maxhair

Well I just left a long reply that got lost because I wasn't logged in. Arg. Basically, I added to what sabby was saying but I wanted to make a few more comments, so I'm taking the time to re-write my reply. I have not heard of Dr. Verret and it looks like he does not specialize in HTs. I would like to see his work, but because of the complexities of an HT procedure, I would be very careful about who I chose. The names for the top HT docs is very small group, and one that Arocha is part of. Feeling comfortable is good but meaningless unless your doc is a proven in this particular field of surgery. I have seen many stories of patients who had no hair growth or even worse, disfigurement from the procedure. And from what I've seen in the past, these are from "jack of all trades" surgeons. Again, I have not seen Dr. Verret's work, but I would be cautious. Dr. Arocha has a loyal following for good reason. He is proven (look at his many results and reviews by his many patients), but also he IS a very good surgeon, who also is very personable and professional. I've had many long discussions about hair and HTs, and we've also become friends somewhat because of our shared interest in art. He threw a party for his clients over the last holidays! How many docs do that. He has a great staff. Dr. Arocha is proven, friendly and is considered one of the best. Dallas and Houston, you're luck to have him! I'm glad I chose him as my HT doc. Good luck and best wishes! Maxhair

I had a HT done by Arocha, and one very similar to what you are considering. He did a dense pack in the frontal area. The results are amazing. In my opinion, one of Dr. Arocha's strengths is that he is very good at creating a natural hairline and then packing the density directly behind it so it looks very natural. I would certainly recommend meeting Dr Arocha and discussing your needs. You can look at my blog and see the results for yourself. I've also had more growth since my last post. I used to be hesitant about wearing my hair combed back in any fashion, but now that's my every day look. You'll see that in my post (that I can now comb my hair back and have a full look.) Very easy guy to talk to. You'll enjoy your visit. You'll be in good hands.

Ha.

Maxxy. I forgot about Proscar. Good catch. James_1986 - Everyone here is right. Like Sparky said, you are 100 percent not a good candidate. Just put the thought of a HT out of your mind period, until if/when hair cloning happens. And even then, let's say it's 10 years away, and you've been on Proscar for those 10 years, you'll all of a sudden have a full head of hair. Everyone would notice... if that matters to you. One thing that I didn't see mentioned, if you had a HT right now your scar would be so obvious, and it would remain obvious for a very long time. You could grow your hair over it but still, I don't think even that would be that effective. Sorry buddy. About women... I think women feel about a man's hair as us men do about women's breast. I don't pick my girlfriends based off of the size of their breasts. I mean, it never even crosses my mind really. I'm guessing that is generally true of most men. And I think women are the same way about men's hair. One confident "Hello" and they don't notice anything other than your confidence. Again, work on the things you can control and you will end up being a happy man. This is just my opinion. Best wishes.

James, if you send Spex a photo please send me one too (face blocked out). The ONLY reason I would take propecia if I were you at this point is to save what you have in case a miracle happens and hair cloning becomes a reality. Otherwise it's expensive and has side effects.

Stripped - This is the message board or forum. Click on "My Hair Loss Website - Hair Transplant with Dr Arocha" below. That is the blog.

One more point. This "hair cloning' that we keep waiting for might be an answer for you when/if it arrives. Keeping that in mind, you might consider propecia. I don't really think Rogain is worth the hassle.

James I feel your pain and I understand your depression and anxiety. Try contacting Arocha and Rahal for a second opinion. If they say the same thing then it's time to come to terms with a new way of viewing yourself. Cut your hair short, get in shape, wear nice clothes. Putting the other things aside for the moment, women (sorry if I'm assuming gender) aren't as vain as men when choosing a mate. I know that sounds like a stereotype but women have slightly different needs from a man, like stability and confidence. Having a full head of hair is great but, it's only one of dozens of things about you that attracts other people. Work on the things that you can control, the other things, let them go. In the grand scheme of things, they're not that important anyway. These are just my personal opinions.

Stripped - Did you have a blog on this site?

I had an HT done by Dr. Arocha just over a year ago. I'm an entertainer and make a living "in the spotlight" so to speak. I have rather long hair and it began to diffuse thin (general thinning all over the top of the head), with the frontal area being the most noticable. I did just over 2000 grafts to get my hair line and thickness back and Arocha did a great job. And he didn't make me shave, which was crucial to me. He did a very clean job. With a spotlight on you it's very easy to notice bad HTs and like I said, clean work. No redness, no swelling, healed fast and after the initial couple of weeks I went back to stage work and no one noticed a thing. That's clean work. I also now have a much better hairline and fuller frontal area. I'm planning on going back for a second HT with Dr Arocha to touch up some other areas I didn't get to last time. I suggest calling him up and making an appointment to speak with him and ask questions. He's a very easy guy to talk with and you'll feel comfortable in his office. He has a great staff too. Anyway, best wishes. Feel free to ask me any questions in public or PM me.

