angel706

Fuzzy, I don't believe anyone thinks you are screwed. We just want to see you get the best result down the road. Sometimes we tend to emphasize realism over compassion on these boards, and a lot of tone gets lost via a written message. I'm very sympathetic to what you're going through. I had quite a bit of shock loss of the surrounding native hair following my transplant. I remember the day that all my scabs were gone and I could finally gently run a comb through the rest of my hair, something I hadn't done in a few weeks. Good God! It was like that for almost a week. And I did definitely look worse for a good 2-3 months than I did before the transplant...but I was fortunate enough to have enough hair left to hide it well. But then at about 3 months, the shockloss started to come back, and another month or so later I started to see growth of the transplants. Still, it was a good year before I could really begin to judge my results. So we are just saying to be patient. Your shocked hair should come back, as long as it was healthy hair to begin with and not miniaturized. In the meantime, there are options to cover up. Toppik is great, and not expensive. I can't personally recommend anything else, but I've heard good things about Dermatch and Couvre. Tarasilk had a good idea with the headbands, too. Once your transplanted area is well-healed (at least 3 weeks) you could even try a partial hairpiece or even a full wig. If you decide to go that road, try to find a good wig shop in your area, as you would want to try lots of things on. I really do hope the best for you.

Hi fuzzywuzzy, I love your name you chose. Now I won't be able to get that nursery rhyme out of my head all day. I'm also a 36-year-old female (turning 37 this week!) who had a transplant in Feb. of 06 to fill in recessed temples. I had more of a male-pattern loss, with pretty thick hair elsewhere, and had about 1550 FUT's put in to the temples by Dr. Lehr. I was about a NW 2, maybe slightly beyond, but not a NW 3. My goal was to restore a more rounded, "feminine" hairline with good density at the temples. I can say that there's been improvement, and that I believe all the grafts grew, but I'm still not satisfied. I have very thin coverage where I had nothing (probably something like 25 units per cm2), but it's still not been enough to make my hair as manageable as I would like. I still see that area as "thinning," which to me is still not acceptable. I've thought long and hard about the possibility of going in for a second transplant with a coalition doc, but have decided against it for now. Partly because I don't know what the future holds for me hair-loss wise (particularly when perimenopause sets in), and I don't have the option of taking Propecia to keep what I currently have. But also because I think that we females tend to be less satisfied in general with what hair transplants can offer, particularly with what society "expects" from us in terms of hair. For women, little else is acceptable other than a full, thick head of hair. Thinning or balding isn't as acceptable for us as it is for men. I'm not trying to scare you, only trying to save you some disappointment and heartache. I was not happy with my result, and my thinning was not as progressed as yours. I just don't know if you will be happy down the road, even if you go back to a coalition doc and get another 2000 grafts. The result you will be left with will still be, in my opinion, a "thinning" look, and one you will probably want to augment with something like Toppik or Dermatch. By the way, I would avoid going back to Buchwach. Based on the only results I've seen of his work on women on this site, I am not impressed. Not much density. If you are going to go down this road again, I would firmly recommend going with a coalition doc who uses very small blades and is capable of dense packing. I'm beginning to consider wigs. I've tried several on, and have found a few lines that look very good (Raquel Welch is one of them, and reasonably priced). Probably won't try it until the weather gets cooler, but I'm seriously considering it. God bless you, honey. This hair loss stuff really stinks. I sincerely hope you get some good results from your recent work. I know very well the desire to try, above all else, to get "your own hair" back.

What concerns me is that you were doing thorough but gentle shampooing as soon as day 3 and that pretty much all the scabs were gone by day 5. Is it me, or does that seem a little soon? I thought you were supposed to be very, very careful and gentle with the grafts throughout the first week. They're not really "seated" until about day 5-7 out, I thought. Sandra, did you ever notice any bleeding from any of the scabs when they were coming off? If so, the graft may have popped out. Not trying to scare you, I just hope you didn't lose grafts.

Hey Phil, Yep, Hubby graduated in '82. I graduated in '88, at the height of the "big hair" era. At least for the girls, three-inch-high bangs were not uncommon. Some of the pictures of my hair from those years are MOST embarrassing. In other news, I visited my dermatologist yesterday to try to get a few answers: genetic thinning or not? Any way to tell how far it will progress? Since I shed so much hair temporarily after babies when hormones were tumbling, will I lose it again (and permanently) at menopause when hormones tumble for good? I didn't get many clear answers. She said it could be chronic telogen effluvium, genetic thinning that is mostly limited to the temples in my case, or that it could be the start of genetic thinning that could turn out to be more widespread and diffuse. So in short, I know about as much as when I went in. Although she said if it's chronic TE, there is a good chance I could eventually come out of it. Then she had the nerve to ask me if I had considered seeing a therapist because I seemed "overly concerned" about this issue. This from a woman with very thick hair. I found that comment insensitive and uncalled-for. I'm just looking for a definitive answer...which I did not get. Also tried on some wigs for fun and out of curiosity. Found a lady who carries the Raquel Welch line, and was very impressed with the synthetics with the monofilament tops. They're around $300, last a year or two with proper care, and look and move as much like real hair as I've seen. Not sure I'm ready to go under one yet (particularly with summer setting in), but at least I know that I would like how I look in one. Also found out that long hair gives me a "horse face"...good to know!

