pkipling

I'm not aware of that being an indicator of the hairs not taking well. If anything, I would be grateful you're not going to have to worry about covering up that gnarly sunburn look.

That red strip is what I was most insecure about after my procedure. Fortunately, I was able to wear a hat pretty much everywhere until it cleared up.

You really can't expect any new growth until the 3rd month, at the earliest. I kept my hair shaved down for the first 3 months for the exact situation you described... The native hairs were growing back in and the transplanted hairs still had several months to go before they would start growing. I found my receding hairline was more noticeable this way, so I kept it all really short until month 3 when my transplanted hairs started coming back in. This allowed everything to grow in nice and even.

At 14 days post-op, you can really start to relax and just enjoy the ride that's about to come. I'm certain you didn't damage any of the grafts. And don't be afraid to keep washing your hair and keeping your scalp clean.

I hope he's wearing a hat, and it's just the sweat/temperature that's bothering him. He shouldn't be exposing his scalp to the sun for 6 months after surgery.

Regarding the itching, I experienced a little bit of that, so it doesn't sound of the ordinary. It's the equivalent of when a scrape/scab is healing and you get that itchy feeling like you wanna scratch it but know you can't. It wasn't extremely common for me, but it seems normal...

And for real. I hope he's covering his scalp up.

Fun topic.

I definitely had dreams (more like nightmares, I suppose) about my hair falling out. They were at their peak about a year or so leading up to my hair transplant. I never had the same setup/scenario every time, but I would quite consistently have dreams where I would run my fingers through my hair and hundreds of hairs would just fall into my hand. Or I'd be at a party and suddenly see myself from the outside, like a spectator, and watch myself interact with my friends with an extremely receding hairline. I remember feeling so embarrassed in the dream. It was always way worse than it was even close to being in real life, but I would wake up sick to my stomach it felt so real.

Haven't had one of those dreams in a LONG time and wouldn't have even thought about them had you not mentioned this.

If the dreams come back tonight, I'm blaming you.

I just wanna give you props for coming on here and doing research. Bertie is right that you seem like a very nice, considerate, compassionate person - and your boyfriend is a lucky guy.

I'm glad to see you you've reached the conclusion to just leave well enough alone. I'm certain his decision to keep it from you has nothing to do with you, so don't take it personally. We all deal with our hair loss in our own way, and it means different things to different guys. Personally, I tend to be very open about my hair transplant with my friends and family, and understand that many guys don't feel comfortable doing that. It was a process for me, and I decided to tell them when I was ready. However, if I had a hair piece, I could see myself being extremely secretive about that and not wanting to tell anyone about it. Even the best intentioned "I know about your hair and love you anyway" could still seriously backfire. He'd most likely be extremely embarrassed and it'd make him even more insecure.

On a broader note, thanks for being the kind of person who even cares enough to seek out guidance on how to handle a situation like this. It's very refreshing to see.

Thanks, could you reccomend anyone in Ireland i could go see

Check out the list of recommended doctors here on this site if you want to do a consultation and come up with a game plan for how you can preserve your hair. Propecia and Rogaine are the first steps to help get your hair loss stabilized. If you can go ahead and get that done now, it will definitely buy you some time should you indeed be on your way to more future hair loss. That's a definitely a great starting point and may be all you need to do for a while.

Unbelievable. I see at least one of the commenters called them out on it. This can't be legal. Did you happen to notify H&W of this?

Good eye, btw, on recognizing where the photos came from.

You can start wearing a hat right after surgery as long as you make sure it's loose and doesn't come into contact with the grafts. As long you put it on very carefully and strategically, you'll be fine. Many doctors will even supply you with a hat after your procedure since you'll need to avoid any sun exposure after surgery, and can demonstrate for you in the office how to safely put it on and take it off.

I continued to wear a hat for the first 6 weeks or so after the surgery. I found a nice, professional looking hat to wear to work and had it approved through my boss due to a "medical condition". Once I hit the 6 week mark, I was pretty much in the clear as far as "ugly duckling" phase was concerned and ditched the hat.

I love hearing about positive experiences and am looking forward to seeing your results. You're off to a great start it seems - and were in great hands, no doubt. Congrats.

Honestly, that added convenience shouldn't even be a factor at all. It's nice to be in nearby for the 1st few days after surgery (which you should always plan to be when seeing an out of town Dr) - but outside of the 1st week there is absolutely no added benefit being nearby. If something goes wrong after the 1st week, there is really nothing the good doc can do for you. In terms of follow-ups - sending high quality pics to the surgeon is more than sufficient.

