Thomas2012

Birdness, I would definetely go for it based on the following: 1. Pretty good donor in reference to the available grafts total. This is critical in understanding what you have to work with. 2. Hair diameter(something that seems to get ignored alot in physicians postings), even though you might receive 3500 grafts, if you have fine hair, it won't seem as dense as others achieve. Understand this. Lastly, have realistic expectations on what you can expect to achieve. D

Dwight, that was a great initial post on how happy you were with just 2k plus grafts on how much it just framed your face. Spanker I don't know if you were just being rude or argumentative, but the illustion of density is talked about a lot by doctors and patients on this forum. The hair placement of 1-3 grafts, spacing, and where they are placed on your head really is an artistic talent surgeons use to create as much density as possible. If you get 2000 grafts bundled together in the frontal most part of your hairline and not much behind, yes they are there, but nothing gained. By the number of follicles per graft and how they are spaced on the scalp, the density, or "illusion" of density is much better if done properly. i.e. choose a talented surgeon recommended on this form. Some are more conservative than others, but interview them and decide. I think a transplant is well worth it. I am almost 50. Knowledge is power. Gain as much as possible and go for it. Best of luck.

I am about 6 weeks post up from my transplant, 3k. I have been using Rogaine foam for the past 3 years up till transplant. I started up again about 3 weeks after. I am back up to my 2x per day. It seems to create a little redness when first applying, but goes back to normal in about an hour. Can Rogaine harm any of the new dormant grafts at 2x per day? Thanks

Hair2012, thanks for the info on your other post in reference to Lipogaine I'm trying. The more I read about the hairloss shampoos I've almost come to the conclusion their not worth it. You bring up some great info on the dialator&constrictor effects. If the caffeine ones counteracts the minoxidil why would use it at all unless the benefits exceed that of minoxidil? There seems a lot more negative posts on the so called hairloss shampoos especially with shedding and the 2% ketozonale. If I cannot use a shampoo in conjunction with applying Rogaine foam 2x per day and see benefits added I wouldn't do it. Are there any out there?

Hair 2012,

Its mind boggiling choosing a shampoo. Revita, Regenepure, Nioxin, Alpecin, Revivogan, Tricomin, etc. They all say they are the best, but who knows. The only only that shows it slows down hair loss that I have seen on this forum is a prescription strength, ketoconazole 2%, but beware. There are a lot of negative posts on over use and shedding. Once a week, maybe twice at the most with this. I personally have tried Revita and over the counter 1% ketoconazole ( Nizoral) 1%. I experienced some shedding and just tried it them for about 60 days. If 2% causes shedding with over use, a daily 1% ket. in Revita and Regenepure I would not personally do it. I am going to be trying Tricomin, with Copper Peptides and give it a try, I don't think the caffeine shampoos will do you any harm. Let us know which one you try and give some feedback. Thanks

I think you would get a fantastic result with Panine. I think he does the best frontal hairline work and doesn't have his patients shave their head. i.e. less "ugly ducking" downtime. I wouldn't even think about a transplant if it wasn't going to 2k grafts or better at your age. 1200 may very well get you a strong improvment, but not worth cutting a donor scare that big for such a small area. Propecia and Rogaine will really help out for future loss especially in the crown area. Best of luck.

I wouldn't advise it. I use Retin A everyday on my skin. It was very, very, drying at first until my skin got used to it. Combining the Retinin A with minoxidil I think would burn your skin and cause extreme drying. If your looking for a boost, get a minoxidil with Azeliec Acid in it. I just purchased a bottle of Lipogaine and trying it out. Currently I am on Rogaine foam 2x per day so I am alternating the Foam and Lipogaine.

Wearing a baseball cap is fine if all your grafts are on top, but if you have a lot of temporal work done like i did, i would advise against it. Personally I would not even remotely jeopardize hurting the new grafts with the money that is invested in a transplant. Just plan on some down time, especially if you are shaving your head. I would rather look " strange" for a short period of time than risk the grafts. I just got done looking "somewhat" weird for the last 30 days! Why chance it?

I agree with StaggerLee, but this is a prime example of physicians posting a result with no information with the exception of age and grafts. Im sure Dr Harris your a perfectly capable doctor, but when something like this is posted, almost 4k grafts against another procedure from another doctor with a similar amount of grafts that shows much more density, there is usually more to the story. How many hairs total? What was the hair diameter? If this forum is to educate potential people thinking of getting a transplant, there is no consistency of reporting results. Apologize for being negative, but an honest opinion.

This is my first posting thread, so bear with me. I am new to this community member, but have been gaining knowledge and information for the past 4 years. I want to start out by saying thanks to the Forum for helping with my recent procedure at SMG.

