hairbank

I do feel for you and hope you can get this resolved. Be sure to keep us posted on your progress and how things go with Dr. Epstein. If you were NW5 or more as you appear to be in the pic, IMO you needed as many grafts as safely could be harvested so I'm not sure why you only received 2500. You may have had laxity issues, sparse donor.............I'm not the doc but I believe average virgin scalp between 3000-4500 is pretty doable........just IMO and for others lurking out there who have excessive loss. I received over 3800 grafts from Dr. Wong for HT #2 and believe if it would have been my first HT they could have harvested 500 additional easily.

Mikeb921 - You're going to get varying opinions. If you were younger and not on meds I'd say don't do it. However, you are 33, on meds, and will be going to the most skilled of surgeons. Now, 4000 grafts is going to be a ton of grafts to fill in around your native hair, unless your lowering the hairline a tad and it's not all going in there. With Doc Hasson doing the cutting, i don't think follicle transsection is an issue, as for permanent shockloss of some of the native hair, you just never know but I'd say you'll be fine. The bottom line is that it's your call. Personally, if I had your hair at that age, I may wait a little, but that's just me :-).......and it's your noggin' we're talking about. Looks like you're doing your homework so just make a decision you can live with. Best wishes,

Right on, Spex! As I've experimented with different hairstyles and lengths since having HT's, I've found there are "optimal" lengths depending on your hairstyle. For instance, if I comb my hair back, I need around 2" or so everywhere except for the sides and it has a pretty dense appearance. For the past 9mo or so, I've been wearing it combed forward and pushed up in the front a little, and I like less length, AND, wear it a little messy. Another tip...............use volumizing cream rather than gel. I've done both and gel definitely leaves a thinner look, while cream you can almost have a dry look but be able to style the hair in such a way to get pretty darn good coverage without looking like you're trying to.......know what I mean?? Glad Bobman chimed in.......I've never known him to use concealers and, if I were him, I wouldn't because his hair looks friggin awesome!! Love the temple points BTW Bobman!

dakota3 - I'm not going to make any recommendation for you because I'm not a Doc ! However, my quote was exactly as Dr. Wong advised me. So, IMHO, daily is not necessary. That's how I've always taken it and I can tell you it works for me. Hope this helps!

Congrats to you! Yes.......I remember the feeling when the staples came out........mine didn't really hurt while they were in but they were annoying for some reason. I don't think you can go wrong by using Mederma and/or Aloe Vera. I used Mederma for the first few months but got out of the habit of applying. I suppose you never know how much it helps but it certainly won't hurt any. Best of luck,

Thanks Bill...........I hope to be around a little more often now!! I'll be in touch! Oooops!!......didn't mean to hijack the thread...apologies!

I can't tell you where to go, but the Coalition Surgeons from this site would be a good place to start your research. Pricing varies..........don't let it be the determining factor for you. Just do your homework, research the Docs by using the "find" feature on this site, look at all the pics you can, correspond with actual patients..........then make your choice. BTW...........you may want to consider flying for the HT, it's really no big deal. I flew to Vancouver from Illinois for HT #2, flew in one day, HT next day, flew home 3rd day..........no big deal - actually I enjoyed the experience and plan to go back at some point for HT #3! Best of luck to you -

Ditto..... I've always been a fan of his work and believe you will get a quality HT from him.

TTDS - Okay, I've caught myself up on most of your thread - For 9 months, if you received 2500+ grafts, your results aren't good - especially if they were in the frontal 1/3 as you indicated. I think you should talk personally with Dr. Epstein and see what he recommends. I've been away from the boards for a few months but in my tenure here have liked the work I've seen from him. I do wonder why you didn't get more grafts from your first session with your level of loss. Anyway - boards are great for information but in this case I think you've heard enough to know that your results at this point aren't what they ought to be, so I'd start talking with your Doc ASAP! Best of luck to you -

Check w/ your Doc for advice. I've always taken fin every other day based on Dr. Wong's advice. He mentioned that fin actively inhibits dht for a period of 72 hours so a daily dose is not necessary. It works for me.........I had minor regrowth in my hairline, which has stayed, so I'm sure it's helping stop or slow loss in other places which is why I use it.

LT - What you're experiencing sucks, my friend - I feel for you , and hope you can come up with a satisfactory solution. You've gotten some great advice here. If I were you, I'm not sure what I'd recommend?? I haven't seen what your current situation looks like, any way to go with a larger session to see if it will provide what you're looking for? As for scars, I think anyone going in for an HT needs to plan like they will not be able to clip down. Personally, I can go to 1/2" (4 guard, I think) without seeing the scar. I've had 2 HT's, the first was non-tricho and not as great, the 2nd was from H&W, trich and looks good........but, still, 1/2" is as much as I can go before it somewhat starts to be visible. One other thing I'll mention, I don't know LT's situation before getting any HT's, but I think this is a situation where if a person waits until they are a little older with a more established balding pattern they will be better off in the long run. It seems the age people are getting into the chair gets younger and younger. I was 38 at the time of my first HT, my crown started thinning at age 25 or so, temples and hairline along with it but very gradually. I shudder to think if I had jumped into the chair at age 28-30 even where I would be now. Just IMO and something for everyone to be aware of. Best of luck to you, LT, truly a tough decision!

Good post, Mike! And........my thoughts exactly. It's proven to be effective and at the very least has a good chance of helping you keep what you have. I think the key with anything used for prevention....i.e. Finasteride, Duasteride, Minox.......is to plan on sticking with it for the long haul.

