KeithJagger

Just received a message that made me realize that I have not updated this thread in quite awhile (more than a year). Selfishly, now that I no longer think about hairless, I sort of forgot about this site. It was by far the most valuable asset in helping me make this decision. Those of us with positive outcomes owe it to pay it back to help others. So here is my final post. I am not going to post anymore, but PLEASE send me your messages and I will be happy to help you. After my two procedures with Dr. Cooley, I can say without any BS that it was one of the best decisions of my entire life. I mean that. Hairless sucks. You spend way too much time thinking about it, when you should be spending that time just enjoying life. I was in my early thirties when this journey started. I was tired of hats, of wind, of waking up at my girlfriends house and not wanting to just hang out on the couch without a hat. It was time consuming. At work, when I should have been working, I would be looking up HT results (not that this was a bad thing). These days I don't think about my hair at all. Not at the beach, not under harsh lighting. Now I can be like a normal American and just worry about how I am getting fat. After my first HT I thought the results made it look like I did not have any hair loss at all. It went so well, that I decided to have a second one. Not because I felt I needed to, but because I was like holy shit that turned out so well why not. After my second hair transplant, I genuinely feel like I have great hair. Not great hair for a hair transplant patient, but just great hair. Now, maybe others might disagree, but I think it looks awesome and that is all that matters. I wish I had hair this good when I was in college. I paid around 20,000 for both procedures. I mean this when I say it: I would have paid double that. Seriously, if nothing else than for just the time I no longer spend worrying about hair. This is going to sound completely and totally cliche/ridiculous. But I got both procedures done while I was with my girlfriend...I never told her about them. I am now fortunate enough to be married to her. For the last year, she kept telling me she loved the new barber I was going to. We moved to a different state and the week before we got married she told me that I was to drive 4 hours to the "barber" I had been going to for the last year, because while she liked me when we first started dating I had the "dumbest haircut ever." Ha, I go to Greatclips and spend 15 dollars on a haircut. I just had stupid thinning hair that I tried to style and it did look dumb. Anyway, I guess I am just rambling now. But seriously, I want to thank Dr. Cooley from the bottom of my heart. Again, if nothing more than for the peace of mind. Again, let me know how I can help. Let me conclude though by saying this. I really, really love my hair. I am really, really smart for choosing Dr. Cooley. But I am also really, really lucky. I was a good candidate for a HT. I have a ton of donor hair and my hair is sort of fine and blonde. If you are a NW 6 with corse black hair and not a lot of donor hair, then you probably aren't going to get the same results I did. I don't say this to brag, I am just being realistic. Dr. Cooley is a tremendous surgeon, but he can only work with what he is given. But do yourself a favor and at least talk with his office before you choose a surgeon. You will not regret it. Good luck.

Sutures came out last Friday. Healing up very nicely. While the donor area scar is still a little red, it isn't raised or hard or feels any different than the skin around it. Now the waiting begins...

@losingmyhair123 Do it man! I am glad I did. No noticeable shedding at all of the transplanted hairs. I believe I shed worse last time than I did this time. Although, even that wasn't very bad at all and the shed hairs all eventually grew back. I won't go so far as to say that shedding isn't a real phenomenon, but I wonder how much of it was in my head (the first time) versus how much I really experienced "shedding." It might have been a combination of the two; meaning that I actually shed very little but because I was so focused on my hair I thought the problem was greater than it was. But who knows, I'm not a doctor. But back to my original point, if there was any shedding this time, I have not noticed it at all. So far it has been a really easy healing process.

I am eleven days out from my procedure. I have to say that I am a little sore at the both donor and recipient site. It is not by any means unbearable, but there is definitely some tenderness. Nothing looks red or infected and I suspect this is just part of the process. A little Tylenol solves the problem. But aside from the soreness, everything looks to be healing just fine. Tomorrow I have to go into the office, which I don't suspect will be a problem. I haven't worn a hat now for a few days and have been going out and public and I don't believe anyone can notice. So all and all, so far so good.

I have only had two procedures with Dr. Cooley, so clearly I am biased. I will say this though; I simply cannot imagine a better surgeon than Dr. Cooley. I am not saying there isn't one out there, but if you have been worked on by someone better than Cooley you are one lucky SOB. Everything about Dr. Cooley is impeccable. For one, he is a straight shooter. He will tell you what you can achieve and how you should go about achieving it. There is no upsell--no BS. He just wants you to have the best results possible. Second, his staff is phenomenal. From the moment you get there until your hair is fully grown in, Dr. Cooley and his staff are there for your 100%. Finally, his work is absolutely incredible. He is truly an artist. And I especially like his use of A-Cell. In my opinion, that stuff really works. If you are interested, you can follow my progress by going to my profile. I know it might almost sound cliche, but I truly believe my hair looks better than it did in college. The hairline is appropriate, the blending is perfect and the donor scar is practically undetectable.

