Hey everyone. I developed a receding hairline around age 17 and now have a lot of recession at the temples at age 23. My front started thinning and receding at age 22. I tried Propecia last year for 6 months but did not enjoy the sides, so I got off of it. I honestly think it's a drug not meant for human consumption.

I am looking into a partial hairpiece but definitely need some advice. Should I go with a stock unit, or custom piece? How can I make a template, if I still have hair on more than half my head?

I workout intensely 4-5 times per week and sweat a lot. How long can I expect a piece to hold up? Would glue or tape be best?

I think it would be best to shave the thinning front part and then attach a piece - starting at where there is recession at my temples. Would this be best? I have mostly thin hair everywhere, so I'm wondering what density I should go with. I also need advice on which base to go with.

Attached are some pictures. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

- Jeremy

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Added photos

Hi JerG, welcome to the forum.
Amazing how the colour of the hair looks different depending on which photo I look at... digital cameras can really affect the ` impression`, as can different computer monitors.
You have a nice/ ` good` crown-point [swirl of hair] --keep that! Your temple area has really gone...re-creating those will make a huge difference. I`d go `Custom` ..better chance of a more accurate fit, to the shape of your individual skull-shape....... whilst it can be a bit more tricky to make a template whist there is still some hair ` in the way`, you can just wet the hair and comb it flat ....the majority of your template will be of the temples area and there`s no hair there ... it`s best to replace [obviously] what you`ve lost .... mark your skin as accurately as you can using an eyebrow pencil, to ` follow` the line where your hair used to grow... .. I hope ` Hersute` will do his usual magic and mark suggested lines on some of your photos.... I`ll wait to see if he does as he does them far more accurately than I do !!! [ I`ll do them if not ! ]
Yes ... I would shave off that ` middle` bit when you get your system, but keep it for now.
Sweat can and does negatively-affect lace ...the acids attack the lace, which is a fabric.....however, you`ll still be able to get a reasonably-long period of wear if you rinse with water once you`re finished your activities..... for such regular sweating, Glue/s are probably better ...though the clean-up can be more of a pain / time-consuming than with tapes.... it`s not possible to say what will /would work best for you as our individual physiologies react differently from one product to another....... I`ll go into this in more detail soon.
Looks like a ` light` density will be suitable .....John will be happy to ` work` with you on the finer-points once you have your template made and are ready to go ..there are tutorial videos on ` Youtube` showing how to make a template...... I`d proceed as shown, but then just mark out your actual area to be covered, [ partial] and trim off the rest ...keep your crown-point as that`s very [obviously ! ] natural-looking.... I`d have the edge of your system ` sitting` at least an inch ` forward` of your crown ... just bear with me /us for now ..... will be happy to mark suggestions on your photos but hopefully Hersute will see this and do his ` tricks` ... he always does such excellent outlines of templates for guys ! Have sent you a mail ..you can let me know if you got it ! Kind regards... Paul.
P.S. --- Your hair appears to grow naturally in a center-part and ` forward` manner? Or have you just styled it that way?
In order to replicate this and have a good blend-in of your own hair onto the system, you`d be better to get it custom-made.

its not written in stone to go with a custom ,bespoke hair system,(base) iv never had one and been wearing for four years, you could go the other way and cut trim you're hair perimeter to match the stock unit contours as long as its not wildly off,

MAYBEE ONE DAY ILL MAKE A BESPOKE TEMPLATE

a really good adhesive is orwg, (oil resistant white glue)
iv been to the gym a few times and really perspired, iv worried but its been ok,most modern gyms have great air conditioning.

biggest variable as mentioned by paul is individual body chemistry,
humidity, location, time of year
these factors will determine how long the adhesive takes to break down and gradually lose adhesion.

enjoy wearing, makes the debonding woes worth while.

ANTHONY

Thanks for the advice guys. If anyone has more advice on drawing the template or just any other input, feel free to chime in. Attached are some more side shots as per request.

I would like to shave off the middle thinning part and go with a bigger piece, since I'm losing hair from that area anyway. I have always styled my hair forward to try and cover up my receding hairline.

