Paulygon

This is like my situation.. not sure if you've read my earlier posts, but I've had no work done on my crown and my stylist does an excellent job of doing what I call a "flappy combover" or what she calls "a strategic cut" in the crown region. It works quite well and others in this forum have complimented me on how it looks. It has allowed me to delay getting any work done on the crown, as I've heard that the crown is like a black hole that just sucks in alot of donor grafts. My doc has also said I have great quality donor hair, and a good number of them at that.. so it looks like we are in similar shoes in that sense. I'm not sure how to answer this. On one hand, I was very delicate with my hair until I get my staples removed (Day 10). What day # did the doc say you can start shampooing your hair more aggressively (ie. as normal)? I would think that would coincide with when you can put your hat on securely. Maybe others can give you a more definitive answer.

Looking at your before pics, I predict that you can have a great hairstyle once these grafts grow out. It wouldn't be a bad idea to find a good mens hair stylist that you go to every so often to maintain a trendy cut. A good men's stylist can do wonders to augment the work your surgeon has done. I had also noticed a "crack" in the recipient area and was concerned that I lost some grafts, but since it was already after day 5 I was assured that I the grafts already were in place and I shouldn't worry. if I'm not mistaken, after day 3 you shouldn't be concerned. Specifically, I noticed the "crack" in the place where a crust of skin containing about 3 hairs was shed.. and it was a bit alarming to me.. so I've been there. At this point, a couple years down, I don't notice any significant gap or emptiness where I had seen that "crack" so I agree with your doctor, that you should be A-OK.

I'm excited for ya! can't wait to see your progress! keep us posted friend!

hmm.. maybe I should get on this Paleo diet... nice to hear! congrats!

Your hair loss pattern looks similar to how mine was at my worst. The meds certainly helped me and I would suggest you try Minox. Since you're young, I have a feeling that Minox would help quite a bit for a few years. Its too bad the Finasteride gave you untolerable effects, because the 2 together is a strong combo. I did all 3 (minox, finasteride and HT) and what followed was a "perfect storm" of results.. but I was about 30 y/o at the time... I think you should take it slow, and don't do HT yet.. eventually if you decide to do HT, don't skimp out, pay for a quality surgeon so he can "create the illusion of fullness" with amount of donors that you do have.

Haha- I can see how you thought that...! I'd never heard of Naked and Afraid, but per IMDB, looks like a good show.

What a funny concept of a show! You go on a first date naked and see if you and the other person have chemistry enough to go on a second date.. hahah This got me thinking, even though I am so happy with my hair transplant results (to the point where I've received fire from some members in the online community for being overconfident or arrogant), I still could not get myself comfortable to go on "dating naked". Though it seems everyone in the LA area wants go on a Reality TV show at some point in their lives, I Think I WILL PASS ON THIS ONE! Imagine participating in such a show? Would having a good hair transplant result give you the added confidence you need to participate in it? OR maybe its not even about CONFIDENCE, but just FUN, etc. I love the part where some dude says "It usually takes me 3-4 dates to see a girl naked, so this is a real time-saver!" HILARIOUS! Show Clip | VH1 Exclusive: Extended Preview + Dating Naked Uncensored | VH1

See me thread: Bizarre!- my HT is put to the ULTIMATE TEST -- and I'm anxious I went on some dates with a superficial HT tech (someone who was instrumental in helping her HT surgeon perform procedures over a 3 year period). The experiment in the date was to see if she could detect that I have had a HT. End result, she could not detect it. Therefore, natural looking HT's do exist. Parsa Mohebi, my doctor, performed a modern natural looking hair transplant on me. This is now a gold standard... unnatural should not even be done anymore... or if the surgeon feels that the result would look unnatural, then he should advise the patient as such. We've come a long way and can get natural looking results if you go to the right doctor (and maybe if you have enough quality donor hairs left).

I agree with Rootz and Roman. Don't build it up, don't make it seem like a big deal at all. When you are telling her, come from a place of confidence that you have your shi* under control. I'm in a similar situation right now, I've started a new relationship and am considering going long-term with this girl... but I haven't brought up the HT yet.. I'm in no rush to, either. I've brought this issue up in the community and have had helpful advice from the guys. If you search old threads you will see their opinions.

