morehairwouldbenice

It really depends on how short you want it. After the scar recedes a little (a few weeks) it isn't noticeable at all if your hair is at least 3/4 of an inch. If you want to have really short hair, FUT probably isn't for you.

I found the pain from an FUT to be very manageable. I agree with the assessment that someone made about the injections of the local anesthetic being the worst of it. I'd describe the "pain" over the next week or so as more of discomfort, nothing that you'd couldn't handle with either some pain meds or tylenol, etc.

This forum was invaluable to me when I was researching my hair restoration options, and I want to give back to the community by providing a very brief summary of my experience with Dr. True of True & Dorin in NYC. I'll just provide the highlights, since I've seen a number of very good summaries of the procedure itself on this forum, and I don't want to go over old ground. If anyone wants further detail or information or advice from me, I'd be happy to provide it. I'll post some before and after pictures soon, and will try and update with additional photos as my hair comes in. First, some quick stats about me: early 40s, Norwood 5A, moving swiftly towards 6, no medications until a few months prior to my FUT procedure when I began using Rogaine foam and propecia. I had considered FUE, but the extent of my hair loss made FUE unrealistic. Now, on to the procedure itself. Like anyone else, I had some reservations - let's be honest - it sounds like a really crazy idea for someone to cut a strip of hair-bearing skin off of your head, take out the hair follicles, and plant them in thousands of tiny holes in your scalp. However, if you can get over this part (and choose a very good surgeon and team, of course), it is a remarkably straightforward and relatively painless process. Surprisingly, the most painful part was the administration of the local anesthetic at the donor and recipient sites - the scalp is very sensitive, and you have to get jabbed with the needles quite a bit. It hurts somewhat, but it is very manageable, and only lasts for a few minutes. I found that, once my head was numb, the procedure itself was a breeze. When we were finished, I ended up with just under 3000 grafts (which was about 250-500 more than we expected). Taking care of the grafts has also been remarkably easy - I only lost 1 graft, and that was my own mistake (on the first morning after the procedure, I was not careful enough with my baseball cap, if you can believe it). To control the redness in the recipient area, I used the Graftcyte kit, which contains some special shampoo, some medicine in a spray form and also in compress form. I highly recommend this kit to anyone who is fair skinned and has some worries about people noticing the procedure. My redness was gone by the end of the 10th day or so (and was really not very noticeable after about day 6). For the first few days, though, you do look pretty ugly, so be prepared. Taking care of the scar has also been no problem. It has already become hard to see, even when looking for it. I did have some issues in getting my hair cut just before returning to work - it is hard to blend in the new hairs on your head with your "old" hairs on the side, though I have to say that not one single person has noticed anything different about me at all, and I work in a fairly crowded office environment. Honestly, I think that people expect that a balding man's hairstyle will look especially crappy from time to time, and they pay no attention. It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction I receive in several months, when the hair begins to come in to stay. One thing that was really weird and unexpected for me was how long the transplanted hairs stay before shedding. It has been almost 3 weeks, and I still have about half of them left. While it's sad to see them go, it has been interesting to get a preview of how much hair I'll have in several months after these hairs shed and then have a chance to come back. At any rate, I see that I have written much more than I intended - I hate long posts. I could write so much more about the procedure itself, the aftercare, tips for those who decide to go forward with the procedure, etc. but I'll end instead by saying how happy I am that I "took the plunge" and did this for myself. While I feel pretty vain at times for spending the money on this, I know that it will have a positive effect on my self-esteem - it will be nice not to be "the bald guy" in the pictures, particularly with my young children. If you are considering having the procedure done, believe me, it is not nearly as bad as you might think, and it will really change the way you look at yourself when it is all done. Oh, one last thing - I would be really remiss if I did not mention how wonderful the folks are at True & Dorin. While I am sure that there are a lot of really good practices out there, the folks at T&D really did a great job in making me feel comfortable, in addressing any questions or concerns I had, and in trying to make the experience a positive one. In particular, Dr. True and Peter Ackerman (one of the great patient services coordinators) were fantastic. I honestly cannot say enough good things about my experience there. I'm happy to answer any questions that any of you may have - as I said at the outset, this forum really helped me a lot, and I strongly believe in giving back.

Hi guys - I just started using the rogaine foam (unscented) and it hasn't been a problem at all. You don't have to put that much on, and it dries fairly quickly. It can make your hair look a little stuck together (like most hair products), but if you use a brush after it has dried you can separate the hairs pretty easily. I haven't had any real residue problems. I think that you need to rub it into your scalp a little to ensure that it soaks in. Maybe that's why some people have residue? Not sure. It's also relatively inexpensive - I bought a 3 pack from amazon recently (3 mo supply) for $35. Hope this is helpful.