I've been going through a *brutal* shed the past several months; additionally, I have lost ground since my HT and thinned behind the hairline, further exposing density issues as it cracks open the illusion of density that we are all about.

That said, I went into hyperdrive attempting to perfect a hair regiment to get me through things since the situation was becoming untenable. Boosting naturalness and density was what I concerned myself with.

When I get back from the gym later and shower I'll post some pics of my hair w/o *any* product in, and "styled" in a way I see *many* HT patients go about things. I'll also take photos step by step of each product and tecnique I use in my regiment to show their incremental effects.

That said, here are the afters, and some pre-ops included. I wanted to take shots in the sun but it's incredibly overcast where I am recently. Total time between getting out of the shower and going through the steps....~3minutes or so.



























You should be able to zoom in on these pics, and the clarity won't take a shot -- I wasn't sure how to zoom and get them uploaded though as is.

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*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

Looks great "after."

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My Hair Loss Website - Hair Transplant with Dr. Arocha

Thx. Added 2 pre-ops, and 1 pre-styling. I'll include some better pre-styling and intra-styling later.

Also, as for products: I used Aveda's Pure Abundance line of clay conditioner and shampoo; Samy Fat Hair Creme (which is mainly for taming purposes and conditioning the hair for styling; blow dry; Dirt (generic FX version).

One thing you can still notice nonetheless are these two "gaps" I have in my hairline. I went through an incredibly stressful period a bit ago and I nervously was working my hand through my hairline a lot, and I think this has been the cause. But it could be just part of this shed I'm going through.

Going forward, I might be bleaching my entire head of hair from the roots up, but I'm not sure. I think it would help further the illusion of density, but I might just go get a touch up job focused on my hairline to further help things along.

I will say, coloring the hair has truly helped out my top and zone behind my HT; in and of itself it looks much fuller, but it has in turn helped bolster my hairline up close under bright lighting.

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*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

I'm always amazed how different you look pre and post-op, thanks for sharing... Looking forward to the new pics.

I think your post-op pics look fantastic Thana. You also picked a good style for the transplanted hair.

I noticed the thin gaps in your hairline but they don't look bad. Besides, you don't often see many perfectly straight hairlines even in non-balding men. It looks very natural.

I would hold off on a touch-up job for now. In a couple years or so you might need to address behind the transplanted region anyways. So I'd wait until its absolutely necessary. Simply because your hair looks good now.

How does one can tell the difference between a shed and balding?

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2008 Dr. G – presumably 1,000 grafts / 2,142 hairs
2009 Dr. Paul Shapiro – 2,348 grafts / 4,258 hairs
2011 Dr. Paul Shapiro – 1,999 grafts / 3,624 hairs

My Hair Transplant Journey with Shapiro Medical Group

i agree with aaron. with your age and the amount of graphs you have already used, plus the fact that propecia is seemingly not holding the rest of your hair, i think u better save those grpahs for later. your hairline is already lower than a lot of people who gets transplants and looks really natural to me. just my opinion tho...

Thana, I know this may be a stupid question but.... The gaps you highlight, do you feel this is native or transplant hair that has been lost?

Thx for the remarks/insight. And I agree.

I'm not truly sure, aaron, how to tell what is and is isn't a shed -- at least until you wait out so many months and see if the hair has come back. Also, if you can recall or tell if the hairs being lost where terminal....it likely is a shed vs. weak hairs that could very well have been on their way out.

And maxxy that's an excellent question and one I am not sure of. Given how little hair I had pre-op, I'm inclined to think the hairs lost are transplanted hair. But I'm not positive. And I also can't even tell if the "gaps" are coming back with more hair; that they still seem to be persisting makes me think it could be permanent loss, in which case the hairs being HT hairs makes little sense (as far as I know).

It's been kind of puzzling to me; the interplay between a shed or simply continued thinning, coupled with these mysterious "gaps". Needless to say, I won't be making any decisions in haste, but these "gaps" do trouble me.

My plan has been to wait till my top and vertex thin enough to where a HT could make sense; and then a 3rd and hopefully final HT down the road from then when I am older, my MPB has more fully revealed itself, and I can do one last carpet bombing of any thin areas, if I continued to thin.

Also, fin has def worked well for me -- my crown was thinning but it's been halted and even reversed with thickening. It's really my top, and, perhaps, loosing the filler in my HT recipient zone that has taken hits.

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*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

Thana,

Im with the other guys, you look great. Your hair is impressive. You constant input on this site is much appreciated and doesnt go unnoticed.

Things look like there holdin up great to me, and the colour looks cool!

May I ask you, what age you were in this first shot 2004?

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Meds
1.25mg Finasteride
3000mg MSM
Vitamin C
Omega 3
Nizarol

My Hair Loss Website - Hair Transplant with Dr. Rahal

recently, I also noticed a gap in my hairline - I know the gap is transplanted hair as I had no native hair in the area... I've been expecting it to come back as I was under the impression that transplant hair would not be lost or at least not for many years, however, you have me worried now :-S