Tavia, I'm a 36-year-old woman who was also "blessed" with a little extra real estate up north, so I feel what you're talking about. Bug please reconsider surgery. It's a very radical step, particularly for someone so young. Your bone structure and facial balancing could still be incomplete. You might look different in a few more years when you completely finish growing. My forehead is about 7 cm. The other two "thirds" of my face, though (brows to bottom of nose, bottom of nose to chin) each measure out at 6.5 cm, so the imbalance is quite small. If I had a full head of thick hair, I would be able to easily disguise it with bangs, but alas, I'm thinning in front at the temples, so bangs don't work for me. This is very likely something that bothers nobody but you. But even if that's not the case, here are a few simple things to try first. I'd suggest keeping your hair on the longer side (at least chin length) as shorter hair will draw the eye upward toward the forehead. Having a good stylist cut in a thick fringe of bang, that could be worn straight down or swept to either side, will also help minimize the look of the forehead. Also, go on imdb.com and search for images of all these gorgeous women who have "high" foreheads: Angelina Jolie, Helen Hunt, Tyra Banks (though she's covering it up these days with some really fake-looking wigs), Amber Valetta, Vivica A. Fox, Nicole Kidman, Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci...I could go on and on. If you absolutely decide that your forehead is something you can't live with, go check out the work that Dr Jeffrey Epstein in Miami has done on hairline advancement. My personal opinion is that he makes too much of a "peak" on the temple points (in my opinion, that's a somewhat masculine look) but he seems to be getting acceptable density in the patients shown on his site. There's also a Dr. Kabaker (sp?) who has some results shown on this site of forehead reductions. Personally, I wouldn't touch it if I were you. Take a close look at models in magazine, newspaper and TV ads...you'll find that many of them have high-ish foreheads. At 18, you're finishing up some tough years anyway. Please be kind to yourself. God bless, honey.

Thanks, onlygirl. Good luck to you, too. I'm considering going to try on wigs sometime this week. Could be fun!

What ARE the latest options beyond HT? Those that may be available within the next 5-10 years? Just out of curiosity... I've been home this weekend attending my husband's 25-year class reunion with him, and spent some time looking at my family's old photo albums. Man, my hair has ALWAYS been a mess. Not straight, not curly, difficult to control, a "fivehead" since birth...jeesh. I have to laugh over it...

Thank you, gentlemen, for the support. It's one of the things this community does best. And Bezane, yes, we will have to respectfully disagree. That's cool. I sometimes wish I was someone who could steel myself to go through a HT again. But I'm afraid I have a slightly different reality from a man. What I'm facing up to is the fact that I do, in fact, have androgenic alopecia, or female pattern baldness. I got the bad hair genes in my family. Mine even seems to be taking more of the shape of a classic male pattern...loss and recession of the temples (and frankly, the entire side area above and in front of the ears is getting pretty darn thin, too). I've been trying to deny this for years, but I may as well fess up. Because I am a woman, propecia is not an option for me. I also tried Minoxidil three years ago and couldn't tolerate the severe flaky, itchy scalp and the growth of unwanted facial hair. Given that those are the only proven treatments at this time, I have few medical options left. I do not want to be someone who continues to "chase the problem" with more and more transplants. Even in the best of hands (H&W, Shapiro, Feller, Epstein, etc.), I don't think I would be happy with the density they can provide. My frontal third could probably eat up the majority of my donor area before I would be satisfied with the thickness. I also have to face the fact that, since I lost TONS of hair after all my pregnancies due to the tumbling estrogen levels, I will also probably be a woman who thins significantly when menopause kicks in and the estrogen drops for good. Due to my family's history, this could be in as little as 5-7 years. I'd hate to use all or most of my donor area now thickening up the front, then hit menopause and thin significantly and look completely ridiculous. Then there's the issue of cost. My family cannot afford to keep throwing money at this problem for a result that likely won't hold up over the long haul. Bezane and Bill, I'm not trying to argue with you here. I'm just saying that HTs aren't the answer for everyone (but you already know that) and I am probably one of those folks. I will still pop up on the forums, though, because there are plenty of women out there who could use my perspective and experience. Thanks again for the kind words. There are some great people on these boards.

