southbeacharchi

Let me start by the disclaimer i am not a doctor, but if you do enough research, at 1 month, your grafts are set in place and the beanies should be fine. Plus, you lucky in the fact that a beanie can cover your donor scar area and transplanted area, keep you warm, but also still allow the skin/incisions to heal and breathe.

And as everyone always say, it would be best to run it by your doctor, to not only get his opinion, but if he give you the go ahead and then for some 1 in a million chance it causes problem....well....he told you to.

Best of luck.

I don't want to repeat, so...ditto to what they said above. But, if you are in no rush, it is not going to hurt to give this a full year, and in the meantime try Propecia or cheaper Proscar 5mg which you have to divide into 4 pieces - and Rogaine, to see exactly what level you can get to with the HT you already completed and through medication. Then, with your doctor reevaluate and see if another HT is what you want.

Best Wishes.

And, as always, thank-you orlhair1. Yes, I'm so glad I cut it. Thank-you for that advice and little nudge in that direction. It made a world of difference not only in feel, but I think the overall look. For the first time, I feel like I can comfortably go out without a hat and without a gallon of hair spray in my combed forward hair.

Thank-you very much StaggerLee123, I really appreciate it. I'll be posting more and better pics for the 5 month coming up.

I finally cut all my hair on top to the same length as the new transplanted hair. The photos aren't the best but I'll post better when I take 5-6 month updates. Let me know if you can't see them, and I'll try something else.

So, right now, these pics are at 4 and a half months.

Thanks as always orlhair1, I really appreciate it.

I am going to cut it short as soon as I get back to Chicago after holidays.

No one else?

Here are two dry hair pics I said I would post. I tried to part it so you could see as much of the transplanted hair as possible, but it is getting harder and harder to tell which hair is which hair. The first one was taken just today, the second one, was taken a couple of weeks ago.

Question: For those veterans, when did you all eventually cut the rest of the hair to the same length as the new transplanted hair? I've been itching to do it, but that takes away my security blanket of being able to just comb it forward over it.

I would appreciate any feedback, suggestions, or advice.

Best to everyone.

Best of luck tomorrow. It is such an exciting time for you.

And I agree that this website is amazing and was so helpful in the direction, research and ultimate decision in finding my HT doctor.

Can't wait to see your results, I'm sure they are going to be great.

Thanks a lot orlhair1. Sorry for not replying earlier, but it was finals week.

I really appreciate the feedback.

I'm going to try to get a couple of dry hair pics. It looks a lot better and fuller of course dry.

If I don't post again before, Happy Holidays everyone!

you jumped from 18 weeks, to 20 weeks in just a week? and that seems to be a quite a bit of difference in length for 1 week of growth.....

the last pic looks good though.

I think that is/was a question that has gone through everyone's mind that has had a HT. It would make things so much easier if there was some indicator that early. Sadly, as all previous posters said, it just takes time....a long...long time...

But, saska, the good news is, is that it gets easier as time goes by. I remember for longest time, looking in the mirror first thing when i woke and several times throughout the day to check if there were any changes. Now, 4 months later, I may glance at it, but really don't even pay attention that much anymore unless it is a month mark.

Hang in there, and try to enjoy the process no matter how slow it is.

Ok, here are updated pics four months post-op. I'm trying to keep them consistent, wet hair, same angles and light.

Let me know what you all think. Again, I am amazed at the results so far. I might try to take some pics with dry hair next time.

I will also do a separate post with the 4 months as the subject, with additional pics and link it on here.

The pimples are FINALLY dying down. To me, my right side seems less dense than my left, but I am sure it will all even out. I know it comes in spurts and unevenly.

Best wishes to everyone.

no problem....

The stretching of an fut scar is mentioned a lot in these type of threads but is there anyone who has trained hard after hair transplant surgery (weight training in particular) and still had good results?

 

Personally, its more important to me regarding the the growth of recipient area( which is the reason why i had a transplant) than the area which will be hidden with hair.

 

However, i don't want to stretch the scar if it reduces my donor supply, if thats possible?

All the people in this thread and all others I have read at least waited a couple of weeks before going back to weights. I mean, you don't even get your staples out until day 10-12. I was back to training hard after a month and my scar looks great. I think N-6 made a good point that it is hard to make a blanket rule for when to return to lifting and which intensity. Everyone is different. I agree you should always ask your doc, but then again, some docs, in my opinion are overly cautious. In the end it is your head, hair and scar....and your decision.

You mentioned that you don't really care if the scar stretches, except if it affects your donor supply. I can assure you that a wider or stretched scar does not reduce the number of donor hairs...they are still there - just have a space in between them. But, I bet if you really think about it, you don't want a visible scar in the back, or at least highly visible scar. Even if your hair is longer in the back....if you go swimming or sweat hard, you don't want people to see a line from one ear to the other....you know?

