Mark H

I can't recall for sure, but it seems to me I've heard some negatives, but don't quote me. \\ Click the search button above and put in his last name, that should give you some feedback. mark h

Nicely said Fac and Mr. Jb. I could have a beer or two with you guys. There's an idea. What about a bald convention??? Don't tell me there aren't of us to put one together, eh? Now I like your 5 points, but they aren't absolutes. I DO judge people by their appearance, at least initially, and sometimes those issues remain even after I get to know and like the person. That is because some of those issues do reflect who you are, and that isn't going to change as long as human nature doesn't. That means I suppose, that I have a shallow side. I won't deny it, I'll only point out that I have other sides to me as well, and some aren't so shallow. Where women are concerned, I'd like to attract a mature one that loves me for who I am. OTOH, if a beautiful but shallow 18 year old throws herself at me, I'll just have to make do, won't I? As Woody Allen said, "Sex without love is an empty experience, but as empty experiences go, its one of the best." mark h

Insecurities apart (which everyone has) lets not forget the positive side of this. If you want to look better, it is also a mark self respect. Caring about your appearance, your grooming, and your cleanliness, says something about who you are. The above can as easily be self respect as vanity, the line between the two is very subjective. Its like art, I don't know how to define it, but I know it when I see it. After all, as David Carradine says, "It is a material world". mark h

That was very thoughtful, and nicely written. It is very difficult to not continually measure your appearance when the media reflects its importance in everything, and even marketing does so. Here is a somewhat mundane example: If you go to any men's department to the underwear section, take a look at what is available up through size 38. Up to that size, you can get many different styles, and lots of different colors. Now look at 40 and above. All they have is one or two styles in white only. The message: If your ass-odometer has flipped over 40, nobody is going to be looking at it anyway, unless its mammoth bulk is obstructing the view. None of this contradicts your very fine points, but merely emphasizes the difficulty in ignoring what is mainstream.. However superficial this world is, it is the one we're in, and without acknowledging that, there would be no reason to get an HT. mark h

I'm 52 and on propecia. No problems here, I have great sex, especially the one in the Autumn.

Whooaa Nellie! All coalition doctors can do larger sessions, that is one of the requirements as spelled out by Pat for coalition doctors. Certainly some of them can do larger sessions than others, but Dr. Feller and H&W are NOT the only ones that can do large sessions. I recently got 4100 from Dr. Cooley who is an OUTSTANDING doctor, and how can you leave Dr. Shapiro out of the mix, or any of the others for that matter. Bottom line, if you choose someone on the list of coalition doctors you're in good hands. However, if you choose someone from the "recommended" list you rolling the dice my friend because for some reason "recommended" on this site really mean caveat emptor. The suggestions about seeing a doc in person is of course good, but if you've had several online consults, I don't see a good reason to fly all over hells half-acre getting in person consults. Definately get one in person consult, and then go for more IF you feel you should try another doctor, but if you're happy with that one, go for it. I mean rack up the miles if you want to, but if you've seen one of the best doctors in the world, what are you hoping to get in round 2? Now several here are suggesting large HT's for you, and I hope that is possible, but I looked at your pictures, and I've got to wonder where 4000 are going to come from. Your hair on the side and back looks thin, but then I'm not a doc. Last tip, after that rogaine do NOT leave Propecia off your christmas list. You should start taking it STAT because if you truly are difuse as you appear, the meds may do as much for you as an HT. mark h

My understanding is that ALL effects go away if you stop taking the medicine, so any risk is small, and will be judged by your doctor before you start in any case. mark h

Holy crap, dude! You sound like a scientist, and most of us here can barely draw our names in the dirt with a stick! I will certainly be watching to see if you get a technical contributor. Good luck! mark h

