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Thunder

Regular Member
  • Posts

    35
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Basic Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Country
    United States
  • State
    NJ

Hair Loss Overview

  • Describe Your Hair Loss Pattern
    Thinning Hair Loss All over the Scalp
    Patchy or Total Hair Loss (Alopecia Areata)
    Receding Hairline (Genetic Baldness)
    Thinning on Top only (Genetic Baldness)
    Thinning or Bald Spot in the Crown/Vertex
  • How long have you been losing your hair?
    In the last 10 years
  • Norwood Level if Known
    Norwood VI
  • What Best Describes Your Goals?
    I'm here for support

Hair Loss Treatments

  • Have you ever had a hair transplant?
    No

Thunder's Achievements

Real Hair Club Member

Real Hair Club Member (2/8)

10

Reputation

  1. I have that lotion as well. I was going to by the Wahl balding clippers, but I don't think they cut close enough, so I bought a Panasonic 19.00 foil shaver from CVS and that thing cuts close! Almost like a wet shave. Dial soap, interesting. I read about someone using baby shampoo. I have to ask Matt. I keep bothering him about what to do and what not to do so I don't accidently screw up my SMP.
  2. I have read that Graig is the best practitioner at the HIS NY Clinic, the problem is, there is no guarantee that you can request him, you are assigned a practitioner to my knowledge. You can get Graig one session, and session two can be with another person. Downside in my opinion. Let me know how your consultation goes. I will be posting my session 2 pics soon.
  3. Hey there whoknows01, HIS Hair is a great company, they have clinics all over the world including the United States. I looked into them, actually had a consultation set up with them. I read their forums religiously for a year. The one thing I would look into if you choose HIS is that they do have a tendency to have different practitioners who complete each of the sessions you go for. For instance if you were to go to the NYC clinc, and are quoted 3 sessions, one session might be with Greg, one might be with Orion, and the other could be with Jonathan. Their methodology is that all practitioners are the same, and receive the same training. Receiving the same training is all well and good, but every practitioner is different, not cookie cutter. If you haven't scoured their forum section of their website, it is a wealth of knowledge on SMP.
  4. Hey Ken, I had my 2nd session on Thursday. Waiting for the redness to subside before I post pictures. Not sure if I am going to book a third session, would it be prudent to wait a month or so for things to settle ? Overall, I made a few minor tweaks but I am happy with the second result. About dot size. From what I have read on HIS forums, initially applying small dots in the first session is not good, dots need to settle, and if they get too small before adding the density in the second session, then you get the smudged look effect if you will. Having what people describe as large dots in the beginning is very normal, and to my knowledge and research, those large dots settle down to a size that is supposed to replicate the hair follicle, in between the settling, your second session occurs, if the dots are applied way to small, then the practitioner winds up putting dots on top of dots, if that makes sense. In regards to my "dot size", I can tell you mine have substantially decreased in size in the 8 day hiatus between my first and second. Ken, what kind of moisturizer, shampoo, and shaver do you use ? Do you wet shave against the grain? Have a rotary shaver? Foil ? Just trying to figure out what gives me the best results. I bought a cheap foil shaver Panasonic and it shaves to the bone, very close to a wet shave. But it broke after 2 weeks.
  5. Thank you very much for the compliment. I will let everyone know how it went. Yes it is located in Manhattan.
  6. At the behest of sounding like I am promoting Headstrong, I have to say they have answered every question I have asked, so transparency is not an issue. But I am very glad you brought up that question that I didn't think to ask about the composition of the ink/pigment. Yes I am invested. There is no turning back now lol. I will keep you updated as to my progress. Biggest fear - being called out. Is it normal to want to make subtle changes after your first session ?
  7. Things that I didn't have to ask when I had my first treatment: 1) Matt's background is common knowledge which is verifiable. Again not a HIS advocate but his resume was built on their business name. 2) See # 1 3) This was told to me in my consultation with Matt, Headstrong is board certified and licensed in the State of NY and NYC, this can be verified through a NY business license search which I verified. 4) I watched Matt take out a new needle from the package when he did his procedure at my consultation (part of my consultation) and it was mentioned in the consultation. 5) Good question. 6) I know the numbers but not the semantics of the pigments. I will ask. The numbers were listed on my after care sheet, but I didn't notice them.
  8. You know I just spit out my drink, you suspect that Matt and Headstrong are affiliated ? HIS Hair is huge Ken, with over 20 clinics worldwide, why on earth would they be in cahoots if their one of their most revered practitioner left to open up his own company, HIS doesn't need HeadStrong, and vice versa, case in point (link removed by moderator) But thank you for educating Spanker as being a person who has had SMP and could relate to the "dot size" theory. And yes, I know what # pigments were used as it is listed on my aftercare instructions, I just didn't notice it. As far as HIS shills, I have no affiliation with anyone but me. I cannot reiterate that more.
  9. Spanker, my dots and redness have significantly decreased in size after six days post first session. With that being said, just like hair transplants, things need to settle, like FUE the body needs to accept the new grafts being implanted into the scalp so they can keep on growing, I am sure you know that. With SMP, although the semantics are different, things also need to settle down, the picture you commented on was early post 1st treatment on a virgin scalp, so it may appear to be very large to you, but in person and after the redness subsides, the replicated follicles do take shape, at least that has been my personal experience. I have two more sessions, and as I apologized in my email for being defensive, after I have my third and final session, and things settle, I will have someone take pictures for me, high resolution, so you can see my results, if you still disagree and opine that my dots are too large, that is fine, after all, I have to wear it. But the feedback I have gotten so far is that in person it looks very natural. Thunder
