garethbale

HHH thanks mate, appreciate your words. Mike / FC I am 38. No thinning in the crown. I’ve been on meds on and off since I was around 30, I take 1mg fin around 3 times a week, and apply minoxidil, though not very regularly. I’m thinking of getting on oral minoxidil which I understand is more effective.

Hello I'm a long term member although irregular poster on this forum. I wanted to tell my HT journey. I had 1,621 grafts on 8th October 2020, so almost two years on. I've been receding slowly for a number of years and fortunately my hair loss has not been aggressive but I wanted to treat the areas lost at my hairline and temples and to lower the front a bit. I'd always wanted to have some work done but never really had the courage to go ahead with it, and had put off preliminary bookings I had made, mainly because I was paranoid my friends and colleagues would notice. I finally decided to take the plunge in October 2020, partly due to the ongoing covid lockdown at the time as I knew that transport etc wouldn't be busy. Additionally I'd gone to remote working in my job, so although I only took a week's leave for the surgery at the time, I knew I could work from home when I returned to work. Prior to the surgery I had been liaising with Stephen from BHR to determine how many grafts I would need and geberally helping me prepare. I don't recall precisely but I believe it was around 1500 - 2000. When I did arrive at the clinic, Dr Bisanga drew a hairline which I was happy with, this was quite conservative but I really disn't want to go too low due to the risk of future loss. The day of the surgery was very easy overall. I arrived at the clinic around 12pm; I had some phone problems booking a cab but I got in touch with Stephen who was great and help arrange a cab to pick me up. Upon arrival, the staff were very friendly and welcoming, immediately putting me at ease. The clinic was very clean and modern looking. From what I remember, the surgery lasted around 6 hours with an hour for lunch in between. Overall it was very confortable throughout; the only pain I felt was from the application of the anaesthetic which was quite painful. Other han that the surgery was fine, I think I spent most of it sleeping or chatting with the doc and his staff. After the surgery the clinic ordered me a taxi to take me back to my air bnb. The evening was very relaxing and I spent it just reading and cooking myself a readymeal I'd bought that morning. The following day I went back to the clinic for a review of the work and to receive my after care products and post surgery instructions. From there I booked a taxi to take me back to Brussels Midi where I took the Eurostar back to London. One of my biggest worries was travelling to and from the place in particularly returning however it was nowhere near as bad as I feared. I think the staff at the |Eurostar are aware that men who are wearing bandanas are HT patients and know not to probe. I'd say I was slightly nervous queueing up to go through but nobody said anything and in any case, I had a doctor's letter ready to show them if they did. Fortunately because of lockdown the Eurostar and the tube in London were pretty empty I live in London so took the tube home from Kings Cross. Special mention to Stephen at BHR who was fantastic throughout, very prompt with responding to queries and providing helpful information. Also a mention to Ian who I am now liaising with and providing updates. Attached are photos at various stages - pre op, immediately post op and at around 18 months. Overall I am very happy with the result which I think is subtle but makes a difference - i'ts enough for me to style my hair up and wear forward if I want. I didn't want it to be too dramatic as I didn't really want to risk people knowing. I have actually toyed with the idea of adding a couple of hundred grafts to my left side but it's probably not needed at this stage. If I have missed any important details please let me know and any questions, please ask. Apologies in advance if I take a while to reply as I'm going to be on holiday on Wednesday, but I will try to check back periodically. Also just a shout out here to the mods and everyone who has posted their results. It's a fantastic resource where I gained lots of knowledge and information. Many thanks!

Looks awesome mate, congrats Btw are you London based?

great, thank you

FinMin Thanks mate. I have done that Thanks melvin

thanks Melvin i was in email correspondence with him on 5th February. It's only in the last few days my emails are bouncing

Good luck and I hope it goes well. Incidentally I was in email correspondence with Stephen, the BHR representative, however now all my emails to him are bouncing. Is he still employed by / a representative of the clinic? I was arranging a potential date for surgery so annoying if I have to start the process with someone new

yeah I thought that Absolutely terrible name to give to your business

Looks great work mate. Good luck with everything I have a similar level of loss to you and one of my worries is hiding a HT from colleagues when I return to work. However looking at your day 12 pics the work looks virtually undetectable, which gives me confidence that mine might as well.

Bollocks to that Clearly a lot of transplanted hairs have shed. If that happened to me after a HT I'd be fuming

Sorry but imo the hair line doesn’t look natural at all. You could spot that he had a transplant a mile off.

Awesome result

Lenney Thank you very much for your detailed reply! My own situation is that I haven't lost that much hair - probably a NW 2.5 but I can comb my hair forward at the side somewhat and spike it up at the front to minimise the appearance of recession. The clinic I am in contact with believe that I would be able to comb hair forward over the area worked on somewhat to hide the work I wold have done. I don't think I could get more than two weeks off to get it done. In answer to your tips: 1. I am on generic fin and this has definitely helped in maintaining the crown and slowing the recession. My hair feels stronger since I started using it. 2. Financial cost is something I'm happy to bear. Its not idea as I have just commenced a mortgage but I can put aside some each month to pay for my HT. Awkward recovery period is the main issue. I have a bit of banter with workmates and work in a city office environment so I'm obviously nervous about people noticing. I'd probably just say I went away somewhere hot and had a reaction to sun cream or something - whether they believe me is another matter. 3. I think it would drastically help my confidence. Despite my moderate recession I do find it affects my confidence around women. I'd like to settle down quite soon so I feel this year is a good time - I am 34, 35 in the summer and first noticed recession around 15 years ago so am confident I will maintain most of my native hair. I have read on here the transformation guys feel when they have a successful HT and I'd like to experience that. Of course no surgery is a guarantee but I think I stand a good chance given my moderate loss. 4. I have thought long and hard about the pros and cons and ultimately a HT it is something I want to do. I was actually going to have one done last week but late last year a bought a flat and mortgage payments and furniture & bills etc, meant I had to delay the procedure for financial reasons. Thank you again for your help and I will be following your progress. Best of luck for a good result!

Can I ask a question...did colleagues or friends ask about the redness? And if so what did you tell them? I’m thinking of undergoing surgery and have less loss than you but I’m really concerned about redness being apparent on my scalp afterwards.

Your hair looks awesome mate. Don't do any further work on the hairline as it suits you. Hopefully finasteride stops or slows the crown loss and you should be ok for a long while