Hi again JerG.... excuse my shaky markings... am doing this on a Laptop and not so easy with the touch-pad. The general rule is to replace / cover the area you originally had.... you`ll be able to see / tell where that is far better than I can....just mark it with an eyebrow pencil... as I said already--- you have a pronounced ` swirl` of hair at the crown-point to keep that ..sit the edge of the system forward of it .... you comb the hair forward now so that will lie on top of the system---- order a forward-from -crown Ventilation and center-part ..that will simply look like your present style. Enclose your photos so the factory can see ... you need to emphasize to them that you are keeping your natural crown-point so you do not want them to ` build` one in [ John will make sure they know --just don`t forget to tell him when ordering ] ..that`s the first photo.
In the 2nd one ..the little blue circle....that`s nice natural growth on the side of the forehead..keep that too... you just need to replace the thin hair you have covering the temple area..... it`s hard for me to be totally accurate... but try to keep your ` good` features...just fill in the thin area covering the temples and that ` island` of hair in the middle of your head and up to your actual hairline.... use the hairline itself as your ` starting point` and mark where you estimate your hair used to be ...... just mark it with eyebrow pencil and build your template on top...you can trace the eyebrow pencil line onto your clear film with indelible marker... I`ll send you a few photos to your e mail account showing how I mark my scalp before doing a Fullcap template.
The 3rd one is an approximate shape of what I reckon your template should look like ..it doesn`t have to be totally accurate or down to the nearest millimeter.... you just need to ` show` the area to be covered..... mark it with ` direction` arrows showing what direction you want the hair to lie.... also write the words ` front` and ` back` as appropriate on it ... and also ` no crown-point` .......
Again, please excuse my shaky markings .... but hopefully you get the idea.

Thanks again for the help Paul.

I was able to make a template with the help of a friend today. It looks opaque because we used a good bit of tape. Any input on the general shape?

Hi again JerG... That looks pretty good ...a bit of help from another person can be great..... from the angle the photo was taken [1st one] it looks like it might be a little far ` down` onto your forehead ? I could be wrong ...just ensure it`s not gone out past your natural hairline ... I`m sure you`ll have checked that it`s sitting in the correct place as you still have hair there...it`s probably just the way you`re holding it ....... mark the works ` front` and ` back` on it at the perimeter in those areas and also ` No crown-point` ...... in fact you should enclose that photo along with others, showing your hair style and hair-direction ..... John will work out the best density for you .... if you`re going for ` center-part` mark that on it too , and also , I always mark arrows showing which direction I want the hair to lie in.
Your hair looks like it`s straight, so that`s what you should get.... take a pencil -diameter hair sample approx. an inch long and keep it together in a clump with a small elastic band.....that will help them get your colour correct..... hair from the back of the head is darker than the front and as most of your system will be in the frontal area, I`d take most of the hair from there...
Hope this all works out well for you ..... just pop it and your sample into a padded envelope and send it to John..... cheers for now.. Paul.

Hey Paul. I think I'm holding it a bit low and also the angle may be a bit deceiving. But I have a pretty round head, if anything could the piece be shifted up/back to the more appropriate location once it is attached?

Also, would my hair be more of a freestyle ideally? I will not be showing my hairline. I think I will still essentially have my hair flowing forward, but not necessarily a center part.

I have attached an additional picture of where the template was marked

No need to worry
Measurement's don't need to be to the millimeter
You still. have a degree of play.
Anthony

Hi Again ..... I`m just ` conscious` that the back-perimeter, where it meets your growing hair, will need to have the hair ` flowing ` forward because your own hair lies naturally in that direction [forward of your crown-point] and will be lying /combed over on top of your system...you`d need to have the system-hair tied-in in a ` forward` direction there ..... you could certainly mark / specify a particular area where you`d like the hair tied-in ` freestyle` but just for that immediate rear-perimeter edge it would be best to get the hair there lying in a definite forward style........ what you`ll do when time comes, is shave off the thin hair to the size of your system but you need to dampen the hair first and comb it / slick it back fully rather than the way it normally lies......that way you can then comb /brush what`s left, forward again onto / over the partial ! That will give you a seamless blend-in, where the system ` meets` your growing hair......
I don`t quite follow your other question about `moving` the system once attached ....you can maybe clarify that please..... regards for now .. Paul.