hadenough2014

Just got an haircut the day before taking the pictures. Maybe to short actually.

 

Anyway, here are the pictures. I don't see improvement from last month. Again, it is hard to say if there is any as it depends also on the light. At least this time it is not as visible as in previous month.

 

I read that growth can be stagnant for a while. I experiences fast growth between 4th and 6 month, maybe this month it needed to rest a bit

You have the right attitude about it. Maybe it just needs a little rest in month 7. I keep reading that full results really aren't seen until months 12-18, so continued patience is important. It looks a lot better than when you started, especially from the front. He has created a nice, natural hairline for you.

Best of luck for strong growth!

the guy above me who just posted.. tell me your aviator picture isn't a current pic of your scalp.. sorry i didn't tag you in this

No, that is my "before" pic. I have my own thread where I have some post-op photos if you want to go check them out.

12.5 months post op.

Incredible results! Just read through this whole thread and very impressive. I am curious if you know how many grafts/hairs were used for your temples and temple peaks? Thanks.

Dr. K was my surgeon as well. How many grafts are you aiming for? I'm 7 months post-op - you can see my progress in my avatar. My hair loss was similar to Matt's. Complete frontal third restoration.

Great result! How many grafts/hairs did you get? I had 3988 grafts and being a Norwood 5, doc had to try to get all the way back to the crown, so I don't exoect your appearance of density. I have a long way to go before I see results...I am on Day 12!

Looking good, Sunny! I worry about the ugly duckling phase a little bit too, but I am thinking the best thing to do is trim my sides and back down as far as I dare (without exposing scar) to basically make it look like I made a choice to not have my hair so long or hide the top anymore. In our "before" pictures, you and I both wore our hair pretty long, probably to give the appearance of more of it...the reality, however, is that we never really had much left on top. Other people could see that fact even if we felt we had more hair than we really did by wearing it longer. So a trim down probably would look like just that to other people - a trim. I am also thinking about growing out a 5 o'clock shadow beard - a look no one has ever seen me in before. That would throw off ugly duckling attention as well, and it is perfect timing as cold weather approaches.

Just some thoughts/ideas as you look ahead to shedding and heading back to work...I know that has been a concern for you.

Any frontal shots? Fuzzy photos but you're in good hands. Keep us updated.

Here is a frontal shot (using iPhone). Though this was from Day 11 after surgery. I was about 24 hours into the shedding, so quite a few of the single hairline graft hairs had already shed at this point. The corners transitioning to the sides had also shed a lot, so this photos does not give the transition justice.

I am now in Day 12 and the shedding is in full attack mode. It's OK, though, it is fully expected and the Dr. office told me it is important to shed so grafts are not stuck with stalled hairs.

I will trim my sides and back in a few days after I see if any of my native hair survived the shock loss.

Also attached a pic of the donor scar, which is looking quite good at this stage.

I have now asked for those pics. Also, I agree with your thoughts on the micro-irregularities. I'm actually a bit surprised that I do not see more docs doing it based off of the photos on this site and their own websites.

Thanks for the replies so far. Sorry I don't have better photos. I've taken most of them myself, which is hard to do. I actually didn't get too caught up in doing photos now because I actually thought shedding would start sooner so I kind of thought "what's the point". The best day to get a frontal photo would have been about 2 days ago when the grafts were longer and the hairline was very visible and showed very well how it has been built. I missed that window, however, as the shedding started and the singles out front went first.

Hi all. This is my first thread post. I am keeping a blog and photos as well on this site. I had a large session (3988 grafts for 8200 hairs) with Dr. Paul on October 17, 2014. It is now Day 11 and so far, so good in most respects. I had a great experience at the Shapiro Medical Group, and no pain at any point in the procedure. I was told I bled very little during the procedure, and my grafts hardly had scabs over the last 10 days. The redness has faded quickly as well (pic below makes it look more red than it really is). The staples were removed yesterday and the scar looks good - still a little redness hanging on at the donor scar. I know this scar will take up to a year or more to look optimal as it continues to heal, but he used the best closure procedure available, so I expect the best results possible. I am starting into the shedding phase now with the hairline graft hairs starting to go first. I have some flaking on the scalp. I hope that will go away as the shedding concludes.

The hard part for me now is making my head look "normal" to the point where I didn't have anything done while I wait for growth. The Dr. shaved the native hairs on the top of my head for the graft placements, and now I fear I will look more like a Norwood VII (I was Norwood V before the procedure) once the grafts shed and my native hair on top has not grown back yet or is still suffering from shock loss. Only my wife is involved in this decision so far, but I know eventually others will notice. I am fine with that and look forward to talking about it when the time comes, but for now I want to get through the Ugly Duckling phase with as little ugly as possible. I would like to make it appear I cut everything really short. However, I cannot trim the sides and back as short as the top due to the scar healing. Any ideas as to what people do to get through this phase for the next few months? Does anyone cut it short and then use a concealer (like Toppix) on the scar? I could probably go down to a 3 on the clipper without much scar being noticeable, but that's still not as short as what it will be on top.

I have attached Day 11 pics of the top and back so you can see my hair type. It is wavy in the back and that creates some openings for the scar to show when it naturally separates.

I went to Dr. Shapiro after extensive research of docs and largely out of his natural hairline results. To me, nothing is as important as a natural hairline that fits your head type, hair type, recession levels on the sides, and your (slightly) younger self. I think a "messy" hairline is a natural hairline in my case, and it seems he delivered that staggered, messy look. I did not want the hairline too low. I never had a really low hairline. A very crisp, straight hairline would be all wrong for me as well. I think he artistically approached it in the right way, and I have been happy so far with how the hairline looks as the grafts have grown a bit in the first 10 days.

I'll try to keep posts updated as I go. Below are photos from left to right: Day 11 top, Day 11 back, and the Before photo from top.