pkipling

@Parsa Mohebi, MD does consultations. There's a waiting list, but I believe it's less than a year - and if you're local, you could speak to the office about possibly getting on a cancellation list as well.

I'm glad you're seeing some results and feeling better about things, and I'm also glad the approach of closely monitoring it every few days seems to be working for you. If you find that to be frustrating at some point in the future, I think the most sound approach for most of us is to do our best to put it out of our minds - and then wake up one day pleasantly surprised at the growth you suddenly have. It's like saying goes, "A watched pot never boils". In the meantime, thanks for the updates - and happy growing!

Definitely potential cousins! Lol OP - These results are incredible and completely changed his entire look! Well done.

I agree that at the current state, your hair really does seem to be fine, and the opinion on whether or not you jump on Finasteride is gonna vary. Some people are very adamant that it's best to start as early as possible, and others are more cautious. I fall in the more cautious side personally, but that's just how I view most medication. If it were very clearly thinning at a rapid rate, I would definitely suggest it, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. Also, it seems to me like in the photos where the crown looks "thinner" that it's also when your scalp seems be a bit sunburnt/red - and I think the contrast of your blonde hair and red scalp makes it look "thinner" than maybe is the reality.

This looks great, especially considering your goals/situation. The transplanted area looks incredible, and you've accomplished the mission of focusing on framing the face while being less concerned at getting full density in the area behind it. It's a viable strategy that could likely still pay off even if you choose not to get another procedure.

Yeah, you had significantly less singles than me. I've actually never seen the average percentages before and am gonna look into that for my own curiosity. I had 2,001 grafts and the breakdown was as follows: Ones: 607 Twos: 925 Threes: 413 Fours: 56 2,001 grafts - Ones: 607; Twos: 925; Threes: 413; Fours: 56

Hi Contini! Welcome to the forum. You seem to have a great approach already, and it's wonderful that you're weighing your options and getting multiple consultations before you make a decision. You really do seem to be on the right track in regards to your approach. There's no "one size fits all" surgeon out there, and as long as you're doing thorough research/vetting, asking lots of questions at the consultations, and are in alignment with what they suggest for your procedure, then it ultimately comes down to the very unscientific method of "trusting your gut". Feel free to reach out directly if you want to discuss more about Dr. Mohebi and Dr. Gujrati on the phone. I'd be happy to provide any insight I can, and can speak from personal experience about my hair transplant with Dr. Mohebi.

The quality of this photo isn't great (it's literally just a screenshot from a video lol), but this was taken just a couple of days after a recent haircut. I do a no-guard fade at the bottom and for all intents and purposes, I think it's pretty undetectable by the naked eye. It took a bit of an adjustment for me to get used to it in the beginning since we can be our own worst critics and I was worried it looked "off", but every barber I've had for the past 7 or so years has insisted that nothing looks out of the ordinary or alarming, so I confidently roll with it.

I would also recommend finding a way to stop before the surgery, though I will say that the amount of time you need to stop varies from surgeon to surgeon. The longer you go without smoking before the procedure, the better, but even it it's just a few days before, that's better than nothing and your body will benefit from it. Regardless, I would suggest following your surgeon's advice (even though it's hard, it'll be worth it - and may even spark a permanent quit!) - and if a week really isn't doable, just be honest with your surgeon and see what input he has for you.

Oh for sure. It's very understandable to feel the panic/doubt, but that's when speaking logically and factually to ourselves really comes in handy. You can't compare yourself to anyone else's journey as they all really are so vastly different... And whether someone is an early grower or a late grower it's still no indication of what the final results will be. So stay patient.

There's one study that was done by Dr. Bernstein that is used to provide insight on when grafts become secure and are no longer at risk of being dislodged. Here's the link to the full study if you want to read it, but the final outcome was this: "The study showed that for the first two days, pulling on a hair always resulted in a lost graft, but the chance of the graft being removed started to decrease by the third day. By the sixth day pulling on a hair would no longer dislodge the graft. Pulling on an adherent scab always resulted in a lost graft through day five, with the incidence decreasing through day eight. However, by nine days post-op, grafts were no longer at risk of being dislodged." I wish there were more studies done like this one on other concerns people have post-op so that there wouldn't be so much discrepancy between so many surgeons about what is and isn't considered optimal post-op care, because Lord knows the various answers cause soooo much confusion - and rightly so.

You very well could be allergic to a specific ingredient, and the best thing to do would be to discuss this with your surgeon. They'll likely be much knowledgable about what those possibilities are and what alternatives they would have for you. It's why they always ask about allergies anytime you go to the doctor, so if you mention a potential allergic reaction to anesthesia, they may know how to work around that and which different ones they could use. As a side note, as part of my "cover story" after my hair transplant, I told people that I had a small surgery and had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia that caused my scalp to break out and therefore had to wear a cap until it cleared up. 😜 In hindsight, I think it would've been just as easy to be honest about the hair transplant, but it was a viable story at the time that worked like a charm. Lol.

