DV8

This is a place holder. I'll take pictures and write a little something about it, but not a lot has changed I don't think since previous year.

No, I'm not on any drugs. I purposely got a HT because I didn't want to be on them for the rest of my life. I stand corrected. $7500 then. ;-)

I have no immediate plan because it takes so many months before you don't need a hat and . However, should I find myself in a position where I can work from home for a few months and I get another $10,000 to spend, I wouldn't be adverse to the idea. I'd like to get the top filled in as you see it's a bit thin looking.

Two years later. The final result. PREVIOUS ENTRY

The only thing I notice is that my head seems to itch a lot still. I'm not sure if this is related to the HT or something else but... NEXT BLOG PREVIOUS BLOG

Today I bleached my hair back for the summer as the whole dark hair and beard thing was starting to bug me. I missed the old me! Plus I wanted to try an experiment to see if the blonde hair would have less contrast to my scalp and therefore let me gel & spike it up like I used to do pre HT. First the "bad news" ... When I went for the haircut, I decided to go back to a #2 guard on the clipper as I used to do before my transplant. As you can see it makes the scar show! UGH! I should have stayed with a #3 or maybe even more. It'll take some experimenting to see what the minimal length is I can get away with. I didn't realize the scar would be so obvious and honestly it brings back all these flashbacks about the staples. Now for the "good news" ... my theory worked! I can totally spike my hair again! And even though I said it before, I just love LOVE my hairline. I wish the top was more dense still as I have also said before, but at least it's not as noticeable or think looking like with the dark hair. For what it's worth, I've also realized that pictures really don't do the HT justice. The flash from the camera and being so up close makes it seem much thinner than it really looks in real life. I look in the mirror and don't see the same thing that I see in these photographs. I also constantly get compliments. The most curious compliement I get is, "You had hair transplants? It doesn't look like it." And I usually have to say, "Well, yeah, duh! That's the point. If you could tell, then I didn't get a very good one did I?" :wink: I swear I have referred so many people to Hasson & Wong that I should get a commission at this point! NEXT BLOG PREVIOUS BLOG

This is the one year mark. I don't see a lot of difference from the past few months, but maybe you do? Before I say anything further, I want to say that for the most part I am happy with the results. I'm certainly in a better place folically than I was a year ago and the fear of going bald is no longer something I stress about. Perhaps I should just be grateful that this proceedure even exists and more importantly that I was lucky enough to have gotten a great HT that looks natural. If HT wasn't possible, I'd be stuck either taking sketchy pills or just shaving it off. Both options I dreaded. I get compliments all the time by people I tell I had this done. Old friends whom I haven't seen in a long time notice and also compliment, although usually they can't tell what specifically I had done, they always say things like "you look great!" or "you look different". Now with all that in mind, I guess I'm still a bit disapointed that it's just not as dense as I'd hoped it would be. You've heard me say this before, but I want to wear my hair gelled/spiked and I just really can't do it as it is. You can clearly see in the photos how the top is quite thin, even when dry. I so wish that Dr. Hasson would have taken more hairs, maybe another 1,000 or so and just packed 'em all in the top. I don't know, maybe it's just not physically possible to do it that dense in one shot? I just know I told him to take whatever he needed and I didn't ever want to do this process again. I plan to go back to bleach blonde in the summer time. My logic is that for one, the lighter color won't contrast as much against my white scalp and hopefullly not look as thin. Plus the bleach straightens my hair and so it spikes straight up, giving more forgiveness to the eye for seeing scalp through it. I figure that I used to spike and bleach it before the surgery and it looked good then, so now that I have more hair, it has to look as good or better right? I hope. Barring that, I would consider another HT from Hasson (he's the only doctor I'd trust at this point) in another year or two after everything has stabalized and I'd tried my other ideas. But who knows, maybe at that point, I won't care as much about this density. Plus it's tough to do again since I no longer have the same job I did, and I don't get to work from home. That's another big reason I told him do do it all the first time, as I knew I had that luxury of not being seen for several months while it grew in. I do wonder however if the second time it appears to grow in quicker since there's more hair existing already and really I'm just growing grafts in between other healthy folicles? Bottom line... No regrets, and in fact just the opposite. I'm very glad I had it done even if it's not quite up to my expectation. I tell anyone and everyone that will listen about H&W and share this blog with them. My hair-cutters all have this URL on their biz cards to share with their clients as they themselves have seen the transformation on my head and still can't get over how good it is. I hope this blog helps other guys who are on the fence and facing the bald menace in the face every morning. Known that, like death, you're one day closer to losing it all. Know there is a viable permanent alternative solution out there, and it's name is Hasson & Wong. Thank you Dr. Hasson. Thank you Mike Ferko. NEXT BLOG PREVIOUS BLOG

