GRIGRIMAN

Keep the density low and the hair is less likely to be shocked from surgery trauma. At your age, you should still maintain a conservative approach as you address this region. Hair in your crown is growing in every direction, and you should realize that the crown consumes more grafts than you may realize.

Thank you WHTC Clinic. I have visited the clinic to meet Dr Mwamba & I am grateful for your advice.

How about Matt Goss from the 80's boy band Bros?

He constantly wore a hat for many many many years & now he's showing a full head of hair (which I don't think a HT could have achieved).

Hair pieces have come on & I suspect he's wearing one.

3 years ago I had 3,000 FUE with Dr Christian Bisanga at the BHR Clinic to address my hairline & frontal third & I was very satisfied with the results.

I plan a second HT to address my crown & I would appreciate your advise: should do this now or wait?

The reason I ask is because I do have hair in the crown & I therefore have 2 considerations:

1) Will the HT destroy the hair I have in the crown now?

2) Should I wait until the crown progresses into a more mature bald spot?

I am 42 years old. I use Regaine & I have decided against using Propecia.

I would be grateful for your thoughts.

I am wary of touch ups for small gaps just based on the trauma and shock loss that you get, plus eating into your donor. I could have a touch up now, but there would not be a cosmetic advantage. So, I look at it like this...I will not have a touch up where only I can see the difference. I want it to have an actual cosmetic impact. For this reason, I have not had a touch up and do not really see one in my very near future, even though I would like one.

 

The perfectionist in me wishes I had a little more density after being 4 years post of in a couple of spots, but chasing perfection is a dangerous game in transplants.

 

This is different that actually not meeting your initial reasonable goals, at which point, I am more inclined to say go for it.

 

Let me edit this to say that I totally understand wanting a touch up and I do grapple with it myself. I would love a 3 to 4 hundred graft bump and I think I have plenty of donor to it without much repercussion. However, I am trying to be donor stingy and I set a goal that I would not get a bump until my 40th birthday, which is in 2 years and 3 months...so I am hoping my hair holds mostly steady until then.

 

I am also starting to slowly go grey and I think I may be happy with less density as that happens, so it is a race between my DHT, melanin, and my patience.

I'm in the same situation @Spanker.

I had 3,000 FUE in Dec 2013 with Dr Bisanga.

I would like a second op to address my crown. However, I have miniaturisation and worried the op would call shock loss and kill them. I also don't think it would make a massive cosmetic difference if I keep my hair clipped. I've therefore decided to wait until I'm 45 once my crown has matured (3 years from now).

On the other hand, I'm destined to loose the miniturised hair so I'm tempted to address the crown now and reap the benefits earlier in life.

SMP can really make a big impact; particularly in the crown and particularly where the contrast between hair and scalp is quite high.

 

In that photo the crown is brushed forward and that, combined with the SMP, is creating the illusion of density so well. I really like the use of SMP and HTs though, when it's combined well in appropriate patients. It can make a decent density HT look full and really just help blend everything together.

I did consider SMP & I had a consultation last year.

If I clip my hair with a #1 (3mm) I think SMP would be a great option.

However, I clip my hair to a #2 (6mm) & therefore I don't think SMP would be effective.

Please correct me if you think I'm wrong?

This is an interesting discusssion for me.

I had 3,000 Fue 3 years ago and opted for a conservative hairline. I chose Dr Bisanga and I'm so pleased with the outcome.

I have coverage in my crown but it's thinning and this discourages me from growing my hair longer so I clip my hair with a #2 (and my thinning crown no longer bothers me).

I have considered addressing my crown but I have decided to wait until it matures into a bald spot and when surgery will have a greater impact.

I had to chip in here.

Take a look at these smp results from Jean Paul Zilli. This is one example from many. Unbelievable.

hi grigriman, that is exactly my issue, my crown is uch worse than urs so when i let front grow out the crown looks much much worse. im anxious to get op 2 in the crown done. btw, did you see any improvement from month 9-18

I found between 9-18 months, the calibre of the hair improved and became less wiry.

Have you every thought of using toppik for the crown? I don't think you should let the crown keep you from enjoying your hair transplant and maximizing the result. My crown is just as bald as yours, what I do is I fade my hair up high in to the bald spot, so that the hair blends in to the balding area, this lessens the contrast. Either way your crown is bald, even if you shave your head no guard, you can still see that the crown is bald so it's not like you're truly concealing the crown by keeping the hair short.

I have but the longest I've grown my hair after my procedure is a number eight (1"). I think it worked better in the mid scalp rather than the crown. Do you have any images you can share of how you fade your hair "up high in to the bald spot"? I broke last night and cut my hair back to a number two.

I've attached some photos to show my hair at a number eight and a number two. You'll see that at a number eight, my crown is more visable and in the side profile, my hair just flattens in the crown. However, with a number two, the crown is less visable and I think it is a crisper hair cut.