I understand why you'd be alarmed and obsessing over this, as I'd probably do the same. However, I really do think you're fine here and there's nothing to worry about. The general rule to follow about dislodged/damages grafts is that they are always accompanied by pain and bleeding - neither of which you experienced. The pictures look fine as well. That said, I'd definitely keep the dog away from your scalp for the rest of the healing process!

I know this may not be the ideal answer and I don't want to minimize your feelings, but the 3 month mark really is way too early to get discouraged. It's literally the absolute earliest that you'd start seeing growth, and even if you do end up being a slow/late grower, it's not any indication of how your final results will be. Also keep in mind that nobody sees results right at 3 months. I was an early grower, but it was the beginning of month 3 (where you are now) that that began - and I didn't even really notice the extent of the growth I had it until I reached month 4 and saw that I had significant growth over the past month. So - you could very well see significant growth at month 4, or it might not be until a bit later. Either way, the only way to know is to wait - and as hard as that is, it really is just the reality of hair transplants. Wishing you patience and early growth and a very positive outcome!

I do think it's going to be hard to find prices as low in the US and Canada as they are in other countries, and I believe the average price per graft in the US/Can is around $8/graft. There are more regulations, fees, etc. here that factor into this, not to mention the cost of living simply being more here - especially in bigger metropolitan areas. I'm sure you could find some clinics that offer promotions and deals, but I'd be a bit wary of those places tbh. (I'm specifically referring to the types of clinics that offer an extensive "menu", of sorts, of all kinds of plastic surgery procedures, with hair transplants just being one of them.) As a general rule, if $8/graft is out of your price range - which would be understandable - I would suggest saving a bit more money to budget for it or consider some low-interest financing... Otherwise, looking at top surgeons in other countries might be your best bet. And all of that to say, don't let "price" be such an important determining factor that you let that dictate choosing a less than ideal surgeon. I don't think that's what you're doing, but just offering a general piece of advice that bargain shopping in the extreme when it comes to hair transplants can often lead to more money being spent on repairs down the road.

I don't think you have anything to worry about in regards to the pressure applied to yours scalp. Those grafts have long been secure, and there's no way someone applying pressure like that could ruin them. I hope you find ways to relax and alleviate your stress, though I know it can be difficult to do. The waiting is often the hardest part of the entire hair transplant process, so you'll just need to find ways to not obsess over it. The work has been done, and now all you can do is wait and see how it all turns out - and hope for the best.

Here's a thread that Melvin posted last year that you'll likely find very useful.

A general rule would be 10 days after the procedure, but this varies depending on the surgeon. Dr. Mohebi actually advises to start washing normally/more aggressively on Days 5-7 to get rid of the scabs to help the scalp start healing. Either way, at Day 12, you're definitely able to start washing your hair normally and getting rid of any scabs you have, and the video Melvin posted will show you how to do that effectively.

Thank you, professor. This was super helpful and informative. What's your insight on how common permanent shock loss is? For instance, if there are native hairs that were on their last leg, so to speak, which then fall out due to shock loss, would it be right to assume that those hairs simply wouldn't make a comeback? Is this a valid concern for people to have, or would those cases be considered more of an outlier?

This looks soooo good! It's always nice seeing successful female hair transplants, so thanks for sharing.

Oh man! I had no idea this was a part of your repair journey, and I would've bet money that nobody had had this done. You're quite the revolutionary! 😝 Learning that this is a viable option honestly blows my mind a little... Thanks for educating us - and good for you for doing whatever it takes to get your hair the way you want it.

Congrats! The day of a surgery typically comes after a very long time of researching, questioning, trying to find the right surgeon, etc. - and so it's a huge milestone to reach the day of the actual procedure. You're in very good hands with Dr. Bloxham and I look forward to seeing how this turns out for you. Now the waiting game begins...

Oh man. This doesn't sound like a great experience at all. At this point, since it's all said and done, all you can do is wait and see how it turns out - and hope that at the very least, they did good work, even if it wasn't the work you asked for...? Post some more pics if you can, particularly some before and after photos.

I think either would be okay, but if it were me, I'd err on the longer side so you can get an even more accurate depiction of the state of your hair before the 2nd procedure. This is something you could discuss with the surgeon, especially if you know from the beginning that you're going to want two procedures. They'll be able to take that into consideration when formulating the best game plan for you and map it all out accordingly.

There are a lot of different factors that could be at play for why your scalp is reacting differently the 2nd time - but ultimately I don't think it matters too much. What you're experiencing does seem normal, and by Day 8, those grafts are extremely secure. If you were losing actual grafts, there would be pain and blood - and what you're experiencing seems to be the natural shedding process. Every surgeon has their own post-op care protocol, but as LaserCaps mentioned, many will have you start washing your hair and massaging your scalp by Day 8 anyway, so even if the scabs didn't fall out in your sleep, you'd be removing them in the shower.