Same ol' same old... not seeing much new changes, but maybe it's sublte and after 11 months I'm just having a hard time seeing the forrest through the trees (or insert some other cliche' here). Oddly my head seems to itch quite a bit these days. I'm hopeful that is still hairs poking through, but it's almost impossible to really tell at this stage. NEXT BLOG PREVIOUS BLOG

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Brooklyn Dudes Are Getting Beard Transplants Now Great news if you can't grow a beard and have a few thousand dollars to spare: "Facial hair transplants" are reportedly on the rise in New York. According to DNAinfo.com Dr. Yael Halaas has performed an average of one beard transplant per month on men from Brooklyn's "hipster"-filled neighborhoods, like Bushwick, Park Slope, and Williamsburg. "I get a lot of detail-oriented people — artists, architects," Halaas said. Dr. Jeffrey Epstein, who has been performing beard transplants for more than 12 years,told DNAinfo he averages about three beard transplants per week in his offices in Miami and Manhattan. "Whether you are talking about the Brooklyn hipster or the advertising executive, the look is definitely to have a bit of facial hair," he said. Other common clients include weakly-beared Hasidic Jews and men with facial scarring. One 39-year-old New Yorker who received a transplant last April described the procedure and results to DNAinfo. "I couldn't believe how much I had changed over the years and that I no longer looked like myself," he said. "I had contemplated [getting a beard transplant] for approximately eight months. Knowing the results, I wish I hadn't wasted so much time deciding." So how does the process work? From DNAinfo: The hair for beard transplants typically is taken from the patient's head — roots and all — and then planted through micro-incisions on a bare patch of face, in an eight-hour procedure under local anesthesia, similar to how hair transplants are done, doctors said. ... Once transplanted, the beard hair takes root gradually. The hair then falls out, but the roots stay and begin to grow new hair within several months, doctors said. Once it's fully healed, the new beard can be shaved regularly and will grow back just like real hair. And it only costs $3,000 (for fill-ins) to $7,000 (for a full beard)! Money well spent if you ask me.

I guess this is about as good as it's going to get I suppose. I probably won't post again till the one year mark just for consistency and closure. But at this point it seems I'll either need to be okay with wearing my hair un-gelled or spikey like I have done for the past 18+ years, or I'll need to get an additional HT to fill it all in. This gives me some mixed emotions. I'm a little let down in some ways and really impressed in others. I love my hairline. I get compliments all the time and most people including my hair cutters don't even suspect I have had a proceedure done. It's just not the expectation I had and also the density I was thinking especially having explicitly said to take as much as they needed. Oh well. It is what it is. It could be worse right? I could be one of those unfortuanate souls who got a botched job and then I'd be in a whole other predicament. I suppose I should count my blessings and be thankful for that at least. NEXT BLOG PREVIOUS BLOG

Not much to report. I feel like it looks pretty much like it did last month. I did go in to see Mike Ferko and he tended to agree it seemed a bit thinner than expected but we agreed to just see what happens over the next few months and if I'm still not thrilled with it then we'll talk to Dr. Hasson and go from there. The massive "shock loss" that I was having has subsided, so maybe it will fill in the density now. While these photos don't do it justice, I am really happy with the hair-line and the angle at which the hair is in front. It's actually exactly as I had hoped and envisoned it to be in my mind's eye -- even without telling the doctor. If it were more dense, it would be pretty perfect I think. I also went for a haircut again as it's been a couple of months. The lady couldn't believe I had a HT. She was digging through looking for the scar and couldn't find it, so she thought I was pulling her leg! LOL. She proceeded to tell me about two other clients she has. One guy has a huge scar across his head in the back and he asked her what she thought of the result. She said, "oh it will heal and look good, how long ago did you get it done?" He replied "Three years" !!! She was obviously silent as she realized that this poor guy was mangled and his head will never get any better as is. She went on to tell me about a lawyer client who had a much better HT from Portland, but even that did not compare to what she saw with mine. :-) NEXT BLOG PREVIOUS BLOG

