Hello everyone,
I am a Norwood 7 and had an FUE procedure in 2013 (about 7 months ago now) with Dr Maral in Istanbul, Turkey. I had 3,850 follicles implanted and I thought I would share my results with you here.
I hope my results will be informative for those people who are considering Dr Maral and his team for a HT procedure. As you can see below, I am a bit older than most people on this forum, and also a Norwood 7 with advanced hair loss, so I am not the typical HT case.
First, a bit about me. I am a professional bean counter (also known as a CPA or chartered accountant) and I am based in Germany. I have been losing my hair since I was about 20 years old, that’s 27 years now. Over the years I have tried various hair treatments including medications such as Minoxidil, and even a ‘magic comb’, but without any success whatsoever. About 10 years ago I gave up and abandoned all hope of changing my appearance.
However, a year ago I happened to come across something on the internet about how HTs have changed and that there were new surgical procedures that were much more successful than the old plug treatments. I investigated and found out about a particular HT clinic in Belgium offering FUE and FUT procedures, so last summer I contacted them for an online consultation. I didn’t get a response until after a month. They wanted EURO 10,000 for 2,500 follicles using FUE. I was not particularly impressed by the cost or at the speed of their response, so I decided to research further and came across this HT forum via Google. In particular, I came across UK43’s thread on this forum about his experience with Dr Maral. His thread was a real eye-opener for me and I became hooked. The question for me was not if, but when and where would I go to get a HT.
I ended up contacting Dr Maral, along with some other HT surgeons in Turkey, but was rejected by a couple of them who curtly told me they could not help me. For me the main objective was to create a natural hairline and to cover as much of my completely bald head as was realistically possible with a surgeon that I would be comfortable using. Dr Maral was without question offering the best value-for-money deal (in my opinion), so I decided to go with him. I have not regretted my decision.
I found Dr Maral and his staff to be very friendly and helpful and very competent. Now after c.7 months, I am overall very pleased with my results considering how much my appearance has changed and how much I paid. For me it has been fantastic value for money! I do however, have some issues just like everybody else who has a HT. My HT is not perfect – the hairline in my opinion is too high and could have been a slightly different/better design - but Dr Maral was dealing with a very advanced case of hairloss and he did what was realistically possible, and I am very grateful to him and his team for what they have done.
Before anyone asks, I am not taking any meds and have absolutely no intention of taking any meds for cosmetic reasons. They never worked before and I do not intend to start using them again now.
Regarding a second HT, yes I will and am considering a second HT with Dr Maral. I have limited donor hairs remaining so I am looking at a second procedure that will utilise some beard hair as well. I have not spoken to Dr Maral yet about this so I might end up using another surgeon for my next procedure, if he rules out beard hair. I would particularly like changes made to the temple areas, a change in the hairline and the sides. I do not expect to get my crown area completely covered, but I am really not bothered by that. For me what is most important is for the front and sides to look as natural and full as possible using the limited hairs I have available. My hair will always look thin, but considering where I have come from and my age, that will be the least of my concerns.
Ok, I will first post a couple of pre HT pics then will post some pics showing results after my first 6 months. I know my pics will not satisfy many people on this forum. From comments I have recently read on this forum I expect some people will rubbish my HT, but that does not matter. What does matter is what I think - and I think Dr Maral and his team have done a great job in completely transforming both my appearance and how I feel about myself in a very positive way.
If anyone is interested I am happy to upload a range of pictures covering each month, showing progression over the past 6 months.
These pictures have been taken with a flash, so they will appear a little starker than how my hair appears in reality. Unfortunately, it is a problem when using flash photography. Anyway, I hope you get a pretty good idea of how my results have turned out so far.
Pre op: