Since21

I looked at hair1978's blog and cringed when I saw the donor site. It is obvious that he had grafts taken outside of the 'safe' zone. This is also why I'm all for waiting until your MPB is well-established before having a HT. If I had grafts taken in the same fashion as hair1978's at the same age as he had his procedure, I'd be a repair case now. What's worse is that the hair loss in the recipient area (due to harvesting outside of the safe zone) wouldn't have happened until years later and could be blamed on anything. There's really no excuse to harvest outside of what has long been established as the safe zone.

I was pretty out of it the next day, and didn't realize how foggy I was for a few days after until a couple of weeks out. I never liked taking painkillers so I may have had a stronger reaction to them. But I agree, take a plane. Get home and get in your own bed.

For me it was more about insecurity and self-consciousness. I had run out of options. The meds can only do so much and MPB is progressive. They will only slow down the march of time on your hair.

I'd suggest PM'ing a few people on here who have had procedures by the surgeons you are considering. You'll get a firsthand account in a private forum. I actually met one such person while traveling on business and it was finally what I needed to pull the trigger and book a date. It really does help talking to actual patients. They aren't going to BS you. I wouldn't have done it based on consultations alone. Speaking of, you can do consultations via Skype, but they aren't as assuring as having one in person.

I like what one poster said - after 10 days you'd basically have to use pliers and a blowtorch to remove a graft.

There is a risk of scarring with both FUE and FUT. I can show you a good result by a leading FUE surgeon where you can clearly see patches of scalp in the donor area. And if you really want to point out worst case scenarios, here ya go: (Link removed by moderator - See Terms of Service)

abc raises a good point. I didn't realize until a couple of weeks post-op just how out of it I was for the first several days after the procedure. I'd seriously caution against driving.

My post-op instructions said to wait a week before shampooing the recipient area and then do what you described. Before that period, I shampooed the donor site and rest of my hair and just let lukewarm water run over the graft site. I don't think one day is going to make a difference if you did what you described. Especially if you didn't see any hair or what looks like blood from a picked scab. You will steadily lose hair in the graft site for the next several weeks before going into a dormant stage. This is normal. If you are overly concerned, contact your surgeon.

Not sure I'd want to put a hat that has been on a dirty conveyor belt back on your freshly-operated head.

I live in NYC and traveled out of town for mine. I went by plane and, yes, going through security is a bit daunting. Fortunately the TSA agents I encountered were very understanding and took me aside for a private screening. I have flown a couple of times since then and I would suggest going through the scanner with your hat on - they'll ask you to remove it once you're through. It's a quick check and you're on your way. Good luck.

I personally don't have a problem with someone being outspoken about a doctor they feel doesn't qualify as a top surgeon in hair restoration. It's subjective, but it's hard to find negative reviews of top HT surgeons and any criticism should give anyone considering something as serious as hair transplantation pause before they either take the plunge or choose a surgeon. It's a major decision. If those negative comments compel you to do more research about a doctor it can only be a good thing. If they steer you in another direction, that's part of the research process. I imagine there are countless members here (like myself) who were pretty sure who they were going to for their procedure, only to see a comment or read a review that made them keep searching. I don't think there's such thing as over-thinking, over-researching or waiting too long when it comes to hair restoration. This idea of 'it's easily remedied' galls me. Yes, hair restoration has a lot of variables, but there are too many consistently good surgeons out there for that to be a fall back position anymore. As far as I'm concerned, you don't get too many chances of sub-optimal work if you want to be considered the best in any field. Just my two cents. I hope it all turns out satisfactory for you asiandude.

Also, more people are wearing sunscreen these days which impedes Vitamin D absorption. When I moved to NY I noticed I began feeling down and couldn't figure out why. Went to see a doctor who did blood work and found out I had extremely low Vitamin D levels. She put me on a weekly regiment of 50000 IU for 8 weeks and I could tell after taking the dose I felt generally better mood-wise. Of course I had hoped it would also help my thinning hair, but I didn't really notice a difference. It's probably one of the better supplements you could take since it has so many health benefits.

I'm curious. I took 50000 IU once a week of Vitamin D for 8 weeks as part of a therapy regiment due to low Vitamin D levels. Now I take 2000 IU daily. Is yours a similar situation? As far as your pics go, it's too early to tell. Who did the previous HT you were unsatisfied with, if you don't mind me asking.

My doctor recommended 1 week post-op. I waited 10 days. I was a first time user. I used it for a little over a week and stopped. I didn't like how it made my scalp feel, plus I noticed some shedding in my crown. For me it was more psychological than anything else. It wasn't heartening to have a HT and then start losing hair in another part of my scalp - even though it's a temporary side effect. To your point augustya, most doctors recommend using it 1-2 weeks post-op on the transplanted area because it supposedly hastens growth. I don't know if any studies have been done, but it's pretty consistent across the board with HT surgeons. So I wouldn't worry about it having an adverse effect on transplanted grafts. If you can handle the temporary shedding in other areas that is a common side effect, I'd suggest giving it a try (if your surgeon recommends it).

There are some threads on here that discuss hairline height. Here's one: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/149969-hairline-height.html I think it's normal to question the height of your hairline after a procedure - whether it's too high or too low. 7cm from the middle of your brow to your hairline seems to be a good guideline to go by. And you'll see in the thread I posted that there are differing opinions and thoughts on that. The good news is you can lower it if after seeing the final result you still feel like it's too high, but doing the opposite appears to be trickier. I'm 5 weeks out from my first procedure and the first few weeks are filled with uncertainty and questions. Do your research and I think you'll find that almost everyone has similar doubts, questions and experiences. Good luck and grow well.