Hello,
I would like to wear a hair system. I'm not completely bald. I would define my hair as partially sparse; the sides and nape (the "horseshoe") are fine; the stripe going from the crown to the hairline is close to bald, but technically not. I do have hair there, only very sparse and thin - maybe 30% of my former density.

On the Nordwood scale (pic attached), I would be a V going for a VI. In theory I should be a II or even a I given that I'm 29.

I use a concealer (Dermatch), but things will probably get worse in a few years (it's a family thing). Also, it doesn't give me back my old hairline.

I was wondering how to cut a template for a hair system under these conditions, and how to apply the system itself.

Should I shave the almost-bald zone? What about regrowth - wouldn't it "push" the hair system over time? Also, my hair is greying. Not that much, at least for now, but you can see the grey hairs. Wouldn't there be a noticeable contrast?

Wouldn't it be better to shave my head completely and go for a full cap?

Any suggestion is appreciated. Thanks.

If you said your nape and sides are fine, just shave the area that you said you had 30% density (balding area), and integrate a topper (partial) there.

You can get a system on any condition, they can replicate your remaining hair so well, Just ask for a little of grey and also attach a sample of your natural growing hair so they can match it better.

Stubble grow as far as I know is not a concern, they only thing you have to take into account is to trim it with clippers, and not completely `shave` it, since most guys get irritation from this.

Good luck,

Going full-cap is not for you at the moment as you have good sides and back. Simply make a template representing the area requiring coverage...doesn`t have to be spot-on to the nearest millimeter...just a representation of the area and skull-shape/contour.There are tutorials on youtube of template making http://www.youtube.com/results?search_qu...aking&aq=f
You can specify a percentage of grey to be interspersed in the system..... if you post a pic of your remaining hair we can advise on density to order. Hair growing underneath a system is not an issue..simply use an electric hair trimmer to buzz the hair when you do your de/re-attachment..... Paul.

I recommend a partial, or topper.
you don’t need full cap unless you’ve got, poor back side hair density.
as far as buzzing your hair down shouldn’t cause a prob, but hey everyone reacts differently to
irritation, I don’t, I buzz my hair every 3 weeks, no probs.

without a shadow of a doubt , I can wholeheartedly say do it.
you’ve summed up the courage to post, you obviously feel the time has come
I think ultimately the biggest selling point of modern hair system, I guarantee if you knew someone or someone showed you they wear , because you never know, there out of this world.

Do it do i t do it,you will not regret it for a moment.
I’ve worn through my first summer, and managed great.
Till be one year on 14 oct 2011
I’m trying to work out how to celebrate it.
And I’ve got a year out of my first system, colours faded, but if had coloured it prob longer,
I really think the longevity of the system was helped with great advice from this forum,
We constantly strive for better methods, are constantly pushing the boundaries

Regards anty 

Thank you for your suggestions and words of encouragement, guys. I really appreciate it.

As a long-time (+1 year) concealer wearer, I can attest that nobody will ever notice anything wrong with your hair unless you actually tell them. (A close friend of mine is still convinced that I got a hair transplant! "Well, you must have have DONE something, you almost had no hair there!")

So I'm not worried about detectability, really.

I have some doubts about making the template, though. My hairline has receded considerably, and I'd like to reconstruct it. Since the only almost-balding part of my scalp is the stripe going from the crown to the hairline, I guess I should go for a somewhat "T-shaped" topper in order to

1. Fill in the crown (the stem of the "T")
2. Restore the receding hairline (the "top bar" of the "T") to its 2004 state (or even pre-2004 state).

In short, I want to look 20/23 again. I now I know pull this off easily because I've a very youthful, wrinkle-free face and I often get carded!

Problem is, I don't know how to shape this, honestly, especially the hairline. I'm a total newbie. Should it be straight, curved, should I keep the lateral recesses (pic attached too), what? I have no idea. In 2004 I had no recesses (picture attached, from my passport photo, labeled "2004 hairline")

I'll post pictures of my bare scalp tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I've applied some concealer yesterday and I don't want to remove it, applying it again is a pain in the arse. I've attached a picture of my current scalp though. I think you can see both the concealer and the recesses. In my opinion it's pretty good but the hairline may look hinky to some since it's quite difficult to "fade" realistically.

Any suggestions?

Thanks again for your help, guys. I'm impressed with what I've seen so far, but I'm really lost here. Also sorry for the long post and all those pictures, I just wanted to be as clear as possible.

Keep it as simple as possible....what you need to do is re-create your original `covered` area.....you have not receded back from the very front point so you can use that as your start-point.... the temple -points have [apparently] receded a bit... I`ll lift your pic off here and re-post it-- with a suggested line for you to follow--- marked on it. Going with any type of `straight across` line of hair will not look natural at the front.... what you can do is use a women`s eye-brow pencil to mark a line on your scalp .....then when you lay on your first layers of clear cling-film, you can simply mark/trace the line with a black marker... I`ll post my suggestion underneath.... Paul.

Thanks for your comments and interest paul, any help will be appreciated

This is roughly what I think you need.....just bring the back part of the template around in a nice even curve at the crown point sitting it down so that it joins the `good`/strong growing hair which you will be keeping..use a hand-held mirror while sitting in front of a fixed/dressing table mirror so you can see what you are doing/marking at the back. Apologies for my unsteady hand while marking this... Paul.
p.s. ---- if you have any old pics to hand --especially side-views --of when you had all your own hair, enclose them with your order as they will really help them to replicate your swept-back style and even a current pic of your remaining side/back hair will ensure a good density and `wave/ curl` match.

Hello Paul,
Thanks for the suggestion.
Actually, you said that the hair hasn't receded from the front point but in fact it did! My hairline was considerably lower when I was in my early 20s. It started receding in about 2003/2004 (in fact, the passport photo I posted is somewhat misleading - the hairline was already receding. It's just my most recent photo.). Then it was the temple-points... and then, the hair itself started falling out confined to that area - and the crown.

What I would like to do with my hairpiece is fill in the balding areas, and restore the hairline to its youthful state, when I had a full mane of hair.

Which brings my to my problem...it's easy to create a template following the contour of my current hairline, but I don't know how to reshape it realistically according to my wish.

Maybe I should order an uncut (stock?) cap and then let a professional stylist do the work, at least for the first time?

Tomorrow I will remove the concealer and post a couple of pictures of my "bare" head before applying it again, so I can give a better idea.

Thanks again!

Hi canty... don`t quite follow what you mean about the hairline [restore/augment it maybe one inch or so] I`m just having a closer look now at the pic....it`s taken from above-ish so I can`t see a straight-on view..but it looks to me there as if there is a slightly reddish patch of skin in front of the hair there which goes around to each temple.... is that where hair used to be growing and has receded back from ? If so, then you simply make you template so that it covers/takes in that area....same shape as what I have marked only more forward....you need to re-create what you used to have [which is what you are after ]...if you sit in front of a mirror, and frown or raise your eyebrows...if you look closely you will see that the forehead skin `moves`/creases but the scalp skin remains the same [doesn`t change] ..that`s your actual hairline...you can mark it with the pencil, then begin your template-making. Just make sure your `new`hair won`t come out beyond/past that line or it will not look right at all and will look as if you have hair growing from your forehead...another method is to place your hand/fingers across your forehead with your small finger resting at the eyebrows...the index finger will normally be then sitting at the hairline.....just locate your natural hairline and work from that. Stock systems are not an option for you for a few reasons not least being your hair has a backward growing direction and is `wiry`...stocks are freestyle and not far off straight so no way will it blend-in for you......locating your hairline will be key for you. Paul.