I'm not saying it should be a factor either. I'm only speaking from my own personal experience of being able to be in my own place, sleep in my own bed, etc. the day of surgery and the few days after. It absolutely shouldn't make a difference in someone's ultimate decision - but it did make the entire process so much more comfortable for me. I'm a homebody though, so I'm sure I value that extra convenience more than your average guy.

I don't believe anyone should bank on something that's not here. They've been saying for two decades something better than finasteride would come about within the next five years.

Good to know. I'm relatively new to the hair restoration world, so am not aware of any unfulfilled promises made over the past 20 years in regards to medication. And you're right that we can't/shouldn't bank on anything that we don't actually have, but I can't help but believe that there has to be some advancement at some point in the relatively near future. Perhaps I'm naive. :cool:

Interesting thread. In regards to the medication, isn't it safe to assume that even if Finasteride only works for a certain amount of time, that technology and science will keep improving so that within the next 10-20 years, an even more viable option will be available? It almost seems as if he's speaking like the medication will never improve, and I just don't see how that's possible.

It's definitely true that it's best not to limit your options to a specific location, though the convenience of finding someone local is definitely nice. You'll get more face time with your surgeon, followups will be easy, etc., but those are just added bonuses should the surgeon who's right for you happen to be close by.

What David said is spot on. There is no "one size fits all" answer to the big question of "Which Doctor should I choose?" You have some of the top names that people mention time and again, all of whom have a solid reputation of providing solid, consistent results. But as this forum will show you, there are a lot of really great options out there in addition to the big "heavy hitters". Take advantage of this site, look at the different doctors and their results, weigh the pros and cons of each of them, and go from there. What appeals to you about one doctor may not appeal to someone else. Then ultimately, trust your gut.

Best of luck!

From my own experience, every single person that knows I had a hair transplant has been nothing but supportive. I believe several factors go into this:

1) My results seem to speak for themselves. People see how great it looks, so there's no room for the thoughts of "plugs" to enter their minds.

2) I'm confident in my decision now, and was confident before I had it done. I personally think this is one of the most important factors. Yes, you'll be nervous and probably second guess yourself - but the more confident you are in your decision, the easier it will be for others to accept it. This is true for anything in life, not just hair transplants. The more permission we give ourselves to own our decisions, the easier it is for other people to accept those decisions.

3) And finally, possibly the most important factor as to why the response to my own personal experience has been so positive, is due to the types of people I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by/ the people I choose to let in my life. The previous two points aside, we can't change the fact that there are people in life who will want to bring us down, not support us, mock us, etc. The idea is to a) not have those types of people in our lives and attract a more loving community to experience life with and/or b) not really care what those people have to say when/if they decide to try to mock you.

Ultimately, we can't completely control other people's responses. What we can control is our reaction to those responses. If you want to get a hair transplant for whatever reasons are important to you, then go for it. Do your research, find out if you're a good candidate, find a really great doctor who you trust, and get it done. Sure, if you have people in your life whose opinions you trust and who have good intentioned thoughts on the matter, listen to them to help you make a more well informed decision. But at the end of the day, we can't make decisions based on what other people will ultimately think.

I agree that communication is key. Good for you for sharing your feelings with your family.

 

It certainly doesn't bother me if little kids ask me about my head, or point out my baldness, because they don't mean any harm.

 

What made you decide to finally get a transplant?

The main factor in me deciding to get a HT was simply learning about it and discovering that it was a viable option. For the several years that I had been dealing with my hairline slowly receding, I honestly didn't realize there was anything that could've been done about it. Once I found Dr. Mohebi and realized that this was a very viable option, it was a no-brainer for me. I did my research, looked at different doctors, felt like I was a good candidate, and ultimately decided that I was in good hands with Mohebi. It just felt right in my gut. The fact that my hair loss was really bothering me more and more with every year that passed made me gladly welcome the idea of a HT with open arms.

So good and extremely natural. Great work Doc.

You definitely seem like a good candidate, especially with your large donor supply. I agree that a conservative approach as far as your hairline is concerned is best given your young age and advanced hair loss. You're also taking the right steps by doing your research, checking out different doctors, and trying to get the hair loss stabilized in advance with medication.

I experienced this same exact thing after surgery, and remember it actually being the worst part of the entire procedure for me. This is the first I've heard of it rearing it's ugly head again so many months post-surgery. Good to see it subsided.

Your pictures look totally normal to me. My donor area was quite a bit thinner for a while as well, but started filling back out after a few months. Give it time and I think you'll be just fine. Keep us posted.

