ChickenMan23

Dr Charles is probably the no. 1 guy in Florida.

Leave South Florida that is my best recommendation. There are some are truly horrible doctors in the tri county area which should not be surprising considering it is a mecca for cheap plastic surgery. There are a few good HT doctors in South Florida recommended on this site but they are second tier. If you want the true top HT doctors look at Hasson, Konoir, Shapiro and Rahal to name a few. Be prepared to travel.

Did not see you were also considering Dr. Shapiro. He is also top five. You cannot go wrong with either Shapiro or Konoir. Just bundle up because its cold out in the Midwest.

Pay the price and spend the time and go to Dr Konoir. He is one of the top five guys in he U.S. doing HT. It is well worth the travel time and extra money. He implements all the grafts himself and is extremely detail oriented.

This may sound like a stupid question but every time I see a same day post op picture posted of a tricho donor closure there seems to be a very wide area where there is no hair. Typically you will see a pattern where the hair from the top of the ears to the bottom of the ears is completely gone with a small strip in the middle of buzzed down/shaved hairs. Why is this. Is the buzzed/shaved hair the hair actually growing through the scar (seems too early). Can someone explain why this is and where the actual scar is.

Most doctors advise to wait a week to ten days post surgery to resume rogaine/minoxidil. I presume this is to not irritate the grafts and or impair healing. However, if you are putting minoxidil on a different part of the scalp then where the grafts are (i.e, the crown), I would assume this is a non issue. No reason to stop.

Scar: I do not see how talking about hair loss is weakening yourself. It is not a character flaw or something that could even be classified as a weakness. It is a physical trait that every male has. As I pointed out previously I have had guys talk to me about all sorts of weaknesses like adultery, tax fraud and even sexual issues. And yes jerking off is also often talked about with guys. We have no problem making fun of ourselves in that area. Yet no one seems to talk about hair loss. I include myself in this. I have never wanted to talk about it either with my guy friends. But after reviewing this site the last few weeks where everyone is so candid about how they are approaching hair loss it has changed my perspective.

First, I want to really thank everyone on this site and I am really glad to have had the pleasure to read over the forums the last few weeks. Not only has it been a wealth of information about hair loss and hair surgeons but it has been a cathartic experience to talk and listen to other men express their concerns about hair loss. Let's face it most guys do not do well with discussing our flaws or things that bother us. We repress our problems and fears and that is especially true when it comes to something sensitive like hair loss. I am 40 years old and have had many guy friends over the years. Some have full heads of hair. Some are completely bald and some are in the middle like me. I can honestly say that I never have discussed hair loss with any of them. Friends have admitted to me everything from cheating on their taxes and spouses to suffering from ED. But no one has ever once talked to me about their daily propecia regimen or Rogaine use or asked for my thoughts on HT. Hair loss is a lonely world and for most men not acknowledging it means not having to deal with. In fact, this is the real reason men shave their heads. Yes some men look great with a shaved head but most do it because they want to stop thinking about their hair loss. I am not saying that is necessarily wrong (and to be honest is a better way to go than obsessing about your hair everyday) but it also is not dealing with the issue. When a guys say "go bald like a man and shave it off" what he really means is go bald like a man and deny it is happening. We should take a page from our woman friends who have no problems discussing their flaws and ailments with all of their friends. Ever listen to a bunch of woman talk candidly. It is nothing but endless chatter about how fat they feel or what skin blemishes they have or how their boobs are sagging. And when females talk about these things they not only acknowledging their problems but they are receiving support on how to deal with it not to mention practical advise on how to fix it. The irony is that most men fear hair loss because they are concerned what women will think of them when the reality is that women are a lot more understanding and accepting of bodily flaws then men. If hair loss was strictly a prevalent female problem HT would not only be one of the most popular procedures on the planet but places like Bosley would not exist because women would have outed them for what they are years ago. I realize this is easier said then done but I think it is high time for men to put away are shame and embarrassment and talk about hair loss.

The problem with that video is that no man would run away from that. That woman was hot. Hair or no hair. Not be crass but most men would hit that in a second and probably be thankful that a woman as beautiful as that had a flaw which would give them confidence in trying to pick her up. I think that video just plays on the fears of bald men and anyone else that is sensitive about their looks. The message is if you do not look perfect then no one will be interested in you. The reality is we tend to be a lot harder on ourselves about our looks then others. Men obsess about their hair because they think every woman in the room is looking at their scalp and laughing just like woman get boob jobs because they think no man will date them if they are only an A cup. The reality as humans we are attracted to a lot more than just hair or breasts. Its the whole physical make up of the person not just one part.

Dr Beehner: Can you please expand on the blood supply issue. If I understand what you are saying its that when you do the first procedure it puts starin on the blood supply in the scalp to support the new grafts and thus you need to give it some time adjust. If you do another proceudre to early there will simply be too much strain on the blood supply to support the additional grafts. Does your opinion change however if you are doing smaller procedures so that the first procedure does not cause a major strain on the blood supply allowing a second proceudre to be done in a quicker interval. How about if the seocnd procedure is done in a completley different area of the scalp than the first. I have heard some doctors claim that in a perfect world it woud be better to do several samller sessions than one big one. It seems to me that one viable startgey would be to do several small proceudres over a 12 month period rather than one large session as it wouldd allow for the patient to be evaluated in his/her reaction to the grafts, scarring , healing etc. Obvioulsy the receipient areas would have to be in diferent areas of the scalp and each procedure would probbaly require going into a different part of the donor area to avoid scalp laxity issues but it seems (assuming the patient had the time for it) to be a vaiable way to go.

well I appreciate the comments. good thoughts and feedback

I have heard wait until 10-12months to do second procedure. Does this sound right. Why?

We all have seen the pictures and results of SMP scars where the head is shaved. How does it work with a non shaved head. It seems there would be a lot of patients who would like to conceal their scars without having to shave down. Does SMP work for that. Does anyone have pictures of such a procedure.

The research in this forum as well as the user and doctor comments indicate that Propecia every other day or even every three days may be pretty effective as it takes several days for the enzyme producing DHT to reactivate despite the 8hr half life of the drug. There is also research and user/doctor commentary that .5MG every day is also effective as studies show that .2mg per day and higher produce similar results to 1mg per day. My question relates to whether you can do both (i.e, .5MG every other day). Will .5Mg every other day still keep the DHT dormant for three days. Has a study been done on this front. Is there any anyone who has tried this with success or has thoughts, opinions research etc.

Thanks Spanker. I have to imagine there are lots of patients in the Midwest or elsewhere that have had to make this decision. it is a good decision to make but a tough one

Not that it makes much difference but I am talking about Ron Shapiro. It seems to me (and I am only getting this from what I have read on this site and elsewhere) that Shapiro might be a little more creative on the hairline but that Konoir is more meticulous in his implementation. Might be that Shapiro's A work is better than Konoir's A work but that Konoir might perform better than Shapiro with a complex case. I have no idea if this is correct of course just an opinion based the reviews I have read.

Any advice on who to chose. They are both great with excellent reputations but how to chose between them