Up front, I'm not the most experienced guy here, just one of the mouthiest, but looking at your pic's, you donor hair appears VERY diffuse, and very fine. I know exactly what you mean by the pictures too. I knew I was balding by looking in the mirror, but then I took some pictures, and when I saw them I went, "Holy Flaming Cow! I'm a old bald guy! When did that happen?? That's not what I see in the mirror!!!" Still, there it is... Now, in spite of the above, something could likely be done for you, but it doesn't look to me as though you have the donor hair to give you anything but a less sparse appearance. However, step 1 would be to get on Propecia STAT, and I'd recommend Rogaine foam too. Many doctors feel they can be complimentary, and you need every weapon available. With your short and fine hair, the foam will be easy to apply, and therefore an easy habit to keep up. Next, you've come out of the closet here, and the next step is to submit your pictures to a trained doctor on this site. A COALITION doctor ONLY. They're trained professionals, and even the more experienced people here can only guess. The online consult is free. Do it with at least two and preferably 3 doctors. You'll get varying responses, some terse, others may be more chatty. No guarantees at that price, but its the best starting point. One more thing. Nizoral shampoo is often recommended here by the veteran's. I'm just running out to get some myself. I'm not sure if it will help, but apparently it may impede DHT in the scalp, and that certainly sounds like a good thing to do. mark h

Well, as I said, I'm trying to have an open mind. Can I pick some of this up at my local CVS, or do I need to find a guy on the corner wearing a raincoat? mark h

I doubt that the best solution can be quantified. Heck, nobody even knows for sure what all minoxidil is doing! Whether you spray, drop, or foam though, I suspect if you use a finger or two and massage in briefly you're likely to have better results. The point is to get it into your scalp, and ironically the more hair you have, the harder that is to do. Personally, right now with my hair short...okay...basically bald, the foam is easy peasy, and because it does NOt contain the irritants that the spray/dropper version contains, Im motivated to use that now, and perhaps later too. mark h

Bay, that is a big diff for only 3 months, and I can't help it, my first thought was, man I hope I get that much growth by day 94! And consider that you're still on the downside of what you'll get later on. That is pretty cool.

Yes, the bottom line is PM's should be highlighted in some way. Are you saying Bill, there is a way to do this? If so, Pat should make it some sort of default setting. The default shouldn't be "ignore" mark h

At the two week mark I had my sutures removed, and at that time I was given a thorough head cleaning. I'd been very very careful up to that point, and so my head was undamaged, but not exactly ready for a night on the town either. After the cleaning I saw that much of my new hair had pretty much been cleaned away, and I think that was part of the point. It was shedding out anyway, so they helped the process along a bit, and also helped to set my expectations. So right there I waved, "HASTA LA BYE BYE" to my new hair, and I haven't seen much additional shedding, because there's really nothing left to shed. I still can feel, but not see quite a bit of peach fuzz, but that's it. Otherwise all I have up top is my pre existing hair that is starting to grow back. Results? min 3 months, and then from what I've seen it won't be much to write home about. The six month mark is where your hair starts to get serious. mark h

Hey JW, no disagreement on Dr. Cooley. He's da' bomb. I have passed the 5 week mark, and I am so glad to be confident that I have one of the top docs in the business. yea tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of baldness, I will fear no shedding, for he is with me. Best of Luck! mark h

Yes, and that's why I added a peak to mine. The original line drawn by Dr. Cooley was great, and I really got excited when I saw that line. It was only later after some consideration that I decided...it didn't look right to me...and that had everything to do with how my hairline used to be. I'll tell you straight out...and this is truly a cheap-sh*t irony. I HATED having a widows peak, when it seemed that most didn't have one, and I felt out of place. I didn't like it. Man I was laughing as I wrote the above, but its true. Ultimately though, I wanted to be me, you know? So, I've recreated it, and I know exactly what you mean about having it _as it was._ You want to be you. That's a good goal. mark h

Yes, and John pointed out something in another thread that I hadn't considered, which is the nature of temple hair, which can be more naturally difuse, and harder to get right. That means it will take longer to look right assuming everything went okay...I think. Make another judgement at 6 months, it should be better then. mark h

