RopainNogain

I was a norwood 4-5 at the age of 23. I have had two transplants and I'm lucky to have responded well to finasteride. Finasteride really doesn't do anything until the post 6th month mark. You have to really stick with it as if it isn't going to work, but make it a habit to take the pill every day. The main misunderstanding with younger people (like me), is that if I lose the hair, I’ll replace it with a hair transplant. True, you can replace some of it, but you can't replace all of it. The density is one of the most important factors you need to become educated on. Usually an ethical doctor will not transplant at a high density on a younger patient because of the unknown future of potential loss. The two main factors making a transplant a success in the patient’s eye is naturalness and then density. Getting a high acceptable density is hard to achieve if you aren't stabilized on medication. And it's true, the lower the age, the higher the density must be to satisfy the patient's expectations. With that being said, i would agree you should get on finasteride again and wait a year to see what come of it. And once you start, get off the forums for a while. You don't want to be 3 months into it and read something negative about finasteride that influences you to stop. After watching all the negativity on the news, you would never consider going out into society again or driving on the streets. The reason you still go out into society although all the negative things are happening, is because you have to..... you must have a social life, go to work, make a living, etc. etc.... No different here.... you MUST stabilize your hair loss and finasteride has the best potential to do so.

It depends on your pattern of loss and the amount of native hair you still have present. I would much rather explain any redness as a sunburn than try and hide it with a concealer, because you will go from having a bald spot to having no bald areas with concealer. I would guess a concealer would raise more questions than just having the transplanted hair grown in over the year period. The year growth phase really does mask that you had anything done because it happens so slow.

Xtatic-I didn't notice it get thicker, the hairs just flowed better and layed in a more natural pattern. The wirey hairs straightened out and styling becomes a bit easier.

They say loosing 100 hair a day is normal, but when your head is transplanted at less than 50% original density it's like loosing 200 or more! Seasonal shedding sucks and I think i'm experiencing it. I don't really know, but my hair is feeling quite thinner in the past two weeks.

Yes, the above statement mirrors my experience. The full maturity into naturalness starts after 12 month post op. My hair started looking more natural at the 14 month mark.

Good stuff Scotty... that's how it's supposed to be

No, 1cm is not good. It could always be worse, but by no means is 1cm acceptable... don't let anyone tell you that and if they do, don't listen.

I had the stand alone treatment done about 7 months ago. All it did for me was make my hair a little bit darker and possible provide slightly better scalp health. It did not regenerate or boost any miniaturized follicles and if it did, the cosmetic difference was nothing. The claim is slows loss is still unknown as loss happens progressively and slowly, so you won’t really know. Maybe some respond better than others, but some people win the lottery too……hmm, what are your chances. I did it because I was one that had to know… now I know. Guess it depends on your level of loss too. I'm a NW5. You being a NW3 might yeild a better benefit, since you haven't lost as much hair.

You're welcome. You will most likely be excited by the 4 month mark as you will start to develop a hairline. At 6 months the excitment really kicks off. Word for the wise.... I was told I have great elasticity too, and then I got a stretched scar.... when I confronted the Dr. about the situation he said...... because you have a lot of elasticity. My scar is 1cm tall from ear to ear. Do you know how dense your grafts were placed near the hairline and frontal regions? It seems like you’re doing the right things. Don't let me scare you as I’ve had two surgeries, I’m just giving you some insight on what to watch out for.

Don't base your decision on price. Pick the better dr. because 12 months from your surgery you don't want to say to yourself "what if" That's a mental game that will drive you crazy. It's like buying a car that's cheaper... sure it does the same thing the other car will do, but if the more expensive one looks better, etc. you would be happy you spent the extra money or waited until you could. If you wear that car on the top of your head, you want it to look the best. You can cover a bad paint job with another coat, but a hair transplant is a one shot paint job. If you spend 8,000 for an unsatisfying result, you would be willing to spend 80,000 to fix it. Spend the extra to give you the best chance to get it right. This is my advice, because after two procedures I have the thoughts of what if I went to "X" clinic instead of "Y"

My advice is to stop looking in the mirror and have realistic expectations... It will drive you insane critiquing your progress every day... take pictures ever month and base your progress off those because it happens so slow you really won't recognize it happening. The best advice I can give is don't stretch the donor scar!!! Don't look down or put your chin on your chest whenever possible. This includes in the shower or going to the restroom. DON'T do it. Don't risk stretching that sucker. You had 2,000 grafts and it's your first procedure, so most likely you will be alright, but don't risk it. The smaller the donor scar, the easier a second procedure will be for you if you ever need it.

Scotty, I had my transplant by the same doctor. If you have any questions let me know. Redness in the recipient area is normal 10 days post op. This slight redness might continue for another two months. Your concern seems to be the spot that is a bit redder than the surrounding area. Let me know what the Dr. says about that. If I was to guess his response, it would be "that's normal, don't worry about it"

After my second FUT procedure I had donor area shock loss. I agree this rarity is underestimated to give you a false sense of security.... Just enough to bounce at the opportunity thinking to yourself... that's a low percentage that I will experience donor shock loss, but it's a high percentage I will feel anxiety towards my current situation of hair loss. Donor shock loss is more common than you think and the more procedures you have, the more you are at risk. They say recipient shock loss is from trauma and stress around the follicle, but if you think about it the donor area receives more trauma than the recipient via FUT strip removal. It's not a series of tiny pin holes, it's a deep trauma wound. Just my opinion, but I agree it is underestimated for sure!!!

