JohnnyDrama

This is an article my rep made me aware of when I was asking him about shampoos etc, and it might be of interest to some. Since then I've been using the shampoo in my sig and find it good. Are 'paint stripper' chemicals in shampoo destroying your hair? So you regularly spend hours — and what feels likes a week’s wages — getting your hair highlighted, you’re never without straighteners and you’ve even tried a Brazilian blow-dry to get the perfect sleek look. Yet your locks stubbornly remain more lacklustre than luscious. Have you ever considered your shampoo might be to blame? Research suggests it could be — specifically brands that contain sulphates. These have been used for decades as foaming and cleansing agents. You’ll find them in toothpaste and shower gel as well as most shampoos. Hair-raising: Shampoos containing sulphates are more likely to make hair turn limp and dry Hair-raising: Shampoos containing sulphates are more likely to make hair turn limp and dry Recently, though, the cosmetics industry has got itself in a lather over them — partly because of a trend for more ‘natural’ cosmetics containing gentler ingredients, but also because they have been found to fade the colour of highlighted or dyed hair, and affect the results of long-lasting Brazilian hair-straightening treatments. They are also more likely to make hair that is often styled with heated appliances such as straighteners and tongs turn limp and dry. As a result, in the past 18 months an increasing number of hair products boasting they are ‘sulphate-free’ have started appearing on supermarket and chemists’ shelves. So what are sulphates, and do we really need to be cautious of them? In the words of one well-known cosmetics advert: here comes the science bit. A sulphate is a salt of sulphuric acid (gypsum, or plaster of Paris, is probably the best-known example). With shampoo, two particular sulphates are commonly used: sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) It is these that are being excluded from the new breed of shampoos. Not that there is anything actually dangerous about them — the much-repeated internet rumour that they are potentially carcinogenic is a myth. Technically called surfactants (a shortened form of ‘surface-active-agents’), sulphates act as cleaning agents to dissolve dirt, boost foam and enable dissolved dirt and oil to remain liquid so they can be rinsed away. These attributes undoubtedly make sulphates useful ingredients for shampoos: the problem is that not only do some people find they irritate their skin, they can also over-strip hair — like paint stripper. If your hair is lack-lustre and out of control despite your best efforts, consider switching to a gentler shampoo If your hair is lack-lustre and out of control despite your best efforts, consider switching to a gentler shampoo ‘SLS and related compounds lather well and produce a rich foam, which cleans the hair effectively, but they can irritate the eyes and leave the hair dry,’ says dermatologist Dr Sam Bunting. ‘This is a particular problem for those who colour or straighten their hair regularly, or have very long hair, where the ends can easily get into bad condition.’ Their over-effective cleansing action can also gradually strip hair colour. Fans of Brazilian-style hair-straightening treatments, especially the ones that use a small percentage of formaldehyde to achieve their long-lasting results, will have been advised by salons to avoid sulphate-based shampoos. Finding an effective SLS-free shampoo used to be difficult, but recent advances in technology mean that there are plenty of shampoos to choose from containing gentler cleansing agents derived from corn, coconut and oats. ‘Gentler surfactants can clean the hair just as effectively as harsher ones,’ says Dr Bunting. ‘The fact that a shampoo produces foam is not a good indicator of how well it works. Gentler surfactants are an excellent choice for most people, especially anyone with processed hair or a sensitive scalp.’ Examples of effective surfactants include cocamidopropyl betaine and sodium lauraminopropionate. ‘These will clean the hair and leave it soft and manageable,’ he says. Conditioners don’t contain SLS or SLES. On a shampoo’s ingredients list the chemicals will usually appear second. But if you scan the list closely it can be confusing, since many of the ingredients, even in designated ‘sulphate-free’ shampoos, may still end in ‘-sulphate’. ‘The one we use as a foaming agent — sodium coco sulphate — is derived from coconut,’ says a spokesman for Green People, a company that specialises in organic body-care products and eschews damaging surfactants. So, if you fancy trying a more gentle shampoo, the key is to look for the words ‘sulphate-free’ on the packaging. This will mean that the product is free from sodium lauryl sulphate and sodium laureth sulphate, no matter what other sulphates appear as an ingredient. And are these products worth it? Well, if your hair is coloured or straightened, it may well thank you for it.

Good stuff mate......looking good. I'm glad my threads have been a help too......I saw your initial thread when you thanked me and I had intended to reply but lost the thread when I revisited the site! 3,600 is indeed a big procedure by FUE standards. The fact that you are 48 and your virgin scalp is in a top docs hands puts you in a very envious position. You'll have a ridiculous head of hair for a 50 year old when you get there! One thing I'd like to know is the extraction protocol / pattern of Dr Lorenzo.....in that what % of a persons donor would he consider 'maxxed out' etc. I'm a big fan of Dr Bisangas extraction pattern and I feel it is one of the many reasons he stands out as well. He would typically harvest 25-30% of a persons scalp donor over the course of time. Any idea what Dr Lorenzos is?

