Steeeve

It’s kind of hard to explain. I noticed the tiniest bit of native shed throughout my recipient but it was so insignificant that by the time it had fixed itself the grafts had already started growing and basically by the end of month 3/beginning of the 4th month I didn’t notice it anymore.

@Mycroft, thank you! I believe the PRP has helped to bulk up both my recipient grafts and my native hair. I’m very very pleased so far.

Hey everybody! I wanted to hop in here and post some pics that I took at about the 4 and a half month mark ahead of my 5 month update. I felt like I had made some interesting progress halfway through the month and I wanted to share. I’ll have a somewhat more comprehensive post in the 5 month update. These pics are all under normal lighting conditions. There is no concealer or product in my hair. For comparison: Pre-op 4 and a half months wet. I took these next 2 pics with @made2care in mind. In a post on his progress thread we spoke about how Dr Arocha does an excellent job of seeing which way your hair grows naturally and places the grafts at their natural angle within the hair. I’m aware that quite a few top docs do this but there are quite a few docs that are considered to be aces on the forums that don’t and place the grafts in a somewhat “manufactured” way. I’m not trying to take anything away from that, ultimately, as their results still tend to come in strong. I just want to highlight the care and patience that was taken by the doctor and techs during my procedure. The middle of my hairline has always grown in a wavelike cowlick and that’s what I’m trying to show with these next two pics. This last picture was taken by my mother at a family gathering. At that point no one had really taken note of my hair. My mom has begun to suspect something is up 🙂 although she hasn’t been able to put her finger on it yet... This isn’t the best angle but it shows off my hairline to a degree and I believe this is how most people see me. I do plan to come clean with my family but I wanted to wait until I could show them something that was really transforming. Something to really compare. Cheers everyone. As I said I’ll be back in a few days with a 5 month update. ✌🏻

Man, I think this looks great. I don’t think you should worry about it at all at this point. It looks normal at this early stage. I agree with Cosmo, you should see your donor growth come back in a few months. Congratulations!! Looking forward to your final result!

Your hair looks fantastic. I don’t think you have anything to worry about at this point but if it really bothers you you should do some research on this forum and find a really good, ethical hair transplant doctor who’s going to give it to you straight. I don’t think any doctor would perform a transplant at this point but if you indeed are in the beginning stages of male pattern baldness they may tell you to get on some form of preventative medication. Is there any history of male pattern baldness on either side of your family?

This a a total home run. Dr. Lorenzo is a true master of donor and recipient management. Congratulations.

This clinic posts some really nice results on their website and their YouTube page. Their Instagram page is full of excellent results. The few posters who have come on to share their results turned out really nice. Like, really nice. If you use the search tool and type in the clinic you’re looking for I’m sure you’ll come across the threads. There aren’t that many to be honest. I can remember one person who sought “repair” work elsewhere after getting work done by the clinic you’re asking about but, I mean, that happens with every clinic and I remember thinking that it seemed more like the poor growth was due to the guys genetics rather than the fault of the clinic. If he came back to share his repair work I don’t remember seeing it. They’re really expensive but I don’t think more expensive than other good options in that area. Good luck. 👍🏻

@transplantedphil, I pm’d you.

You’re completely missing my point. It’s okay that you disagree with me. I agree with you, though. If this guy had come on the forum and asked everybody their thoughts I would’ve been right there beside you saying, “you should be on fin for at least a year. See how it works for you then give the HT a go”. That being said, Dr Arocha is an excellent doctor and it is up to him and his patients only to decide, during their initial consultation, how to best proceed forward for the patient. As would be the case with any doctor anywhere doing any type of elected/non-elected procedure. Your argument of, “it’s ultimately up to other forum members to decide”, holds absolutely no weight as it is no one else’s place but the patient and the doctor to decide-that is the point I am trying to make. I’m just saying it over and over again at this point. No one here should tell me that I should or should not have a transplant. I wouldn’t have listened even if they had. Just as you didn’t listen when everybody told you that you should just move on or go back to the doctor who messed up your hair because he offered you a free touch up. It was your choice to make. No one else’s. I recall someone telling you that your result didn’t look that bad. Did you listen? You more than likely went and paid $10k or more to have it fixed as that was your choice. If anyone here questioned your choice of passing up free work you wouldn’t blink an eye as you very well shouldn’t not wanting to risk another failed transplant. That’s totally normal. Just as you made your own choice about your own body It is no one’s place but the doctor and ultimately the patient to decide what they should do with theirs. Not you or anybody else on this forum. Especially since all is said and done. Having sat down with this doctor personally and having had several conversations and consultations I can attest to him wanting what is best for his patients. Because every time I say, “I want coverage here”, he looks at me as an eventual Norwood 6 and says, “I think we should hold off on that and think about saving your grafts for another area.” So you can question his ethics all you want but having no personal experience with him your questions fall flat as would any other member questioning any other doctor they have no personal experience with.

