Paulygon

The attached pic was taken this morning..

I drew blue stars around the hairs to indicate what seems to be DHT-resistant (?) native hairs located far below my strong post-HT hairline.

What am I supposed to do with these hairs?

I tried shaving them, which is an odd thing to do.. they keep growing back as a stark reminder of a hairline of days past. Should I pluck them?

Part of me feels wasteful to shave or pluck any scalp hair because we only have a finite number of donors available.

Are these actually DHT-resistant hairs? (or perhaps they are just dying a slow death to DHT and I shouldn't trust them)

Maybe I should have them removed with FUE and transplanted to a region that actually NEEDS them (ie. my crown). Or, are there too few of then to impact my crown? Or, would it not be worth removing them with FUE because they are sensitive to DHT but just not as sensitive as the other native hairs that have already fallen out? Would FUE leave scars in those regions (any scarring in that region [my forehead] would be UNACCEPTABLE to me).

Hi everyone,

Does every HT clinics ask for a deposit when you sign up for a HT surgery?

How to avoid online scam?

Should I avoid clinics or agents asking to make Western Union deposit?

 

Thanks

I think I paid a $500 when I reserved my spot with Mohebi.

Due to personal circumstances, I ended up deciding not to do the surgery in 2011 and got a full refund...

Then in 2012, I went back to Mohebi, paid the deposit to reserve a spot on standby, and got the surgery done.

But, in your situation, whenever I hear the words "Western Union" I get a bit nervous..

I read this once from a top HT surgeon: Hair is deliberately transplanted at lower than naturally-occurring densities and so we depend on some illusion to make it look fuller than it actually is. Transplanted hair will always look fuller when 2-3 inches long, dry, separated, and styled to layer like shingles on a roof. It will always look thinner when cut short, spiked up, parted through, wet or clumped with product.

Yes! I asked my surgeon to elaborate on the details of how they budget the limited # of donor hairs and if there is a formula they use to determine the density they want to arrive at in HT's when filling in an area.. for example, I compared a guy who likes a mohawk style to a guy who like a professional clean cut hair style.. and I asked Dr Mohebi for his inputs.

Here is my surgeon's answer in :

How to budget hair in hair transplantation – Hair Economy

I think this is interesting stuff...

Also, I pay around $45 for haircuts nowadays because my stylist is also an excellent illusionist!

I was wondering why no clinic can look into this seriously and offer solutions, like for example the clinic will work with a hair system company in designing a hair system that looks like the person hair before the operation, or for those who do a comb over with toppik, might also benefit. They can design for them a unit that can be attached by clips and not glue that looks like the person's hair before the operation. I think clinics should look into the matter of how to hide operational signs especially that the ugly duggling phase in the most worrying phase a person can go through

 

such a cool thought though- i love innovative thinking! It just that something like that seems like it would nearly double the cost of hair transplants. The HT cost is prohibitive enough for many people already, so I would think it all comes down to economics. I agree with a prior poster-- the way to do this is to save up your vacation days, etc. Or just deal with telling people the truth.

I work remotely and gave my my boss a heads-up about my procedure.

My surgeon (Dr Parsa Mohebi) offers stand-by surgery at a discounted rate (ie. you fill in when there is a cancellation) -- I had signed up for that stand-by list and his office called me about a week or 2 prior to surgery to tell me that there was an opening--

A soon as I got that option to get the surgery done, I talked to my boss and got his 'OK' for being out for a day or two. And, since I work remotely, healing, bandages, awkward appearance was not an issue.

when I had my first HT (FUT) done my doc and I planned to wait about a year to see results from the first, so we know where to fill-in and fine-tune. He gave me the option of FUT or FUE for the second. I am still deliberating which. Each has pros vs. cons.

What are you leaning towards? What about your doc's advice?

If you were to get FUE, how many grafts would you get in? More than 2800?

Anyhow, I'd def. wait, if possible, to see results from HT#1 so you know what you're working with and where to fill in gaps.

