JustJax

Hey didn't you make the same post few weeks ago?

You gave me a serious case of deja vu when I read this... lol

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/185236-touching-recipient-hair.html#post2487366

 

My advice remains the same, don't pull on any hairs or scratch your scalp aggressively, but other than that you're fine.

New early growth can start from week 10 so it's probably some new hairs pushing through, the fun finally begins!

OMG, I'm going senile, I didn't overly remember posting that, but then again I was quite stressy early on about "everything", clearly I should check my old posts before postings. I've actually generally been quite relaxed about things recently but still get the occasional wave of worry that I'm doing something (like overly touching the area) that might hamper growth or damage a graft. Anyway, I pop another diazepam and relax

Hey JustJax, did travelling to Turkey worry you at all? Was there ever a time you felt unsafe?

Hi eller1, to be honest I was worried before I came because of some of the things that had happened but once I arrived I felt totally safe and all my concerns just went away.

While its hard not to worry when you read there have been incidents, the odd of you getting caught up in anything really is next to zero. But for my own piece of mind, I did choose to fly into the smaller (and closer to the clinic) Sabiha G?k?en International Airport instead of Atat?rk and I also didn't travel into the main area of Istanbul to do any sightseeing. I basically just stayed on the Asia side by the clinic, which is more of a business area. The hotel that Asmed use is a Radisson Blu is its 2 mins from the clinic so once you are there you don't have to go beyond the hotel or clinic. Asmed even pick you up and drop you off for all travel to including to/from the airport and all trips between the clinic/hotel.

Okay, so I know that the hair are anchored after 10 days, etc but I find myself constantly touching and running my fingers over my recipient area and I worry I could be doing some damage to the delicate new hairs? Now I have always been someone who subconsciously runs their hands through their hair and touches their face, but I feel like I am doing it more so as the recipient area is a bit dry and I think in the past week or so it feels a little itchier because a few hairs are sprouting through? Should I resist touching the area? Thoughts?

Well at least you are all finished now, the hardest part is over. It is quite an exhausting procedure both mentally and physically. You are a braver man than I. I know personally I would have really struggled to do a 2nd day (my neck hurt too, although I do suffer neck issues). Were you okay with the incisions on day 1? I did find that part quite relaxing.

BTW, re your earlier post/comments about Dr Umut, I think initially he seems a little serious compared to Dr Koray, but he is actually quite funny. I did laugh at him comparing himself to an old car needing to warm up.

Okay, so I may regret sharing this one but as I mentioned early in the thread, my HT at Asmed was filmed for a documentary and I have just found out the episode airs in the U.S next Monday night. It will be a short segment on National Geographic's 'Explorer'. which is part investigative documentary part debate show with a guest panel and live audience.

The official description for Episode 6 is "EXPLORER delves into the wealth gap, male insecurity and donating your body to science." ... I think you can guess which one the hair transplant is. Anyway, the shows airs Mon 19th Dec, 10pm ET in the States on National Geographic and I think its repeated a couple of times throughout the week. Production team don't have a date for the show airing in Europe but have said that clips are also uploaded to Explorer - National Geographic Channel and the Nat Geo YouTube channel so there is a good chance the clip around male insecurity will be online after the 19th.

I have no idea at this stage if I'm in it, the majority of the filming at Asmed was with myself and a little with an italian guy, but its a short segment so I could only be in a small part or I could even land up on the cutting room floor as they say in Hollywood. I just hope if I am on it, I don't look like an idiot particularly as I did babble about a lot of things.:rolleyes:

Hi DEB1982, we have been chatting on PM, but also enjoying reading your thread and putting a face to the name with all your pictures! Hope your day 2 goes well and looking forward to seeing your post surgery pictures.

BTW, what ups with a moderator to approve? I swear all my posts have always just posted right away?

Looking back on the past year the first 4 months were very, very rough. Between months 4-7 I was cautious about social gatherings, especially where there was any chance of bright lights. From month 7 I was in the clear, and there was no looking back!