Most of the posts I was looking in the past were the results posted by clinics. I was trying to get a match with someone with my hairline that had a good result and see how many grafts I would need. Basically something to show my doctor of what my expectation level was and get feedback from him to say if it was realistic or not. Searching thru current posts and going thru a lot of photo albums realized there has to be a more simple way to be able to do this, thus my question to Doctors, Clinics, and this Forum: Why isn't there a more standardized way of posting results.

I pulled a random 12 posts from clinics, three of them justed listed grafts, no hairs, 4 of them did no physical description or age of the client, and a third had terrible pictures. Physicians and Clinics, you are " all over the board" I think a majority of members who have procedures done continue to be a part of this Forum because they have had a good experience(s) with a transplant or meds and they want to help others, especially younger people who go thru hair loss at such an early age. Basically to educate and inform. Where I think this forum and especially the Physicians fall short in the posting a standardized description of procedures that include:

AGE. I want to know ages of people similar to me. NORWOOD SCALE: If a person is about the same age and same scale, there is some definite correlations I could draw from. Part of this to is to give an opinion on where that person is heading based on... MEDS, how long the individual has been on meds, or not. Hopefully some young people are reading this, but if you are not stabilizing your hair loss and you get a transplant of lets say 2000 grafts, you could be losing an additional 500-1000 at a years time. So when you post a year's result and not being totally sastified, there you go. NUMBER OF GRAFTS and HAIRS. Big deal on the 1,2,3's basically how many hairs average per graft. A majority would range from 1.8 to 2.3. It has an impact. HAIR DIAMETER. Why isn't this posted more often? Especially the donor density going in. Dr. Bill Reed had a great explanation on the impact of hair diameter on a recent post. 40-80 microns? It has an impact that people need to know. A person with really fine whispy hair is going to need more hairs to create more density. PROCEDURE: FUT, or FUE, that is a given. PICTURES: Standardized, I don't know what that is, but maybe one of the clinics like SMG could give some input because their photos are always crisp and clean. A lot of clinic apologize for their photos. They, the clinics posts on this forum, but in reality it is a great advertising tool for them. Yes they definitely educate, but they also gain a lot of clients like myself because of it. Nohing wrong with that. How many feet away? what resolution? how many front, side, top, and back shots? Every clinic a part of this forum gain afford a new camera and take the time.

If the posting is more uniform I really think if would make it easier, for especially younger people, for them to gain knowledge and have very realistic expectations if they decide to have a transplant. There is a lot of passion to help others in this forum, especially from guys that have had 2 or more procedures. Put that energy into developing a more standardized reporting that clinics need to post. In closing, (this book)! I will say this. It really hit home when I went to get my procedure done that the doctor I chose was an artist and I felt good about my decision Some doctors are just plain better than other in the placement of the grafts in achieving results. For a person thinking of getting a transplant and drawing their conclusions from this forum, put yourself in the hands of a skilled surgeon and more importantly an artist at his or her's craft. Even though travel, money, etc, go into your deciding a doctor when the time comes its a major decision in your life and the money part goes away. Doctors and Clinics help people draw their opinions from more uniform and standardized posts. Thanks.

Dr. Reed, thanks for the reply back. Would it be fair to assume that as a person ages his or her hairs become thinner overall? Secondly, I have had very favorable results with Propecia and Rogaine in the area of thickening of my hair and some regrowth in crown area. Would any meds in this case help this gentleman out at his age? Thanks again. Tom

I wouldn't touch your hair right now. Your hair looks great. Your over-thinking it. Keep in mind that even though you are probably on meds, eating right etc, you will probably continue to thin out over time real gradually. You were receding at age thirty and Propecia and Rogaine really doesn't cover this area. Some previous posts are correct in saving the donor bank for this. Take the advice you are hearing. Best of luck.

Orlhair, looks like you will get an awesome result. I am amazed at what a broad area SMG used for your donor hairs. Will you be posting some of your own photos. You really do a great job at communicating your experience in posting your thoughts and great photos. Best of luck healing up. Tom

Awesome result for 3600 grafts. Great work.

Dr Reed, thanks for the photos. You bring up some great points in reference to hair diameter and describing realistic goals. Your one of the few surgeons that describe hair diameter and its importance in seeing results. First glance I would say it was a "so, so" result, but your description on older people having less diameter in their hairs, makes sense. Basically all that a majority of clinic posts just have grafts and number of hairs. Members post their comments based on images, grafts/hairs. Some comments can be negative due to the clinics not describing the hair diameter. Question for you. With this patients second procedure would you recommend a FUE or FUT? Secondly, what would be your coverage goal with a second procedure in placing grafts for density? Thank you. Tom

Dr. Tycocinski, Do you have any closer photos and any information on the hair diameter Its really hard to tell from the pics, they look long distance. Thanks.