I didn’t speak of your situation because I felt it had anything to do with these results. I spoke of it because I wanted you to know that I don’t think of you as nameless faceless internet person who’s opinion I don’t care about. It was also to point out that the longer you’ve been on this forum and the more research someone does the more they’ll come across cases like this. I respect your opinion but ArochaAngel works for the doctor and has given plenty of explanation and shared all the pics everyone has asked for. Still people are basically calling it a “bad” result. It’s basically to the point where people are pointing and laughing like schoolyard children regardless of them having gotten their answers. As far as it being unnecessary, we’ll agree to disagree. I think that if this patient wants to improve his self-image and all the cards line up in his favor then it’s his money to spend and his grafts to use.

You speak of being empathetic and supportive as if this result went south. Like I said if you don’t agree with the aesthetic of the result that’s one thing. My opinion is that this is a solid result Guys not being on fin prior to a transplant happens a lot. Half of the videos that Dr. José Lorenzo posts to YouTube show patients not having been on fin prior to the transplant and getting on it post-op. I don’t know how long you’ve been on the forum but I know you’ve posted your own results which you’re unhappy with so I’m assuming a while. Clinics post results on the forum where the patient wasn’t on fin often prior to and everything turns out fine. I’m not saying that I disagree with what you’re saying. I think anyone considering a transplant should try fin for at least a year before going under the knife. I, personally, was on it for 7 years prior to my own transplant. I’m saying that the doctor made a judgement call based on his sit down with the patient prior to the procedure and it’s not on any of us laymen to question that. We’re not doctors. None of us are experts. Some have had transplants so are better versed but that doesn’t all of a sudden make us the be-all end-all; able to say a doctor whom we have no association with is unethical for a decision they made with another patient based on their experience with that patient. I’m not trying to change your mind. You believe what you believe and that’s fine. As I said, I know you’ve had a procedure that you’re unhappy with. I’ve been following your thread and I truly wish you all the best. If I were in your shoes I would feel the same way and I really hope you get it sorted out. All I’m saying is questioning the doctors ethics without knowing the full story of what they talked about in their sit down, which as far as I’m concerned is nobody’s business except the patient and the doctors, is pointless.

I think your early 20’s are okay for a hair transplant as long as you go to a good doctor who asks all the right questions about your background and makes a good assessment about where your hair loss is progressing. A doctor who would also take you step by step and make you aware of what it is that you’re truly getting yourself into. It’s such an involved lifelong process and your expectations have to be kept in check. I agree with LaserCap that medical therapy should be tried first or at the very least in conjunction with the transplant. I, like most on here I would hope, would recommend medical therapy at least a year before considering a hair transplant.

He’s got a real eye for seeing which way the hair grows and implants grafts in those directions. In the center of my hairline I used to have the slightest widows peak. The hair there grew in a wave-like cowlick. I hadn’t thought about it in years because it was basically non-existent to me. He noticed it and made the incisions for the grafts to be implanted in the direction that they used to grow in. He didn’t recreate the widows peak but you can still see some native remnants of it. I’ll try and get a picture of it to share. I can’t speak for any other doctor doing that because I don’t have experience with any other doctor but I just find that to be interesting about him.

This result is a triple A plus! It’s so natural. No one is going to look at you and think something is off. You’re certainly not a bald guy anymore! Congratulations!

