pkipling

A dermatologist specializes in the skin and so she looked at what was causing my scalp to be irritated. So in regards to my scalp, she was able to see what was going on with it to cause it to be itchy, red, inflamed, etc., and then provide a proper diagnosis and treatment to help me get in under control. Also, in my particular case, while much of my hair loss was a result of MPB, I also had increased hair fall during dermatitis flare ups that were unrelated to MPB. So once I was able to get the health/condition of my scalp under control, the hair fall associated with that resolved itself. Make sense?

First off, I think a completely new thread on this would be the best way to go. It'll get more eyes on it, and prevent hijacking the original thread. That said, I don't recall ever seeing any shedded grafts/hairs look that clumped and tangled and falling out a month later, tbh - so your guess is as good as mine. It's very interesting. I'm glad you're not worried about it though, because even if this is the result of a graft that didn't make it, it won't negatively impact the appearance of your final results in the slightest.

It appears so. As someone who's always had a fairly linear hairline, I tend to have widow's peak envy when I see a solid one. Lol.

Here are the results of a recent Dr. Mohebi patient 12 months after the procedure - and I'm personally quite fond of the widow's peak design in the hairline. Video and photos below:

I took out a loan from my bank at super low interest, and then paid roughly $200/month until it was paid off. It was less than a standard car payment and definitely worth it. Most clinics work with a 3rd party company designed to work strictly with medical procedures, but those interest rates tend to be higher... So shop around and see what you can find.

I would also recommend seeing a dermatologist, preferably in person. I had something similar, and while Nizoral really helped me get outbreaks under control, the thing that helped me the most was figuring out what was triggering my outbreaks to begin with. Turns out I am allergic to certain hair products, and through some trial and error, I started figuring out which ones were causing my scalp to act up. I never got specific enough to know which exact ingredients were the culprit, but I sorted it out nonetheless. Another thing that seems to negatively affect my scalp is not washing it daily. If I go even two days without washing it (and therefore leaving product buildup on my hair), the chances of it breaking out increase quite significantly.

The only all-natural potential alternative I know of is Saw Palmetto - but given that it's a supplement, I don't believe there's any science based studies done to prove it's efficacy, so I wouldn't bank on it. Some people swear by these alternatives, and I'm sure some people think it's all snake oil. Lol. But it's worth looking into at least if you want to avoid medication and go a different route. Couldn't hurt.

Nope - there's no evidence to support there's any correlation with food and MPB. Can a healthier diet and certain vitamins improve the overall health of your hair? Sure. But as far as anything causing or preventing MPB, nope.

Holy moly - this is incredible. A home run result in the making for suuuuure. 😎

As the others said, there's a very good chance that this will all resolve itself... Likely, even. I think 4 weeks post-op is way too early to reach a definitive conclusion here, so unfortunately, all you can really do is wait, trust, and hope for/expect a positive outcome. ❤️

Chiming in here to be the 10th person or so to tell you that there's nothing wrong with your hair. Could you have hair loss in the future? Sure. But that's a bridge for you to cross another day should you ever come to it. I think the best place for you to be putting your energy right now is into getting your anxiety under control and learning how to manage it. Speaking from experience as someone who's dealt with anxiety on and off my entire life, it's one of those things that once it has something to latch onto (like in this case, your fear of losing your hair), it only grows and gets stronger... And the stronger it gets, the stronger it gets. I started going to therapy in my late 20s for this and it was a life changer. The anxious thoughts may never go away completely, but there are tools out there that you can use to help you manage your anxiety and keep it under control. Specifically, you can look at Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which has been shown to be one of the most effective types of therapy for anxiety. The good news is that in this day and age, there are tons of resources available to us online in regards to anxiety and how to manage it. It's way more common than people realize, and there's no longer a stigma attached to it so that getting help is easier than ever. I actually just bought a hoodie from this company called We're Not Really Strangers that says "Your Anxiety is Lying to You" on the back (lol), and I think that's a good reminder for you at the moment because you are not going bald right now, no matter what your anxiety would have you believe. We promise.

I can't imagine that this would be an issue - but if you're uncertain, this is a question for the doctor and don't take it as gospel from any of us. That said, I had nose surgery last fall and there wasn't one single mention of "don't wear any hair product in your hair". Ntm, you'll probably be in a full gown/cap anyway.

Echoing what BeHappy said. Technically, you could go back the day after the procedure depending on the nature of your work. However, even though I didn't consider the recovery period to be "painful", per se - I was definitely a bit uncomfortable for a few days after the procedure and was grateful to have the downtime. I went out for lunch 1-2 days after the procedure and was fine - but I'm not sure how much I personally could've focused on doing anything productive. I would recommend taking a few days off afterwards, but if you feel up for it, it technically shouldn't be an issue.

