cowl

I went to Shawn at Fantastic Sam's in Hollywood (Sunset near LaBrea). He was very good and had seen HTs before. He cut so as not to make the donor area too visible. Recommended, and definitely will return.

I'm looking for a recommendation for a hair stylist in LA (Hollywood/Weho area). I prefer my hair short (e.g. #5), but because of the baldness in the donor region, this is more challenging (and can cause an unpleasant surprise if they go too short). If you know a hairstylist familiar with HT who can help figure out a decent style as my hair is growing in, please let me know.

"I just want to be able to look in the mirror and not see scalp where the grafts were implanted." I think that is a reasonable expectation for a HT. But also not achievable with current technology. Despite what TV commercials imply. This pic is recent. I had a HT 1200 grafts 2 years ago at Bosley NYC. They added about 1 inch of hairline to my top/front. Not great density but not bad either. You can definitely see the scalp. 10 days ago I had a procedure to double the density. But my doc said that even with doubling the density would only improve the appearance of density by about 30%, and another doc said the same thing. So I believe that. HOWEVER, it is ok to see the scalp. It happens as you get older. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and people don't necessarily think its weird looking. I also have not at all considered the temple issues, so you are way ahead of me in that respect. I have not figured out the best shape for the overall hairline, and I tried on my own but I'm not an expert and perhaps have poor judgement on top of that lol. I think that anyone who offers to do FUT for your temple points is as desperate as you are. My recommendation would be to trim the outer hairs to reduce sparsity and accept mild hair loss. I'd be curious as to your thoughts about that.

Regarding this guy, I think that his temple results may not be as strong as would appear. Here are two pics before and after: before: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=27511&d=1332495739 after: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=27116&d=1330768626 It's really hard to tell because the angles are different (and I couldn't find any exact matches), but I don't think there's really much difference. His recession is not so advanced, so adding a few hairs could make a big difference. I don't think his treatment was as extensive as yours. Also he doesn't show any post-op pics of this region so it's hard to really know how aggressive they were. Also pre/post pics shown by clinics don't show any significant temple point repair pics. So it doesn't seem to be a common thing. Plus, this hair may recede further (as with the frontal hairline) even with finasteride/minoxidyl. I think that if the office says that you can laser the hairs to remove or soften them (after the surgery no less) then they haven't really thought it all through. In my opinion it doesn't matter who's right and who's wrong. And I personally don't think you did anything wrong. But you should not feel self-conscious or that you have to wear a hat. That is the opposite of what you were hoping for. I suspect that waiting longer will not improve the situation. For that reason I suggested trimming the outer hairs to reduce the perception of sparsity. I don't think it's a big deal to trim the hairs because they will always grow back if you want. Sorry if am being presumptuous, or if I am missing some important points or details. I am certainly not an expert, just an opinionated guy. I also was trying to restore a naturally thick hairline, and I was not satisfied with my first attempt. Hopefully my second attempt will turn out better. As for my comment about unrealistic expectations, it applies as much to me as to anyone. But again, it's not about blame. It's about doing what you need to do to get on with your life.

I had 1200 grafts 9 days ago. Swelling started on day 2 for 5 days. I also had minor under eye greenish/brown bruising which is now almost undetectable. I think the bruising will go away. You can use an under eye concealer to hide it for now. What's traction alopecia?

Apparently most of the pics have been taken down, but from what I can tell, HT would be inappropriate for this patient. The reason is that HT cannot provide a naturally dense hairline in just one session, despite what the Bosley commercials imply. In fact, it probably cannot be done in 2 sessions. Yes you can have a naturally sparse hairline after one session, but this is not what the patient requires. The 'state of the art' just isn't there yet. He probably should have been turned away. Having said that, I believe that all is not lost. The patient can probably just trim some of the outer hairs to reduce the sparsity. I seriously doubt anyone would be able to tell anything. You can tell if people think the hair is weird, because they look up at the hair when talking to you. It's called 'elevator eyes'. Or in this case, 'conveyor belt' eyes. But like I said, it's hard to really tell what's going on here without the pics.

I see your point about minoxidil. Yes the 'inactive' ingredients could affect the hair. However, just as the newly transplanted hair is very delicate, it is also very resilient at the same time. I think it's unlikely that you caused any damage. In my unprofessional opinion, the fact that the hair shed normally is a good sign. I suspect you are a "worst case scenario" type thinker, and that is not helpful in this situation. Please let us know what they say. Regardless of what happens you are doing everyone a service by reporting your experience here.