Always better to follow doc's advice to a T.

Taurus, if you have any general questions, feel free to ask the community.. I've met Rahal and alot of us really like his work and could try to help you if you haven't been able to get ahold of a rep. Otherwise, call Rahal's office and they could possibly put you in contact with a rep.

for me, minox doesn't act as a concealer at all.. i couldn't imagine applying minox before going out.. it seems to have the opposite effect of what i desire, in that it makes my hair look thin for a couple hours after application. i usually like volumizing shampoo, toppik and volumizing hair spray.. .sometimes i use past or clay instead of the hair spray because my stylist likes those better.. im a little old school and prefer the spray because driving in my convertible with causes wind to tussle my hair.. but the spray keeps my hair in tact longer and in harsher conditions than paste.

6 months?! you're safe... 10 days is the magic number where you might be worried about losing the tansplanted grafts.. you're okay!

I like your hair in your avatar, Ryan. Yes, I've heard it loses effectiveness over time, but as stated above, everyone is different and you should talk to your HT doc about your personal situation.

True both docs are great! Good luck to you! Update us.

I've only used Toppik and have been using it for years. It helps to look in the mirror while applying it for the front. It doesn't come off too easily unless you shampoo your hair (then its comes right out). As for applying it to the crown, I just give the bottle a few shakes and that seems to be the sweet spot for me... when I was first starting out, I would use a couple mirrors to try to figure out how many shakes of the Toppik bottle gives the effect I want. Funny thing is, just the other day, I realized that I was applying the number "sweet spot" shakes of and thinking I was covering my hair with Toppik, only to find out the bottle has been empty for a while! I guess you really can end up relying to it like a crutch, even when you don't really need it too badly (after my HT I don't think I Really need the powder, but I just feel better applying it!)

Hey man, I'm sorry to see that you are going through such pain because of this.. I think most or all of us in this community can relate... but your mental health is the most important thing, and it is tough for me to really see the magnitude of the intensity of this emotional pain based on just text.. so I really do recommend you talk to someone, like a therapist or psychologist. It helps to have a live person that you see every so often to work through these intense emotions with you. I've done that, and it helped me when I was in my early stages of hair loss.

:confused: Amazing that creating a new vagina is simpler than copying a hair follicle... :mad:

Ughh.. that sounds like me.. I've been there.. sometimes, still I am.

Lol.. just wait til Sunday.. email him after the series is over.. I don't want you to distract Manu and make him think too much about how he looks on camera..lest you get in his head!

wow, I had no idea Steve Nash had HT. I saw him play live at Staples Center (Los Angele) last year.. though from a distance.. still I admired how great his hair was for his age.. this blew my mind that he had HT.. goes to show that a great HT is possible! True.. Ginobli's temples in both corners and peaks are shot too..

True. Mine is of the same caliber as the donor hairs... but much thicker than my native hairs that are in the Recipient region... so the donors are much stronger than the natives, and I'm quite happy about that. These donor hairs are generally DHT-resistant.

how many do you lose now, on a daily basis, approximately? (I've been on Propecia for a couple years straight.. still losing some every day, but much less than before Propecia).

I've been really into the NBA Finals this year... It is hard not to notice Manu Ginobli's (of the San Antonio Spurs) hair loss. Particularly that crown (see pics). I find myself thinking about how I would treat my hair if I were Manu Ginobli.. I would cut my hair really short and find a great clinic to SMP the crown and possibly top in such a way to connect the SMP'd crown to the hairline (I would still grow out my hair line a bit). I'd probably go for a nice hair cut few weeks as well just to maintain that optimal look. Seems like this would take years off his look... maybe he would look a good 10 years younger. Of course, I know his focus right now is on winning the Finals this year.. and I think the Spurs will! Anyway, he probably will be retiring soon and has plenty of time to think about how to tackle his hair loss.

Considering your pics, I would try Minox and/or Finasteride for a good year before considering Hair Transplant.