This is a really relevant point for me. I had 3,000 Fue with the same surgeon and I love the look of the newly transplanted hair longer. However, the longer I grow my hair, the more obvious the hair loss in my crown becomes. I have therefore been clipping my hair with a number 2, and the crown becomes less of a problem. I have been thinking of 1,000 grafts into the crown but I still have some hair there so I'm mindful of shock loss.

Excellent result Garageland. May I ask how many grafts were used in the crown?

Hi London81

I had 3,000 FUE and experienced the same symptoms as you from around day 7 to 14, which also got worse at night. My UK representative (SL who has also posted on this thread) suggested pain medication to ease the pain. I remember worrying if the use of medication would have a negative impact on my result but it didn't and helped. I think I took Ibuprofen.

I hope you get better soon and it's nice to see the rest of the community on this forum offering you support.

Thank you Garageland.

Great result Grigiman, Congrats.

 

A 2nd pass should see you set-up nicely. Did BHR give you any indication as to what you have left in the bank Donor wise?

Thank you BaldingBogger. I think between 2,500 and 3,000.

It has now been 18 months since my first surgery and I wanted to provide an update.

The main development has been the change in the quality of the hair. It has improved over time and blended in with the native hair nicely.

I have had regular meetings with Dr Bisanga and UK representative Sl and their post-operative care has been out of this world (I recently had a one hour phone call with Sl on a Saturday morning!).

I am now considering a second surgery with Dr Bisanga to address my crown with approximately 1,000 grafts (a small number in order to conserve my donor).

My hair loss isn't hugely evident when kept short (grade 2-4), however it becomes evident when the hair is longer (grade 8+) and therefore discourages me from growing a longer hairstyle.

I'm planning to discuss the prospect of addressing my crown with BHR over the coming months and I'll follow their recommendation(s).

I'm currently 40 and use Regaine (5%) twice a day. I also take half a teaspoon of nettle root powder daily (I've decided to refrain from using Propecia to date).

1 year update.

The photo on the left was taken pre operative.

Hair is currently 1" in length.

Hi Stinger99

I've sent you a PM. I don't have access to a camera at the moment but I’ll upload some photos in December to mark one year post op.

My hair is currently at a grade 5 or 6 and I'm planning to grow it to at least a grade 8 (I haven’t been able to grow my hair past a grade 2 for 20 years).

I haven’t provided much commentary in my posts because I want to the photos to do the talking and let the readers judge for themselves.

I’m very pleased with the results. I use to dream about waking up with a full head of hair and Dr Bisanga and his team made this happen.

I told Dr Bisanga and Sl I’m ready for a second round but they both advised me to wait. This just illustrates the measure of the men and their ethics.

I know you’re first operation is coming up and please take my word when I say you’ve made an excellent choice.

Good luck.

Also interested to see David Platt's result, the former Arsenal and England football player.

Thanks Sl.

9 months post op versus photos taken in 2011.

I’m now at 8.5 months.

I grew my hair to a grade 8. I clipped the sides to a grade 1 which made me look like a flower pot so I clipped it all to a grade 1. This was the longest I’ve grown my hair for 20 years. The transplanted hair has lost its wiry look and seems to be blending in with the native hair much better.

I exercise every other day so keeping my hair short is more practical (although running a comb through my hair felt great). I appreciate I may not be maximising my results but having an even hairline and density makes a big difference for me.

To be honest, I’ve almost forgot about having a hair transplant now although I anticipate having a second. I’ll discuss this with Dr Bisanga and Sl and I’ll follow their guidance with respect to timing and strategy.

I’ll upload some new images as soon as my hair is longer.

I’m now at 8.5 months.

I grew my hair to a grade 8. I clipped the sides to a grade 1 which made me look like a flower pot so I clipped it all to a grade 1. This was the longest I’ve grown my hair for 20 years. The transplanted hair has lost its wiry look and seems to be blending in with the native hair much better.

I exercise every other day so keeping my hair short is more practical (although running a comb through my hair felt great). I appreciate I may not be maximising my results but having an even hairline and density makes a big difference for me.

To be honest, I’ve almost forgot about having a hair transplant now although I anticipate having a second. I’ll discuss this with Dr Bisanga and Sl and I’ll follow their guidance with respect to timing and strategy.

I’ll upload some new images as soon as my hair is longer.

Pic number 4 - sun shining right on my head.

Thank you BaldingBogger

These I some photos taken in daylight I thought I should share too.

Thank you my friends. I'm very very pleased.

I'm now approaching 8 months.

My hair is currently a grade 4 on top and a 1 on the sides. This is the longest I've had it for 20 years.

Comments continue. I saw my Mum for the first time since the operation last week and she asked me "have you had a hair transplant", "I thought you were losing your hair", "you look so much younger". I've recently come back from a 2 week business trip and a colleague said "you've come back with more hair rather from less". I had lunch with my ex-girlfriend yesterday and she laughed so hard. She couldn't believe how much hair I have now "you look about 20". I'm 40 in a few months.