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I'm glad to see you started the Propecia and found a doctor willing to work with you. The general consensus on the forums and in the HT transplant community is that getting a hair transplant at such a young age is almost always a bad idea - the primary reason being that the hair loss hasn't been stabilized and will continue to progress, so there's no way to know how to plan the transplant/placement of the grafts. However, I spoke with Dr. Mohebi recently about this very thing and he has a different opinion on this. Following the strict guidelines of the past of always waiting until you're older to get a transplant doesn't apply as much today as it used to due to a couple of factors: Medication (such as Propecia) allows us to stabilize the hair loss in advance, so we don't have to wait for nature to stabilize it for us. And not only that, but we have better diagnostic tools today at our disposal. Most doctors can do microscopic evaluations that can give us a map of sorts about where the hair loss will be heading in the future and what will most likely be their final stage of hair loss. So we don't really have to wait until they look completely bald in order to know what their final stage will be. I think this is very good to consider, and it seems you found a doctor who considers this as well and has taken a very responsible, conservative approach with you. Men in their early 20s suffer the most when it comes to hair loss, so it's encouraging to see technology advancing in such a way that we can start dealing with the hair loss when it's most important instead of the old "just wait it out and deal with it later" approach of the past. Looking forward to seeing your updates!

Hey guys. Just a reminder for any of you considering submitting a video for a free hair transplant with Dr. Mohebi that the deadline is in just a couple of weeks. I understand putting yourself out there and making a video may seem daunting, but it really is a great opportunity for those of you that have been considering a transplant but the price is too much of an obstacle. Also, at this point I believe there have only been a few submissions, so your odds of being selected are really, really good. ))

I just got a cheap one from Target as well. The pills don't always cut perfectly evenly, but it's not enough to make a difference. The general recommended dosage is 1mg a day, and since a perfectly evenly cut 5mg pill would be 1.25 mg, you have a little wiggle room. Some days a tad more, some days a tad less - but always right around that 1mg/day mark.

I wouldn't look too much into this, personally. The roots/bulbs on the hairs are totally normal. We tend to overanalyze every little detail when dealing with something that means so much to us (I can be guilty of this as well), but the fact of the matter is that 1 month out, your shedding is completely normal. Not to mention the grafts are securely placed by around day 5 post surgery. So unless you were losing grafts the first couple of days after the transplant, I wouldn't worry about any of the hairs you're losing not being implanted properly, no matter the shape. On a side note, great job on that diagram....

Congrats man. You're in for quite the journey and we'll look forward to your updates.

Haha. Who doesn't love a good pity party every now and then.... and those really are some very impressive hairlines.

Don't stress. The new hairs won't start coming back in until the 12 week mark, so you're shedding sounds totally normal (unless you're also experiencing shock loss in the donor area - in which case it would still just be a waiting game to see how that resolves itself). But regarding the recipient area, give it at least until the 4 month mark and reevaluate the growth then. If you're still concerned at that point (or want to post more pictures), start a new thread and someone will help you out. Best of luck.

Looking good brotha! Let the journey begin.... :cool:

Set up an appointment with a Dr. and discuss all this with them. This way in the meantime while you're waiting to get a transplant, there are some other options you can consider to possibly slow down the hair loss. I'm not sure how healthy/fit you are, but even something as simple as a healthy diet and exercise regime can help to some degree. You can also see if a doctor would recommend putting you on Finasteride, depending on the severity of your hair loss and its progression so that you potentially slow it down enough before it gets too bad. I never took it until a right before my transplant. If I had taken it sooner, who knows how much hair I could've saved.

Hey gibbsville... Just saw this post. Hope you got an answer to your question. Update us and let us know how the surgery went - and I hope you had everything you needed!

That's some impressive swelling. Make sure you're sleeping slightly elevated, as that should help some as well. Until then, enjoy the "battle wounds".

For those of you interested in the contest, but maybe too hesitant to make a video and submit it, may I present to you Applicant Zero, aka Voxman. He gave us permission to share his video with you guys, and he did an outstanding job. Check it out - and perhaps feel inspired to make one yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFsUaVg6hk4

Yep. You're definitely in the clear and there's nothing you can do to damage them now. So sit back and relax and let the magic begin.

