Kez

It was an extra-terrestrial craft, unloading its toilet section, after a long journey from the star system "Pleiades" ( damn long way - about 32 light years - you build up a lot of crap over that distance ). The military have sealed off the area, taken the huge dollop of ET turd away for analysis, and threatened eyewitnesses with death (or worse) if they tell the press about the group mooning session they saw above them as the ET craft descended.

My hair was greying all over to start with! So the transplants have grown grey and natural brown just like everywhere else. Can't see why they shouldn't go grey if that was their destiny before being moved around your head!

This is not easy to answer, since I'm both satisfied and dissatisfied! I'm satisfied by the coverage I now have on what was once a bald head, but disappointed that the coverage is rather thin for what was a 3500 graft job on a NW5. The top is a bit thinner than my side/back hair - you can see the scalp quite easily in places. Maybe those here with more experience could advise? Is 3500 a realistic number of grafts to cover a NW5 with good density (in which case I've cause for some disappointment), or should I have had more grafts? On the other hand, one should have realistic expectations. My surgeon did a pretty good job really, and I guess we can be overly critical. My girlfriend says it looks good, so that's a good objective assessment.

This is interesting and seems to make sense. Smoothy - your response doesn't make clear whether what Robert says holds up for you. Can you clarify?

Amen to all the above. This was the site I hit when I started my research. I was a Norwood 5 ( that means completely bald on top!) and got interested from the Bosley TV commercials I saw on the US West Coast. This site saved me money ( Bosley are more expensive than the top surgeons you'll find through the forums ) and I had a 3500 graft transplant last May. Best thing I did in years. You're in good hands here.

So you're your happy with the result?

Or, as we say here in England - it goes "like shit off a shovel"...

Seems lightning-fast to me.

Hey! You back from darkest Africa then?

HairBeThere Oh no. I usually wait for a couple of weeks before I go that far...

Frequency Of Washing: I wash my hair about every 5 days. I know it's common practice to wash it daily in North America, but I don't see the need to be honest, and there's the argument that by excessive washing you're removing natural oils from the hair. ( Brits and Aussies may have a distinct hair-washing culture from Yanks and Canucks )

Could be stress. Are you undergoing stress right now in your life? Cigarettes are an indication of stress. I don't have any data to support this, but I feel instinctively that stress can accentuate hair loss. Certainly my worst years of loss were during a very stressful time. If this is the case for you, try doing stress-busting stuff like running, yoga, meditation etc. ( and BEER helps too..... )

He died, died he?

Has his singing improved?

Wish I knew what this thread's all about....!....

I'd think that 85% is a little high, judging from my own experience; the density I perceived immediately following the HT doesn't seem to have held up as the months have gone by. But it's very difficult to make an accurate judgement - comparing the no of grafts in a "fuzz" to the number at an inch and a half long. I find the hair on top considerably thinner than the sides ( I went from NW5 to 3500 grafts ) - the scalp is easily visible. Maybe 3500 wasn't enough for high density. My surgeon has seen the latest photos, and assures me it's turned out "just as he expected" and my 50% figure is inaccurate. Hell, I can't tell. As I've said elsewhere, I'm no longer bald on top and look ten years younger, so I'm not going to argue the toss.

I never used propecia until I had my HT 8 months back. I was a Norwood 5 ( i.e. completely bald on top) and had 3500 FU grafts. My surgeon prescribed me Propecia for my remaining hair, and I've been "more or less" taking it daily. Since I went from bald to "recovered", I can't really judge the effect of the propecia; you need the guys who haven't had HT to come up with their experiences. (C'mon chaps, give this man some advice, dammit!)

This seems unusual to me. Could just be a kind of immune system reaction to the trauma the scalp suffered. I had no such experience, although I DID find the scabs overstayed their welcome, and some were still around at this stage. I'd agree that you contact your surgeon. And DON'T RUB THEM! ...

Don't sweat it, Robert. There are many many ways we can help our fellow man, besides giving blood. Your work on this forum helps others, for example....

It's not a matter of what other blokes who stay bald think or feel; it's how I feel that counts. I personally feel that I've a lot more confidence than guys I see who are bald, but that was always the case; I've always had good self-confidence. Getting my hair back has given me an enormous thrill. My self-esteem has gone up. I LIKE what I see in the mirror now ( well, pretty much.. ) It was the best decision I made, even though the result's not "as good as new" it's taken 10 years off my looks. I look at bald blokes way younger than me with something like pity ( sorry if that sounds arrogant ) but I realise that's how I used to look, and I really am pitying my pre-HT self. ( Eat at The Samba Brazilian Steakhouse - 1122 Alberni St in downtown Vancouver - all you can eat top notch food for about $8 USD - Yummy )

NO! It's MINE! Nobody else gets to wear it! I've even been over to Rossi's place and pinched his bootleg copy. ..

Go and get a consultation, mate. The further down the Norwood scale you get, the easier it is to do a big job on top with minimal shock loss, as I found out. Sure you may want to wait awhile, but the future's good. One day you'll have hair on top again.

In my case, there was none noticeable, since my donor hair was placed onto a completely bald dome; there was no exisiting hair to shock! Except along the edges of course, where the grafted hair meets the sides and back of the head, but since my sugery last May, I've not noticed any problem at all. Another of the advantages of being a NW5 to start with ( and going to a top clinic )

It sounds very commendable. Have you had any work done yet yusself, like? ( and please can we have some more of that N. East dialect. I get so sick of the "London" dominance of our culture. I have friends in Sunderland, and once did a course in yer Darlington,like. )

Well I'm an Americaphile! Maybe we could do a house swap ( that's how I lived in MD by the way). Trouble is, I prefer the West Coast - especially Oregon ( where it rains a lot too! Love that rain! Stops people moving in on a nice place. ) whose whole coastline is public access(!) and they have these wonderful things called "microbreweries" which correspond to English "real ale". But really, it doesn't rain so much in the SouthEast of England. Down here we watch the weather forecast with smugness, seeing the Irish Scots & Welsh ( and Sorleyboy )getting drenched; a lot of the rain fizzles out by the time it gets down here. Summer before last was actually a drought. Temperatures in the nineties. As for Prinz Wilhelm. Don't vurry abowwt ziss kidd! Hair or no hair he haff plentyy off pusssy queuink upp! And yes Hairworthy, Edward does look pretty disastrous. Hasn't anyone told him about the wonders of HT.??