Paulygon

So I've posted on HTN about my successful hair transplant, which I am very happy with... but last weekend I celebrated my 32nd birthday in Las Vegas.. as I was getting ready to go out and was putting wax in my hair, I noticed a non-pigmented hair. Wishfully, I thought it was my dog's hair that traveled with my on the 4 hour trip to Vegas, but as I looked closer in order to cut it, I realized it was my FIRST GRAY HAIR EVER. What the hell? I spent all this money on a hair transplant and now I have to worry about going gray??? Has anybody had this problem? How do I know if this is a transplanted hair or a native hair? Does it matter? What should I do? How quick does this spread? Before, I had the hair loss to worry about now I have to worry about the graying as well... I'm getting sick and tired of worrying about hair ALL THE TIME... just when I thought it was under controlllll.. ughh.

Quality level is high; we have a select # of expert surgeons in the field whom we can entrust for this high stakes operation. (High stakes because we are risking money, time, pain and a potential nightmare HT that would require correction surgery) It seems we are finally in the position to be in control of hair restoration in that we can even walk into our Hair Transplant Surgeon's office with photos of the celebrity hair that we admire and work with the surgeon to design that kind of hairline. I DID IT! I have uploaded exactly the scenario that I went through with Dr. Mohebi. See for yourself... I didn't get to be to be like my #1 fav photo hair, but I was able to get my hair restored to my #2 fav celebrity hair. Things are not like they were 10-15 years ago... we are the lucky ones! I encourage people to know thyself, and then think about what kind of hair (hair design, hair line) looks good with your features. Find some photos of people with different hair styles and take your favorite few to your doctor to work on a hair design. Get a good relationship with your doctor. Check out my uploaded picture... any thoughts?

For the record, I must admit, vanity is a quite strong characteristic in myself.. for better or worse. As a society though, we are programmed to value beauty and the almighty $$. For those who are more inclined, becoming vain is inescapable... If I had grown up in Tibet, I'd probably be content being a bald 32 y/o. As long as I could be free doing my meditation.. but in this society, I have to work all day and when I am walking around the city, I don't want to look like an old man just because I can not control my hair loss. Seriously though, it is so messed up that about a year and a half ago, when my hairloss was at its worst, people would make negative comments about certain aspects of my look (actually, now that I think about it, much of my family is vain... so that's where some of my programming comes from.. and my Gf at the time, as much as she tried to not be vain, would revert back to her vain self). Now, after the Fin, minox and excellent Hair Transplant procedure I often often often get told that I look much younger than 32... it just happened again last night by some beautiful girl who is 26 and thought I was younger than her. It's unbelievable that hair makes that much of a difference... and the lack of control over it, is so frustrating (as someone mentioned already). Thinking about control.. every day, growing up, we have control over our hair, then we start losing it, and not only do we have control over fewer hairs every passing day (how frustrating is finding your hairs in the shower, right?) but we just cannot seem to control this hair loss. It really is all in the mind though, as BeardedOne has brought up he sees Bruce Willis and Ed Harris as not weakened by their baldness... just his belief makes him stronger and less sensitive to the pains of hair loss than me.. sorry for the long post.. i was just venting.. going back to the "control" issue.. i truly see hair transplant as being not much different than getting tattoos. are tattoos about vanity? individualism? expressing yourself? what? anybody see the analogy between 'hair transplant' and 'tattoos' or 'body piercings'? I personally never have had a desire for tattoos (again, maybe due to programming-- as I remember body art was stigmatized in my social circles growing up). but having that degree of control over your body's appearance is the same in body art and HT's.. essentially, Hair Restoration is Body Art.

Thanks to those with positive comments.. One more things I remember is that right after transplant I got on Minox and remember reading some anecdotal evidence that it may speed up growth of the new roots... not sure how much truth there is to that tho.

yes.. i am reluctantly back on Fin as well.. man, it works though

worst offender is Jay Leno.. how many times is going to do that joke about Propecia being counterproductive to balding men picking up chicks due to the loss of libido effect... I saw him live a few months ago at the Comedy and Magic Club and yet again, he said that joke. jeez.