Excellent post! It was very positive and encouraging, so thanks for that. A good attitude goes a long way. Great to see you had such great success with the first transplant - and I look forward to seeing the results from this second one. Happy holidays, indeed!

Yeah, it varies person to person. I had a decent amount of redness for the first month and a half for sure. By two months, it was much less noticeable and to the point where I wasn't self conscious about it anymore. And there's no way you can wear a professional looking cap to work, even with a brilliant story about some kind of bizarre medical situation that requires you to keep your head covered? Worked for me...

After 5 days, the grafts are permanently in place and can't be damaged - so wearing the hat doesn't put you at risk of losing the transplanted hairs. Furthermore, you should still be able to wear the hat even before then - though having transplants in the temple area does seem a bit trickier to hide than the grafts in on the top/receding area. I wore a hat (provided by my doctor) home from the office the day of my surgery. The hat had high enough clearance, and it rested on my head without any risk at all of damaging the grafts. The front part rested on my forehead, and the back part rested on the back of my head. I did this successfully myself, but do admit that I was extremely cautious when doing so. Your doctor should be able to show you better in person if this is possible for you to do depending on your specific case - but like I said, after 5 days it wouldn't matter anyway. Maybe someone here has experience with how to wear a hat when having transplants on the temple region... I would assume you would just wear it higher on your head. This wouldn't cover it, but would provide coverage for the crown area while not effecting the temple region at all.

For those of you who have questions about the contest, Dr. Mohebi recently updated his blog addressing some of those. Check it out. Dr. Mohebi HT Contest: Who can enter?

You're right in that it does depend on the clearance of the hat, though most of my baseball caps have plenty of clearance. I had a bandage on the day I wore a hat home from surgery. The back of the hat touched the donor area (to which there is no threat) and the front of the hat was on my forehead, away from the grafts. There was plenty of clearance to keep anything at all from touching the grafts. I will add though that I was extremely careful. I put the hat on loose from front to back, then tightened it in the back. And when removing it, I would loosen the hat in the back and then remove it from back to front... Very careful, very deliberate.... However, if it's something you're worried about and don't feel comfortable with, I would just steer clear of it altogether and stick with the surgical cap. :cool:

The main thing you need to make sure of is that it's loose enough on your scalp and that you don't touch the grafts at all when putting the hat on and taking it back off. I actually left surgery wearing a hat provided by the doctor. I had a bandage on to cover the donor area that I kept on until the next day, but gently placed the cap very loosely and strategically on top of my head so that the grafts were never touched.

No need, brotha. The number of grafts and type of surgery is the main thing I was curious about. Glad you reached the 3 month milestone. Looking forward to your updates!

It would depend largely on what type of hair you have, but I am quite partial to KMS California Hair Play Molding Paste. It takes just a little bit and it's quite flexible. FYI: This is coming from a guy who has tried nearly every hair product on the market, and never satisfied. It looks like a sample selection at a beauty salon underneath my sink. But this one seldom disappoints. :cool:

At the 12 week mark, the hair is just now about to start coming in, so get ready! The recipient area seems to have healed just fine and the redness is barely noticeable. Now just let the fun begin. You mind giving us your transplant info? Number of grafts, type of surgery, etc.?

There's no sure fire way to tell if you're definitely going to go bald or not. The best indicator is to see if it runs in your family (on both sides of your family.... Not just your "mother's father" myth that people tend to throw around). Even then, it ultimately varies from individual to individual and just because you have a history of baldness in your family doesn't necessarily mean you will go bald - it just means that the chances are greater. This is true the other way around as well. You're still very young, so I wouldn't worry about it too much if you're not seeing definite signs. Exercise, eat healthy, keep your stress level down and just ENJOY being 18. And IF you start to see signs of baldness in the future, you can deal with it then. Worrying about it now won't do you (or your hair) any good. So go have fun and enjoy your full head of hair with a smile on your face.

Yep. All the entries will be able to be seen on Dr. Mohebi's Facebook Page.

I mean, who doesn't love a good cameo? ; ) Looking forward to seeing all of this unfold! Let Dr. Mohebi or myself know if you guys have any questions.