I used the spray on my scalp as well and it worked great. I personally think the spray is a better option than the cream. As already stated though, wearing a hat is your best defense against the sun and I would make every effort to wear one any time you're in the sun.

Have fun on vacation!

This is always one of the most interesting debates for me in the hair transplant world, as their seems to be no clearcut answer to this. It really does vary from individual to individual, and ultimately it comes down to trusting that the hair transplant surgeon will do what is truly in the best interest of the patient.

I actually just had a conversation last night with a 25 y/o NW3 who is really struggling with whether or not to go through with his HT, for all the concerns already mentioned above. It's this age group that I feel has the toughest decision to make, as they're right on the cusp of that age cutoff. As Dr. Beehner stated above, as a general rule, he won't perform surgery on anyone under 23, with some surgeons going as far as not operating on anyone under the age of 25. So in the case of someone like the guy I spoke with last night, he's right on the cusp. Past the suggested requirement given by some surgeons, but not yet into his 30s, which many say is ideal.... So what's the best approach for these guys in the 25-30 age bracket?

Yes, he could wait until he turns 30-35 and see how it is then before proceeding. However, while I agree that we will all still continue to care about our appearance/hair well into our older age, I do believe that helping a young guy in his 20s restore his hair has a far greater impact on his life than someone in his 40s. Is this naive to think this way? I'm 31, btw, so speaking from somewhere somewhat in the middle of the two sides).

Ultimately, I'm torn - and I agree with the original poster about this all being determined on a case by case basis. These seem to be the most important factors: 1) If the patient doesn't have a clearcut genetic predisposition to eventually becoming very high on the Norwood Scale (based on family history), 2) He's able to get his hair loss stabilized through the use of medication, and 3) A thorough microscopic evaluation of the scalp/hair by an ethical surgeon supports that it is unlikely that the patient's hair loss will drastically increase in the coming years, then a conservative approach would be warranted, even at a young age.

Does this seem like the main criteria that should be considered? Unfortunately, none of us have a crystal ball that will definitively tell us where our hair loss is heading - but the above tools/information can allow us to make an educated guess so that we can be proactive sooner, rather than later.

I fortunately was never the recipient of this, and even before my hair transplant my receding hairline wasn't so severe that it was ever a topic of conversation. Not to mention I did a great job of styling around it so that my hair loss was never that noticeable.

I have thought in recent years though about an uncle of mine who is almost completely bald. Even as a kid, I only knew him as a NW5 or so. I remember his bald head being the topic of conversation quite a bit when I was younger, and I wondered later if that ever bothered him. Then again, he instigated a lot of it. He was always the jokester and would always make comments about his shiny bald head to the kids and whatnot.

As for you and your situation, your best bet is to be very clear, upfront and honest with your family and tell them in a loving way, "It makes me really uncomfortable when we discuss my hair loss, and it would mean a lot to me if we could discuss other things about me and my life than that." So many of our problems in life come from a lack of communication, and I've found that being clear and direct in a kind and loving way is always the best approach.

I had a similar situation several years ago with my family in regards to my acting career. I also live on the west coast, and when I first moved here about 6 years ago, anytime I saw or spoke to my family back home in the south, their first (well intentioned) questions were always "How's acting going? Have you booked anything? When will we see you on tv?" These questions always came with the best of intentions, but it reached a point where I had to ask them to stop asking me so many questions. "When I book something, I'll tell you. ," I told them. Otherwise, I was constantly being put in a position where, depending on what had happened in my career lately, I had to say "No, I haven't" - and suddenly have to deal with all the insecurities and disappointments that are prevalent in anyone pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. But by talking to them about it, it actually made our conversations better and deeper. We cut past the nonsensical small talk. And when I do book a job or have a really great audition, I have something to share with them.

So yeah.... Communication is key. You'll probably grow closer because of it.

Hey Mark. Congrats on a successful procedure. We'll be looking forward to seeing the results.

Also very happy to hear of your positive experience with Dr. Mohebi. What you've described is very reminiscent of my own experience with him as well. His hands on, no-pressure, personable approach is one of the things I respect most about him and his office. He used my evaluation with him as a tool to educate me on hair loss, hair transplants, my options, medication, etc. and allowed me to ask as many questions as I wanted without ever being short or dismissive with his answers. By the time I had my procedure, I was confident that I had made an informed decision that worked best for me.

Hoping you have better luck this time around with the Finasteride. As Tav1 mentioned, maybe a dosage change will make a difference if you haven't looked into that already.

Looking forward to your results - and welcome aboard as a Mohebi Alum.

Haha. Like a boss.