Its looking like I am probably going to be able to get the 2 weeks off for an HT this Summer. A lot of you have seen my panic posts about only getting one week. So I am much much more relieved.

I know I ask this a lot, but I still haven't seen any actual stories about people returning to work. Can you guys share stories? Mainly guys who went back about 2 weeks post-op.

eman -- What was your return to work like?

I'm working out all the tiny details and should be confirming my HT schedule within the next week. I'm excited!

Everyone heals differently, there is nothing anyone can tell you that will indicate your HT won't be noticed. IMO, your head will be red for a month or so (if your lucky). My first it was a number of months, my second (FUE), it was about 2-3 weeks. My opinion is don't fear facing people afterwards, some will notice something different, others just won't.

Hey SB,


not sure how many grafts you'll be getting or how much native hair you have but I went back to work after 6 days and no one really noticed, at least not that I could tell. I had redness for several months although I did purposely tan prior to my procedure to help hide it. Keep in mind that most people are in their own world and generaly dont pay much attention. I had the stitches in for 2 weeks and no one ever picked up on it.

Wanted to BUMP this thread.

Anymore input guys? I'm pretty freaked out about this

SpaceBetween,

What is it that you are exactly concerned about in returning to work. Are you concerned about concealing your hair transplant?

Depending on your remaining natural hair and whether or not it's been shaved, you may be able to style your hair in such a way to cover the grafts. Otherwise, you may want to attempt to use a topical concealer like nanogen, dermmatch, or toppik. Or, if you are allowed to wear a hat, this would be ideal.

No matter what you do, someone may notice something is up or different, but it's rare that anyone will say anything about it. The keen observant ones, at the very least will eventually notice you have more hair on your head when the result grows out. So even if your successful at concealing your hair transplant at first, someone is bound to notice.

If someone does ask, you may be able to make up a story about your scalp being sunburnt, or a rash of sorts, depending on what it looks like when you're ready to go back to work.

I hope this helps.

Bill (Falc)

Hi Space

Check out my weblog, where I recount my return to work using concealer post-op. My work involves being the focus of everyone's attention - and it went fine. I attach a picture of me at 21 days post-op, wearing Nanogen after a 3,200 FU frontal megasession by strip. There are others on my blog. No-one said a word.

When you were a kid, did you ever go through that thing of having a huge spot on your face that you thought was like Olympus Mons? But actually no-one else noticed - it was just that you were too self-conscious? In many ways, this is the same kind of thing.

Can you get away with wearing a hat at work? If so, start wearing one a while before the op, so that people get used to seeing you in one. Also, if your chosen surgeon prefers to shave down the recipient area, as many do, wear a buzzcut for a couple of months before the op so that your work colleagues get used to seeing you with short hair.

But everyone heals differently, so there is no easy answer.

Best wishes

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"SpaceBetween,"

I'd echo the question about why you're concerned -- is it your appearance, or discomfort?

Appearance-wise, it definitely depends on how much shaving was done. Two weeks will not make a noticeable difference here. In my case, after HT #1 I was able to wear a hat for, actually, the first three months; with #2 I had enough left unshaved that it wasn't glaringly obvious, at least from a distance, that something was different up there.

Comfort-wise, for me the big difference, after both procedures, was getting the staples out, but after roughly night #3, that was only especially noticeable when I was sleeping/trying to rest my head on something.

Good luck...

Benjamin

Space- returning to work was definitely very difficult. I was in a transition mode professionally as my company was in the process of being sold, so no one was really concerned about interacting and I was able to hide out in my office for the better part of a month and had meetings via phone conferencing. If you can, in any way, get away with wearing a cap, that will buy you a lot of time.

Since I had my HT on a Wed I had almost 2.5 weeks, but as you know I shaved my head and used zero concealer. The scar was noticeable but I made sure to face people for the most part. It was a hide and seek act for a while and I am sure some people noticed but never said a word.

The recipient redness was mentioned several times and I said it was due to too much sun and it being dry, as it was still nice here in Chicago. And if you don't shave the hair in the donor area down too far, the scar won't be as noticeable as mine was.

I think that in the end we are far more critical and worried about what others think. It is a rough period, I won't lie. But a little bit of discomfort for the long term benefit of having hair has made it worth it for me.

If you have any other questions, please let me know and sorry for not getting back to you sooner as my computer died last thursday.

Hey Guys, my main concern is my appearance and people's reaction.

I work with a lot of people and some of which aren't afraid to speak their mind.

I wear a lot of concealer now and have my front grown out (which I really shouldn't be able to do anymore haha)

I will probably have my whole front reconstructed, so it will be shaved. Leaving me not much choice but to buzz before returning to work?

To be honest, I'm not too concerned with the redness... its just moreso having the front all gone and possible scabs remaining.

Not to mention I will probably still have sutures in first day back.

It just sucks because there is no privacy in my business and I work with so many people.

Oh well, I just have to bear through that and I will eventually have hair growing! It's more than worth it to me

It has been 4 weeks this past Friday and the recipient area is still rather red. I was concerned at first and like you took two weeks off work as I was assured that would be sufficient for no noticeable signs. Albeit, they shaved my hair in the front off and the redness looked like bad sunburn which is still present. The office where I had the surgery just keeps telling me everyone heals differently.

Just so you can be forewarned it is a possibility. I will say though one of my colleagues whom I work closely with didn't know he just thought it was sunburn. I'm sure others just don't ask.

I had 3 HT's without anyone knowing anything . keep in mind these points

1- keep the donor area a little longer as well as the top in order to conceal the surgery
2- Take atleast 10 days off to heal as much as possible
3- use concealer to cover the surgery when you return to work