I had an HT done by Dr. Arocha just over a year ago with very good results. That reminds me, I need to update my blog. Dr Arocha is very easy to talk to. I would say to just phone him up, make an appointment and have a good talk with him. He did not pressure me in any way and in fact put up with all of my questions. He's a good guy and a good doctor. I highly recommend him.

For longer curly hair, Toppik works like a charm.

Great question! I asked the same question when I was looking around. And thanatopsis_awry is right. All doctors do all hair types. However, some doctors seem to have an eye for certain hair types and one of the reasons I chose Dr. Arocha is because of the very impressive work he showed me on diffuse thinning curly headed people like myself. Look at my profile for example. I combed my hair back wet for most of the photos but look at the 7 month mark. Also look at his website and check out how many curly-headed and ethnic hair types he's done. So to answer your question, it's like a hair cut. Not harder to do a HT on a person with curly hair, but perhaps some doctors may have more of an "artistic" flair for certain hair types and the way they tend to grow out and cover. Arocha did a great job and not only is my hair curly, but it's very long too. So he had to do his work with a lot of hair in the way and it didn't faze him a bit.

baldboy - I agree with most everything said here. But let me throw this out there. If money wasn't an object, and I was you (and I don't know what you look like), I'd stay on propecia and get the biggest mega-session I could. Worry about 30 when you're 30. Who knows what advances will happen between now and then and at the least, just get another HT done later. That may not be the most PC of answers but it's probably what most of us would do if we could.

I didn't mean losing grafts. I meant hair, not follicle.

First, congrats! to your questions. 1) Losing grafts starting at about a week is normal. 2) I've read many different accounts on this. My advice, be safe and wait 10 - 14 days. Even the most pessimistic doctors say grafts are secure by day 16. Most agree that day 7 - 10 is good enough. 3) Day 6 or 7 should be ok, but like I just said, some docs have said 2 weeks. 4) Pure Aloe if possible. My surgery was clean so I opted for nothing but the gentle pouring of high quality Nioxin Shampoo. 5) Use Neosporin with pain relief for the donor, and I personally would do nothing for the for the recipient area other than ONLY washing hair once a day with good quality shampoo. Nioxin is minty and cooling. Your doc should have given you some post-op instructions that covered all of this. Mine did. But you're ok. Just be patient and try not to disturb the recipient area for 2 weeks. That's my advice.

Taking Propecia may save your existing hairs. That's about all there is to know. It may or may not work. About working out, I was told to wait a few weeks before doing any real strenuous exercise. I happen to know a little bit about scars and from what I know, they take about a year to heal to the point where you won't notice it so much. However, weight lifting may pull on the skin where the donor scar is stitched together and that will make the scar look thicker. I would wait a couple of months and try not to do anything where you put tension on the skin on the back of the head. I do some weight lifting too and I've learned that breathing correctly can help keep tension off the back of your head. If you hold your breath while lifting you could be worse off. Well, that's just my opinion anyway. Good luck!

Hello B spot - Yeah I know, but I ran across it and thought of no reason not to chime in. Old threads are still educational to the new folks.

Arocha is underrated but he's starting to get his due. He's quickly becoming one of the top handful of docs. Check out his video on YouTube Awesome work for 3500 grafts.

There are some good doctors in Texas. I visited Dr Arocha and Limmer. I chose Arocha and got excellent results. Arocha is a very nice guy too. Good staff. Easy to talk to and does good clean work. One of the top docs on this site. On par with Rahal, H&W, etc... I would suggest giving him a call. Like I said very down to earth and easy to talk to.

SJD - Call the different docs. Also email them and send photos. Talk to docs, even ones that aren't in your area to educate yourself. Docs that I have seen good work with diffuse thinning (which is what I have) are Rahal Arocha Alexander H&W I know from personal experience that Arocha does great work with diffuse thinners and he doesn't require shaving, where as Rahal prefers to. So I chose Arocha. Keep that in mind. Regardless call these guys and email them photos.

My hair looks crazy because I have a hair band in the pack pulling my hair back so you can see the hairline. I don't walk the streets like this.

Ha. Well, it's part of my profession to have long hair. Look at the hairline from the earlier pics and look at it now. I just took some other pics that are similar to the older ones so I'll post soon.

About a month or so ago I started noticing the hairline beginning to form an outline like I had when I was younger. Now I can now comb my hair back and nobody notices that my temples are/were receding. What do you guys think? Look at my blog. Hard to believe that only 7 months ago I had such major recession and now it's practically gone. Very happy. Comments please? The first picture it looks like I bunched my hair up to fill in that space but I promise you I did not. It's all combed back. That's all new hair. There are a lot of shorter new hairs mixed with the longer ones but it looks dense.

PLEASE GROW PLEASE - Gotcha. No problem.