While this isn't common, it's also not indicative of anything good or a bad in regards to your final outcome. As with pretty much every aspect of hair growth post-op - particularly in regards to the timeline - it varies greatly from person to person, so it appears you may be one of the lucky ones who gets to bypass the ugly duckling phase. And if they do happen to shed later, remember not to panic. The only aspect of the post-op timeline that seems to be standard across the board is that one should allow 12 months before they assess the outcome. How and when the hairs grow/shed and at what rate during those 12 months really does vary.

This looks so good! Very happy for you. And same boat as you regarding the meds - specifically how I'm still fascinated that the best solution for a headache is almost always drink more water. 😂

I agree that a salon is going to be your best bet. They usually have samples of different products open as well, so you could try different things out. A couple of my favorite higher end brands you could use though as a starting point are Kevin Murphy and Rene Furterer. Kevin Murphy in particular has a lot of great products that are mostly pastes, and I'm sure one of them would give you the look you're going for without the hair looking wet (and therefore, darker).

If you'd like to talk about the possibility of scheduling a consultation with Dr. Mohebi, shoot me a message on here and I'll be happy to answer any questions you have. I'd be more than happy to assist you with this in any way I can, no matter where you end up going. I'm glad you found this forum, as it will really serve you in making sure you end up with the right surgeon for you, whoever that may be.

The anxiety and second-guessing is completely normal. I was getting still getting cold feet the week of my procedure, so don't read too much into that part of it. I relate very much to your situation, as my hair loss was also concentrated in the front/hairline - so it was easy for me to brush it off as "no big deal" when comparing my hair loss to other people with more advanced hair loss. However, as MachoVato said above, once you notice it and it bothers you, you will most likely always notice it and will most likely always bother you... And that's completely and totally valid! I don't regret going through with the procedure in the slightest, and given that you seem to have taken all the proper steps to make an informed decision here, I wouldn't give too much weight to the cold feet. All of that said, at the end of the day, only you know what decision is best for you, so take any input you receive here with a grain of salt and trust your gut. Best of luck with the procedure should you go through with it!

Nope. After the first two weeks, the grafts are anchored and super secure - and there's almost nothing you can do to damage them. If you're still hesitant, you can run this past your doctor. That's always the best bet anyway since there tends to be some discrepancy amongst different surgeons about the best post-op protocol.

Hi Adi! Congrats on the procedure! To reiterate what the others said above, as a general rule, a dislodged graft results in bleeding and it would also be painful. What you're experiencing seems to be completely normal, so if it didn't bleed and it didn't hurt, take that as an indicator that everything is a-okay.

While they always say that we shed about 100 hairs a day, I can't for the life of me see how that's possible. If I'm shedding that much, I have no idea where they go, as I don't find them on my pillow, in the shower, in the drain, or anywhere really. Lol. I did have an ex once whose hair did shed in a way that it felt like 100 a day. Mine just seem to evaporate.

If it's FUE, I wore a ball cap the next day. The key is though that it need to be a high-brimmed snap back that you can make loose enough to carefully place on your head without it coming into contact with any of the grafts. It was actually necessary for me to be able to do this so that I could take my dog out on walks without exposing my grafts to the sun. As for a beanie, waiting 3-4 weeks would be a safe bet - but at the same time, the grafts are completely secure by Day 10 (or Day 14 on the conservative side), so technically they should be okay? But I would still be uneasy about it tbh. My concern with a beanie would be that it could irritate your scalp and could lead to increased pimples, folliculitis, etc. - so I personally wouldn't feel comfortable doing that for a few weeks myself. All of that said, I would run this past your doctor and get his input if it's something you need a clearer answer on, as every surgeon is going to have different guidelines for this.

Soooooo good! The new hair style really suit him as well, and it's great he has more options now in how he styles it. I wish I had those waves. Lol.

I'm very happy to see that you're reaching this conclusion. And as Curious25 said above, her being the type of person who would probably start researching to help you speaks volumes of who she is and also of what the two of you have already started creating together. ❤️ It also should be acknowledged that she's the type of person who has a best friend who is transgender, which would lead one to believe that her views about life, humanity, romance, and social constructs probably don't fit into those traditional views of "Man must be confident at all times and never show weakness...", so if you ever feel compelled to let your walls down with her and give yourself permission to be a human with complex emotions, I have a suspicion it won't be something that scares her off. But that's something you do on your own terms, little by little, if and when you feel it would be good to do so. The beauty about relationships is that there's no right or wrong formula on how they should look, so you get to decide for yourself what you want and how much transparency you would like there to be. And the more you're honest about that for yourself, the more you open yourself up to finding someone who views them the same way.

I didn't use Minoxidil, but my scalp was particularly flaky and dry post-op - even more so than usual - and the Nizoral really did help. Use it a couple times a week and see if you can get it under control. And also look at different environmental factors that may be exacerbating the issue. We're getting into cooler weather, for example, so dry skin is much more common at the moment. As for the face and eyebrows, this is something I would suggest speaking to a dermatologist about - or asking your surgeon what they would suggest. I suppose you could put a little nizoral on your eyebrows to see if it helps (?), but I can't say that for certain.