WantSephirothHair

Thank you! At 25 I was a diffuse thinning Norwood 3V. Now at 32 I have an NW2 hairline thanks to Dr de Reys. My density is not great, but I have mostly good coverage all over the top because of finasteride, dutasteride, minoxidil and dermarolling. Parting fluctuates between decent and slightly two wide on a monthly basis. Still shed 200+ hairs a day and hae done for over 10 years, but it's not having a significant impact on my density

So two year update. 2 years ago I had 800 grafts, and one year ago an additional 200 grafts. Very happy with the results. First two photos are in a room with natural light from the window, possibly the kindest lighting! The next two were taken outside on a cloudy, but bright day, facing the sun.

Dr Reys is not well known for his hairline work, but I hope people who see this will give him a look. Very nice work, very few grafts used, and great survival rate (my number one priorities) and lots of room for future maneuvering. Plus very reasonable prices.

Hey everybody!

I am so glad I found this thread! I am helping out Dr. Rudi with his international patients right now, because as you mentioned, he had a bit of an issue with his UK rep.

Check out his new website: (Promotional link removed by moderator)

WantSephirothHair, thank you for your post and redirecting people. If you don't mind, I would like to publish a link to your post on the website.

Sorry, I've only just seen this message now! Yes you can publish a link to this post!

I'm at about 7 months post op now and I'm very satisfied with the result. Those extra 200 or so grafts have made a significant difference. It's a bit annoying that I had to go back to have a second procedure to achieve the result I hoped for with my first procedure, especially the ugly duckling and hat phase all over again! But ultimately Dr De Reyes gave me a great result and used only 1000 grafts. I'm very happy with my decision to go to him now, and definitely made the right choice. I was quoted 2600 grafts by one of the prominent Turkish surgeons. That would have eaten up over half my donor. Now I have a normal looking NW2 hairline and I've barely touched my donor, so I've got another 4-5000 grafts left for when I need them in the future!

I''ve also added dutasteride eod to my regimen, I think it may have slightly helped my density on top, but not totally sure.

After taking both for a good 5 months with no noticeable results, I suspect that like most western males, I lack the gut flora capable of converting isoflavones to equol. Green tea may have some preventative effect but you can't really assess prevention so well. They certainly haven't reduced my shedding which has always been extremely high. Green tea has low bioavailability. I suspect that equol itself would be more effective than soy isoflavones in the vast majority of cases. If you're East Asian the chances of being an equol producer are much higher, which in conjunction with a high soy diet, may go some way to explain the lower incidenc of AGA in east Asia.

So I had an FUE touchup 2 months ago to add density to my original HT to my hairline. I've been shedding a lot of hair (150-250 hairs per day), and have been throughout my 4 years on fin and minox, but to date it hasn't actually resulted in any decline in my hair. I seem to have chronic telogen effluvium, but it has been balanced by growth I suppose.

But recently my crown is starting to thin a bit. Could this be because I quit minoxidil for 2 weeks post surgery? Or is it more likely progression of male pattern baldness in previously ok areas?

Cheers, yeah I think we're both good examples of his work. He's a good man, ethical, responsible, careful, and gets natural looking results with great yields/survival rates. I feel a bit bad for him, he doesn't deserve this b/s.

Yeah, Nick Baron is definitely not representing. Dr De Rey's anymore. He didn't mention anything specifically about U.K. Patients to me, he still does French, German and a Belgian patients of course. Sounds like Nick was trying to pull the same scam on you that Dr De Rey's said he was up to!

I'm really happy with the touch up, much more even looking density at the front from the looks of things. A small number of grafts, but I think it will make a significant difference.

And for reference, this was my hairline before my first procedure

apologies for the upside down picture, I never know which way up these photos will go!

I went to my old thread but couldn't edit the title so I decided to create a new one. I haven't posted in quite a while.

Last year I had an FUE procedure. 800 grafts to my hairline, I wanted to restore my NW2.5 hairline to a more aesthetic NW2. Conserving my grafts for possible future progression of hair loss was important to me, so while I would have liked a nice low, dense hairline, I felt it would be a bit reckless. For this reason, I chose Dr De Reys, a surgeon noted for a conservative approach, with good ethics who does the extractions and incisions himself. Prior to the surgery, I was on finasteride and minoxidil for 4 years, regrew a modest amount of hair and maintained well above baseline since. I'm still on finasteride and minoxidil, in addition I now take soy isoflavone supplemements for equol, aloevera juice to reduce inflammation, and green tea egcg extract because it may (low bioavailability so not certain) down regulate androgen receptors.

