Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Hey ladies,

I recently decided to start my transition to becoming my true self. I know I have a lot of work to do on my physical form. However, my biggest fear is I started losing my hair when I was 21. I have lived as a bald man for 14yrs. I miss having hair. I want to have beautiful hair again. Are there any ladies out there that had a similar struggle during their transition?

Cheers,
Alora

Welcome to Susan's Place. There are many on this site who are dealing with the same issue you are. As you spend time on the site you will discover those who have had hair transplants and others who's only option is to use wigs. HRT can halt hair loss and hair that was recently lost will regrow but there will be limits to how much hair you will regain.

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Alora, I'm 63 next week, and a Norwood Type 6, meaning my hair lives in a horseshoe shaped band around the Great Bald Spot that runs from my eyebrows to the back of my head.  (That will need one heck of a hairline advance to cover. Ouch.). I don't have enough donor hair sites to cover the area.  HRT has resulted in the growth of thin fuzz in the Great Bald Spot, but it's almost invisible.

So, I buzz what's left nice and short, and slap on wigs.  I'm used to them, to the point that I feel like something is wrong if I'm awake and not wearing one.  At night, when I'm in bed, the wigs are on their stands on my dresser.  They're not great in really hot weather, but neither was thick natural hair, from what I recall of the distant past.

I've looked at hair replacement systems.  These take two forms, wigs with caps molded to the head that can be glued (!) on for weeks at a time, and partial covers woven in with my own hair to more or less hold them in place (often used for women with alopecia). There are some other things, but stuff like synthetic hairs hooked through the scalp are downright dangerous (you really don't want an infection in the membrane that protects the skull and brain).

The hair replacement systems have high initial expense, and high maintenance costs.  They take a lot of specialized care.

For much less than what those cost, I can get new synthetic wigs with really nice caps every few months if I like.  The ones I wear now are very comfortable and light, lighter than a baseball cap, and stay very well on their own.  I do carry wig tape in my bag, just in case.  That's a double sided medical tape that can be used to stick a wig in place for a day of outdoor activity or such, but I haven't had to use it in months.

The avatar pic is wearing a Raquel Welch "Crowd Pleaser" in honey ginger.  I happen to find their 'memory cap' designs to be the most comfortable.

It's not so bad... Come... Join us...  It will be blisssssssssss...   ;D

Thanks Michelle. That definitely makes me feel a little better. I'm not totally bald, so maybe hair replacement will work for me?!?

I am wondering do you have any specialist I could research?

Thanks again Michelle.

Hi Alora

I have had about 2400 hair implants taken from a donor site at the back of my head. Have a read of this thread

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,208317.msg1914972.html#msg1914972 (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,208317.msg1914972.html#msg1914972)

I have one last post to make with all the Pictures from the very beginning where I have a horseshoe type ring of missing hair with a thinning skunk strip down the centre to the latest round of implants. You will be really surprised as to how much hair I have actually grown. I really should wait till early January until the last implants have grown in for 3 months and take a final picture for the series. I will put the other pics up over the next couple of days. This is my own hair and once its in then its in...no special maintenance required and because I have no T I have no MPB issues anymore...yay yay

Liz

Oh my gosh Liz that's amazing. Your story fills me with so much hope. Who did you use for your transplant? I can't wait to see the results.

Thank you for sharing

Alora

Quote from: Alora on November 19, 2016, 05:34:52 PM
Thanks Michelle. That definitely makes me feel a little better. I'm not totally bald, so maybe hair replacement will work for me?!?

I am wondering do you have any specialist I could research?

Thanks again Michelle.

There's hair transplantation, or hair implants, where hairs are taken from donor sites on your head and used to fill in more visibly bald areas.  That's a surgical thing, that makes for a nice permanent fix.  That's what Liz had done. 

I can't do that as I don't have enough donor hair, places where strips of hair follicles could be taken from to fill in the empty areas.  I'm mostly empty areas.  If I get an HRT miracle of regrowth I might look into it, though.

Hair replacement usually refers to those glued-down caps of hair, or the integrated weaves.  They are pricey, as you generally need two caps, one to wear while the other is undergoing maintenance, and the ongoing costs to swap caps every several weeks, plus home maintenance supplies.

Here are a couple of links that provide reasonable information.  The field of hair replacement is rife with bad actors, though, so be forewarned.

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/hairpiece-basics#2-5
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/tips-buying-hairpiece

A couple of months of maintenance alone will buy me a very nice high end synthetic wig.  Good wigs are fairly easy to find where I am, particularly in shorter hair styles popular with older women.  That's because there is a huge retirement community nearby, and alopecia or hair loss in older ciswomen is more common than many realize.  That plus convenience...  We have two shops in walking distance of me, one of which is very trans-friendly.  Both have prices better than what I can find on the Internet.