SamSpade

true, it definitely is safer to take longer if you have your hair shaved. Taking all of that vacation or even time without pay still is worth it when you're doing something like this with the right doctor.

1978Matt - hey bud, this is looking great! It's been a while since I've visited the site but it's so rad to see your results in progress. Congrats on the fantastic results. #ClubKonior

Hey guys, thanks so much. Really, this community is the reason that I was able to bring myself to and through this journey. It's a brethren really and we all suffer from the same frustrating problem. HDude - Yes, I dug up some old photos of how I used to wear my hair. I started needing to comb it forward around 2004 I think since my hairline was quickly vanishing and the front thinned quickly. These are some samples of that which I found. I would never wear my hair combed back because even with Toppik there just wasn't enough hair there. You can tell that it was combed to cover the baldness, and these shots probably had toppik concealer as well. Hair combed forward with toppik Hair combed back, no toppik. My hair color is a medium brown, even though photos and lighting make the color shift. During Post-op i had it shaved so Konior could maximize his results but he performs many surgeries without shaving since men have to get back to work. With the level of his work it's totally possible to go back to work after 2 weeks as long as you cut your hair correctly. The grafts grow in and your hair around the scar cover it up. I'm glad you followed my progress, that makes me happy it's helped people. Let me know if you have any other questions. hsrp10 - Yes, I have remained on finasteride and romaine foam twice a day regularly. I have a thinning crown so I'm trying to keep that at bay.

Rab - i'm not sure what number the shave level is at but my guess is a 1 and no more than a 2. It's as close as I would go before shaving it completely bald on the sides, which isn't my style anyway. Konior would tell you and anyone else, if you have any desire to ever shave your head anywhere, DON"T get a hair transplant. All transplants involve cutting. I think if you have 10 days off you could be good. The main factor would be if you have the graft area shaved or not. Konior and other doctors alike can work with current hair or shaved, but he said his results and visiiilty are higher with shaving so I went with that since I work from home. But I would still trust an amazing job if you didn't shave the zone and you could be back at work after ten days and I doubt anyone would notice a difference. This was me after two weeks: You can imagine that if I trimmed my hair the length of the grafts it would look pretty normal. I just kept it wacky for a while. Then it grew in nice and thick with some patience.

I had my strip surgery from Konior a couple years back and in response to if he does FUE his was, "both will leave you a scar, we'll have more success with hair with the strip." I don't believe he was disparaging FUE because he said he would do it if I wanted it, but his quantity of graft success combined with what is actually a smaller scar in his case means he always prefers strip. I had no problem then with the strip and this is my haircut now shaved extremely close to the skin without any visible strip scar. I hope this helps you Rab.

Dudes, what's up? Long time. I wanted to update you all on my progress and current status. My surgery was back in June of 2012 and my work by Dr. Konior is still running strong. I just got a haircut today and shaved the sides as close in as I ever have, and confidently so. This shows off how good Konior is at creating an incision that heals fantastically. I might have good healing on my side genetically but I can't say enough about his precision. Pre-op photo:

Keep documenting, great work man. The 3-month mark is probably the toughest, those hairs are resting but they'll come back. It feels like they don't move but only because you (we) check 8 times a day. Looking back on the photos was the only way for me to truly realize how fast things were moving and changing in hindsight. Also, Dr. K really got back there near your crown. Awesome job selecting a premium surgeon.

Konior strikes again. Looks fantastic man.

well said. It's a poison inhibitor, think about the poisonous DHT that it's keeping from your scalp that's shredding your hair away. That's it's most notable side effect.

I'm always perplexed why people don't want to travel for someone to cut into their head and alter it permanently. I traveled over 2000 miles for my doctor. The flight cost me $350 which was paltry compared to the investment the hair transplant was. I'm really truly sorry for your situation. Use the forum to find the doctor with the very best results or your favorite outcomes, select that doctor. That's your answer. I'd also recommend my bias choice in Dr. Konior because I know he does great repair work.