Hey D, Nice hearing from you again. I dont' blame you for wanting to get the situation fixed. I agree with Bill's earlier statement about the hairline, it's pretty low so no need to go any lower whatsoever. If it needs tweaking here and there, I'm sure Doc Feller can take care of you............I'm with you on his quality of work and think he's one of the best for sure. Sorry to hear about your foot! Take care,

I'm catching this thread a little late but wanted to put in my $.02.... Back on the first thread..........Joe's pics, IMO, tell it all. Joe's had around 8000 grafts and was NW 6. If he styles his hair forward or to the side, you'll see his crown is a little thin, but I think the styles look great. I was a diffused NW 5 before any HT's, have about 5000 grafts, and I'm very satisfied with the different styles I can now wear. I'm the same as Joe in that I had huge crown loss, so, if I style my hair forward, you can see the crown is a little thin..............but it isn't bald by any means nor is it bad enough that anyone really notices, as a matter of fact I'm sure most pay zero attention to that. I was so obsessed with covering my crown when my HT grew in at first that I did what many HT recipients do.........comb it straight back, and if I do with about 1 1/2 - 2" length, I'm totally covered. However, as I've done some experimenting, I like my hair styled forward, or maybe a bit messed up, so now I worry less about having the crown be a little thin............at least it's covered and I have no bald spot. I've even noticed guys that haven't had HT's before and either have massive temple rescission, or a little thinning in the crown, or whatever...............and they style the hair right and I think "Holy Sh#t, that's a cool style.......I'm gonna have to try it". So, IMO, even with not the best density or coverage, if you have some hair to style and style it right, it can look pretty damn good. Experiment a little or go to a stylist and get some ideas.............I did some looking around at a couple of sites once and it didn't take me too long to see why different facial structures need different styles to compliment their looks. Oh...........and by the way, YES, if I could have Patrick Demsey's hair I'd take it in a heartbeat!!

pushing, Hey...........lookin' great, my man! I remember when you were contemplating HT and I'm psyched for you that you went for it.............I'll be you are too! You were really in a great position only having to focus on the front 1/3-1/2 not having any crown issues..................like some of us poor unfortunate souls!!!!! :-) Contgrats to you!!! And, as Bill mentioned, you're not done yet, you may get more growth and will definitely thicken some! Enjoy!

Results will vary but suffice to say it's going to at the least take 3-6 months. If you want to measure any progress, you're better off to document with pics every month or possibly bi-monthly. Any shed caused by Fin, or any shed at all (which is normal), is merely the hair going into its 6 week - 2 month resting phase, then it grows back. At any given time, there's normally 10-15% of the hair on your head that is in the resting phase. Any hair you keep or gain from Fin will be lost if you stop, so, it is really a long term commitment. Not sure on the sides, but I believe those that experience them usually find out pretty quick..............like within the first week or two. I personally didn't experience any.

I'm with ya, wylie..............we'll be charter members!

Looks very, very nice. If I were you, I think I'd try clipping your native hair to match in length at this time and let it come back together.................either way, it really looks fantastic. Crap, I keep looking at these great examples of hairline/temple work on here and I KNOW I'm going to end up back in the HT chair!!

I think you're talking about a couple of different things......... First.........numbers. How many grafts does the average person have?? I'm guessing around 7000-8000. NicNitro's density is phoenomenal.......I think they said he even has another 5000 donor grafts left. Second........hair characteristics. I remember Joe's hair, when he was consulted by Mike Ferko at H & W, was rated a 3 out of 10 on donor hair characteristics. I believe this refers to whether it is coarse, fine, curly............how much of an "illusion" of density it will provide. Hope this helps.

I doubt taking 1 week off would negate any positive effects you've received thus far. Check with a Doc to be sure!

If I were in your shoes, this would be the very first thing I'd do! Check with a Doc. I think this will provide you with the best chance of trying to determine what may be causing your loss. Aside from that, it's pure guess work.......don't you think??

Bushy - Hey, kudos to you, Spex and the rest for setting up meetings like this. For anyone in the area, even if you had to drive 4-5 hours or so, if you're considering a HT or want to compare notes...............I'd highly encourage you to meet with these guys. I'd love to have had an opportunity to do this before getting any HT's. You know.............it would be really cool if we could set up some meetings like this across the U.S.............maybe in metro areas or something and ask any forum members or other that have had HT's to join in? I'm 3 1/2 hours from Chicago and less than 2 from St. Louis..............anyone want to try and join in with me that is from the Midwest? If there is enough interest I'd be glad to organize a meeting somewhere in the Midwest! Way 2 Go, Bushy!

The result looks good, I'm a little confused by the pic progression. Buzzed down in the first pic you seem to still have a decent amount of hair...............so add that in with 6500 grafts and you should be a "chia pet". Can you explain the pic progression a little better?

No, there's nothing I know of. Don't sweat the shed, though. That's just the hair going into it's normal resting phase which lasts anywhere from 6 weeks to 2 months. Up to 15% of your hair is resting at any given time............Fin/Min occasionally causes a more-than-normal amount to rest at any given time, say maybe 25% or so...............but it grows back after done resting. So, I wouldn't worry about a shed! You'll cycle through it.

No problem at all...............other than you will have to wait for the Minox to dry before applying a concealer. I opted against Minox due to the messy regimen.