I want to start by saying I'm prepared to get flamed, as I'm sure some of the observations/comments I make will be offensive to some who post regularly on this forum as at times it seems to be a board vs a forum; however, this is an honest assessment of two options for males suffering from hair loss.

As I mentioned in the subject line, I am a former wearer. I wore a topper for about four years, and honestly I loved it. All the positive aspects of wearing have been enumerated on this forum several times over, and I agree with every one of the reasons posted. After years of being self conscious regarding hair loss, I quickly adapted to the new lifestyle and like Mr. Burns and many others have posted...it was soon easy to forget it wasn't my hair. So, why did I quit?

1. Quality. I found the quality control with regard to shedding to be less than best. I ordered the SFS and microskin and regardless the units would average two months. Over four years of wearing, I maybe had two units last four months, but never six months. I had some units last three months, some seemed to start shedding within the first month. I would always order two units to be certain I was covered. I followed the advice of all the senior members of the forum and nothing really seemed to help. I did not find my concerns to be addressed in a particularly responsive manner. This is one person's experience, I know others would articulate a different experience and I respect that. On the positive side, I NEVER had an issue with the lace or the skin being weak, tearing or fraying.

2. Maintenance. As I mentioned, the shedding made what was initially an incredibly liberating and positive experience turn into chore. All the crap that made me go with wearing came back. Toppik, Dermatch, etc. The other part was working out. As many users have posted, excessive washing, removing, maintenance will result in premature shedding. Initially I thought the shedding was on my end, so I stopped working out in hopes of adding some life to my system. I'm a fortunate person in that I can stay relatively fit with minimal effort, but this isn't an option for a lot of people. Regardless, the shedding never really resolved itself anyway. Also, I never really did find a good bonding option...I think in the end supertape worked the best. G2BG never really worked with sweating - I once had a top come loose after an extensive intimacy session. Ghost Bond (white glue) just became a goopy mess and didn't hold the front well. Supertape I could get a week out of max.

3. Cost. The units are actually fairly affordable, but the shedding and constant replacement quickly negated that. I never tried any competitors; towards the end the last thing I wanted to do was go through the waiting process of starting new with another company or buying a unit for twice as much only for it to last the same amount of time.

So, after four years of wearing with the last year spent lurking on micropigmentation forums, I decided to explore that option. I went to New York to one of the more prominent companies (likely the most expensive) to see the experience first hand. In the end, I decided that was the best option for what I wanted to achieve in my life at the time.

I've now had four years experience with the micropigmentation and can offer a long term assessment of that experience as well.

Pros:
1. Maintenance - in the short term, there is none. It is incredibly liberating to do little to nothing and still have the appearance of hair. Appearance. But it does look good - think jail break. I could work out extensively and have zero maintenance. I lost thirty pounds the first year and have maintained that weight ever since. I absolutely could not work out this way with a piece. I know there are those who claim they can, I just know I couldn't without daily maintenance.

2. Realism - it does look real. In four years, I never had anyone hint, question or even look sideways. I'm sure it helped that I wore for four years and everyone thought I just "shaved" my head, but the look is legit.

Cons:
1. Appearance - women prefer hair. I don't care what they say, they prefer hair. Yes, I know they prefer money before hair and a fit body (see Hugh, the Donald, etc). Yes, I know personality goes a long way. But, me being the same person with or without hair...they prefer hair - and it's not even f#cking close. I've never had a problem attracting the opposite sex, but all variables accounted for - the hair makes a big difference.

2. Cost - expensive. I was sold on the idea of this being a permanent solution, but it's not. My experience was about $4K - which is about what I'd be in paying for units (maybe less figuring five units a year), but definitely less than where I'd be with all the tapes, glues, special shampoos/conditioners, etc...and without the excessive maintenance. Which brings me to my third con...

3. Maintenance. The initial ink has faded and I'm at the point where I am considering getting a touch up. Indoors the hairline still is there and looks natural. Outside it is harder to decipher. I suspect this is how it naturally is to an extent, but when I initially had the work done the hairline was fairly observable in sunlight - not prominent, but not faint either. When I had my initial work done, I was told touch-ups run about $250-300 an hour. I'm not sure what the rate is now, but I assume based on previous sessions a 3 hour touch up would be fine and then that would last another four-five years. In fairness, I've been less than diligent with applying 50 spf on the dome...I'm sure that would have helped. Either way, it's not permanent and you could expect a little cost down the road.

So...why after eight years am I here? While I like the day to day freedom of the micropigmentation - I really do not regret that decision...maybe the company/cost, but not the decision - I do miss having hair.

I'm considering getting a fullcap for limited wear, inspired by Paul's years of wearing and Mr. Burns wonderful appearance (I know it's not a fullcap, but it's the hair I think we'd all like to have and I assume could with a fullcap). I travel extensively and my professional and social life rarely intersect, so I think maybe I'm one of the rare unicorns who could do the shaved looked the majority of the time and still get use from a fullcap. I believe the relatively low wear rate (5-10 days/month) would extend the life of the piece and mitigate a lot of the concerns I have regarding the quality control.

Thanks for letting me air my experiences. I really would love to hear from y'all and to get your thoughts on wearing the full cap in addition to maintaining the micropigmentation/shaved look.

I'm happy to answer any questions about either experience in the open forum or through PM.