 

I've continued to see improvement since my 7 month update, and I'm very happy with the final outcome.

Ersko, its looks great! Curious to know if you get any comments from people that haven't seen you in a long time? I'm just hoping/praying for a similar results myself.

​Well it's officially 2 months to the date that I had my hair transplant. I'm at what they often call the 'ugly duckling' phase, but to be honest I made peace with this stage a good 4-5 weeks ago. It's ironic that I worried so much about how my hair has looked for years, yet now my receding hairline is more obvious than ever .. at least for the time being. However, I should add that while I'm not generally bothered with how I look right now, I'd still be self conscious if I were to go on a date or wouldn't relish getting pictures taken, etc.

Pictures below were taken today except the last one which is from yesterday but I included it as I think it shows some of the little dots of hair a little better.. I don't think there is a real noticeable difference from recent pictures but I wanted to post today as it the 2 month anniversary. I may be mistaken, but transplant area does feels a little more prickly recently, so I think a few hairs are coming through, we'll see.

Thank you! I don't want to hijack your thread with a load of questions but I do have a couple about the hotel stay if you don't mind.

 

Is there room service? If not what did you do for food in the evenings?

 

Is there a shop nearby to purchase water from?

 

Cheers pal

No worries, yes its a Radisson Blu (unless you opted for the clinic) and its full service hotel. I didn't actually order room service, but prices seemed pretty reasonable and it all sounded quite tasty. Besides room service there is the hotel restaurant (which I had breakfast in daily and had dinner at one night) and if you go out of the hotel, turn right, right and right again you come to a few restaurants. I didn't venture much out except for one night, but I don't remember the name of the place. As for a shop for water, someone did mention there was a small supermarket nearby but I didn't bother looking for it. I'm sure it would be easy enough to find though. Just ask at reception, the staff are very friendly/helpful.

Happy to answer any other questions if you have them.

21 days post op. 70% at least has shed. Still mild residual redness. Some hair seems to have broken off, rather than fallen out, leaving a small black dot like look on the scalp. What is this? Should the whole hair fall out, or is breaking off common?

 

Why do I look balder than pre surgery?:confused: Hair sucks at the moment. Enter Ugly Duckling phase..

You got any pics? I had lots of black dots too, not sure its snapped off hair, I think its just hairs that were transplanted that haven't grown out yet. In fact its those very hairs that I think are now growing out with with my temples. I think the feeling of being balder than before the surgery is a combination of a very short buzz cut (possibly much shorter than you use to wear it?) and native hair directly next to transplanted hair being a little slow to regrow following 'trauma' to the area.

Looking good mate. Redness has definitely faded and I can't personally see any scarring at that length.

 

I forgot to ask did you use anyone specifically when ordering your currency?

I got most of mine from a London based chain called Thomas Exchange Global as they typically have some of the best rates around.

Okay so it's not 8 weeks until Tuesday, but I had my hair cut yesterday so I took some shots. Not sure it really shows in these pics but definitely feels like there is a bit more shape to it now. Also I don't think it's new hair, but in the temples, what we just dots a month ago seems to be hair that's growing very very slow.

As you can see from the pics of the back, the donor area is a little noticeable, but I think only people who have had transplants and those considering them would really notice and question it. Grade wise, I had Them use a 1.5 again which is the shortness I like but possibly I should go for a 2 or 2.5 and that might hide it better .. but I'm not too bothered and I would rather go shorter at the moment to create the appearance of more length on top. Planning to get it cut again in about 3 weeks (just before Christmas).

Day 30 (1 month)

 

I think my original hair is growing back a bit slow and I definetly entered the ugly duckling stage. Lost 90-95% of the transplanted hair from day 16-30 and I still see a lot of redness (I have pretty fair skin). Numbness around the forelock is getting a bit better but still there.

