Louisjams

1) Results posted are often cherry picked. 2) Lots of overharvested men out there.

I think that if you had a goal of adding some hair to the front and leaving the crown alone you could have an outcome you could be happy with. These boards tends to gravitate towards some of the highest expectations and most aggressive outcomes, but it all depends on what you want to be happy.

I may be a bit of an outlier but I think it’s a good result and it doesn’t look bad at all.

Good luck and keep us posted. I hope you did not get overharvested.

I may be the outlier here but I think you look OK. I think it is a natural look and you look totally normal to me.

Take at least a week off after...two if you can. HT is surgery, and you need time to recover. You will likely be tired and dealing with aftercare and swelling etc. Do not underestimate the fact that you will be worn out.

At 3 months you will just be beginning to exit the ugly duckling phase. Months 4-6 are dramatic in a good way, but it feels like it takes forever to get there. You can expect some buyers remorse during months 1-3, just FYI, so that is normal even in people who have a great result.

A nice result. A real transformation! Enjoy it!

I think he looks pretty good, and I think this is what someone at his NW level can expect with a good surgery. Look at how good he looks from the front-that is probably his main goal. IMHO this is a solid result.

I may just be cynical but I have to say I do not really believe in PRP. The protocols are too un-standardized, the mechanism of action is too poorly understood, and I have seen too many people spend a lot of money on this without any tangible results. If it works for you that is great, but I would not do this for myself.

In general, patients with SD can have HT safely. You and your doc will likely take steps to really get your SD under control prior to surgery (there are many treatments, most of which can make SD much better although nothing really makes it go away totally or permanently).

Keep us posted. That is a lot for your donor area.

IMHO indian pts often have a better than average outcome as their hair is often coarse, dark, and thick. All of these factors will work in your favor after HT. 1) You should visit with 2-3 surgeons you like before you make a decision. 2) You do not have to be on meds before or after surgery but it helps if you can do it. 3) You will probably not be able to get back to where you were, but I think you could look much better than you do now. BE REALISTIC. Your donor area looks pretty solid.

You can definitely negotiate. Most docs will allow a little movement in prices if you ask in a straightforward manner. You have nothing to lose by asking. The worst they can say is no.

As a general rule, you should wait a year between procedures (FUE or FUT). 18 months is better if you can wait. This lets you see how things really look so you can fine-tune the next procedure. Some docs will do a repeat at 8 months but IMHO this is too soon as a lot happens between 8-12 months after a HT.

Bernstein is a serious, solid guy. IMHO one of the best and most honest docs out there. He will not sugarcoat things for you.

I think you would look better if you grew it out a bit-your hair is dark and coarse and your donor area would look much better with a bit more length. Fibers might help you too.

This is always a difficult decision to make i.e. should one be very aggressive and have a megasession or should I be more conservative and take it slower with multiple smaller procedures? There is no perfect answer and everyone has to make their own decision in this regard. Much of this depends on your personality and the preferences of your surgeon as well. I have said before that I think the bad outcomes from megasessions may be harder to correct, while a bad outcome from a smaller session is often much easier to correct. That having been said, if your megasession goes great, you may be "one and done."

I suspect that you will do fine. Staples are not fun or comfortable, but IMHO stapled FUT scars have some of the best outcomes overall.

Boards like this tend to attract extreme examples of HT outcomes i.e. look at how great I look OR look at how terrible I look! I really, really believe that most results are just fine (average) but people tend not to post average results. If you look at lots and lots of results across various docs pre/post pics you can see this "bell curve" of HT results borne out.

You could simply say you had a medical issue and they needed to cut/shave your hair for treatment. The less you say the better IMHO. Believe me, nobody else really cares about your scalp or hair like you do. The less of a deal you make of it the less of a deal they will make of it.

The thing about Bernstein is he puts it all out there. His results page is the most detailed I have seen with all different ways to sort it. It gives you a sense of what is really achievable and not science fiction.

I feel like you have to pick your poison. Some FUT scars are bad-no doubt about it. This week at a movie I saw THE WORST single FUT scar I have ever seen-wide, stretched, glaring. He sat right in front of me and I spent more time looking at his head than I did looking at the screen. Last week at a restaurant I saw THE WORST single FUE overharvest I have ever seen as well-a large rectangular box of overharvested donor scalp that was just glaringly bad. Both of these pts were clearly far from their original surgery. IMHO, most FUT scars are pretty hard to detect/easy to cover and most FUE pts have a good looking donor area after surgery, but these surgeries all come with risks and I do not see how you can have hair moved from your donor without some risk of the surgery being detectable.

I think he is a top surgeon. He sometimes gets a bad rap for not being a glitzy salesman but his work is first rate.

Amazing thread-I appreciate all the pics. You have been through it all! Bless you, brother!