This patient came to Dr. Hasson to address as much of his hair loss as possible. He was classified between a NW5A and NW6 and received 8402 grafts in one session. Placement was spread from the new hairline well into the crown with a new whorl pattern established for good coverage.

 

The patient sent us the photos below that I paired up with his before photos to show what is happening at only four months post-op. Obviously, he has much more improvement to expect and with his permission I'll update this case as new photos become available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Jotronic,

This topic came up in another thread- and I'm not sure if you will see it-- but now that I'm curious, I have to ask (hope I don't annoy anyone asking a similar question in 2 threads)-- but your input is like Gold to some of us.. so here goes:

In your patient's BEFORE pic, he kind looks like Matt Lauer..

I am attaching a pic of Matt Lauer that shows his recent hair loss status.

If Matt Lauer were to get a hair transplant, could he be as lucky in getting as good results?

I'm guessing not because Lauer's donor region does not appear to be as high quality as your patient's pic. How much hope would there be for someone in Lauer's case, compared to your guy? I just wish there was a better way of predicting expected results.

Do you mean a non impressive High NW result like this

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/161678-dr-hasson-8402-grafts-one-session-4-months-4.html

That is one heck of a transformation after just 1 procedure- lucky guy!

In the BEFORE (posted originally by Jotronic and re-attached below), the patient looks kind of like Matt Lauer.. makes you think... if Matt Lauer were to get a HT, would he be as lucky in getting as good results?

My guess would be no because (per the pic I put up) Matt Lauer's donor area is not quite as dense and doesn't seem to have as good-quality hairs as the patient.

It's funny how this hair loss crapshoot is so based on LUCK. For example, my brother has no hairloss but I got the hair loss genes in the family. But then, at least I've been lucky that my donor region has alot of good quality hairs and can compensate to a degree for my DHT-uber-sensitive native scalp follicles. Then I was lucky that I found this community, read the right articles and picked the right surgeon to go to for my first Hair Transplant procedure. I'm lucky that the Doc is located in Los Angeles and I can have him maintain my hair density distribution for the rest of my life (at least that is the plan).

Bottom line is, you can only control certain things... Don't stress over what you cannot control.. and do your due diligence (ie. research, consultations with several docs) when picking a route for tackling your hair loss issues.

It amazes me how often I see people freaking out just a couple weeks after their HT operation... claiming that they see no signs of hair re-growth, or blaming their docs for not putting in the # of grafts that was promised. (way too soon bro!) We tend to freak out alot about our hair.. we just gotta realize when to chill out.

The main point of this post was to get opinions on whether someone with the Matt Lauer density could achieve as good results as the patient posted by Jotronic. Any thoughts?

wow- just seeing these photos now- lucky guy!!

are FUE and FUT supposed to show new growth at the same speed?

I am thinking a transplanted hair is a transplanted hair no matter the form of removal (ie. strip vs FUE)

Again, at 8 months you should be seeing roughly 80% of your final results.

At the latest, I was able to see 80% around the 6 month mark- as you can see from my pics (of course in my case, I had started Rogaine 10 days after procedure and Finasteride during the same week as HT which also filled in my crown, and anectodal evidence suggests it diminishes shock loss after HT and helps to possibly get the transplanted hairs out of a resting phase more quickly).

One of the kickers for me to go to my doc (Parsa Mohebi) was that he had been recommended by this website. I think FutureHTDoc was the one who had visit Dr Mohebi's clinic in person and watched him do surgery and based on that he decided to Approve Dr Mohebi on this site.

My own research on Dr Mohebi was 50% complete- the other 50% really came because this website had approved him; And if you look at my results (see my photos on my HTN blog), you can see that it worked out great for me-- I went from a NW5 to a decent head of hair (undetectable HT even by my own hair stylist) because of the "perfect storm" of results that was based based on a trifecta approach that Dr Mohebi helped me with (HT, fin, minox).

so, if you are asking whether clinics want to be promoted by this website- the answer would be "of course".. but the truth is that this community has standards and would never recommend a Doctor / Clinic that performs "doll hair" or substandard work. I've also seen in the past, where the Moderators of this forum have rescinded (or considered rescinding) Approval of a surgeon due to complaints by a member on this website going unanswered by the doctor. I think that the physician eventually responded, fixed the issue in a relatively timely manner, and then all turned out to be OK.