 

Hamburger, your results/progress are almost exactly in line with my experience... which I have to say is very comforting

I also noticed my native hair (think more so near the transplanted area) growing back slower too, I guess the area has been under 'trauma' so it's probably just how the body reacts. In terms of the numbness, I found that this just improves slowly over time. I am 8 weeks on Tuesday and I still have a little numbness, but I don't have the heaviness I felt a few weeks back. As you may have seen, I still have some redness even now, but it's faded a lot and people say it's not really that noticeable.

There are a few hairs that have remained in the recipient area. Are they just growing as normal?

 

How far off do you think you hair is from being back to pre-op state?

What little (don't reckon its more than 2-3%) that remained is growing but slowly or least it seems slow compared to the non-recipient/donor hair area. I suspect it will stay looking much the same for the next month and then if I'm lucky, I might see some very fine hairs kick in around early Jan (3 month mark). In terms of getting back to pre-op state, sadly I've got a while to go yet. As you can see from the pics below, it wasn't that long, but it was a lot longer than it it is currently, particularly on the top where I used some length to disguise the receding temples.

2 weeks today until I go. Nerves kicking in now.

My shed was much slower, and my redness took months to fade. Just goes to show everyone is different! Best wishes as you progress through the remainder of yuk period.

Thanks, a little part of me still worries that it won't come back but I try not to worry about it too much. It is the yuk ugly duckling phase but to be honest I've kinda made peace with it and while it's still so short, it's quite nice to be able to get up in the mornings and now worrying about checking and styling my hair.

Day 46 - Saturday 26th November

Just a quickie with some pictures from today. Not sure there is any notable difference from pictures last week, maybe a little less redness. Its definitely reducing tho, hopefully by Christmas the redness will be gone and it'll be long enough to style a little.

Speaking of which, Asmed advises no hair product for 6 months but I've been using/mixing aloe vera gel and sweet almond oil (both recommended by a Asmed to reduce redness) and they kind of act as a styling product so I might use that to help shape it as it gets a little longer.

Anyway, here are some pics from today. I'll post at 2 months which will be 6th Dec and then probably switch to monthly pictures as it's a bit boring at the moment.

Aside little pain in the donor area and sometimes feeling very tired everything seems to go pretty good but last two days the front recipient area started creating all these little pieces of scabs.

 

What do you think guys? Is there any way to get rid of those without putting in jeopardy the grafts? Anyway on Friday will be 10 days from surgery so they should be safe soon.

 

Please check the picture and let me know any opinion/suggestion/advice.

 

Thanks

Teddy, as Bill suggests you really should check with your clinic. I know you mentioned in another thread that you didn't hear the advice properly because you were sleepy, but thats all the more reason to drop them an email. I am sure they would happily email you the after care notes. I know the ASMED after care notes were a godsend.

In terms of what scabs you have, relax, they are very small and you will almost certainly see them fall off during the daily washing over the next few days. My advice would be just wash as you have done these past few days and if AFTER day 10 they are still there, then you can probably be a LITTLE firmer shampooing. I had similar scabs around day 10 but by day 13 it was all clear. However, without sounding like a broken record, again you should really double check with your clinic as advice from one clinic to another can be like night and day. Anyway, good luck, its looking good so far!

Congrats Wdwhufc, is the post surgery picture from today? It doesn't look too scabby. I personally never really considered the UK because the pricing was too high and good quality doctors limited but Reddy does seem to do good work and I accidently stumbled upon a guy on YouTube who had it done recently at the Private Clinic and it looking really good with him.

BTW, what did you think of Dr Shahmalak? I met with him for a consulat in London back in 2013 and to be honest I found him borderline rude. Maybe he was in a bad mood and ready to go home (it was one of the last appointments of the day) but he didn't seem overly interested.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing your results over time.

Great video, I wish I'd filmed some of my surgey. Can't wait for part 2!

Teddy, as the others have suggested, DON'T scratch, just be a little firmer shampooing. The crusting/scabs will come off over the next few days. While research suggests the grafts are secure after day 10 I personally wouldnt full on scratch any of the recipient hair area for several weeks. Why? People heal differently, some heal fast, others take much longer and so better to be a little caution in my opinion. Also for the majority of people the recipient area will be numb and still healing for several weeks so scratching with your nails could inflame and break the surface of the skin and due to the numbness, you might not be aware of the damage you cause.