Not a whole lot has changed since last month -- at least not to my eye. I am really liking my hairline though the more I see it. Again, I wish it were a bit denser, but it's still very nice to have it (and not the receeding hairline of 7 months ago). As mentioned previously, when it's dry it looks pretty decent -- decent enough I've even added a full face/head photo in this blog. And if you're gonna go, you might as well go big or go home, so I even sprouted some facial hair for the whole "Movember" movement. People have commented so positively they have convinced me to not shave the beard for a while. One friend half-jokingly said, "You look like a man finally!" HAHAH. uhhhhh, geeee, thanks? I think? :-p I did meet with my two friends that had gone under Wong's hands years ago and they said that my hair will continue to thicken and grow for up to a year and not to sweat it just yet. They suggested I'm being too hard on my self and even impatient. So once again, I will remain cautiously optimistic and hopeful that the density will eventually come. I've gotten this far, so what's a few more months to wait and see. At least I don't have to wear a hat anymore, and I have feeling in my head. I figure at worst case, now that I've gone through it once, I *could* get another one in a year or so, and probably only need like 1,000 more grafts to fill it in I'm thinking and also I presume the second time around would be a bit easier mentally since I know pretty much what to expect. I also figure I could be looking fairly normal sooner, maybe closer to 4-5 months since I'd already have a pretty decent base of hair now, that'll in theory grow quicker around the new ones -- unlike before where there was just nothing there really so it took a while for the grafts to do their thing. NEXT BLOG PREVIOUS BLOG

I got tired of doing the comb-forward and I was also tired of wearing my hair brushed back like a guido, plus it was getting so bushy. Not to mention those damn waves were really bugging the shit out of me. So I got a wild hair (pun intended) and decided to go get my 2nd haircut since the HT. This time I went a bit more radical and told the girl to go shorter (with the intent of spiking it using gel like I used to do) and using some thinning sheers on the back to try and match the density a little more so I didn't have such a definite line betwixt the two areas. It's interesting because looking in the mirror it kinda sorta looks okay, but clearly in the photos you can tell it is anything but "dense". And pictures don't lie. :-( At least on a happy note, I *think* that I am seeing less hairs falling out in the shower than before. It's so hard to tell, but looking at the pictures attached previously, I am leaning towards that theory. Which is great! Maybe that means my thin-looking head will fill in from those hairs too now. I don't know. NEXT BLOG PREVIOUS BLOG

Well this is the magic six month mark. The day I planned way back in April 24th when I got this done. Two days before my 44th birthday (October 26th) -- this was my birthday gift to myself. The day I was told I'd really see the effects... I have to say I am a little dissapointed. I have this feeling in my gut that I'm looking at about all the density I'm going to see for the most part and honestly I'm not loving it. If my hair is dry, then it certainly does look fuller -- but that's not how I wear my hair. I told the doctor that I gel and spike it. I also told him that I never wanted to do this proceedure again so take as much hair as he needed the first time (money is not an issue, especially when grafts are $3 each vs. $5 each if I were to have a second HT). The best way to sum up my hair is this: If you knew me already, then you'd say "wow! look at that new hair coming in" (expecting it to keep growing, especially from seeing me with my buzz-cut head 6 months ago). If you didn't know me, then you'd say, "That guy's hair looks like it's thinning..." :- The hairline is very good (again, it needs density, but the shape is very natural and I am quite pleased with that). Another interesting side effect, which makes sense, but I hadn't really thought about till now is that the new hair has the same "waves" as the back of my head used to have. I never really considered it since I keep the sides and back at about a 2 or 3 guard on the clippers. But many moons ago, when my hair was longer, I used to hate those waves -- that's why I keep it short back there! The irony is now they're front and center. A reason I will probably start to bleach my hair again in another couple of months as it makes it straighter, and gel makes it easier to spike it straight too. I still have a little hope left in me that there are still some dormant folicles that'll miraculously fill in the gaps, or that the folicles will sprout multiple hairs from themselves over the next couple of months. I do feel some itchy/tingly feelings sometimes like before when hairs were growing and making their way through my scalp, I just don't feel it enough. Not like I used to, and to me that's now a "bad sign". A sign that things are simmering down. In other good news, the scar seems to be for the most part gone. It's so very difficult to even see it, and that's looking eagle-eyed for it. Related all feeling in my head is normal again. No numb spots anywhere that I notice I feel kind of in limbo now. Like I'm going to have to endure another HT just to get the density I feel I was told I would have to start with. I was told Hasson can do 80 hairs per square inch and that normal hair is 100 hpsi, but there is certainly a visible difference between my new area and the old areas behind it. NEXT BLOG PREVIOUS BLOG