I am six days out from my procedure with Dr. Cooley. Everything appears to be healing quite nicely. I am still spraying the graphs like crazy and sleeping with saran wrap and a cap. And I am also still rather cautious in shampooing and brushing my hair. As a result, it looks like a bit more matted than it normally does. But the redness has subsided and there is no more soreness around the donor area. So far, so good.

I have received a couple of questions asking for the breakdown of graphs. For my first transplant, I had 2,800 graphs. For this one the breakdown is as follows: 1's-536, 2's-1127, 3's-544, 4's-18 = 2,225 total graphs. Here is a photo taken by Dr. Cooley directly after the procedure. All continues to heal well.

I think it is good to be extra cautious. In my experience, the more time you can go without disturbing the graphs the better. In the photos above, I had just gotten out of the shower. I gently pat down my hair, meaning I literally just lay a towel on my head and that is it. No pressure and no rubbing. After that I let my hair air dry for a few minutes before very, very carefully brushing it back. The only reason I do this is so I can better spray the graphs. When combing my hair back, I make an effort not to touch the graphs at all. After that I put some saran wrap on my head and maybe the cap Dr. Cooley gave me and turn on Netflix. But I think you are going about it right. Give it a week or more before you start styling it.

That is so funny. I was thinking the EXACT SAME thing last night. While I don't have any kids, I have heard from friends and family about the differences between kid one versus kid two. I think there is even a diaper commercial that stresses that "this is the diaper chosen most by second-time moms." The first time, I stressed over everything. I slept sitting up for a week. Wouldn't comb my hair. Wouldn't leave the house. A shower took 45 minutes because I dripped water on the transplants using a shot glass. Also, I would stare in the mirror for hours to make sure every little graph was still anchored in place. Now, while I am still cautious, I'm way more relaxed. I spray the graphs, throw some cellophane on and spend my days trying to figure out who killed Teresa Halbach. I will say, the first 72 hours I was super careful. And I'm still not planning running any marathons or going surfing for the next few weeks. But yes, a second-time H/T is much easier than the first.

This is the second FUT that I have had with Dr. Cooley. After talking with Dr. Cooley about my goals, we both decided that strip was the best way to go. I will say that after my first strip procedure, the scar was so fine that when I came close to shaving my head I still could not see/feel it. I think it has to do with the A-Cell he uses when closing the donor area. Down the road, if I ever want to add a couple hundred graphs I might consider FUE.

I am pleased to report the recovery is going really, really well. The recipient site is still a bit red, but there is no discomfort. I was a little concerned that I didn't go as aggressive as I should have when it came to bringing down the hairline. I mean for 2k graphs, you would think you would go down more than a millimeter or two. But when my hair was wet this morning, I was looking at it closer and Dr. Cooley really did a fantastic job of reinforcing my existing hairline. I had no idea how many graphs he put back there (and how far back they went) as my original hair was covering it up. I think when it grows in it is going to really look great.

I think you are right to go see Dr. Cooley. He has always been honest with me. In my experience he is always pushing a more conservative, albeit natural hairline. Best of luck and keep me posted. I think with a couple thousand more graphs you would have an awesome head of hair. Don't get me wrong, from the pictures you have posted I think it looks great now.

So I am now two days post-op from my procedure. Everything feels and looks great and I have stopped taking my pain medication. My question is, do you think it is alright to have a glass of wine...maybe two? I'm not talking about multiple grande margaritas. But a little wine wouldn't interfere with anything, right?

I could post some pics, but in my opinion there is really nothing that interesting going on in the first few days following surgery. Plus I have all this wrap on my head and it is a pain to take off. I am planning on posting photos though one week out to show recovery. On second thought, I have to spray the graphs anyway tonight so here is a quick photo. The blue is from a pen Dr. Cooley was using--not bruising. Not the best quality but you get the idea. Honestly, one of my favorite parts of getting a hair transplant is the 48 hours after getting it. Life can be so hectic and I am always stressed with work and a myriad of other things that go along with being an adult. However following your H/T you get to just sit in in a hotel bed, take a valium or two and watch TV all day. It is pretty relaxing.

Spanker, we agreed that I could/should move down the hairline a few millimeters. Dr. Cooley said that way worst case scenario and one day I go totally bald, the hairline that I have had transplanted would still look appropriate. He also really packed graphs in to reinforce the hairline. He said 2,000 is a good number and that should have me set for a long time I am still on generic Propecia. It seems to have stabilized my loss for now.