I'm also interested in the emotional aspects of it.. glad I'm not the only one! Seeing your profile pic with the empty crown (tho I could not find any other uploaded pics) , and reading your post that gave an idea of the current state of your loss and your desire to age gracefully it reminded me of a family friend who got some excellent FUE work done in his 50's. He basically has been bald (Norwood 6) as long as I remember but a couple years ago he got a new hairline with FUE. (He is a physician and financially well off so the higher cost of FUE wasn't a big deal for him). Anyway, for some reason he did not touch the crown region, they left it empty. He only got a new hairline. From the front, he easily looks 10 years younger, and much much different. (I had seen him again at a wedding post-transplant). Then from the back he looked the same as pre-transplant and recognizable to me. Honestly, I really really liked the work he had done because to me, that looked very much like aging gracefully.. being OK with hairloss but having a nice hairline (granted it wads not a thick hairline) but it looked pretty good. What are you thoughts about having something like that done? Where you rebuild the hairline but leave the crown empty? I think it works. Alternatively, you can fill in the crown a little bit.. maybe on a later procedure (which is my strategy for myself). Alot of physicians say that the hairline is the most important part of hair restoration.

How old are you now?

Thanks for the compliment. I means alot. I agree, confirmation from a friend is an important factor in accepting one's hair loss. I remember I was telling close friends in college I thought I was losing hair, but they did not agree with me because I had so much density at that time. Then one day, a roommate confirmed that the amount of hair in the tub after a shower was extreme and that I probably am losing it. That's another tipping point for me.

I am sure that it is a some combination of everything you guys mentioned.. specifically, vanity, anxiety, depression.. in my case, I remember watching the movie The Goods Live Hard Sell Hard in 2009.. the whole time admiring the way actor Jeremy Piven (Ari from Entourage) has overcome MPB. Then, suddenly there came a scene where an Extra who looked like me came up in a shot had such a similar hairloss as me (man, It gave me such anxiety, almost a self-hatred for how I look, not healthy at all.. (its very difficult to control your hardwired impulses).. that was a depression point for me... I often compare my hair to celebrities.. I know there are limits to Hair Restoration.. when I went with some photos of celebrities with hair I admired, and the doc told me some may be achievable with someone wiht my MPB condition.. while others not (no Colin Farrel density) but I think I got a really good Patrick Wilson hairline..

Looks pretty good man! My gut tells me you will be a good responder.

Yes, I remember Mohebi diagnosed me as Norwood 5 or 5A during initial consultation. At post-surg followup he said I had impressive results. Def no toppik used for pics because they are clinical pics. Yes to meds. my graft breakdown: 1's: 327 2's: 1796 3's: 499 4's: 88 Grand Total: 2710 (I think 2's were used to build the front hairline..)

Hi Mask, I've meaning to get back to you also.. When I was going through his website photos, and researching different docs, I personally did not love the photos.. I was hoping for, and was optimistic for better results than those photos. Although I commend all those who allowed their photos to be on his website, and think that they are all positive results.. (I don't know the science of this, but) I thought my case was different because I felt like a good number of my follicles would still be alive... since I had taken meds for a period of time before... Even Doc Mohebi says my result is not a normal result for HT. It's based on a trifecta approach.. Fin + Minox + HT. I am sure I will go for HT #2 in the future for where their are density gaps (ie. my crown are). I drive a convertible now and the annoying thing is that my hair always gets messed up and the little comeover I my comeover attempts for the crown are rendered pointless after a short drive. Regarding Mohebi's rates, I think your figures sound about right. However, he offers standby rates, which is was I took advantage of. They called me about a week before and told me they had a cancellation. Since I work from home, I only had to get out of work for 1 day and spent a couple extra days at the hotel they put me up in (they paid for just 1 night, I paid for an extra 2 nights) in Encino, CA and just enjoyed myself, albeit with some head bandages and a cap whenever I would go out to Starbucks or restaurants in the area. So, for standby there was a pretty significant discount... In addition to that, after the 2500th graft there was an additional discount. I remember that I the extra discount price after the 2500th graft.. for the remaining 210 grafts. Personally, I probably would have opted for even more grafts at the extra discounted rate but I just trusted the doc and accepted his recommendation for # of grafts. If I recall, my entire procedure (at the double discounted total) was not more than $8k. Easily one of the best investments I've ever made, Mask, do you do SMP (micropigmentation)? Is your icon your true pic? If so, has that turned out well? I saw someone wiht that and he had amazing results. You should post some pics in your blog! Some people look REALLY good with that. Mohebi's clinic does that as well. What is your goal tho?