For what it's worth, the first time I met with Hasson was about 1/2 hour before my procedure. I met with Ferko locally in Seattle, and as mentioned in the blog, when he told me about our mutual friend (and my best friend's husband), I was sold. Then when I had two other friends I've known for 8+ years tell me they had gone to H&W (after I was telling them I was going to go), I knew without a doubt I had made the right decision. Like I said, I'm sure you can meet with Ferko locally in CA. You should call him and talk. Read my blog post about him and that experience so you're prepared for him -- he's a lot to take in at once, but one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Seriously though, just save yourself a lot of head-ache (see what I did there!) and go with the best. Don't even waste any more time worrying on WHO to get. Do your due diligence -- poke around the board for H&W posts and you'll quickly see. Then just pick a day and hang on for the slowest and longest ride of your life. LOL.

If you look at my profile (not the blog) you can see photos. Here is a direct link. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/DV8/albums/2270 For comparison, I am a Norwood 2 and had 3,262 grafts. If you're a 5A, IMHO 3500 seems low. Also, I paid $12,000 for mine all together. Details of that breakdown are in the blog. I personally would highly avoid any of the Bosley/Hair Club places. They're way over-priced and from my consultations cared more about "when can you start" and pricing than my hair. That was a real turn-off and made me feel like a dollar sign. Honestly, with the number of horror stories out there. I would spend the money, research, and go to the highest rated doctor you can find/afford. I'm telling you though Hasson & Wong are the best in the world -- just google them or search this forum and you'll quickly realize that. They'll pay up to $400 for your flight and put you in a very nice hotel for 2 nights, so really it makes finding a "local" doctor in CA incidental. I'm pretty sure Mike Ferko (the liason) goes there regularly so you can have a consultation with him and he can also remove your staples probably. Email him at mike@hassonandwong.com or call him 206-274-5166. BTW, I get nothing out of this, I just know how stressful it can be being in your shoes (where I was 5 months ago) and knowing what I know now, I want to help other guys chillax and have confidence in their decision. Another thing to consider is density. From what I've been told, most doctors can only get about 30 hairs per square inch. H&W pioneered a technique to get almost 80 !! A normal head has about 100. That's also probably why they told you 3500 to cover your NW5A -- that's about as much as those doctors are capable of. Keep in mind that the recovery is a very long process. If you can avoid doing a second procedure, that's in your best interest. I never want to do this again -- it's not painful, it's just socially crippling and mentally agonizing with all the WAITING. Seriously. Just jump in and do it right the first time even if it costs you more initially. You'll be thankful you don't have to start all over again in a couple years -- at least that's my opinion. When I met with Hasson, that's exactly what I told him too. I said, YOU are the master -- you do whatever many grafts you need to in this procedure because I don't want to come back.

I don't think coloring your hair had any effect. I used to dye it black for years. Then I'd bleach the shit out of it for about the past 18 years (until this surgery in April). All HT doctors I went to said that has no effect. Hair is like nails -- it's dead keratin basically. It only grows under the scalp and pushes out, like nails under the cuticle. As for a doctor. I researched the shit out of this and went with Hasson & Wong who are pretty much regarded as one of, if not THE best in the world. They're in VAN and pay for flight and hotel. You can read my blog as I'm at the 5 month mark today actually... http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/DV8/blog/3169/

