Taken4Granted

By the way, I made little effort to embellish the pictures before. To more fairly represent the value I’m getting already, here it is with a moderate dose of Toppik (used to use a lot more) in that harsh light:

My biggest cosmetic concern these days is not hair. It’s the dang blemishes around my hair line. They’ve been out of control since shortly after the surgery. I assume it has to do with the healing tissue in the recipient, or maybe oil from the new follicles.

Hey @aaron1234 @deitel130, thanks for dropping in. Yes, I plan to grow it out at least a couple more inches. I did always buzz it very close for years and years, but I only keep it short these days to keep a close eye on the progress. That bare spot in the front was hard to isolate before my last cut. I was relieved to see those sprouts, finally. I wonder what set them back.

@hairlossPA

Yes, I’ve been in public without a hat for 3-4 weeks now. It’s slightly visible on a buzz, but the bigger giveaway is really the contour on the back where there’s still swelling above the incision. Do you have that? Not a big deal, but I’m hoping that clears up too.

A little over 5 months:

front in harsh light, combed:

uncombed:

You can see a pretty rough patch there, but it’s filling in (see below).

Sides in harsh light, combed:

The right is still behind the left, but it’s also looking much better than before.

cut in normal light:

Still some shock loss, but it’s getting hard to detect even in buzzed hair.

front in normal light, combed:

with Toppik:

Here are close-ups of that bad spot in the front:

There are plenty of sprouts in there, so it looks like that spot is just on a different schedule for some reason.

Agree with @Louisjams. Even if you have the donor to cover all that, it’s at least 2-3 sessions, and it would be risky to go over 3-4K grafts without knowing how you respond. A lot of guys here only need the front and part of the mid-scalp done, so they choose to dense-pack their donor in that smaller recipient area for a thicker result. I seriously doubt you can or should aim for that much density right out of that gate. Lower-density coverage can look fantastic, though. I think a good surgeon could do a lot for your front and middle with 3k grafts. Maybe see how that goes before you try to address the back.

Very nice 

Go to the best. Do not roll the dice on this.

I feel bad for him. It’s tricky, this whole HT business, and any of us could end up looking weird, fake or whatever. I hope he can refine that without wasting too many grafts.

That’s gonna be a nice result. I think it’s good that you shed so fast. Keep us posted.

What’s the scoop, man? Looks like I missed it too. From what I’ve seen, the problems usually arise with who’s the best doc and how old is old enough for HT. 

@Hairgain22

People were debating his talent last I checked, so I’m relieved if there’s finally a consensus on the forum. He doesn’t promote himself like most of his peers, so I usually come out of the woodwork in his defense.
 

You in the market for a procedure yourself? There isn’t one perfect doctor for everyone, but there are very few docs I would consider after Dr. K.

@JohnAC71 The doc was Konior. I feel better saying it a page or two into the thread now, just didn’t want to call it out right away without knowing how the initial content would look. I’ll do a more concise thread later when the case is closed. I’m planning an open letter thanking Dr. K himself, so I might do it then.

But yeah, should be a fair number of grafts in the weak spots, so I’m expecting lots of improvement. Such a slow process! You don’t wake up and go “wow, look at the hair”. On the other hand, it’s only 3.5 months and I could already work with what I got if the cut were less noticeable. My advice to other guys would be to ignore it for like 4 months and don’t torture yourself waiting for those early sprouts.

Gentlemen,

Forgive me for the delay. Just dropping in to update anyone watching this. It’s about 3.5 months. It’s too bad i didn’t document at about 1.5-2 months bc I was looking rough.

To summarize, I appear to be turning the corner, but there’s def a really thin spot I’m watching (red circle), and I’ve still got visible shock loss around the donor. Overall, feeling good. I’m confident the thin spot(s) will fill in and the cut will be less visible with time.

3 hours ago, ciaus said:

Try to use this time to develop other sides of yourself

This^

@Mat16 There are things you can do to slow it down, but ultimately you’ll have to learn how to be more than a hairdo. Try to think bigger than now.

When people tell you that you’re a terrible candidate for surgery, there are two possibilities: a) everyone just maliciously wants you to be unhappy, or b) everyone’s genuinely horrified by the typical outcome for candidates like you.

Hang in there, man. Forget the club/party scene (or whatever), focus on real relationships, and start building a life for yourself. And chill out. So you lost a little hair on your temples? What, did you want to be a little Justin Bieber for the rest of your life? Embrace your manhood.