Overall I would say the result was pretty good especially considering how few grafts were used, however the centre of my hairline had a low density spot which needed reinforcement, so I returned to Dr De Reys almost exactly a year after my previous surgery for an additional 200 grafts.

Overall I'd say the experience at the clinic was great, the procedure itself was carried out with utmost care, and I think in about 6 months time, I'll be able to put my hair stress and worries behind me, at least as long as finasteride and minoxidil keep doing their thing!

Overall my recommendation is that anyone who is looking for a careful, ethical surgeon, who will take care of and responsibly use your limited donor resources, and create natural looking hair, Dr De Reys comes highly recommended. If anyone is looking for low, dense, movie star hairlines, one of the Turkish surgeons might be a better option, especially if your hair loss isn't going to progress past an NW3 or 4. For those of us looking at a potential NW5 or 6 genetic destiny, who want better hair now, but also to keep some hair for down the road when we may need it, or those who already have extensive hair loss, Dr De Reys is a great choice.

Btw, if anyone i thinking about contacting him, DON'T USE THE UK WEBSITE!

Promotional links removed

This website is run by a Sri Lankan man and former patient who used to deal with UK customers, but was fired when it turned out he was quoting too many grafts and keeping the extra cash for himself. Apparently he now re directs any patients looking for Dr De Reys to German surgeons.

Dr De Reys can be contacted at this site instead

Promotional link removed

It's in Dutch, but everybody speaks English so it shouldn't be an issue.

The following photos were taken at 12 months post 800 grafts, and immediately after an additional 200 grafts.

Just got hold of him, luckily I got a date for this summer at exactly 1 year after my last surgery. He reckons about 300-400 shoukd be enough to fix the density issue, does that sound about right?

Thanks, I'm happy with the hairline and front third. I do think your results look good and you still have another 3 months to go. To get the thickness you desire, like I wanted, a second pass maybe needed. I would wait at least 15 months, because I had my second operation 12 months after my first and it was very painful, where my third operation was just like my first and was not painful.

 

Keep us all posted on this operation and future surgeries!

I contacted his online representative about getting the density increased. He said I should contact Dr Rey's directly. I did that but got no response. Probably too late to book an appointment for August which is my only available month.

Here's my 10 month update. No change at all really. Situationally looks good/bad depending on lighting. These pictures were all taken with the flash on, standing beneath a slightly dim light. The last picture was taken using the flash but not standing under the light source so a bit more flattering

I don't think I'm imagining that thin centre parting, very visible scalp there. Don't get me wrong, it looks natural, I like the temples. It was overall a successful HT. Just not quite what I wanted or hoped for. It may be unrealistic expectations. I think Dr De Rey's is a very good surgeon! But I'm not sure if he was the right surgeon for what I hoped to achieve, namely a conservative NW 2 hairline with normal looking density. I got the former but not quite the latter.

Yeah, for those of us thinning in NW5 or more patterns, we need as many grafts as possible, and FUT seems to be the best approach. I'm basically NW2 now but that's not going to last forever. My density on top is significantly lower than my back and sides. I don't ever intend to go slick shaved so that FUT scar is a small trade off for more grafts. There's always SMP or FUE for the scar too.

It looks very natural, yes! And I like the hairline shape and what he did at the temples! And for 760 odd grafts it's impressive! But I just don't like how thin that center parting is, I need more density. I can't style my hair the way I like. My forehead shape prohibits a side parting comb over. I could cut it short and comb forward, Buzz the sides and it would look more convincing. But for my current needs I'm certain additional density is required to not look like a guy with s thinning hairline. I have a much bigger and less forgiving forehead than most people so my case may be quite different from most people

So my 9 and a half month update. There's definitely room to squeeze in some extra follicular units there...

My right side (4th photo) turned out the best. The left side (3rd photo) is definitely not as good. And my centre hairline does look like a thinning hairline, which still bothers me...

All photos were taken with dry hair, volumising shampoo and standing under a light.

Thats a very nice result, congrats! That's good to know about Dr De Reys. Obviously the biggest risk is permanent shock loss or transection when adding density, but I'm 100% sure now that I'll need a second pass. I don't want to look like a guy with a thinning hairline, and my hairline is visibly less dense than the area behind. Actually now I'm thinking of getting FUT to maximize my available grafts and getting my whole frontal third reinforced. I'm thinking 1800 FUs might get me where I really want to be.