Comparing today's pictures to a month ago, there is some definite changes. It's interesting because as you're going through it day by day, you don't really notice it as much. In my mind's eye, my head looks like it did a month ago, but now looking at the present with the past there side by side it's very clear. My head looks "thin" and you can see through it to my scalp. I still don't understand how there will be more density as it seems like I should be seeing little hairs growing in between the existing ones. Maybe it has to do with the groupings that Dr. Hasson did in the initial proceedure. Where he put 1's, 2's, 3's, 4's to those 3's and 4's are what's going to fill it in somehow. Or maybe the hairs themselves thicken up? Or possibly just as different hairs fall out at different times, other hairs are still yet to spawn. It is only the fifth month after all. I was told it would be 6 months at least till I would be seeing real progress. I went in to see Mike Ferko the other week and he said everything looks great and if anything I'm a little bit early (perhaps that MSM, Biotin, Silica was working after all). He says that I should be seeing some serious growth in the next month or two. Nothing I can do but continue to wait and see and have faith... One relief is that through some "creative combing" I am able to go out without a hat now for the most part -- especially in the evening (when it's darker). In direct sunlight you can still see through my hairs for the most part. I also notice that it absolutely "looks" thicker when it's dry than when its wet. As someone who used hair gel to spike up his hair, it's difficult for me to dry-style it, but anything is better than wearing a hat. It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing -- I'll take it! All feeling and sensation has pretty much returned to my scalp in the back and front. I'd say like 98-99%. There's still a little "something off" but I'm not at all concerned. And the scar is practically invisible. I seriously can't even see it anymore even when looking hard and moving hairs around. There's a bit of a residual "image" of the line in my hair which is curious, but I presume that is still remnants of my haircut and the loss of hairs near the scar -- which in theory will eventually fill back in as well. I had hoped that the shock loss that I experience in the shower would have subsided by now, but alas, it continues to be steady. At least 30-50 hairs are lost every day. I thought that if I don't wash it every day, then maybe some would stay, but it doesn't appear to make a difference. It just makes it look worse the next day as there are even more hairs falling out. Related to that, I wonder if some of those hairs are transplanted ones too (as in, they were in the back of my head and pre-programmed to fall out, and now that they were relocated they still are going to fall out as designed). NEXT BLOG PREVIOUS BLOG

Well, at the four month mark here, for sure it's easy to see changes and growth. I'm a little bit confused as to why the right side is denser than the left one?! I'm also hoping that more hairs will be sprouting still and what I see isn't all that I'm going to get. It seems strange to me that there could be a significant amount of hairs that haven't shown their little faces yet though after 4 months -- then again I was told it can take up to 6 months to see growth. In this case that is and isn't comforting at the same time. I mean, if I'm seeing results now, then why aren't I seeing all the results coming in together? All the hairs were planted at the same time, so what would make one hair grow faster than another? I think I need to go in and see Ferko and get the low down. I know what he's going to say -- I just need to hear him say it again LOL. "wait. just wait.". I don't think I've ever second-guessed anything in my life as much as I do this. It's a very conflicted feeling, knowing that Hasson is the best in the world and seeing results of other patients, and at the same time when it's on your own head, you start to think, "well maybe I'll be the exception to the rule and things aren't going to go as well for me as it did for everyone else". I still have a very itty bitty bit of numbness on the top front and back. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say it was like 95% back to nornal. I have gotten very tired of wearing a hat out to the clubs, so three times now I have done some "creative" styling of my hair and not worn a hat. Most people have said, "your hair looks so good!" -- which I don't know if the're blowing smoke up my ass or what, because to me, it's still all kinds of jenky. I also think the pink is finally starting to blend away to flesh color. It's wierd because in these photos it looks mostly gone, however in photos I've taken over the weekend out at clubs, I can definitely see the reddish area. So I don't know. Maybe it's the harsh flashes from the cameras that's amplifying the red or something in those cases? The shock loss continues to upset me on a daily basis. As a computer programmer, the basic math of this isn't sitting right -- I just feel the rate of loss compared to the rate of growth equals one bald-ass head soon! Visibly watching 30+ hairs or more every shower literally go down the drain, combined with seeing the thinning results (you can see them too in the photos), is mental anguish. I'd say even moreso than the waiting for the grafts to grow. It reminds me of this scene from The Hunger.. NEXT BLOG PREVIOUS BLOG

Holy cow. 2900 in just those little side receeding areas? jeesh. My whole top of my head with Hasson was 3,262 and I was told that is pretty dense. Well looks good so far man. You're pretty lucky you didn't have to buzzcut your existing hair, so your process will blend pretty quickly I think.