My clinic instructed me to stop it 14 days before the op, and that I could begin it 14 days post HT.

Best of luck Gotime......it will be great to get another patient posting their progress with Dr Lorenzo. I've been very impressed with his clinic-posted work, so I'm sure you're in for a big transformation with 3000 grafts from the doc.

All good mate......have been too busy/lazy to get another buzz recently so hoping to get in tomorrow/Wednesday. Apart from that everything looking about as ugly as one would expect right now. Have upped my Rogaine application to twice daily a week or two back so I'm hoping that will have a positive impact in the coming months. On top of a HT shed, I'm probably also in the midst of a Minoxidil shed, maybe even a seasonal shed, and throw in Fin for good measure. All jokes aside though it's not so bad. How about yourself?

I am 10 weeks post FUE of 2200 grafts and, touch wood, as far as I can see I have 'gotten away with it. 'I was never buzzed in all my 30 years, but since the op I've been sporting the buzzed look. What was important was I spent the first 3 weeks abroad. When I returned people just thought I buzzed my head. I got lots of 'why did you do it' questions but many are now beginning to say the buzz suits me more! 3 weeks post op and I was out on the beer with a big group of friends. They all took the piss about my shaved head, but after the initial few mins they moved onto other things! Not once has anyone suspected I got a ht, why would they when my recipient area is so sparse right now due to the shedding period. In fact, this is a topic I was thinking of starting myself "Why the slow growth process of a HT is a GOOD thing". I think a HT would be very very obvious if the recipients hairs never shed. I think the gradual growth process allows things to take shape without people suspecting overnight transformations. Redness etc is something that can give away some work, so post op care is vital here. Worst case scenario, many people have come up with inventive excuses to the redness, from infections, to sunburn, to adverse reaction to other medication etc.

There are plenty of people out there who use natural products instead of Finasteride, from a DHT-blocking point of view. The two most obvious that spring to mind for me are Saw Palmetto and Nettle Root extract. You should definitely look into both and do some research. They are believed to have DHT blocking capabilities and are maybe less in terms of sides compared to Fin.

The average person can have between 4000-5000 scalp FUE grafts available. I emphasize the term 'average person'. There are a lot of variables at play to determine this. The density of your donor is possibly the most important factor. The total scalp FUE available can also vary from clinic to clinic. Some clinics prefer to take 25-30% of total donor region over a lifetime as a rule, whereas others are happier to take a higher percentage. So one clinic could tell you 4000 FUE over your lifetime and another clinic could tell you 5000+. I would certainly ask your own HT doctor though. They should have your stats recorded and should be able to give a rough enough figure as to what you might expect. This was actually one of the first questions I asked all 4 HT docs I met through my initial in-person consultation.

Looking good mate! I'm just gone past week 10 mark myself. For me the worst bit was from week 5-9, and I think I'm gradually coming out of the ugly duckling period. Like me, you seem to be embracing the buzz!

Yes, this is quite common. The important thing is to ride this out. Too many people come off the meds at this point thinking it is just doing harm, before they allow a new growth cycle to begin. Shedding is believed by many to be a sign that your scalp is reacting positively to the medication, that the follicles are in a resting phase until (hopefully) a new, healthier hair is grown out in the coming months. I reckon someone needs to try a solid dose of meds for 9-12 months and then make a judgement call on whether or not they are having a positive effect.

It depends if the concealer is actually resting on your scalp, as opposed to within your hair. I believe when it comes into contact with the scalp and gets 'caked' onto it, this certainly can impede growth as the scalp can't breath as well. I know as I had the caking effect when I first started using concealer in Jan/Feb of this year. My own clinic recommended I try to avoid concealer for 3 months post ht and I intend to do so, if not even longer.

Dr Erdogans rate is €2.50 per graft.

Looks good Dub! I'm 2 months out from the same doc so will be keeping an eye on your progress! Hope you keep us updated! Interesting your loss pattern.....in that your recipient area is slightly unusual, its like a reverse horse shoe. I also had an usual enough procedure in that I had no hairline work done whatsoever, all in the midscalp. Yours looks good and as expected for this point. We'll be able to comment on your result in 12 months!

Very impressive!