What a great transformation for this guy. I could be wrong, but the description Dr Feriduni posts includes hair diameter! I think all the physical descriptions clinics post should have diameter of the hair listed. The diameter of the hair has a huge impact in to how much perceived coverage or density a person gets when doing a transplant. The same amount of grafts with a density of 50 Microns would probably look a lot different?

I have not experienced any side effects. I would go to a physician first and make sure there aren't any potential health concerns with any other drugs, allergies, etc you may have. If not I would highly consider trying it. I don't think it has helped me or many others in the frontal area so I wouldn't expect any improvement there. Propecia mainly helps around the the crown area. Some guys just keep receding back and their crowns remain strong. Others like me recede first and start to thin at the crown. If you choose to try it and you have side effects, you can always quit using it. The point is be proactive. If you are doing all you can then let it be, but if you are stressing over losing hair and wondering if something might work, like Propecia, and your not doing it, it can be even more stressful. This is just my opinion, hopefully it helps you.

Twohillpark, Hopeully this is helpful. A common denominator in a huge majority of people participating in this forum is that they want to look better and feel better about themselves whether they are just on meds, had a transplant or both. You are taking the first step. There is so much information and advice out there than just mine, use it.

It is a bit hard to tell from the pics, but I wouldn't pay too much attention to your Brothers' hairlines. Some siblings are Norwood 6 and the other has a mop of hair. I would recommend you seeing a recommend you see a preferred doctor on this forum to evaluate you and see if you are a good candidate for a future transplant. Get his or her opinion and see if you can get on meds without any medical complications that would hinder this decision. The meds are Propecia, which you'll need a prescription, and Rogaine Foam, which you can buy over the counter. Understand the potential side effects, but get a professional evaluation on a medical level. It would be a great start to be proactive on future hair loss. Bottom line is that you will feel better knowing you are doing everything you can to "fight" it. Along with the consult, the physician can probably give you an idea of what type of transplant and how many grafts are realistic and possible. Some of their advice will be dependent to see you can stabilize your hair loss so they can predict your future hairline.

I wish you the best of luck and encourage you to gather as much information as possible. Tom

Sounds like you had a great experience with SMG again. 1500 grafts is decent size for FUE. I am curious to hear about any downtime, or "ugly ducking" stage you will encounter if any and some pictures. Wish you the best of luck.

Dudalus, be careful on how you much you use Nizoral. If used to much it can cause shed. A majority of posts have indicated 1 times per week, 2 max. Secondly, if you are receding your other hairs are probably miniaturizing some. The hairs become weaker and a lot less dense. I had a mop of hair into my mid thirties except my receding temporals i.e. probably a Norwood 2-3. My early early 40's is when I first noticed any thinning up top. I first started with Propecia and that helped a lot, I mean a lot. I then was told to use Rogains and that really helped out the density of my hair. The key, and why I would recommend them both, is to be proactive in your hairloss and combat it as soon as you notice. It will help keep existing hairs and make them more dense. Now I am looking for a shampoo that will helpnot grow, my density and strength of my existing hair and to help maintain.

have you used Lipogaine Minoxidil ? I am thinking of switching from jus the Rogaine foam.

I think you are a great canidate for a procedure, your donor hair looks fine to me. You are at a perfect age to be able to get good results and enjoy your hairline going into your 40's. I would consult with a recommended doctor on this forum closest to you. The only exception is if you wanted and were a good candidate for a 4000 plus session, then I would go to someone ilke a Hasson and Wong. Some advice: Start doing scalp laxity exercises and secondly go for the largest session possible to get as many grafts the first time. Best of luck, I know you will be satisfied with the end result. Tom

orlhair1, Best of luck, I just had a procedure done about a month ago at SMG. I'm sure I will be back in the future sometime for a second round like you! Just curious as to why you chose to do a FUE as opposed to getting probably more donor hair, maybe 1000 more?, thru a strip procedure if the donor scar was hardly noticeable, I would assume a second procedure would give you the same result. By having a second procedure does it make the scar ultimately bigger?

I think it is an improvement overall especially in density, but be honest with you I would be disappointed in the temporal region. I have a similar hairline as yours and just did a 3 k procedure about a month ago and would expect more. Since your 37 I doubt you receded that much more in 1 year in your temporal area, but even if so the new transplanted hairs should have came in more dense to get better coverage. i would ask your doctor approximately what density he placed the grafts at. Your hair looks fairly course. Secondly, if you you used Dermatch it would really help to create a thicker look in those areas. I personally have not used Toppik, but heard good things.

II wouldn't use any body hair on your scar right now if you are planning on getting a larger FUT procedure later, it would be a waste of money, especially at 8 per graft. You will get a lot better looking scar with a good surgeon and use the rest of your donor hair. You probably won't even need body hair after that.