Robert,
VERY NICE illustration with pics. This is exactly how my hair looks with Dermmatch and Toppiks. I've never tried couvre' but have tried Fullmore spray-- it is easy to apply but doesnt look natural.
Dermmatch combined with Toppiks give the ultimate thick dense look. When I use Dermmatch, I only have to use a little Toppiks in the pump sprayer-- 5 seconds to give coverage-- this give the hair an awesome thick look. This combo is the best period. I was told by a person involved in Hollywood, that this the the combo that actors use before filming a scene. However, you have to wash it out before bed, because it will rub off on the sheets plus you need to have it washed out before applying rogaine at night.
I 100% recommend it for anyone with thinning hair.

Nice pics, a couple of questions:

1) So once dermatch dries it won't run, even if it gets wet?

2) You don't need to apply toppik in combination with dermatch?

3) I did not see a scar at all in the one picture of the back of your head (nice job Dr. Cooley). Is it shaved to a #2 in back?

I have tried Prothik myself, it works very well and you will not have any problems in the rain with it. Only soap and water will get that stuff out of your hair. It will however make a complete disaster in your bathroom.

Whysguy,

1) I have found that Dermatch will not run off in the rain or even if I get in the shower and wet it. It does take shampoo to get it out, not just water. Water will take some of it off when you towel-dry your hair after it has been wet, but not enough to really notice.

2) You dont need to apply Toppik in addition to Dermatch, but I am going to try it per Smoothy's recommendation for my own curiosity.

3) Yes, I always shave the back and sides of my head to a #2. It is a hard habit to break after youve been in the military for so long. Dr. Cooley's work is outstanding and I never even worry that my barber sees the scar.

-Robert

Hi All:
I have used Toppik successfully for a couple of years, but, it can get expensive...I recently tried Dermmatch & while it does a good job at covering the bald/thinning areas, I noticed that makes the hair very hard to comb/brush...it seems to restrict the brush from going freely through the hair & consequently pulls hair out which is certainly not what we're trying to do...please note that I haven't used much of the product to get this result...if anyone has any advice on this problem, I'd be interested in hearing it...thanks!

Mike,

I had problems with this same issue at times that I got a little overzealous and put too much in. Use it a little more sparingly if you can. Also, if this doesn't work, try toweling your hair again (use an old towel) after application with a damp towel.

Or, you could get some Couvre' and use this along with Toppik. That works very well too.

-Robert

Somone asked what my hair looked like with a little gel in with the Dermatch and a little Toppik so here ya go:



Yeah, its a little longer than I usually like it, but I'll get it cut and possibly post pics after if anyone is interested in seeing them.

-Robert

Hi Robert, just a question for you. When to you apply the gel? I do the gel first then the dermatch and toppik last. I assume applying gel after you put in the dermatch would be messy. Thanks

I apply gel after the Dermatch with no problem.

-Robert

Just wanted to get my results in to you guys.

I have now tried both Dermatch and Prothik. In my opinion, Dermatch is the better concealer. It's easier to apply than prothik and you don't need hairspray to keep it in place. also, when someone runs their fingers through your hair, it won't come off at all.

Texas,

I have not used Prothik (just doesn't seem like it would work well for me). You say that you have to se hairspray to keep it on? I thought that it was sprayed onto the scalp. Does the concealer not have any adhesive agents (hair spray-like qualities) inclusive or are the agents that it does utilize simply not strong enough?

Thanks for sharing,

-Robert

Robert,

Your hair really does look quite good with dermatch. However, it is a little discouraging to hear that those who have had hair transplants still find a need to use concealers. You mentioned that Pat uses Prothik (sounds like it is for his crown only, granted) and I believe he is a veterean of more than one HT procedure. I know there was a thread not long ago about Pat getting another HT procedure for his crown. Does he think this will end his reliance on concealers? Will you ultimately go back for one or more hair transplants to end your reliance on concealers?

NYC,

Pat told me that the very reason that he went back in the chair this past time is because he was "tired of spray painting his crown" so, yeah, you hit it right on the mark there.

As far as my situation, my transplant was concentrated solely on the hairline and forelock. I still have a thin crown and some thinning on top (which is being taken care of very nicely by the meds). I am waiting to see what the meds will ultimately do for me before I decide whether or not to go back.

...and that is what I see concealers as good for: a great way of "getting you by" while you are waiting for the meds to kick into high gear or waiting for that transplant to grow in. Used sparingly and with sense they can truly do a lot for you. Like anything though, if you goop it on it will show...and it isn't pretty .

Hope this helps.

-Robert

quote:

---

Originally posted by Forum Moderator and Satisfied Patient:
As far as my situation, my transplant was concentrated solely on the hairline and forelock. I still have a thin crown and some thinning on top (which is being taken care of very nicely by the meds).

---

Which reflects the situation I had to consider when I had my HT. As a Norwood VI, I was forced to decide where I wanted to concentrate the placement of the transplanted hair.

Conventional wisdom insists that one in my position should concentrate the grafts on the hairline and forelock, to frame the face, and leave the crown and back bare, pending future HT's. By and large, this is sound advice, and it is, in fact, what Doctor Cooley originally recommended for me.

My problem was this: I know myself well enough to know that, doing my HT according to that plan, even if I ended up with a satisfactorily full hairline and forelock, having that large bald spot in back would have bugged the hell out of me. And I'm not prepared to use any more of my disposable income for another HT for the next couple of years, at least.