Hey Guys, Read posts #15 and #17 on pg. 2 of this thread for the detailed explanation.. short version of it is /No grafts put into the crown because I started the meds at the same time.. Doc wanted to see how well the crown responds to meds and he spent his session rebuilding the entire front hairline./ Actually, although I have Toppik and use it when I go out to social events often.. the pics you see on this website are without Toppik... It would be counterproductive to use Toppik and take pictures because the point of this whole aspect of my life is to push the limits of hair restoration and have the best results I possibly can, and lastly, to teach others what is possible.. after all, I learned alot in my younger years from people sharing their suffering online (as well as Spencer Kobren's radio show "The Bald Truth"). I think the important thing is that I kept the follicles alive during my years of hairloss (when I was younger, I had heard that is important from "The Bald Truth" radio program.. that's why you should start your meds earlier as opposed to when hair loss is in its more advanced stages..) and then during the time I was off (I had stopped meds for a period of time for personal reasons that I now think are stupid) and I lost alot of hairs. Doc had me, in additiion to transplant, go back on meds, most importantly Finasteride.. He did not put any into crown because he suggested that the crown seems to respond fairly well to meds. Nevertheless, I am thinking about an eventual 2nd HT procedure to transplant hairs into the crown.

I contacted my doctor's office and got the graft breakdown details: 1's: 327 2's: 1796 3's: 499 4's: 88 Grand Total: 2710

I uploaded two pics from 2 different eras and call this post Past vs Present: A case for Hair Restoration 1st pic: a technical engineer gracefully allows his male patterned baldness to dominate his scalp. He has thick glasses and is using the computer in his University office on a CRT. He is probably a pretty nice guy. or as David DeAngelo says, "top heavy on superego". This pic is from the early to mid 1990s. 2nd pic: This is the the 'young buck' who works from the luxury of his home. He may or may not have had a hair transplant.. these days, whose to tell? He seems happy and relaxed because he has turned technology into his slave. It is interesting and undeniable that hair restoration is at a state that we have some level of predictability of results. The technology and technique is there as long as we choose the right doctors, the HT can look very good, and undetectable. You can have a long term strategy and might never be bald, depending on the quality of your donor hair. So I wonder how many people choose to go gracefully bald like in the first pic anymore. I can see shaving of the head completely.. but only a select number of people have that kind of headshape anyway (I am not one of them). I am of the belief that we should use all the tested tools at our disposal in the name of progress. If I hadn't used the meds or had the HT#1 I would have been like the guy in pic 1... but I just don't feel like that and I had to use the tools to make the outside match how I feel. (I hated looking in the mirror and seeing no hair on my head.. it was so weird). FYI:[[i used the term 'young buck' because that was said to me on this forum regarding my transformation from 'old man' status after my 1st HT with Dr Parsa Mohebi in Encino. ]] Having come this far with technology... what holds people back from going for a hair restoration procedure from a reputable doctor?

Ahh! That's amazing (taking Proscar before it was approved for hair loss)... I love hearing from the pioneers, the guys who had the courage to try things in the early days.. Fortunately it turned out well for you! Dr. Rahal is a great guy! I met him at a banquet a couple months ago. I love his work. I can relate to you about getting greedy.. maybe its not entirely a bad thing tho! It suggests we were able to accomplish something that most men are at odds with.. and yet, we want more..

