Four weeks after surgery. Another milestone of sorts: the first haircut. My local Kosovan barber in South London was very friendly, curious, and helpful. He used a grade four clipper to trim away most of the hair, using scissors for the more delicate areas.

The result is a relatively tidy-looking haircut, the exception being the donor scar, which is clearly visible. My barber advised that for future cuts, clever use of layers could easily hide the scar without the hair needing to be too long. But use of the clipper should probably only be for the hair below the scar.

It's the first chance I've really had to look at the scar properly. I guess it's a bit of shock, as my hair covered it comfortably before, but I'm hoping it will fade in time, and with a bit more length on the hair it should be covered comfortably.

In the recipient area, one thing I've noticed, as mentioned before, is quite a few pimples. One bled after I washed my hair - fairly gently - earlier today. Is this something to worry about? I've read that pimples are common as the transplanted hairs come through, but after only four weeks...?

Most, though not all of the transplanted hairs, have gone now. There are still a few around the temples.

Not much shock loss yet - crossing my fingers I won't suffer too badly. Transmed - when I asked them - said that 20% of their patients suffered from it, and only 2% seriously.

The soreness in both recipient and donor area has largely gone now.

Back - hair clippered to grade four, scar a little more visible than I expected

Front

Top - note the pimples - transplanted hair coming through?

Vertex