2 Months I didn't get a chance to get to the barber yesterday as I spent all day either in bed or the bathroom.....damn vomitting bug! Like I said, no real change as such so I'm hoping gradual improvements from here on in with my future monthly updates. My gfs mum during the week told me I look so much better with short hair compared how long I had it and said "It takes years off ya". I laughed, and it's good to hear. Hopefully once the midscalp regrows, there'll be another few years to come off! Another thing I'm glad to report on is that I haven't touched any concealer post op at this point. BHR suggest to try to go at least 3 months without it.....and to be honest, at this point I don't see me using the stuff for quite some time yet. Again, this is where I think getting the hair buzzed for surgery plays a massive advantage. Had I left some native hair (which originally I was hoping to), I think I would have been more tempted to use concealer to match things up. So on that front I'm very glad I buzzed initially and would highly recommend everyone to do the same for FUE (even if it's the last thing in the world you want to do - such as it was with me).

2 Months post-op today. As with looking at hundreds of other posted cases, I think I am at the least spectacular part of the whole process! What's helping is that I am currently busier than ever with work, doing 50-60 hr weeks and not having much chance of socialising/thinking about things is probably good right now! The past month has flown. Not much of a change over the last couple of weeks. Still 'reasonably ok' with the whole ugly-duckling thing, but its 3 weeks since my last cut so I'm hoping to buzz it before getting to the office in the morning before heading out on a work party tomorrow night. The shorter the cut, the less wary I am about my thin midscalp, so will probably just buss to 1.5" sides and back and 2" on top. Will post pics tomorrow or Saturday.

There is a poster here with CVG who has recently had his 2nd FUE op with Dr Feriduni. He is starting to look really good too so I wouldn't lose faith.

I was in touch with my rep beforehand on what to expect re how experienced my techs would be, but didn't really ask for the level of detail you are referring to. To be honest, at that point, I had done so much research, I had put my full faith in the clinic and their practices so I was relatively at ease from that point of view. I don't see a problem in you asking those questions to individual clinics though! I recall asking two other techs (one taking out grafts, the other who was cleaning them) during op day #1, but I was pretty out of it at the time due to a combination of drugs and lack of sleep the night before, so can't quite remember what they had said.

Whispy, I'm a Dr Bisanga patient as of 2 months ago (FUE), and like Modenese said, Dr Bisanga punches every single donor graft himself, and makes every single incision in the recipient area himself. There are then specifically trained techs that (1)remove the grafts from the donor (2)dissect/clean/prepare grafts for placement and (3)place the grafts (the placement technician working on me had 11 years experience in this). Dr Bisanga will come in and overlook these procedures at certains points through the process to monitor that everything is in order. I believe in Dr Feridunis clinic, that the techs do play an even bigger role in the process in that Dr Feriduni makes the incisions in the recipient areas, but the techs do all of the extractions.

I'm 2 months post op from an FUE procedure with Dr Bisanga and so far I can't complain. In fact I've healed much better than expected and I've dealt with the ugly duckling period far better than I thought. I did a LOT of research initially and still wouldn't change my decision with all the post-op research since my procedure. Granted what I've seen from Lorenzo is very impressive, I simply haven't seen enough patient-posted cases to 'vouch' for him or to have felt overly comfortable committing my head at the time. Obviously with his recent recommendation here that should change and guys have already begun posting which is great. I really think you can't go wrong with either doc, and in my opinion you've narrowed it down to 2 of the very best, globally. Another thing to look into is clinic post op care etc. E.g. how responsive they have been post surgery to patient emails etc. Do as much research as possible and speak with former patients of both. It's a big decision and you don't want to leave yourself with any 'what ifs' etc.

Melinda.......in case you didn't come across it, here's a thread that might be of interest. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170331-dr-bisanga-bhr-clinic-prp-0-7-months.html I recently had PRP in conjunction with my HT. It could very well have helped me in my speed of healing etc, but it will obviously be difficult for me to measure how effective it was in its own right. I just thought it certainly couldn't do any harm and it seemed to react well for diffusers.

The length of redness/pinkness differs for everyone unfortunately. There are a lot of variables at play......skin tone, post op care / conditions etc. I had PRP and it certainly didn't do me any harm as my noticeable redness cleared after about 3-4 weeks. I was very strict with my post op care though. Things I did that may have helped things: PRP, Aloe Vera 100% spray applied from 14 days post op and massaged in, no exposure to sun, no exposure to warm water, regularly cleansing (scabs were gone by day 7), no exposure to chlorine/swimming pool.

UK and Ireland clinics seem to charge for consultation, whereas many others do not. I had 4 consultations in one weekend in Belgium and even though 4 was a stretch, I'd recommend you try to do the same. I can't say I'm too well read on eye brow cases though.

UK and Ireland clinics seem to charge for consultation, whereas many others do not. I had 4 consultations in one weekend in Belgium and even though 4 was a stretch, I'd recommend you try to do the same. I can't say I'm too well read on eye brow cases though.

Coming along nicely now Stu. When you consider you've only really had two months or so of the growth phase kicking in, you've still got a lot to come over the next 3-4 months in particular.