joshelstad

That photo was actually taken at 4.5 months. The hair has progressed since that point. It is definitely thicker and coming along much better. I am definitely not one to dye my hair, so I will just have to be patient and wait. The doctor I chose was a great and honest guy, so if the density is not up to par, he will fix it for me. Thanks for the support.

My doctor told me when I was at month 5 that I still had 3-4 months of new growth and then maturity. It seems that a lot of doctors say different things. All I know is that I am really not that pleased with it at this point- and I spent a lot of money and have patiently waited 6 months and I dont like it at all. It seems to me that most of the hair has grown in but it the density is really bad. I can see my scalp right through it when its dry and wet. I asked my doctor about it and he said he advises me to wait a whole year and then see. But at this point. I just want to wear a hat all the time, like I have for the past 10 years. Ugh.

My doctor was Dr. true in New York- he was great. I have not heard of putting Rogaine on the hair to speed it up. Thanks for the reply.

I had my hair transplant done in early December- about 6 months ago. I had 2238 grafts transplanted to rebuild my hairline. I had a follow-up consultation with my doctor about a month ago. He said everything looks good and as it should look. I keep looking at my hair and think it looks very thin. The doctor told me this is normal at this point and and I have 3-4 more months of growth and then another 3 or so months for it to mature. He said a person really has to wait until a year to see the final result. I am just writing this post to see if there is anyone else out there going through this or has gone through this same point I am at. My patience is really running low at this point- it takes SO LONG. I feel like my hair looks really thin right now and I am worried that it is going to be that way at a year too. Any words of encouragement would be appreciated.

Oh man, yes!

Very true, oh man.... the research I put into this took MONNNTHHHHSSSS!!! But, I'm very thankful I did all the research I did and went with the surgeon I chose. It's funny, sometimes I forget I've even had my hair transplant.... and then it pops into my head that, oh yeah in about 6 months you're hair is going to look totally different. I love that.

Thanks everyone. I had 2233 grafts transplanted in the front. I had my receeding hairline filled in and had my hairline brought down about an inch. Dr. True told me that it will be ultra-dense and I can't wait! Some of my hair started growing right away, which I hear is not very common. Most of it fell out and I saw the first signs of growth coming in around 2 months. It was very fine but new hairs were popping in at around 8 weeks. I am just basically getting restless because I want to see significant growth! But, even now in my eleventh week I've seen new hair coming in and my a significant amount of my hairline is covered in pimples at the moment (damn they are uncomfortable). So now I guess I just wait.....

Hello everyone, I recently had a hair transplant with Dr. True in New York. It was an amazing experience. True and Dorin were amazing and they did a fantastic job. My scar in the back is next to nothing. Everyone who has seen has said, "That's it"? My hair dresser told me that he believes once the redness of the scar goes away, no one will even be able to see it, even if they tried. Which is very exciting, considering that was one of my biggest concerns. I just wanted to put this thread out there and ask: What is the usual time people experience the most growth? I'm exactly 11 weeks out from surgery. I'm at that weird point of hair transplant purgatory and I am getting a little restless and want to see it start growing. I have seen a few sprouting here and there. I know that I need to be patient and wait. But, to help me through this period, I just wanted to hear from some people about when they started to see significant growth. Anything would be helpful. Thank you

Capelli, Are you scheduled with Dr. Rahal? Or are you post-op already?

It really doesn't interest me to judge people based on their "repoir". What interests me is judging them based on my direct experience with them. Talking to Matt Zupan was definitely a bad experience for me and I will not be proceeding with SMG on any level. I had no idea posting such a comment would cause such a huge fuss, then again I am new to this website and I guess I am uncertain how obssessive a lot of people seem to be in regards to these matters. Again, what concerns me is how capable a person can navigate away from their own "self-beliefs" and be compassionate and listen to the words of others- and this extends far beyond hair transplant consultations. I do not care to know how long the patient educator has "been in the business" or who does what at each international conference and why this person is better than this person or why their approach is the right way, etc. etc.... One word comes to mind here... EGO. I got the answers to a lot of questions I didn't even ask. As well as a lot of build up to boost the ego above others. Again, none of this interests me on any level. A lot of people have sent me personal messages saying they have had similar experiences with consultations, with SMG and other places as well. It's a shame that we as hairloss sufferers have to be subject to the pocket books and egos of some clinics. It makes trying to come up with a resolution, for most likely the biggest insecurity of our daily lives, a stressful struggle in which we are pulled in dozens of different directions. What deters me is the lack of exceptance someone has to the fact that there are several different approaches to creating a successful head of hair for several different individuals. There are always multiple ways to go about the same thing, and again, this extends far beyond hair transplants. On the other hand, I had a remarkable and very educational consultation with Dr. Rahal. He emailed me personally and I spoke with Dr. Rahal himself on Monday. He was calm and considerate. He told me how he goes about his procedures and what I should expect from him. He also told me how other doctors go about their procedures and what I can expect from them. He never said he was better, the leader, or did things the "right way". He just gave me options. He never once compared himself on an egocentric level with anyone else in the business and he started the consultation by saying, "I will allow you to go first and ask me any questions you might have". This was confidence in himself and his work. That was exactly what I was looking for.

I have had a lot of consultations, both in person and over the phone. My consultation with SMG ended up being an entire conversation about SMG being the leader in the business and top of the the line. It even spiraled to the point of him bringing up other clinics and why SMG is "better". 30 minutes into the conversation, I had maybe said 5 words and was looking for a reason to hang up the phone. When I finally got a word in to explain my situation, he said, "Maybe you would do better going some where else". I honestly said 2 minutes worth of my situation, he spoke for the other 50 minutes as if he was trying to sell me SMG like I was buying a car. Anyway, I am down to Rahal, Hasson and Wong, or True and Dorin. Hasson and Wong are closest to me and I am pretty impressed with their work.

I know who it was. It was the Shapiro Medical Group, Ron and Paul Shapiro. It was by far the worst consultation I have had so far, hands down.

I wasn't impressed with SMG or Rahal. I had an in phone consultation with a guy at SMG and the conversation was basically an one hour argument about why SMG was the best. He didn't even ask me a single question about what I wanted from the procedure or what I was expecting... It was him TELLING me why SMG was better than Hasson and Wong and Rahal... a complete one-sided conversation. I wanted to just hang up on him. Rahal wants to transplant too many grafts. I am cautious about being so aggressive when I am so young. At this point I feel the most comfortable with Dr. Wong or True and Dorin.

I have already consulted with Rahal, I am still continuing my search. I would like to know if anyone out there has recommendations for surgeons that are producing dense, natural looking hairlines that would be appropriate for a guy that is 28 years old. Thanks!

I've had 4 in person consultations, each one told me 1800-2200 grafts. Both of my online consultations with Rahal and H&W have been 3,000. I have a few more online consultations I am waiting for. Corvettester, can you message me your email and I will forward you some of my pics? If not, that's cool. I would just like someone's opinion who is also in my situation. -Joshua