Hi all. Just as a refresher, I am a 36-year-old female who had about 1550 FUs transplanted into my temple areas (which had receded at age 17) in Feb. 2006 by Dr. Lehr. At the time, it seemed very thick everywhere else, and I was convinced that one transplant would be all it would take to help me finally like (maybe even love!) my hair. 16 months later, I can tell that the final results are pretty much in. Overall, I think he gave me a decent result...probably about 30-35 FUs/cm2, which was enough to give the illusion of a thinning area, rather than a mostly bald area, in my temples. However, I am still not happy with my head of hair. Never really have been. It still seems to be thinner all around the front (not noticeable to anyone yet but me). I lose a lot of hair every day while showering and styling...maybe not a lot more than the 100 or so a day than is "normal," but more than that nonetheless. I have to face the fact that I may very well be headed for a Ludwig frontal type of situation. This is entirely likely, as my dad is a NW 5, one of his sisters has thin hair, and my maternal grandmother also had a very high hairline with slightly thinner hair behind it. I guess I COULD attempt another transplant for the temple area (even considered bringing down the hairline about 1 cm, since it is a little on the high side). However, I have to weigh a lot of other things in the balance. I have three young boys to care for and a husband who thinks I'm beautiful whether I'm Rapunzel or totally bald. I don't really want the discomfort and downtime of another surgery, the weeks of worry afterward about how to hide the surgery, then the mental torture of the 4-5 month wait while growth kicks in. I will never be that woman on the shampoo ad with the gorgeous mane. But I figure it could be much, much worse. I have a friend who has a truly enviable head of hair, but she also has the gene for Huntington's disease, and because of that probably won't be around much past her mid-40s. I'll take my problem anyday. I have another friend who is currently fighting her second round with lymphoma, is bald as a cueball from the treatments and is beautiful anyway. Her courage is tremendous. She has four young children, and there's a good chance she will be leaving them behind within a year or two. She'd trade for my problems anyday. I am just trying to get on with my life at this point. If I continue to lose more hair, I will get a very short cut (think Jamie Lee Curtis). If I hate that, I will buy a few wigs, not make a big secret out of the fact that I wear them, and get on with life. Believe it or not, some days I wish the hair would just hurry up and fall on our so I could go buy the wigs and be done with it. How liberating would that be? Maybe 5-10 years down the road, another treatment option will become available that I would consider again...but then again, I'm sure the cost would be pretty prohibitive. Wigs are dirt cheap in comparison. Life is short. I'm gonna go try to live mine more fully and stop worrying about my stupid freakin' hair.

Hi all. Just as a refresher, I am a 36-year-old female who had about 1550 FUs transplanted into my temple areas (which had receded at age 17) in Feb. 2006 by Dr. Lehr. At the time, it seemed very thick everywhere else, and I was convinced that one transplant would be all it would take to help me finally like (maybe even love!) my hair. 16 months later, I can tell that the final results are pretty much in. Overall, I think he gave me a decent result...probably about 30-35 FUs/cm2, which was enough to give the illusion of a thinning area, rather than a mostly bald area, in my temples. However, I am still not happy with my head of hair. Never really have been. It still seems to be thinner all around the front (not noticeable to anyone yet but me). I lose a lot of hair every day while showering and styling...maybe not a lot more than the 100 or so a day than is "normal," but more than that nonetheless. I have to face the fact that I may very well be headed for a Ludwig frontal type of situation. This is entirely likely, as my dad is a NW 5, one of his sisters has thin hair, and my maternal grandmother also had a very high hairline with slightly thinner hair behind it. I guess I COULD attempt another transplant for the temple area (even considered bringing down the hairline about 1 cm, since it is a little on the high side). However, I have to weigh a lot of other things in the balance. I have three young boys to care for and a husband who thinks I'm beautiful whether I'm Rapunzel or totally bald. I don't really want the discomfort and downtime of another surgery, the weeks of worry afterward about how to hide the surgery, then the mental torture of the 4-5 month wait while growth kicks in. I will never be that woman on the shampoo ad with the gorgeous mane. But I figure it could be much, much worse. I have a friend who has a truly enviable head of hair, but she also has the gene for Huntington's disease, and because of that probably won't be around much past her mid-40s. I'll take my problem anyday. I have another friend who is currently fighting her second round with lymphoma, is bald as a cueball from the treatments and is beautiful anyway. Her courage is tremendous. She has four young children, and there's a good chance she will be leaving them behind within a year or two. She'd trade for my problems anyday. I am just trying to get on with my life at this point. If I continue to lose more hair, I will get a very short cut (think Jamie Lee Curtis). If I hate that, I will buy a few wigs, not make a big secret out of the fact that I wear them, and get on with life. Believe it or not, some days I wish the hair would just hurry up and fall on our so I could go buy the wigs and be done with it. How liberating would that be? Maybe 5-10 years down the road, another treatment option will become available that I would consider again...but then again, I'm sure the cost would be pretty prohibitive. Wigs are dirt cheap in comparison. Life is short. I'm gonna go try to live mine more fully and stop worrying about my stupid freakin' hair.