  10. I guess Wylie blocked me because I didn't see his response about dot size. From what I gather and I did notice this, dot size depends on the pressure of the person who is performing the treatment, your scalp, and a couple of other reasons. I had a virgin scalp. Kojak to the bone. The redness and dots being large go hand in hand, once the ink starts to settle, you let your head breath, the rendess goes down, and the dots shrink as time goes on, I am on day 5 and have compared my day one pics immediately after my procedure to today and the dots or replicated follicles have most definitely decreased in size. As to how it adds density? The more sessions, the more replicated follicles, and if they shrink to the size of your real hair follicle, that gives the illusion that SMP is all about, I agree it is for people who shave their head, not diffuse thinning.
  11. I was told, or what I gather that fading is either: your immune system, improper insertion into the dermis, failure to follow after-care guidelines, practitioner error (diluted pigment), or as you said UV exposure. What do you do in the summer when you go to the beach ? Cover your whole head with sun block? As far as Matt's technique, I really don't know the technicality or semantics as to his approach, the kind of ink/pigment (should I ask?) when I see him Thursday? It kind of puts me at ease to hear that I am in good hands, I mean I am realistic, I am a Norwood 6-7, will never have a full head of hair, so having the shaved head look to me is a huge step up, to others well to each their own. I shave my head anyway, so what do I have to lose ? I have read threads on HIS about unhappy clients, I see sometimes they shift the blame to the client for wanting something that was against the practitioners advice, like going to dark, or having an unnatural hairline, and that confusing warranty they have. I also read threads where the Moderator agrees with someone who shoes irrefutable proof of three sessions and a non-finished product, but again who knows the cause of the fading. Here is Day 5. It is darker in person, but the dots shrunk. No more redness. Again another selfie with the lighting, bad picture taking.
  12. Hey I wouldn't be so dramatic lol, I am a HIS forum member, you have to admit they have a plethora of information for people who don't know about SMP. I can only speak for myself but I represent me only. I cannot see a company like HIS having shills unless I am oblivious. Arguably, they are the biggest SMP racket on the market now and from what I have seen their marketing skills are good, but what your telling me their approach is more temporary etc.
  13. Ken, I couldn't agree with you more, seeing it in person is paramount. A lot of people on the HIS forum love to criticize and theorize about the if's and what's but they won't get up and go see it in person. I am intrigued by your opinion/theory about HIS Hair and their fading rate, return of customers, lasting SMP results. I know we started out as your theory of me being a company lackey lol but truly, giving Matt credit, everyone I had met offline was done by Matt, and the longest lasting result that still looked good after three treatment was three years. I am not sure when Matt made the transition at HIS from practitioner to HIS Administrative (Not sure what title he held). I will tell you that Matt does things differently, and the way he is going about my sessions is a polar opposite of what you described at HIS. I am excited to see what my after session 2 will look like. Quality control. Seriously, contacting England every time there is a problem ? That is where the calls are routed too, you cannot contact the clinic directly, that kind of turned me off. That and as you mentioned the practitioner placement and not knowing their resume. At the behest of not sounding like I am selling the company I went too, because I am not, Matt is well known as I have seen in person the results of his work. He is good, and his resume is basically online, I guess HIS can't let go lol. I am happy so far as it is a change in how I looked before, for the better. I don't want multiple people working on my head, I want one practitioner to see my sessions from start to finish. I can imagine the millions HIS makes, and my hearts go out reading the stories on the forum of men who have traveled and spent so much money only to not be happy, so their customer service should be on par.
  14. Thank you for the encouragement and the compliments, I must of emailed Matt about 30 photos of hairlines that I liked, it ranged from feathered, to broken, the whole gammet, I just wasn't sure what would fit my face. HIS was a great reference since they have so many case studies to choose from. I told Matt I did not want the straight line hairline with the zig zag temples because at my age and my ethnicity, skin tone, hair color, etc I would stick out like a sore thumb. I actually asked for his advice and Matt drew the hairline as well as the temples and I liked the way it looked. I might bring down the hairline a smidge, but I have been relying on Matt's experience and artistic ability. I asked for conservative, and lets start from there. We can always add to it or tweak it if necessary and he agreed. If I bring down the hairline a smidge, I am going to break it up a bit. But so far I think I look a lot better then I did with no hair and a horseshoe! What I find weird is how the camera plays tricks on you depending on the lighting. In reality, the replicated follicles are black, but in some pics they look brown. I read your other thread, I didn't realize HIS charged that much money. They would never say a word about how much they charge until you get to the consultation. And I have seen the diaries of some customers who opt to go for six to seven sessions. I think that is a bit crazy, unless there is an issue with retaining the pigment (immune system) etc. I was told that it would take three sessions to achieve the look that I wanted. All I can do now is see how things go.
  15. TheBottom thank you very much for clarifying how SMP is carried out, in sessions. I feel great, I like the look and the replicated follicles are shrinking. I went hatless today and it was liberating. I shouldn't of went on the defensive with Spanker and Wylie, that was out of character for me, but they must know that my end result will be fantastic, and when I achieve that, then I will post the professional pics for their scrutiny. I want to add that SMP is much easier to verse via laser vs. a FUE procedure. A FUE procedure requires slits in the scalp where the grafts are placed, and just like SMP has some issues with fading, FUE covers less density and has the possibility of shedding. I guess whatever makes the person happy. What Spanker saw today was nothing close to being finished. And I do apologize if I got defensive.
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