Ask your doctor how your elasticity is as far as your skin goes on your head in the donor area. Do you have any other scars from the past? Did they heal well?

Also as N-6 mentioned, You are obviously going to have the most elasticity with your first HT...and more than likely can return to exercise more quickly than say, if you are on HT #3, where your scalp is going to be more stretched and tight.

Hope this helps. I know how important exercise/lifting is to some of us and others don't understand. I also think that my returning to cardio.....after week 1, actually helped in the healing process - gettin that blood pumping.

I think that sounds like a good plan. I guess I didn't say that, but yes, I definitely started out actually around 50 percent of weight. I didn't just jump in. Sorry, don't have any suggestions for exercises - don't feel qualified to give them if I did. good-luck man.

For my strip I was cut from above one ear to the other, and that pillow kept the pressure off that as well.

There is no need to wait 3 months. Please read the "post-op exercise" link that put in my post above. As Radius also said, I think there are many other factors that can affect it. Each individual heals differently as I am sure diet can affect it as well. I am a gym and health freak and eat all the right foods.

Again, I was doing heavy lifting about a month after, and my doc said there is no stretching.

Everyone should read the link above...Especially what the doctor/rehabilitation specialist says.

I got an inflatable neck/travel/airplane pillow at target I think for five bucks. Had a soft cover. It worked awesome and kept me from rolling around at night. I also used a few pillows to raise me up overall.

There are many threads in this forum about excercise, but check out this one at:

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/160044-post-op-exercise-3.html

An occupational therapist and s couple of guys that knew what they were talking about weighed in on the conversation. From everything I researched and read about it, I was back to lifting light weights and cardio after a couple weeks, and back to full work-out routine a couple weeks after that. And my doc says my scar looks great.

As I did earlier in this thread, just wanted to post on here that I put up my 3-month pics from my doctor office check-up. So if you are interested, there is another thread located at:

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/163715-3-month-update-hair-transplant-dr-keller-chicago-3140-grafts.html

that has the pics and update.

Thanks everyone for all the nice comments, encouragement and help.

Hope everyone is doing well.

i am new on this forum i had done transplant 2 and half month ago and excited for result your result look great and hope you get more thick hair.

Oh, the hairs will definitely get thicker - well, I HOPE so, at least they are supposed to. They are just baby hairs now, and all of them haven't even started to grow in (some of the cycles). It is still VERY early. Half of them are still blonde/white baby stage.

Everyone, thanks so much for the compliments, at this stage, so far...I couldn't be happier. We'll see, but I am excited like everyone says, for the next 3 months.

Happy growing to everyone, and good luck with your HT uzy as you had yours done around the same time as me.

Dr. Keller was very very pleased, and I am as well. I thought, and he verified that I seem to luckily be progressing ahead of schedule.

These are pictures that Dr. Keller took. Please note that my hair is not styled! lol I woke up, put a hat on, and grabbed the train. But, hopefully you will get the picture.

He also stated that the trichophytic closure he performed looked great and that there was clearly at least two rows of hairs already growing through the scar. The scar on the sides is skin color, but in the back it is still pink, understandably.

I'm very excited.

Let me know what you all think and don't hesitate to ask any questions.

Hope everyone is well, and as always, Happy Growing.

Hi 450rex.

I asume you are talking about my existing hair. It's hard to say, but I do feel like my little "strip" of hair in the front thinned out a bit. I think I did experience some, but with the extent of the amount that was transplanted, and that it was transplanted on either side of my existing front "strip" of hair and within it, I couldn't imagine not losing some due to shockloss. With 3000+ incisions, that is quite a bit of trauma to the area.

I did not notice any shockloss around the donor area/incision.

futbol, many of us have answered your question many times. i am not sure what you are wanting to hear. I have been at full weight-lifting level since a month after surgery...and i'm fine.

Hey everyone. Just an update. I am just shy of 3 months, and I will be going back to Dr. Keller for a check-up. I will post the official pics from his office.

But as of now, my transplanted hairs are growing like crazy!! I think I am pretty well ahead of schedule. The edge of my hairline keeps coming in more and more. Like I read somewhere else, it comes in spurts it seems.

And even though last I posted I was only two months out, i was still anxious about the donor scar. Well, even since then, each side of my head where the scar extended to, has pretty much vanished. It is still pink in the back, but in some spots skin colored. And many of the hairs are growing through the scar - I can tell mostly from the zits along the line...lol.

Still taking Finasteride and started taking Biotin a week ago. Might as well pull out all stops.

I think that's about it. I really contribute my fast growth to a great doctor, eating healthy, good care/hygiene of donor and recepient sites, and the good amount of exercise I do, which of course increases blood flow to the head.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!