I'm sorry to hear that. Again I'm no expert but my understanding of minoxidil is that it would only affect hair that had a genetic predisposition to fall out and would have no effect on your back hair, or hair transplanted from your back. I think you are probably fine, but please let us know what the doc says. There would be no reason to use minoxidil on transplanted hair.

I am not an expert, so please take these answers with a grain of salt. 'Shock loss' does not apply to you. It sounds like you've already lost most of the hair you're going to lose off the top of your head. Shock loss is accelerated hair loss for men who are still balding for hair that is already genetically predisposed to fall out. (My interpretation from "Hair Loss & Replacement for Dummies", Rassman). Furthermore, shock loss does not apply to transplanted hair. Don't worry your hair will grow! Yes it is expected for the transplanted hair to fall out after 10 days. The minoxidil will not affect the hairs in any way. You should not have any noticeable death rate for densely packed FUT. If you only did 4000 grafts to cover a full head, that is not super dense, it seems to me. Sounds like you're trawling the internet for bad news. Your scar will likely be very fine and not noticeable, despite the fact that it is pretty gruesome now. You will not need to correct it. You will not need FUE. You will likely be satisfied with the outcome and not want another procedure. (One mistake I made, however, on the first HT: don't use too much bacitracin. After a few days, wounds should be kept clean and dry for the most part, though you can apply it sparingly. But you're a health professional so you know that.) I understand your mortification of the big red line in your head. From my first HT I had staples which made it look like a huge zipper. Frankenstein. Fortunately, I work from home so I didn't have to hide it and no one saw it. But yes, everyone should have a hand mirror after the surgery. For now, you can ask your doctor if you can use a make-up concealer to hide the redness. This would be like a skin-colored lip stick. Your irrational fear is that six months from now you will have a bald head and nothing but a huge scar to show for it. LOL. You better show pics in 6 months! Don't worry about the haters. They're just jealous. Finally, I'm not sure why you don't want to discuss this with your doctor. But you can. Like you said, you paid a lot of money. If you don't trust him, that's another story.

I had a HT with him last week and it was an excellent experience (see my recent post). His standby fee is slightly lower than Bosley's preferred fees (when you add in the extras that they charge). Beyond that it's hard to say, and I don't know the other docs you mentioned. For me location was important, and NHI was closest to my apt. Dr Pak did not shave the recipient site. The other docs I consulted with did not recommend shaving it. I think it's good to keep it so that it can help conceal the transplant region (though it will show through regardless). As for number of grafts, perhaps it depends on the density you are trying to achieve. Based on my experience, it is not possible to achieve a naturally dense hairline with one procedure. I could be wrong about that. So you can discuss density with him. When they suggest more grafts, it could be either to increase the density or increase the size. For this reason, you should have them draw in the region on your head and not wait until the day of surgery. Perhaps even get a pic.

I had an excellent experience with Dr. Pak in LA. This was my second HT (first was with Bosley in NYC May 2010). Both transplants were 1200 FU each to restore my front hairline. Relatively mild balding in front. It has been only 5 days and already the scalp has returned to almost normal color. This in comparison to my previous HT, which took several weeks for the redness to go away, to the extent that I had to use concealer when going out. I still have swelling in my face, which started in my forehead and is now descending through my nose. It looks pretty funny so I'm not going out, but I hadn't planned to leave the apt for a week anyway. The scar in back feels tight but comfortable. I had about a day and night of painful itching in the donor incision (which got me a little worried) but that has subsided. Overall I'm very pleased and look forward to seeing it grow (and fall out and grow again). For me what really matters is the outcome. How I am treated by the staff is irrelevant (although they were excellent), and discomfort and hiding out for a week is not a big deal. Dr Pak went through and doubled the density by going between the hairs from the first transplant. He also changed the direction per my instructions. Whether this turns out ok or a hot mess remains to be seen. From my first HT, my hair started growing back in about 2 months, so I'll have an update soon. Two issues, if anyone has any feedback. First of all, my hair is mostly straight, but the hair from the first HT has a natural slight curvature, all in the same direction. It's not clear how that happened. Was it planted with that curvature, or did it grow that way? Dr Pak said he can't control the curvature. Not a big deal -- just wondering. Also is there a standard for the direction of the hair based on scalp position? I was not happy with the direction of the hair from my first HT, but I don't see any standards, so it seems like it's completely up to the doc. We discussed this on the morning of the procedure, but by then it was too late to reach a confident conclusion about the 'right way' to proceed.