Knowing that, I came up with another plan. Instead, I felt that evenly distributing the grafts all over my balding area would work better for me. That meant I had to accept a couple of trade-offs. The overall density of the transplanted hair would be less, of course. To adjust for that, I would accept more recession at the temples than most HT patients settle for.

As I have said, a photograph illustrates things much more clearly than all the verbal description in the world. What I had in mind was something along the lines of this hairline:



I am approximately the same age as this man was when this photo was taken. Therefore, a more recessed hairline and an overall thinning would be age-appropriate for me.

Once Dr. Cooley saw that I had reasoned out the whole thing and was willing to accept the trade-offs, he was on board with it, and in fact, designed a marvellous hairline precisely along the lines of what I had envisioned.

As I see the hair now start to grow in my crown and back, even though it is at a slower rate than my top and front have been, I know I made the right decision--for me. I can also see that Propecia has already started to take effect; the diameter of the balding area in back has shrunk noticably.

The only question remaining is will I be satisfied with the density of the transplanted hair. As I see it growing in now, allowing for the facts that there is still more hair to sprout and much of what hair I do see is still immature, I believe it will be--or at least very close.

Which brings us back to the subject of cover-ups, like Dermmatch. Robert, you achieve remarkable results in using it, but I don't know if I have the patience to apply it with the attention to detail that you have. (Until the grafts grow in sufficiently to make finding a barber worthwhile, I still cut my own hair, and most of the time, I do such a slap-dash job of it, that it looks like a blind goat grazed on my hair.)

The thrust of this is that, unless one is lucky enough to be balding low on the Norwood scale, one is not likely to get what would be cosmetically seen as "full density" on his first HT pass. He either is going to have a balding crown or back, or is going to have thinner density hair overall (if one does it like I did).

I'm fortunate in the fact that age works in my behalf. It is normal for a man my age to have receding temples and an overall thin density. So I may be able to get away without using Dermmatch or some other cover-up (though I undoubtedly will give it a try).

But for younger patients with balding noggins high on the Norwood scale, there probably isn't any way around using such cover-ups--except to have follow-on HT's.

I just orderd this to try to get the 5clock shodow look and also cover up my old scars

the rep said this stuff is pretty good at faking the shadow look.

what do you think?

pc,

Do you mean getting the "extremely buzzed" look like your head was shaved with a #2 or so guard?

If that is what you are referring to, then by all means NO! Dermatch will not work at all like that. Perhaps the rep that you spoke to either 1) didn't know what you meant when you were describing what you intended to use it for and just agreed with you or 2) outright lied to you.

At any rate, Dermatch is a good concealer but you do need some length of hair to properly mask the concealer.

-Robert

thank you robert

I sent for some allready, but I'll use it untill my hair kicks in anyway

man,I was REALLY impressed with whay you were able to do with that stuff

I purchased Dermmatch based on this thread and all I can say is WOW. It's amazing. It arrived today just before my wife and I were headed out for dinner, so I figured I give it a quick try. It took me 5 minutes to apply then another 5 or so to style. I'll definitely be able to do a better job with some more practice, but my wife was simply amazed - mind you, she has cut my hair for 10 years, and was a stylist at Hair Club for Men for about 3 of those, so I rate her as very experienced with dealing with balding heads, and someone that's seen nearly every method of dealing with hair loss.

I wanted to use a concealer to help cover my upcoming HT procedure, but after seeing the results I'm pretty sure I'll continue to use it in the crown post surgery. Give this stuff a try, it's well worth it.

quote:

Originally posted by C2:
I purchased Dermmatch based on this thread and all I can say is WOW. It's amazing. It arrived today just before my wife and I were headed out for dinner, so I figured I give it a quick try. It took me 5 minutes to apply then another 5 or so to style. I'll definitely be able to do a better job with some more practice, but my wife was simply amazed - mind you, she has cut my hair for 10 years, and was a stylist at Hair Club for Men for about 3 of those, so I rate her as very experienced with dealing with balding heads, and someone that's seen nearly every method of dealing with hair loss.

I wanted to use a concealer to help cover my upcoming HT procedure, but after seeing the results I'm pretty sure I'll continue to use it in the crown post surgery. Give this stuff a try, it's well worth it.

Good to hear that it's working out, C2. I personally use a mixture of Dermatch and then Toppik on the crown, but I just like the way that looks .

-Robert

Robert,

The pics look great. A few more questions, if I may:

1 Is Dermatch sold in stores?

2 Is it hard to apply it to the crown, since you can't see back there? I use a hand mirror to check my bald spot, but that only leaves one hand free. Do you brush it through your entire head, or just the crown?

3 What color should I use? My hair is grayish- brownish-blond, with very blond highlights from the salon. It's more than one color, and the roots will grow out darker. Maybe I shouldn't color it, but that makes it thicker. And guys with "salt & pepper" would face the same problem, no?

Thanks,

Bob

BobC,

Thanks.

1) not that I know of. I think the best place to get it is directly from the dermatch website.

2) I also use a hand mirror and my bathrrom mirror to apply the crown. You only need one hand to apply it and then you brush it through so it isnt terribly difficult.

3) This is a question that is best left to be answered by them. If I am not mistaken they have a customer service department that will get back to you if you ask via email. Just check the site and see if you can find an address.

Hope this helps.

-Robert