I have had a procedure performed by Dr Arocha so some of you may see this opinion as biased. It’s not biased, however, (well, maybe a little🙂) as I have made this argument at least twice with posters about two other doctors with whom I have no association. Not that it may matter to anyone but I see some very astute observations by some posters on the thread and others that leave me scratching my head wondering what you’re talking about... I agree that the photos from the very first post should match up from the befores to the afters. They should 100% be more comparable from the get go. That’s the only thing I can agree with, though. I don’t have a problem seeing the difference between the photos... I can personally see the difference from this,to this,to the final outcome. That, to me, is a significant change. There was visible diffuse thinning throughout the front that doesn’t seem so visible anymore. This,to that,is significant. If you don’t agree or can’t see the difference that’s fine. Photos from any doctor can sometimes make it hard to tell. If the hairline is maybe not your personal taste in aesthetic...okay. Anyone saying that the doctor should never have agreed to this case, that it was unethical, is making an assumption that the doctor didn’t do his due diligence and discuss family history and so on. He did and they did. It says so in the very first post that the patient decided to start taking propecia post-op. My last point: Who is anyone here to say that a person shouldn’t try to achieve their goals more than another. The patient is dealing with his hair loss the same as everyone else here. It’s a deeply personal process that we all go through. He sought out a great doctor and decided to go forward with the procedure. It is no one’s place here or anywhere else to say how someone should deal with their own personal journey. What you see as insignificant loss he sees as extremely significant. Otherwise he wouldn’t be seeking the same treatment that everyone else here is seeking.

Hmm...I’ve got quite a bit of stubble as well. I’m not so concerned with it as I’m not even at 5 months yet. I still planned on speaking to Dr Arocha about it at my 4 month visit with him. Let us know how everything goes. I’m interested to hear what he has to say and I’m glad to hear that overall you’re pleased with everything!

Hey @made2care, any update?

I would imagine so. I’ve been following this thread for awhile. I agree that a scar revision is the way to proceed before anything else. All the best, man. I hope this works out for you.

How’s everything looking right now? How do you style it? Do you just keep everything long to keep it looking uniform? I mean, you know, as uniform as long hair can be...?

He’s definitely from Texas. I don’t know if he has places to live other than in Texas. I would just assume he does. He’s, like, ultra rich. I’m sure he has places everywhere.

Man, if you’re ever in Austin 100% hit me up. I’m not saying he doesn’t have a place in LA but he’s definitely got a few houses/compounds here in Texas. Also, my bad. I totally forgot to not name he that must never be mentioned...

I think it’s a little bit of both. Back in ‘00 I hadn’t moved to Austin yet but I was there with my then girlfriend and I came across him at a UT football game. My hair had already started thinning so I was hyper aware of and always staring and guys heads. This was around the time of his bongo incident. His hair was pretty long and really thin throughout. So then in the summer of ‘15 I worked on Free State Of Jones. He has a lady who JUST works with his hair. I don’t know her name but she also worked on his hair piece for the movie Gold. All I can say is that she’s a magician. Being as close to him as I get to my own wife there was no sign of concealer of any kind. Nor was there any sign of a hair piece. All of those people have a team of people whose sole purpose is just to make sure that they look good when they go out to make public appearances. My everyday job is at one of the Alamo Drafthouse’s in Austin and last year he came in on a very slow day with his kids to watch a Pixar movie. Nothing to cover his head. His frontal third looked fairly strong except his corners which were super recessed-nothing like you see in pictures or movies. There’s really no way to be certain until he comes forward-which he never will-but I think he’s had some FUE done because that frontal 3rd was way thicker than it was during his bongo days. I think he styles it cleverly in order to go out publicly and then for films he uses some strategic pieces to bring it all together. I think JT was spot on with his video.

I didn’t notice an indent in the back of my scalp but if it’s been two weeks your scar should be good to go and the sutures could come out. Are you in the area to go see Dr. Arocha to get them removed? If not a general practitioner can remove them. I would definitely get them removed. While they aren’t hurting anything being in there once you hit that two week mark your scar is secure. The relief of them being out is really truly wonderful. Lol I had dissolvable sutures as well. I had knots starting to loosen around the 10 day mark but they didn’t cause any discernible difference in how my scar felt. Try sending Eduardo some pics to show the doctor if you are able to. If it really bothers you. Peace of mind is extremely important in these early days. I had a small infection early on so I had some bumps but the doc just gave me some antibiotics and they cleared up in a week. I’m only a few hours away from him, though.

Ah, yes. A graft that was barely alive. They can rebuild it. They have the technology. They have the capability to build the world's first bionic graft. Better than it was before. Better, stronger, faster.

100% Agreed.