Hi All, This thread is about your TIPPING POINT that is.. at what moment did you accept the reality of your hair loss... at what point did you decide to seek treatment, or to try to change the course of your hair loss? These may be two different times.. or they may be one and the same. As for myself.. I always had a feeling that I was losing more hair than normal... I would find hairs in between pages of my books when I was only 16-17 y/o. I never thought I would do a hair transplant procedure.. I just would not admit that MY HAIR LOSS IS THAT BAD. I tried EVERYTHING under the sun.. but of course, only the 2 FDA approved meds (Rogaine and Propecia) helped. Probably the time that I realized I BADLY needed a hair transplant was when my girlfriend posted Facebook pictures of us cooking dinner in a Manhattan penthouse... Everything looked so nice, she was hot.. the apartment looked good.. BUT... I didn't look up to par.. the meds just were not cutting it anymore.. my hairloss was a DEAD GIVEAWAY.. Anyway, I was tired of losing the fight and meds can only do so much to fight genetics... fortunately I found Dr Mohebi (in Encino, California) and he designed my new hairline so well that even my stylist cannot tell that I've had a hair transplant... well, I have to say, I am much happier, more confident and am not shy of Facebook pictures anymore! (save the fact that I need to bulk up now). I am interested in hearing from the community.. at what point did you see the light? (whether that means when you decided to START OR STOP meds), get Hair Restoration Procedure, or start communicating with people regarding hair loss.. etc.

one more thing.. Dr Mohebi did a hair job on me that is undetectable by my hair stylist.. I got a new stylist after my hair grew in.. .she's pretty hot. and I never told her.. I figure she'd be able to tell by the scar in the back.. but maybe she didnt see the scar or maybe she thinks its from something else. do people generally tell their stylists that they have had HT procedure performed?

Hey guys, I'm sorry for the delay in posting- it has been a hectic week. Thanks all, for the recognition and kind words. I have to say, that the most important factor in having the 'incredible transformation' is the education/information that was available to me. Using the forums, listening to radio shows about hair loss, allowed me to make an informed decision on getting the procedure. I had actually seen posts regarding Dr. Parsa Mohebi's approval status by Hair Transplant Network and that was an important selection criteria. In talking with Dr. Mohebi, I could tell he knew his stuff.. and he was not in it just for the money. He took an interest in me as a person and genuinely cared about giving me a hair transplant that I would be happy with in the long-term. I liked that Dr. Mohebi spent the time to discuss my history and expectations, and then had an interesting way of designing a strategy for my hair restoration.. all while brainstorming with me, ie. taking in my feeback, calibrating his design based on my inputs. For example, the first hairline he made (with a black colored stencil) on my forehead, my response to him was precisely, "Doc, that's badass!".. it was a low hairline, something I hadn't had since about 25. But then he said, "we can do that" but if we do a mature hairline, which you said u also like, we can get more density in there and still leave ample donor hairs untouched in case you ever want to do touch ups for future procedures,.. it is a sin to waste even 1 donor hair in this field." So, we eventually evolved our design (I am saying "we" because his creative process was steered based on my feedback) to a bit higher "mature" (which I like on me.. i like having a large forehead like actor Patrick Wilson from Insidious) hairline that ended up transforming my entire look with only 2710 grafts. Probably one of the coolest things is.. that I told the doctor that I want to go see this girl (who lives in another country) who I hadn't seen in many years (I had badly thinning hair the last time I had seen her, which was about 5 years prior).. I told Dr Mohebi that I am going to see her in a few months. Doctor Mohebi (and this is how seriously I take the man's words) told me, Do not go until at least the 6 month point (preferably 9 month point).. If you're interested in this girl, image has a factor in your confidence, you're getting the procedure done anyway, use it to your advantage.. delay your trip. He was so cool, yet precise in his words to me. I'm gonna post a pic of my trip overseas at the 9 month point.. and you can see, my hair looked pretty cool. I have Dr Mohebi to thank that it was a very successful trip and I am in a serious relationship with the person I went to see.. I was my best self on that trip. She may have been attracted to me anyway without hair, but I just felt better and more confident having the good hair and looking good. (FYI- I don't have many before pics because they disgusted me and I think I deleted the few that I took [i didn't realize I would want to show you guys later.. I only have the clinical shots Dr Mohebi took] but towards when it was bad, it was looking like the later Steve Jobs days.. which is fine if you're a billionaire.. but I'm not.. and its not fine for me.). Do you guys have any questions to ask me? I've been through alot as far as hair loss is concerned.. feel free to ask about how certain aspects of it affected me emotionally; when I made decisions to seek change; or, how was the pain of strip surgery? or how was the process of surgery? or what was the tipping point that got me into surgery? I have a Yelp review that is filtered but goes into further details about my surgery "vacation" in Encino (Los Angeles). Some advice to the young guys out there: if you are sure you are losing your hair, you may want to get on the FDA approved meds (propecia/proscar or rogaine) soon at least to keep the follicles alive and delay thinning and death of the follicle. Cheers, Paulygon