I too have heard great things about Gabel. I actually almost went with him myself, but after researching more and having three of my very close friends who had all gone to H&W that is who I decided upon ultimately. Bosley can suck a nut man, stay the hell away from them. I can't recall if Gabel uses staples or sutures, but from my research staples are the way to go (and my head can attest to the very minimal scar). Also H&W have pioneered using little blades rather than the hole-punch method and get 80 hairs per sq inch vs 30 or so that other docs get. I'd highly recommend H&W, especially if you have to fly to someone anyways, they'll put you up in a hotel and pay your flight up to $400. Plus the tax in canada is 5% ! Read my very detailed blog for my experience so far (3 months in) Hair Restoration Social Network - Hair Loss Patient Blogs

Slowly but surely I am seeing results. I think I'm a bit ahead of schedule actually. I was told it would take 3-5 months to START seeing hair growth, but I definately have hair in places I didn't ever have it before. This kind of confuses me, but hey, I'll take it! You can definitely tell if you look at my pre-HT pics and compare them to the current ones. The receeding part and and the opposite side of my "tuft" are sprouting. I feel that the "tuft" isn't as dense as it was before though, which is sort of strange, but maybe that experienced some shock loss or something? I'm hopeful that it will eventually fill in too along with the rest of my noggin'. I can now mostly feel the top of my head when I itch it (and it is itching pretty constantly). I don't actually scratch it with my finger-nails though, but more like just put the palm of my hand on it and sort of wiggle it and that satiates the sensation, or if I'm wearing my hat, I use my nails on the outside of the hat. Ironically I actually welcome that itch as it means that my little soldiers are fighters and working their way through my scalp to the surface. Get Some! Ooh Rah! Hurts so good. The back of my head is also mostly back. I still feel that same tightness when laying against something, but it's much much less now. The pink is still there, which is surprising to me as I really thought after 3 months it would be all flesh-colored again. I went to get a haircut for the first time and the barber was really impressed. He also had a hard time finding the scar. Which by the way, I won't be trying to take any more pictures of because honestly it's just too hard to find and see now. I do notice that the left side scar is a bit more pronounced than the other. I'm not super thrilled with that, but it is pretty hard to see still (but thicker and red-er) and I am optimistic that over time it will fade away more. One thing I noticed that is sort of odd is sometimes there are like little scabs on the back of my head scar. I would think that is all sealed up and wouldn't be excreting anything anymore, but it's happend about three times so far in the past couple of months. Nothing to be alarmed at but still odd all things considered. My whole head is DEFINITELY thinner than it used to be pre-HT, so I don't care what anyone says about losing 150 hairs per day is normal, even if that were so, then my head should be the same thickness as it was before since I would have been loosing 150 back then too! You can see through my hair to my scalp everywhere (sides, back, top). This is obviously a huge concern for me at the moment. My barber suggested I use the 3-step Nioxin product and so for $45 I am giving it a go. I THINK I notice my hair-loss slowing down in the shower, but I can't be certain it's from the product or if my shock-loss is just subsiding or maybe I'm just wishful thinking. There are certainly about 10-15 hairs on my hands for each of shampoo, condition, scalp treatment, but previously there were more like 30+ for each of those steps which was freaking-me-the-F-out to be honest. I don't have enough data yet to confirm anything and will report on this more, as it's one of the single most stressful parts of this whole process, watching my existing long hairs fall out every day... I can tell you that wearing a hat when I go out is REALLY getting old. Like I said before, I wasn't quite prepared for the duration of that. I guess I thought (and feel a bit mislead by every doctor I talked to who basically said the same thing) that my head/hair would look pretty much like it did before the HT after a month or two once the buzzcut part grew back. That is sooooo not the case. The thinner buzzcut part, the pink scalp and of course the new growth all contributes to one jenky-looking head. I have attached some extra pics that are from today 2013-08-06, which is only two weeks from the 3-month mark, and you can see a pretty significant change I think. I hadn't realized that until I looked at the 3 month pics just now compared to what I see in the mirror. Maybe that can be attributed to length of the same hairs, but to my eye, it looks denser. What do you think? Still nowhere near "styleable" yet however. NEXT BLOG PREVIOUS BLOG