Anyway, we should be beyond doll hair effect at this point. doll hair is so 90's, haha.. feels good to be able to say that!

I think aesthetically demanding people push each other to improve and bring one another up rather than destroy with negativity.

Agreed.

Pain is gone around day 11. Tingles are still around but slowly diminishing. I'm taking vitamin B and it helps.

In addition to Vitamin B I would think that Vitamins A, E and C would help at least in regard to healing & skin damage.

I've only had FUT so far, but I do plan for FUE for my next procedure.. has anybody here had both? Which would you say (FUT vs FUE) causes worse pain in the donor area? I would imagine, taking out a strip would have a higher level of pain.. although, the FUT appears to have a more unpredictable onset of pain..

I had a mini shed recently in the front that was transplanted 7 months ago (along with a touch-up procedure in another scalp region too last month which could be related).

Had a nightmare the other day I was massively balding with scabs all over my head to top if off, then woke up to find not a single hair was missing.

 

Probably we invest so much time and money to get our hair back it causes a decent amount of anxiety. It's important to notice the big changes to prevent further loss but best not to sweat smaller things.

I have never been a big fan of Rogaine btw, but mostly due to it drying my scalp

Ahh, Hsrp, I just replied commented on how your hair looks like Alec Baldwin's (someone, who in my opinion has naturally beautiful hair). Really impressive work you've got done there! I think you make alot of sense when you say that the anxiety is due to the fact that we invest so much in getting the hair back so we are afraid of losing it.. (also, potentially, sudden changes can cause anxiety-- like going from really terrible hair to a decent looking head in a matter of 6 months, is not common... and so maybe a person's mind fears that the opposite can happen just as quickly..)

How do you define a mini-shed? I feel like I am always shedding! Would a mini-shed be 2x normal, 3x normal, etc? Or do you not shed regularly? I think I'm very confused on this point and would love to hear people's inputs so I can, like you say "It's important to notice the big changes to prevent further loss but best not to sweat smaller things"

Someone in my condition-- with HT performed and on Finasteride and Minox regularly since 2012... should I not be shedding? Or is there a number that would be reasonable for shed... I don't understand what the shed rate should be for me.

"Nice 'DiCaprio' style haircut going on there."

Thanks 1978matt, can only wear it like that when its 100% dry but damn it's easy to style, hope it gets just a little thicker so I can wear it like when wet (looking to save time in the morning)....your avatar pic rules!

 

Gorgeous hair- that avatar of yours looks like a young Alec Baldwin.... that is simply awesome! Congrats!

Ya that whole dry vs. wet thing is interesting.. I prefer to style my hair dry because it looks much thicker--- if you can get to the point of styling it like that wet-- damn!

and if a doctor is chosen that does not plan for the future as far as future hair loss down the road, then yes I suppose a patient could at some point not look natural. I fear that some of the young guys (early 20's) that really don't have a serious hair loss problem yet, but start eating up their donor supply at an early age chasing a teenage dense-packed hairline are the ones that could end up looking un-natural in their 40's-50's.

this is so important-- you and your doc must work together to plan for your future hair loss..

and i think it is important to intellectually click with your surgeon - this way you can trust his ideas for your hair design

Great hair Pauly! I congratulate you!

Thanks for your support David, from day 1 of my postings!