For this type of repair work, I would consult with multiple surgeons and discuss different approaches. My first question would be can I remove the obvious grafts near the hairline and redistribute these grafts in a more natural pattern to camouflage the surrounding minigrafts. Combining this with another follicular unit procedure could reverse the mental and physical effects that your previous procedure is causing you. I would be afraid of noticeable scaring if all you do is remove the existing grafts. A surgeon would have better insight on that aspect though, thus emphasizing the importance of consulting with a handful of different surgeons. I would suspect you would get different opinions.

Anybody use Kerasome hair building solution? (liquid application or dry fiber application) I'd have to say after using can sprays, fibers, and dermatch, this stuff gives the most natural convincing look of a full head of hair. It takes a bit of time to apply, but the end product is very convincing. Trying to get others opinions on its usage... Thanks!

One of the biggest limitations to strip scars is the appearance of them once the hair is wet. This limits swimming and fun activities that involve water... limits them if you want to keep it a secret.

Like I have already said, I think my hair looks thin at times, BUT last night I had a compliment from a female I've never met before saying I love your hair. Having hair is really just as important as other aspects of physical appearance. I think it looks thin, but to others it doesn't even appear that way. Just another point of reference to the posted question. You see it, others don't. It's hard to believe that, but it is true. I worry about the thin spot in my crown, but to others it doesn't appear to be bald I guess. If this female thought I was balding, she wouldn't have said I love your hair. That wouldn't even make sense now would it.

Without pictures I don't know for sure but I can guess that it appears normal to others. I didn't even recognize my own hair loss until a while after the process started. If I didn't know, i'm thinking others didn't know either. You have to lose a lot to appear balding. The harsh lights in bathrooms make it appear pretty bad, but unless your eyes focus on top for more than a brief second you won't notice. Even a hair transplant appears thin under harsh lighting, but in most situations it appears like a full head of hair. Try some concealer if it bothers you. If you are thinning, maybe consider some preventative measures.

My second transplant grew slower (and is still maturing- 12 months post op) than the first. I think some of it really does grow slower and the other aspect is that you have existing hair present making it harder to recognize any significant growth. The significant growth comes in around the 6 month mark, so until about 7/8 months, you're going to have to keep riding the slow riding train. Shock loss might be why it looks a tad worse than before the transplant. Even at 6 months you might say.... idk about this yet.... keep waiting..... it sucks so bad I know!!! I'd wait until about the 8 month mark before I got concerned if it's not looking better than before. Even at 8 months, it might not be as thick as anticipated, but the continuing maturation takes place well after 8 months if you are indeed a slow grower.

I would agree with your statement. It's all about a good doc and some good luck. Good laxity helps, but then if stretch back is a result, the culprit is your physiology. That's what a doctor wants you to believe. I think it's more about donor harvesting and closure technique (good doc) and healing ability (luck). If sutures are removed at 10 days post op because of inflammation risks and the wound isn't healed enough to be strong enough to hold its own, of course it will stretch. Good scalp flexability will help alleviate the risk for sure, but having a good doctor present all options for each individual and having a detailed conversation fined tuned towards their individual circumstances would benefit so many patients. I don't think that many docs do this. They get good scars on average so they do the same for every patient because they are comfortable with an average. A good doc wants to have a 0% stretched scar rate. Maybe a hard feat to accomplish, but it's certainly possible to get close. So many doctors suture you up and remove them at 10 days post op to hope for the best. Maybe some patients would benefit from staples and removing some 10 day post op and the remaining at a later date. I asked my doc about using staples and he said it's outdated and blew off my question. I think message techniques can help because it allows your scalp to not have as much tension upon closure than it normally would have had without the exercises. I guess each case is different. Post op care is also paramount! The sad part is the best answer to your question is "who knows" We can alleviate the risks, but the possibility of stretching is always present.

That may be the case for a small percentage of the hairs. If supposedly 10% of your follicles are in the resting phase at one given time, 10% of your transplanted hairs could be in the resting phase. Although the resting phase doesn't last an entire year, some of the already grown in hair could shed and currently be sitting in a resting phase. Growth at any stage could have different explanations.

A second transplant session will grow a bit slower than the fist session it seems. It has for me anyway. I'm 12 months post op from my second session and I still have some more maturing to go. I think most the hair has sprung, but the straightening of the wiry hairs has some more time to go. The naturalness and final maturing of the thickness comes in the months following the one year mark. Seasonal shedding can also make some areas look sparser than what you anticipate them to be.

About 12 to 15 months post op from my first FUT procedure I had some hair shedding. I perceived this hair fall to be an additional shed due to progressive hair loss, but these hairs seemed to be healthier thick hairs, which has lead me to believe this was a result of a seasonal shed. This occurred from late summer into the fall season. During this shed I had a second procedure to add density to sparse areas caused by shedding. I'm almost afraid I jumped too early to have the second procedure and I could have damaged follicles that shed by having the recipient site needle transect a good amount of perfectly good follicles. I have a fair amount of density and happy with my result after 11 months post op from the second procedure, but i'm always thinking if I waited, could my result have been better? Am I correct in thinking that planning your procedure during a certain time of the year revolving around minimal shedding is more important than you might think? On average, you would start to see a trend of slower times at clinics during the summer and fall months. Just a thought, what do you guys think? Appreciate the input!

It's in my profile under the alblum named Post Op 2nd Procedure

Yeah that's what I was told as well. It's shockloss and it will return... just wait. I had a funny feeling it wasn't and what do you know... it wasn't. All you can do is wait, but don't get your hopes up. Darsha5000, I posted a scar pic in my profile if you want to take a look.