Hi Levrais, No grafts put into thr crown because I started the meds at the same time.. Doc wanted to see how well the crown responds to meds and he spent his session rebuilding the entire front hairline. If you go to my blog u can see that at 6 months thr meds worked ok for my crown. But I think I will go back for another transplant to get the crown more filled in and maybe some more grafts around my hairline.

When I get time, I will put up more pictures from different angles that were taken at the doctors clinic. I know someone was requesting to see them.

I'd been on and off Finasteride and minox since 21 now (31). About 6 months before Hair Transplant I had stopped both my meds. Hair kept falling out like crazy, it was depressing. I just felt like even with the meds, I had shitty hair.. I couldn't style the front because the front had sparse bad quality hairs... Thr hairs from the middle would comb over to my front... After about 6 months of not taking meds, I just buzzed my head to see what authentic me looks like... It was not pretty. Then I Well, when I got to do thr hair transplant I started the minox + Finasteride the same week as my procedure. This is important to know-- it was the trifecta approach that caused the crown to thicken (and maybe since I had recently been on meds earlier in thr year, I kept the follicles alive that would be thickening up in thr future?); if you look in my blog, as some of you have mentioned, the doc did not put any grafts in my crown. Reason was he wanted to see how much the meds would fill up the crown (as OtherSyde mentioned, the meds do a good job of that). This was good because Doc could use the HT session to build me a new hairline which I badly needed. OtherSyde, I understand the justified paranoia... Ive been sold everything from Revivogen to Hair Club. Anyway, my story with hair loss goes back to when I was 21. I tried everything (including getting on and off the finasteried and minox for various reasons... and I was against transplants for the longest time, but now that I know a little more about the way hair loss works, and the know treatments we have, I embrace HT technology and concede that I will probably require a few strips and maybe 1-2 FUE sessions in my life. Now, just to make the money to allow that to happen. Also, to the guy who said from old man to young buck..... THANK YOU! U made my morning Yes, I get complemented by people a lot about looking so young.. It's kind of great hearing that alot... I never tell them my secret One last thing... I used to stigmatize hair transplants until one day it clicked to me that a hair transplant is about as cool as getting a tattoo. I personally don't care for a tattoo but to be able to design your own body ascetics.... That is cool... To put hair where you want it to be instead of the sides of your head.... You r in control... And that is cool. HT is the new tattoo. ( and SMP actually is a tattoo lol )

go to my site: Hair Restoration Journal for Paulygon - 6 months follow-up Appointment I know I have all angles at least up to the 6 month mark. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

yea it looks really great... i saw all your pics on your website at 4 months.. i knew it was getting good.. congratulations man!