Thomas2012

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.

I have used Revita off and on the past 4 years. I think it adds volume, but I did seem to notice more shed. I don't know if it is like Rogaine where you get an initial shed and hair comes back stronger, but didn't want to take any chances. I think the longest I used it straight was 2 months. I would be curious if anybody else noticed shed. It you read the list of ingredients it would seem to have the most combined best ingredients out there. Copper Peptides, caffeine, and 1% of the ketz? in there. I did notice the same shedding effect when I used Nizoral over the counter too.

Adam, your hair really doesn't look that bad. The scar looks nasty when you shave your hair down to the bone, but it looks like you have a fair amount of donor hair left. Get the largest FUT possible first and use what you have...and make the scar look better. Let that sit a couple of years and consult with Dr. Umar in the meantime and get a good game plan moving forward if you need to start using your body hairs. Best of luck. Tom

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/168974-shapiro-medical-7-months-medical-therapy-only-result.html this was just posted today. You are a bit younger, but can see where the Propecia may help you.

Congrats! Your scalp will be red for awhile. Based on what I have seen in pictures it could linger for a couple months, but go back to normal. If you had a strip procedure I wouldn't shave your head otherwise you will see the donor scar. Best of luck

Boardin786, First of all, congratulations on your procedure! I admire you. It takes a lot of courage for a young man your age to take this step. Your hair loss has been bothering you for 5 years and you did something about it. You were proactive. 23 is not too young as long as you understand you'll continue to lose your native hairs. The first step I would recommend is to really get some longterm goals for your hair loss. You are very fortunate to be able to gain knowledge thru this forum. The first step I would recommend after you see how this procedure turns out, which will be a big improvement, is to assess what you really have left for donor hair and assess how aggressive your hair loss will happen. I have been on Propecia with good results for 5 years. It may stabilize your hair loss. If I were your age and you don't want to wait for hair to fall out a lot the next 10 years before a significant "3500 plus" procedure, I would really explore doing smaller less evasive procedure FUE, and maybe a couple of them in the meantime, money permitting. I would highly consider in your case to see Dr. Umar for potential body hair FUE transplants and possibly save your donor hair for a large "mega session" later on in life. Money aside why not? Stay proactive like you did in this case and feel good about the future and not reactive and just watch your native hairs fall out. Dr. Umar has done some amazing procedures and I am sure he would give you sound advice. I have posted twice on any potential body hair FUE concerns, but maybe third time will be a charm for input from some of the senior members on this form to offer their opinions. Again, I admire your courage to improve your looks and be proactive. I wish you the best of luck. Tom

Great job. It is nice to see pictures beyond the one year mark. Thanks for the post.

Looks great. Does Dr Umarhave any long term success data on body hairs transplanted 5 years plus? I had posted earler about some of the apprehension I sense from this Network and lack of cases from surgeons of the degree of success in Body Hair Transplants. Dr Umar seems to embrace this technology. Is the technology that new? Is there a risk of body hairs not being successful as opposed to back of scalp donor hair? Is it just not cost effective for a majority of surgeons to do body hairs as opposed to tradtional FUE. I have read a lot of senior members that post, " save your donor hair" for future transplant by not doing smaller procedures on the first one. Doesn't it make sense to combine the two to maximize your donor hair? Like I had mentioned in an earlier post, I think FUT are very evasive and cause down time when you shave your head. If a combination of donor FUE and Body Hair FUE would seem like a preferred choice for a second or third procedure. I would appreciate from feedback on this one. Thanks

Birdness, I would be hesitant on using on your scalp along with Rogaine. I use Retin A on my face everyday and it can be irritating at times and I have oily skin. I think you will dry your scalp out too much. Are you using the foam? Secondly I believe the foam penetrates better when you apply when your hair is damp, but maybe some other members could chime in.

Dr. Bhatti great job. I am really surprised with all the nice results posted, especially with Dr. Umar, that more doctors do not perform these body hair procedures along with donor hair FUE transplants. There seems to be some apprehension I sense with this community and the doctors. Is it a fairly new procedure? Maybe it just takes too much time for the doctors? I just recently had a 3000 FUE procedure done about two weeks ago, which I am quite happy with, but if I would have a second one done in the future I would go the route of body and donor hair FUE if possible. Here is why. With all the research and information I gathered on this network, I was still surprised how evasive the process is and how much down time. Shaving my head added to this because I wanted to minimize any chances of "shock loss". I knew this. For any future candidates plan on taking two weeks off and you are going to look " weird for about a month". Secondly, not so much the aesthetics, but the donor area incision is painful to sleep on for about a week to 10 days after. If I could use a 1000 body hairs in combination with donor hair FUE it would be my choice as long as I knew the body hairs would work. I would appreciate some feedback. Thanks.

Mk92, I had my transplant done the same day. A fue 3000 grafts. I bumped my head two days ago and nothing happened so I believe they are pretty well set now. Have you noticed a lot of itcheness in graft area and especially donor suture area? I have been putting Neosporin on suture area, which really helps, but any help on what to potentially put on transplanted area that won't hurt them. Thanks

I have used Dermatch the past three years and have had great results. I have noticed when I use a gel like Aveda Pommade it really lays the hairs back nice and natural

I just had my real first hair transplant experience. I had a previous one 4 years ago, but only about 400-500 grafts. After my first experience I began to go on line and realized how un-educated I was regarding hair loss and treatments and really how un-professional I was treated before and after my procedure. I knew within 5 years I would want another procedure. I contacted the Shapiro Medical Group and began my education and journey that ended with a 3000 graft strip procedure yesterday by Dr. Paul Shapiro. Their staff, especially Matt Zupan has been so good to work with I can't say enough. i have enjoyed from the sidelines the past 5 years gaining knowledge from this Network and thank you all for your postings. this is my first post and feel free to ask any questions you have regarding my experience.