the permanet cosmetics link. There
is a sublink for scar camoflage and that is my
head and scar he is working on . Guys its really
unbelievable at the difference. Hope this helps
someone as much as it has me!

Greg D.

That is www.coastalbodywrap.com

Is this basically a tattoo? is it permenant or temporary?

GD:
Sort of sounds like a tatoo. Not a bad idea, possibly, especially after many HTs and such.
BTW, how wide is your scar in mms? Just curious, have you every measured it?
Thanks for the info!

vocor1
Knowledge is Power
If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared.

I never measured the scar . Again it can be clearly seen on the website I previously listed.
The procedure is permanent. I asked him about
this and he said that the pigmentation would last
for 20+ years. It isnt something you have to do
annually etc. The scar was actually raised a bit
before the procedure. Because the needle he used
in the pigmenting device (this is similiar to
a tattoo device) actually penetrates the scar so
many times it helps to break up the toughened skin
that makes up the raised scar. Prior to the second
touch up he could barely find the scar itself. Its
worth the time to check it out.

Greg D.