Wow. I hope you haven't put any money down, but be ready to walk away if you need to. If you're finding anything negative like that about YOUR surgeon and nothing positive yet, why are you considering them? Location? In my quest, I personally made a point to exhaust the internet for any negative reviews of my surgeon of choice, (Dr. Konior) before making the appointment. These surgeries are permanent, good or bad. If you're willing to fly on a plane for a wedding/holiday/vacation, you should be willing to fly somewhere for a hair transplant.

Agreed. get on the Fin asap. If you have side effects right away then wait a few weeks and see if they're balanced out in your system, that's what happened to me. If they persist have your doctor lower your dosage. I promise your penis won't fall off, your hair will just stay in your head where it belongs. Congrats on the new procedure, it's an excitin' time.

I may have been in the same boat. Two weeks ago i ran out of Minox Foam and used my backup Minox (normal oil) and I shed a boat load for a few days and itched like a mofo. I had to rush to the store to get the foam back and I'm back to normal with no shedding or itching. I didn't expect that. Was that similar to your switching?

Bangers and mash that is.

well said indeed. Serious congrats man, I think you chose a great time to have a HT and that's fantastic news about your donor supply. It's a very slow process growing it back but it went by faster for me since i just rocked a hat all the time and didn't think about it.

Take Fin, try it. If it causes problems, lower the dosage or get off it. But your hair will keep falling out if you don't do something proactive. I do not believe that trying the pill to see it's results for a while can cause permanent damage.

This is fantastic Slickers, i'm glad you and the Doc upped the grafts and were able to make that call for an upgrade on the fly. That's going to look really really good when it's all grown in. I can appreciate your comment on how your better half thought you had a "borderline unhealthy interest" in this. I can relate as can my wife. The problem is now that you new hair growing on your head and can be even MORE distracting than planning an HT. If I had to do it over again I would have played it a little more cool during the regrowth process; brought it up less (4 times a day is too much =), and kept from constantly checking in the mirror, etc. Hah, my response, "But babe, i look so much better now. This is all for you!" It's such an exciting transformation, but wasn't worth making my better half resent my attention to it. That's what I've learned and is probably not a foreign lesson for other guys. Congrats bud.

Saline spray in a water bottle. Keep spraying to keep it moisturized and let the scabs fall off themselves at their own time. Seems like it will take a long time, but eventually they're all gone.

Hmm, that sucks. Our balls our so very important to us. I'd suggest to keep on it for a while and/or discuss it with your doctor. My doctor (who is a HT transplant doc) who prescribed me it, has his patients go down in their dosage if their side effects persist. For me, the very first time I got on it I had a few physical and annoying side effects. But after about a month they subsided and my body adjusted. Also, if you're able to get your doc to prescribe Finasteride, it's a ridiculously cheaper than name brand Propecia. You just have to cut your own pills. Some docs won't do it because, you know the pharmaceutical business keeps those perks coming to the doctors non-stop. If yours doesn't, find a new doc. Good luck, 21 is a really smart age to start in on this pill.

This very topic was discussed at length on this forum thread. Hope this helps. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170349-dr-vs-nurse-placing-grafts-after-extraction-3.html

The FUT vs FUE debates are always entertaining. In the end it always comes down to...

Just to followup regarding Dr. Konior since I mentioned him earlier, his words in regards to this topic after I contacted him: My placment strategy varies depending on pre-made openings or stick and place. I do all placement with stick and place. I have one assistant, who places with me for large (3000 plus graft) pre-made opening cases. She has been with me for about 15 years and is the only person I trust for handling grafts. She never places alone as we are always working side-by-side so that I know what is going on. She assists me with the stick and place method. It's fairly technical in how I approach this, but the bottom line comes down to quality control which I'm fairly obsessed with. -Dr. Konior

Good luck!

it's so disappointing when Drs try for that kind of coverage with so little grafts. When we're a kid we have about 10,000 hairs in a space about the palm of our hand. We're trying to at least, imitate that. So to think that a doctor doesn't know this or tries to convince someone that 1000 covering half a scalp will be fine is just ridiculous. Good luck with the growth friend. I'd recommend cutting your hair short and even and it improve the look cosmetically.