Hey Bill, I took a careful look at all your photos so I could give you an a to z impression. So I started looking at your original pre op picture: seriously bald guy. I spent less time on your 1st HT pic, its old news. The most I will say is that it dit its job, you weren't bald, but was rather thin. Your 2nd HT pic...which is obviously some time after your 2nd HT, looks much better. I now see a guy that wouldn't register as bald, and if I gave any thought to it at all, I might have said to myself, "this guy will be bald in a decade or two". I'm guessing then with this third HT, that you're seriously haired now, and I would be very confident that it will look natural. Heck the first two looked okay, especially the second. Hairline-wise, I actually would have asked him to make it irregular somehow. In my case, at the last minute I asked Dr. Cooley to put in a slight widows peak, which I'd had earlier in life, and which I hope will give me a slightly imperfect look...if you know what I mean. However, my hair type is very different from yours too, and judging from the earlier HT's you're certainly going to be undetectable by anyone who doesn't know up front. In fact, your hairstyle screams, "see ma, no toup!"...lol, as opposed to the guy Dr. Feller posted recently, who in my opinion got a great HT too, but has managed to style his hair in such a way so that it looks as bad as possible. I was ASTOUNDED to read that your excision took 1.5 hours. I don't think mine took 10 minutes, but this is my first, and that has to be the difference. BTW, I don't even recall the needles from my excision, so it couldn't have been too bad, although I did need a few booster shots during the session that weren't a lot of laughs. My biggest pain in fact involved some of my poor choices in DVD's. So without reservation I'd say you did the right thing. The first took you out of the bald club, the second one put you into decent coverage, and given Hasson's rep, and what I see, you're going to look full-metal-jacket haired soon. I would have some concern about having some FU troops in reserve in a decade or two. You're a young guy after all. Next year you'll be touring this forum strictly for nostalgia. Must feel good. mark h

My donor area is healing well enough, if I'm any judge. One month plus onward the scars on the sides are hardly there at all. In the back I can feel it more. Sometimes it itches, which I take as a sign of healing, but I don't think its healed as fast as the sides. As for how much more work, I've no idea. I had about 4100 done, and about 1000 went into the crown, so he did get coverage all the way. The crown will definately be the lightest. Will Propecia and Rogaine together help me turn the tide and make additional HT's unnecessary? Turn the page... If I'm happy with my hairline, and density is good enough, I could call it quits, but I made it clear to Dr. Cooley that I won't hesitate to go for seconds to get where I want to go. In other words, I won't compromise, unless nature and science conspire to force me. PS: I notice the HT that Dr. Feller posted has a hairline similar in height to mine, and if the subject wasn't trying to hard so be 18 again with the Beatle Cut I think his hairline would be in a good place. Looking past the doo from hell, I actually took heart from those pics. mark h

So how do I know which one won't irritate? Mind you, I've never experienced any obvious irritation in the past. Most recently I've been using Clairol for men.

I've not read that about Propecia. I've read that the effect is unpredictable: some get back hair, some maintain, others lose, but more slowly. Where have you seen this information that any hair will be lost anyway? mark h

Hey Thx for that Mrjb, But I know for a fact that some pm's I sent out simply were not seen. One guy responded several months later when he accidentally went in to look at PMS, something he didn't ordinarly do. More recently I had to send someone a message inside a thread asking them to look for their PM, then they saw it and responded...only to fail to respond to a subsequent one because there is simply NO NOTIFICATION. It is likely there is no software fix, but I thought I'd ask.

I could use an opinion...I've also got an email in to Dr. Cooley's office about hair coloring. I'm past the one month mark, with not as much as I'd like to color, but I've been washing that gray out of my hair for some time. Anyone here confront that issue after an HT? Can I possibly hurt my little seedlings up there? mark h

Thirumbu, I hear you on the meds. I did NOT want to take them. Its a big comittment, its a costly one, and thats before you even consider possible side effects. However, if you're going to spend all that money on an HT, it would be wise to confront the med issue head on, because you're going to need to protect your investment. I take them now, and as a matter of fact the orange pill did give me a side effect...just yesterday in fact. Fortunately, I also have blue pills, and they very much compensate for the orange ones. One last thing: both of these meds were recommended by my doctor, Dr. Cooley, one of the top HT doctors period, and I'd be interested if any of the other top doctors do not...I'm guessing they do. Shouldn't you listen to your doctor?

As of yesterday, I'm ballcap free. No, 1 month after surgery I haven't suddenly sprung a mop of hair on top of my head, and I do _not_ use a system. I look balder than hell. Why now then? Because the HT line has finally faded to the point where I'm just another bald guy, and with millions of them around, who's going to notice me? I don't think I would do it differently at work, not at this point anyway. After a day or two of people pointing and saying, "holy crap!" it would all be over and the office would be off to the next thing, whatever that is. So I'm not saying this is easy, but the plain fact is, the world doesn't much care what I look like, and as long as I don't look like a freak, I intend to take advantage of that. Later when I've got some hair I'll be able to notice who notices. Meanwhile I will live by the words of jane austen: "for what do we live but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?" mark h