That’s a tough one every man has to figure out for himself. Me, I do live with limitations, and the cost/graft for FUT on my first procedure made it the obvious choice, considering the coverage and density I was going for. With docs like Konior, FUE may not harvest that much less than FUT, but the strip is a nice, fat harvest. I needed less work than you and still felt FUT was the way to go. With the room you need to cover, I would def make choices that maximize harvest and yield. That means top docs and maybe even 2 strips before switching to FUE.

Dr. K is worth every dollar, period. You’ll need to do some soul-searching about FUT v. FUE, but Konior’s gonna do the best work money can buy.

Oof. MPB doesn’t get much worse than that. Sorry, bro.
 

Be careful with surgery. It’s hard to think clearly in your situation. Just remember bad choices in cosmetic surgery can be worse than hair loss.

Both great docs. Everyone knows I’m partial to Konior. Might be tough to get you in on short notice. 
 

2 hours ago, baldiee said:

Because of the progression of my hair loss. I'm scared to do the front, and then have a patchy midscalp/crown area.

Totally understand, so as others have said, def talk to a good surgeon about the long-term strategy, where to begin, how to maintain a natural look between the first and second round etc.

About starting in the front with near-complete loss in the back, I’ve seen many posters in a similar situation, really high NWs. I’m less informed than these other guys on the particular techniques, but I’ve often noticed surgeons addressing this with so-called “density gradients“ that are meant to deliver the appearance of thick hair in some areas while blending with thinner areas to look as natural as possible. In your case, the surgeon wouldn’t just plant a thick crop with sharp boundaries and make you look stupid. You would bite the bullet on the crown (for now) and maybe do a mega-session with strip harvesting to deliver 4K+ units to the front and mid-scalp, where the density gradient thins toward the back in a way that looks like natural MPB. 
 

To reiterate, I’m speaking from ignorance here, so get better info from a doc or some of these other guys, but this is what I’m picturing:

2 hours ago, baldiee said:

First of all, I want to thank you guys so much for being so welcoming and supportive. I am new to this community. But you guys make me feel less alone. It has been a very depressing last 10 years of losing hair.

Of course! We’re all in the same boat, man. These guys on here will give you priceless advice and help you get through it. I owe this forum big time. Looking forward to seeing your progress in the coming years.

Hey man, you came to the right place. That is really aggressive hair loss for your age, so I feel for you. I also tried a short buzz for many years and ultimately decided I didn’t want to live that way. I waited a long time and did my research before getting surgery, bc making the wrong choice can put you in much worse condition.

After years of watching and waiting, there was one and only one surgeon for me: Ray Konior. He’s less visible than some of the other big names because he just lets his work speak for itself. He’s expensive, but you have to accept the cost of doing this right. If you let the price steer you, then I pray God have mercy on your scalp. 
 

Now, looking at your pictures, I’m wondering whether you 100% want to start in the crown. I wouldn’t bank on having anything in the front for long, and that’s where most of us start. The crown is much less important in your overall appearance. You never know what your situation will be in the future, and it would suck to fill up the crown, lose the front and run out of money to chase it. You WILL need at least 2 surgeries, more likely 3-4.

Just some things to think about. I wish you good luck, sir.

A lot of protein isn’t great for your health. Unless you’re legit bodybuilding with an abnormal BMI and low body fat (which is increasingly the norm in our cartoon world), you get what you need from a reasonable diet. I know ppl say that all the time, and it sounds like ignorant hippie BS, but I’ve come to believe that more and more over the years as I’ve gotten less interested in “gainzzz!” and more concerned about aging and dysfunction in multiple organ systems, esp. the liver and brain. 

I’ve seen cases here where that happens and it eventually evens out, and I’ve seen other cases where one side or spot just doesn’t deliver. When did the other side start popping? No photos?

Some of the better doctors would probably insist on fixing anything out of order for reputation and ethical reasons. Lots of docs will offer discounted repairs, but if it’s a sketchy surgeon, you’ll normally want to go elsewhere. Sounds like you need to wait it out and do a bunch of research.

Yeah, they should settle that question for you in the follow-up. Definitely be more careful in the first couple weeks, though. But no bleeding is a good sign.

Had my first HT a month ago. I had minimal shedding until just the past few days. I was worried because it seems like IF you’re going to shed, you want that to happen ASAP. Once it goes dormant, you’ve got 2-6 months until it comes back. It would suck to lose it all in month 2 or 3 and then wait that much longer for the final result.

That’s the concern, right? I wouldn’t worry about the final outcome, just the timing. Everyone’s different. Are you shampooing thoroughly? I realized my shed seemed a little late bc I was still babying the recipient.