Ya, I'm really having fun with the hair now.. starting to buy different types of product to put in it and testing out different styles..

its funny though, doing a Rogaine run at Target and buying a couple different hair products at the same time... well, it's nice, actually

I wouldn't worry too much about finasteride or minoxidil losing its effectiveness 10 years from now, because I think there's a good possibility that 10 years from now we may have a couple of new FDA approved hair loss drugs that are stronger than finasteride and minoxidil. It's not a given, but there's a high possibility. CB-03-01, if the right vehicle is found for it, looks promising. CB is only an experimental drug right now, but I think we'll get closer to bringing it out to market soon. There's also Latisse, it is supposedly stronger than minoxidil but it is not readily available as a hair loss treatment, i'm sure 10 years from now it will be.

interesting thoughts--

is Latisse like a stronger version of Minoxidil? With Minox, we've gone from 2% to 5%.. how would you equate it to Latisse (ie. would Latisse be like a 12%?). I know that works for thickening eyelashes.. has Minox ever been used for eyelashes?

As a general rule, I never get excited about drugs or biotech advancement... b/c its SO SLOW.... which understandably, is due to safety, the length of clinical trial phases, and the $$ it takes to get drugs through the FDA hoops. But, perhaps your timeline of 10 years is reasonable... esp. considering Latisse is avail. for eyelashes.. of course we have to be prepared for side effects because then WE will be the guinea pigs for the new drugs... gotta be prepared for things like dizziness or whatever...

man, remember the Finasteride fiasco a couple years ago? that was horrible.. I hear so many people stopped taking it because a very small sample of people said they were afflicted with side effects long-term even after quitting. (Apparently it was a very poor study tho)

Regarding CB-03-01, I've never heard of it! I will look it up-- thanks!

I would love to know if this exists.. anybody aware of any surgeons providing "expected results" in the form of diagram or powerpoint? What an advantage that would provide to patients. Tho, I do understand Hair Restoration is artistry, and artistry is unpredictable to a degree

The closest thing I've seen to this-- which is more of a step toward it -- is Doctor Mohebi's Hair Now app for iphone. You need to upload a current picture of yourself (this would be the BEFORE) and then you choose from a series of actual post-HT results (from Mohebi's past patients) and then the software automatically superimposes those AFTER hairstyles onto your head... thereby creating your AFTER result.

I hope the App can get more scientific than this.. and somehow actually create predictions for AFTER results tailored to your specific scalp... how cool would that be? Any tech-savvy people here have any thoughts on the possibility of that kind of software existing in the future? Man, I would invest in it..!

*I wonder if many hair doctors use a PowerPoint type presentation as in dentistry with a template that would show the before and end result of the work to be done on the patient?

I would love to know if this exists.. anybody aware of any surgeons providing "expected results" in the form of diagram or powerpoint? What an advantage that would provide to patients. Tho, I do understand Hair Restoration is artistry, and artistry is unpredictable to a degree

Congrats mate, I'd say the first week or so is tough going. I found it difficult to sleep and was itching like crazy but stick with it, it'll calm down in a few days.

 

I agree- the first week was a little itchy and my donor region (I did FUT) was a little numb.. but I've basically forgotten all about that... the results are worth that first week of annoyance (you'll just remember it as an annoyance).

i stopped propecia about 4 months before,to give the dr,my honest hairline.

that was a nice, ballsy move.. most people would not do that because it takes so much time to gain results from the propecia.. and in those 4 months you revert back to your old hairline (which was your plan)...

How did you feel about your strategy-- do you feel you benefited?

I'm planning on having my first HT in about a month,

did you pick your surgeon yet? I'd be very interested in his response to your question.

I would love to shave my head, I've done it once before, and I don't mind how I look like that.. Here's the problem, I'm on television.

 

in that case.. def go for FUE

On top of all this, my employers don't even know I'm thinning. Since my first day, I've come to work with caboki in. That stuff covers my thinning so well, people have even remarked how full my hair is.

I used to use Toppik alot before HT and had been told the same thing-- I wondered if my receding hairline had gotten to the point where people were just being nice, and noticed something was off about what I was doing with my hair.. ugh, when you think about it like that it is kind of embarrassing.. but your pics are not as bad as my condition was.

I can't help but play 'spot the HT'

lol I've been doing this too!