Donor and recipient area day 5. Swelling gone. Very itchy and flaky. Hoping scabs start coming off soon.

Hey, congrats looking great. I'm kinda jealous that you didn't totally shave you head, will make it easier to cover it up when you shed. Did they push for you to shave it all off or were they happy either way?

Itching is annoying but it'll setttle down in a few days. What is Dr Saifi's guidelines on washing? If you are washing already have you seen any hairs shed yet?

That is one hell of a shedding mate! It will be an awesome result hopefully.

Lol, not sure if 'one hell of a shedding' fills me with confidence but hopefully you are right or it'll land up being the worlds most expensive haircut.

I am surprised to see redness at day 35! You must have very sensitive skin. How was the shedding mate? Can you see tiny new hairs popping?

I'm not sure some redness at this stage is that uncommon. I think most clinics play down the redness and I've seen a lot of guys on here with redness 2-3 months on. I really think it's the luck of the draw and of course skin sensitivity will play a big factor too.

I think my shed phase is done. As you'll see below and in the previous pictures, 95% (if not more) of my transplanted hair is gone and was shed by the end of week four. Although I now shower at the gym 5 days a week so can't properly check/track fallen hairs, from what I can see from my hands when shampooing, I'm not longer shedding hair, which I guess is as expected as I don't really have anything left to shed As for tiny hairs, I do have some but I'm not sure if those are new hairs or just the few remaining transplanted hairs still slowly sprouting, suspect it's the latter as it's probably way to early for any shed hair to regrow.

Day 40 - Saturday 19th November

So it's Sunday, but these pictures are from yesterday morning so labelling up appropriately. No real change from the pictures I posted the other day. While there is some definite redness in play, I think I am more conscious of it than others. However I will say while I'm conscious of it, I'm not really overly bothered by it and I'm not overly avoiding people or obsessively wear a hat to cover it. My mother is visiting this weekend and seeing my hair for the first time and reckons it looks fine and the redness isn't that bad so that's positive.

Aaaaand we have a winner!!! Hahahaha thanks Chris!

 

Also thanks to all who replied especially JustJax who i felt very close in trying to help and be as specific as he could to make me relieve a bit of stress. You're the man mate.

 

Any suggestion about first shampoos now?

I feel like I could be using too much lotion, is that dangerous?

Is it right you can rub the donor area but not the recipient?

How long should I use the special shampoo kit if everything goes well (cross fingers for me please)?

 

Thank you guys!

Teddy, thanks for the big up .. as for shampoos, I'm confused, I didn't think you'd had surgery already?

You feel like your using too much? I used the shampoo issued by the clinic issued and while at first I was worried about using too much (as its only a small bottle) I've only just finished it after 5 weeks. I used a small amount each time, maybe a dollop about the size of a 50p coin/50 cent coin.

With regards to how to shampoo I would definitely check with your clinic. Some don't recommend washing for the first few days, others like Asmed advise that you was it daily from the very next day. However generally the advice seems to be that you can be more vigorous with washing the donor area. I'll be tender tho so I wouldn't go too firm on the donor area until it's had a few days to heal. As noted above I used the shampoo provided until it run out, however the Clinic said I could go back to using regular shampoo and conditioner after about 2 weeks (forget the extract guidance) so some days (as my clinic shampoo was in my gym locker as I shower there each weekday) I used Johnsons baby shampoo, just because I knew it would be super gentle. I am now using my regular shampoo and conditioner which is Garnier Ultimate Blends.

Hey JustJax, I wanted to ask who does the graft removal at ASMED?

Is it Dr. Erdogan himself or do the techs do the graft removal?

 

I understand the techs do (all of ??) the graft placement at ASMED from what I've read.

Hi Hsrp10, Erdogan does the hair design and all the incisions but the techs do the extractions and insertions.