That was originally my thinking. But lately I'm thinking, conserving my grafts so that I hav a thin hairline and in the future can have a thin thatch on top, that I'll have to keep buzzed to look ok, isn't a great compromise. Id rather just get everything reinforced now, have nice density, and then shave it when it gets worse again. Next move is to add density to the shap Dr Rey's gav me

My maternal grandfather is NW6 and has been as far back as I remember. My dad is NW3-4 at 51 but I think I take more after my maternal grandfather unfortunately. I was NW 3V at 26 prior to fin and Minox. Given my NW6 destiny I wanted s conservative surgeon, hence I chose Dr De Rey's overt Erdogan. But I still want the nice dense hairline. I guess it's all compromise. I'm following Dr Tsuji and Kyocera, Shiseido, Replicel very closely...

I will. You're both right! I will say this; Dr De Rey's is a good surgeon, and he got probably the best result possible for 800 grafts. He did a good job. A conservative job, but a good job. Given my expectations I should have gone with a surgeon who plants grafts at higher densities. For hairline work I maybe could have chosen another surgeon. I don't regret having surgery with him exactly. I look better with a natural result, but if I could go back in time, I might have chosen a hairline specialist or someone who plants grafts at higher densities

It's definitely not a bad result though, I'll say that. I'm

Not a repair case, I have a natural looking result, I do look better now then I did a year ago. Is it an improvement? Yes definitely! Is it the result I was hoping for? No, not quite!

For my next HR I need someone who is skilled at placing grafts between existing hairs without transection. I don't yet know who is best for that. I'm not 100% satisfied this far. Maybe this is unrealistic expectations, or maybe it's due to Dr Rey's design/decision/technique. I'd rather let the results speak for themselves. If anyone thinks my results look good then then consider him recommended. If people think my results look bad then obviously look elsewhere. If people think my results are decent but unspectacular, then that's what they are. 800 grafts, conservative design and a doctor considered to be ethical, but conservative.

Cheers! I'll say this, Dr De Reys has very natural looking results. The hairline design definitely looks normal. The right temple is fantastic, exactly what I wanted. The left side... We'll I'll wait and see... The density still isn't what I wanted, but it has increased so my earlier fears that all hairs had sprouted were unfounded. In some parts I'm happy with the density, elsewhere less so. I hope the density will even out. I'm definitely going to have another HT by I won't change the hairline shape, that's fine imo. My next HT will b for reinforcement and added density.

It's partially in my head and partially for real. 9 month update. These pictures were all taken with the flash on except the last one. It is looking a little better. I can still see some new hair sprouts. I'd still say the density is quite uneven. It looks very natural, I really like the shape on the right side, less so on the left side. The right side seems to have a little higher density too. It actually looks pretty good during day time and under natural light. It looks less good at night time with unnatural light or single light sources.

I'm considering having a second HT this winter, shave my head and reinforce everything on top for added density. It might be better to go with FUT for that to maximize my potential graft yield. Not concerned about scars, can just get SMP for that.

And body take this? It sounds like the perfect supplement for hair loss, it actually interferes with androgen receptor transcription. Some people think that AR up-regulation might happen as a result of lower DHT levels from finasteride use so it's possible that EGCG might prevent this and help for long term maintenance.

Just ordered some online, 400mg green tea polyphenola, 50% of which are EGCG. supposedly taking it on an empty stomach results in greater absorption. The biggest problem seems to be low bioavailability and liver toxicity with high doses.

Removed the allusion to your pseudonym, feel free to edit it out of your post, too.

Thanks, I appreciate it!

I think it is important to be patient, as you are still only 8 months post operation. I've had two operations with Dr De Reys, and my growth was particularly slow. The growth after my second FUE with Dr De Reys continued to improve from 12-18 months. I am not sure if it is normal or not, but it did happen. I know it is hard to be patient, but it is a waiting game.

 

Also, I know Dr De Reys generally quotes fewer grafts than most doctors (he was much lower for me too), which might mean you have to go back to add some density. It might not be what you want to hear, but I was very satisfied with my hairline and front region after my second operation.

 

One thing I can say is that Dr Raghu Reddy (coalition FUE surgeon) praised Dr De Reys work very highly, so I think you can be confident he will have done a good job in terms of looking after your donor area.

From what I've read, I should have about 75-80% of my full result now. And most if not all of the hair has sprouted. While I fully expect maturation, thickening and length, O don't think that will be enough to make up for some very low de duty spots.

I k is I should wait for 18 months, But Im pretty certain that I need additional density in spots, particular just left of my central parting.

I'm not doubting Dr Rey's care with my donor, it's a precious and very limited resource and conserving it is paramount. That's why I chose him. But I also don't want to look like a balding guy, and I still do.