Guys, I appreciate your comments. While Joe wrote in his post that I came back for a 2nd session for work in the crown, I also had more grafts placed into the hairline and mid scalp as you can see from the pics below. While I was happy with the results from the first procedure, I just wanted more hair.
Pompodo, your a straight shooter and I like it;) You raise a valid concern especially when it comes to strip surgery. Unlike FUE the doc can't cherry pick fine soft nape hairs for the hairline and must use thicker grafts from the strip. This inevitably leaves the hairline looking somewhat 'unatural', although I don't think 'pluggy' is the right word. However if done by a good surgeon it can still look close to 'natural'. I knew this before going into it as I had been researching for over 2 years and made sure to meet a Hasson and Wong patient in person before I pulled the trigger. If your expecations are too high, then having a strip HT is not for you. I needed big numbers with 1 hit and financially it made sense to go with strip.
Having said that I have noticed in certain lighting, especially under those terrible eco lights, the ones now often used in stores, (who's the moron who invented those things) my hair looks thin and I've noticed people looking at my hairline. I know this is not paranoia, it's a fact. The shadows that those things make seem to make the 'rooting effect' in the hairline look worse. But hey, I hate shopping anyway and would prefer to be outside doing something.
Anyhows, I felt another pass to thicken things up a bit might help. As I also have retrograde alopecia, where my hair thins backward on the sides and up from the bottom I asked the good doc to go conservative on the strip, with minimal tension and thus hopefully giving me a pencil thin scar. This is something that defintiely concerns me and I hope it doesn't progress in the futurer to the point where my scar becomes visible. To counter this Dr. Hasson has taken the strip form the sweet spot, where my hair is thickest and has the least chance of thinning. Fingers crossed with proscar it'll hold out.
This time round I was hoping for more density in the hairline, particualry the right side, temples and temple points, and more in the crown and mid scalp. 2381 grafts isn't a huge number but given my coverage from HT #1 it seemed like it should be enough to satisfy even my critical eyes.
So Pompodo, have I become a little paranoid over the last 2 years? Sure a bit, but usually I don't mind as most people don't seem to notice anything. I've had a few girlfriends since the procedure who've washed my hair, ran their fingers through it countless times and never suspected a thing. I guess some people are just more savvy at picking HT's out.
I think ideally I'd like to finish it off with about 500 FUE into the hairline to try and soften it up a bit, but first I'm gonna see how good it looks after the new grafts come in. The problem for me using nape hairs though is that as I suffer from retrograde alopecia they may just fall out in the near future anyway.
You know it's interesting how people take sides on the FUE/ Strip arguments. For me I think a combination of both would give me the best possible result. Anyway, please feel free to fire away with any questions or comments you may have.
Oh and it actually looks much better in person than those photo's I think. Or at least it did, now look at me, aaaahhhh!
Stats:
HT #1 Dr. Hasson July 21st 2008, 5059 grafts
HT#2 Dr. Hasson, July 21st 2010, 2381 grafts
Total Grafts - 7440
Guys, I appreciate your comments. While Joe wrote in his post that I came back for a 2nd session for work in the crown, I also had more grafts placed into the hairline and mid scalp as you can see from the pics below. While I was happy with the results from the first procedure, I just wanted more hair. Pompodo, your a straight shooter and I like it;) You raise a valid concern especially when it comes to strip surgery. Unlike FUE the doc can't cherry pick fine soft nape hairs for the hairline and must use thicker grafts from the strip. This inevitably leaves the hairline looking somewhat 'unatural', although I don't think 'pluggy' is the right word. However if done by a good surgeon it can still look close to 'natural'. I knew this before going into it as I had been researching for over 2 years and made sure to meet a Hasson and Wong patient in person before I pulled the trigger. If your expecations are too high, then having a strip HT is not for you. I needed big numbers with 1 hit and financially it made sense to go with strip. Having said that I have noticed in certain lighting, especially under those terrible eco lights, the ones now often used in stores, (who's the moron who invented those things) my hair looks thin and I've noticed people looking at my hairline. I know this is not paranoia, it's a fact. The shadows that those things make seem to make the 'rooting effect' in the hairline look worse. But hey, I hate shopping anyway and would prefer to be outside doing something. Anyhows, I felt another pass to thicken things up a bit might help. As I also have retrograde alopecia, where my hair thins backward on the sides and up from the bottom I asked the good doc to go conservative on the strip, with minimal tension and thus hopefully giving me a pencil thin scar. This is something that defintiely concerns me and I hope it doesn't progress in the futurer to the point where my scar becomes visible. To counter this Dr. Hasson has taken the strip form the sweet spot, where my hair is thickest and has the least chance of thinning. Fingers crossed with proscar it'll hold out. This time round I was hoping for more density in the hairline, particualry the right side, temples and temple points, and more in the crown and mid scalp. 2381 grafts isn't a huge number but given my coverage from HT #1 it seemed like it should be enough to satisfy even my critical eyes. So Pompodo, have I become a little paranoid over the last 2 years? Sure a bit, but usually I don't mind as most people don't seem to notice anything. I've had a few girlfriends since the procedure who've washed my hair, ran their fingers through it countless times and never suspected a thing. I guess some people are just more savvy at picking HT's out. I think ideally I'd like to finish it off with about 500 FUE into the hairline to try and soften it up a bit, but first I'm gonna see how good it looks after the new grafts come in. The problem for me using nape hairs though is that as I suffer from retrograde alopecia they may just fall out in the near future anyway. You know it's interesting how people take sides on the FUE/ Strip arguments. For me I think a combination of both would give me the best possible result. Anyway, please feel free to fire away with any questions or comments you may have. Oh and it actually looks much better in person than those photo's I think. Or at least it did, now look at me, aaaahhhh! Stats: HT #1 Dr. Hasson July 21st 2008, 5059 grafts HT#2 Dr. Hasson, July 21st 2010, 2381 grafts Total Grafts - 7440