I too went with Dr. Hasson on April 24th (3,262 grafts). Your results are outstanding and are calming me down and restoring my faith again. I am a little bit freaking out right now though at what I suspect is shock loss. Did you experience much shock loss? I see about 30 long hairs per day in the shower (not shedding the transplants, that's already happened last month). It's been happening for a month-ish. At this rate, I will be bald from that alone in a few months! My Blog

Most of the feeling in my head has returned. The back isn't really numb anymore, although it does have a "sensation" that I can only describe as "tightness" when laying it against my car's headrest, or couch, or even on a pillow in bed. It's not tight though as there is plenty of laxity. It's just kind of that feeling -- but only when pressed against something. The top part seems to itch a little bit every once in a while. I'm assuming that means things are percolating under the skin and it's a good sign. The weird part is that when I go to itch it, I really don't feel the satisfaction that a good itch/scratch provides. I find that using a brush to semi-gently itch the area helps more than using my fingers. The buzz-cut area is about 1/2" or so long. Still too short to style or do anything with, so I continue to wear a hat. That has it's own side-effects however, mostly I notice pimples happening. Most likely because of the heat/sweat/oil of wearing a hat all the time. On the plus note, the pink/red fades more and more every day. I REALLY thought it would have been long since gone by now though. It's pretty frustrating that it's been two months and it's still so visible. Also, I notice that my "tuft" does not seem to be growing back as densly as it was before, possibly related to below... Here's the part that is freaking me out though... I seem to be losing a LOT of my own hair. All the little transplants have since shedded, but these are the long ones. I see about 15 - 30 hairs on my fingers and in the bottom of the shower every day! It doesn't take a mathematician to figure that if I'm losing 30 hairs per day, that's 900 per month. If the average person has 100 hairs per square inch, that's nine square inches of my head! I can visually see that my whole head is thinner than it was last month. There is also still a fairly definitive "outline" in my hair where the scar is -- like a "dent" if you will. When I called H&W with my concern, they said it is "normal to lose 100 - 150 hairs per day"!! That makes no sense to me. That would be 3,000 - 4,500 hairs per month. My entire transplant was only 3,262. Not to mention that your hair only grows about 1/4" per month and these hairs are at least four times that length, so there is a desparity of growth vs. loss -- not in my favor. I could see maybe that many hairs over your entire body, but over just my head seems excessive. I asked if this could be the dreaded "shock loss" and they said it certainly could be and that it can take up to a year or more for it to stop. WTF?! I'll be friggin' bald at this rate. I was absolutely not prepared for this side-effect. I just hope and pray that this "shock loss" stops very soon and starts to reverse itself and my normal hair grows back... 2013-07-09 UPDATE I got a reply from Joseph Tillman at Hasson & Wong today regarding my blog post and concerns here... Thank you for sending the links. To be honest, you are not experiencing anything unusual. This is the typical "ugly duckling stage" that a lot of patients go through. The state that your hair is in now will soon begin to reverse. You stated in your blog that you are experiencing some pimples and it is from wearing a hat so much. If these pimples are forming in the recipient zone then this is not the case. The pimples are forming due to the activity going on under your skin. Some of the new hairs are starting to form and it is irritating the skin and some of of these new hairs forming are simply trapped and will cause such white head pimples. You can squeeze them out and it will release the hair. You might have to do this a few times as it heals but eventually it will be ok. Don't worry about damaging the grafts either. You can't hurt them as this stage unless you get a severe sunburn on your scalp. Regarding the amount of hair you are losing, this is simply part of the process. Even on a normal day when you have not had a procedure you are losing at least 100 to 150 hairs per day. You are not actually "losing" them per se but they are falling out. In a few months they are being regenerated and replaced. This is happening every day all over your head. The actual number of hairs you lose per day will vary depending on whom you speak with but in general it is an accepted fact that at least 100 are lost per day with some estimates being at up to 200 per day. You can read more about it on the link below. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_normal_hair_loss_and_excessive_hair_loss If you have any further questions about your post-op recovery feel free to call me anytime. My # is below. Regards, Joseph Tillman NEXT BLOG PREVIOUS BLOG