Ah, yes, the postpartum shed. I've read where this happens to about half of women after pregnancy, maybe more. I was one of them. I had three boys, one in July 2000, one in April 2003 and one in February 2005. With each pregnancy, I started noticing ridiculous amounts of hair fall (probably around 400 hairs a day...yikes!) starting at around 2 1/2 months after delivery. The loss would continue for about three months before gradually going back to my normal shed pattern. I tended to notice each time that the shedding was the worst in the front hairline, temples, just over the ears and at my lower neckline. And it does take a while for your hair to get back to "normal" following a pregnancy. I would give it at least 18 months before you start feeling like you were back to where you where pre-pregnancy. Because my last two were so close together (22 months apart) I had just started to feel like my hair was getting back to "normal" after delivery number 2 when -- bang! -- pregnant again! I had the misfortune of also losing a lot of hair during my first trimester with #3. So by the time I was at the end of my third pregnancy and feeling like my hair was presentable again, here comes the postpartum shed AGAIN! I shed so badly after my third kiddo that I ended up buying a wig about six months postpartum. I never ended up wearing it much because it was July and too bloomin' hot...but it made me feel better to have a nice one on hand. So yes, short answer is that postpartum hair loss can be quite significant, and it can take quite a while for it to reverse itself. So for any men who may be reading this thread, if your wife/partner is pregnant, be prepared to be EXTREMELY sympathetic if she experiences this shed. It is very disheartening and she will need your support and reassurance. By the way, I Am a Woman, when were your children born?

Hello, "I am a woman," I am also a woman, and I had a hair transplant 15 months ago. My hair wasn't thinning all over as you describe, but had receded at the temples, more like a male pattern. I received 1550 FUs in the temples, and am pretty happy with the results I got. Everyone has given you good advice so far. Do not let geography limit you. Do as many phone consults or internet consults with the recommended surgeons on this site (preferably those in the coalition, because their methods are the most refined and will likely give you the best cosmetic result.) Having said that much, also know that if your loss is a diffuse thinning all over the scalp, you may be a very poor candidate for a hair transplant. The reason for that is when you transplant hairs into areas where hair already exists, the existing hairs can be shocked out. In fact, women seem to suffer this side effect more often than men. And if the hairs shocked out were destined to fall out permanently within a few years because they were affected by androgenic alopecia, they will likely not come back. Also, women who are true diffuse thinners (who suffer from androgenic alopecia) don't have the same "safe zone" for a donor area that men do. I'm not trying to burst your bubble or prevent you from doing more research...in fact, I would encourage you to get as much knowledge on the subject as possible. Just be prepared for the possibility that if you suffer from diffuse thinning all over (that is you have androgenic alopecia), you may not be a good candidate for a hair transplant. I really feel for your situation. Hair loss hurts for anyone, but cuts that much deeper for women because society does not expect us to suffer from hair loss to the degree that men do. Please feel free to send me a private message if I can answer any more questions for you.

Well, this will really piss PETA off.

Good luck, Tara! Your hairline recession is similar to how mine looked before my transplant 14 months ago. I received about 1550 FUs in my temples, didn't lower my hairline any. I'm happy with my results. You'll be in good hands with Dr. Epstein. Just be prepared that the first few weeks will be a little tough physically and the first 4 months challenging emotionally while you wait for results to come. But they will come! I'll tell you a few things that helped me in the first few weeks. I slept in a recliner for almost three weeks, as I sleep on my sides a lot and didn't want to risk yanking out any grafts. I also took Ambien the first few weeks, as sleeping in a recliner wasn't all that comfortable. I would discuss with your doc about the risks involved in transplanting into areas where there is significant hair already (the thinning spots you mentioned). We girls tend to lose more hair to shockloss, and if you shock out hair that's already weakened, you may end up not netting much gain. I'm sure Dr. E. can guide you in that area. Again, best of luck to you! Grow well.

Irishgirl, I'm not going to hazard a guess on whether you're a good candidate or not, simply because I'm not a HT doctor. It sounds to me like you are on the right track by looking into PCOS and thyroid, as well as anything else your doctor thinks is appropriate. I wish you all the best as you undergo the testing, and hope you find some helpful answers. Above all, if you do decide to look into a HT, I would start by investigating the Coalition docs listed on this site. From the home page of this site, there is a large icon on the upper right hand of the page that you can click on to find them. I think most of them, if not all, will do a consult long-distance if you can send them good enough photos. Do not let cost or geography be an issue of who you consider. Best of luck to you, dear. You're right...this situation blows particularly hard for women, for whom our hair is supposed to be our "crowning glory." Oh well, at least it's more socially acceptable for us to wear wigs.