hey guys, i ordered a custom piece that's going to pretty much cover my whole top from my hairline to the point where my crown is.
Im losing my hair in the front and my hairs are thinning, becoming unhealthy and begginning to lose its straightness everywhere else on top. i still have lots of hair everywhere besides my frontal third. but like i said, since the hairs are unhealty behind it i decided to go almost a full topper. do you guys think thats a good or bad idea?
i thought it would be difficult to blend my unhealthy hair (even though theres a lot of it) with my 'new' hair that will be healthier and slightly more straight all in the front. also the density in the front will slightly be more in front. (if i only get a front partial)
basically what im trying to say is that i still have very much hair everywhere besides the front but ALL that hair is affected by AGA. im 23 and will prob be a nw5 or 6 in the next 4+ years or so. I just thought if i make the full change now no one would notice any change in me at all. (instead of just playing catch up with my receding hair with bigger n bigger toppers)

like i siad i already ordered a custom topper and copied my exact harline in the template. but im just double checking wat opinions on me shaving back till the crown to replace those unhealthy hairs (even though there are many) with better hairs for blending/density better matching purposes?

I think you made the right call. Some will take the opposite position, and I certainly respect that, but I actually shave off even more hair than you're planning, all the way behind the crown, but a little short of a full cap. It gives me more versatility in changing the part of the piece, etc.

thanks for the reply needmorehair. i feel better on my decision

I have consulted a couple of guys who try to shave only the minimal amount of hair and integrate some of their "unhealthy" hair, but in my opinion it isn't worth messing with. They usually end up using concealers and eventually have to shave more and more hair as their hairloss continues.

There might be certain circumstances where you would be better off working with some hair that is questionable, such as if it means having to use a drastically larger unit but as a general rule it's usually better to shave off all of the unruly stuff. It's a psychological thing. The way I see it once you are committed you might as well take off as much as you need to make it look the best it can.