maxhair

Do you have photos? You'll get lots of helpful opinions if we could see photos.

I'd like to see a photo of a strip, especially a mega session strip. I know it's hard to count hairs but would still like to see a photo of this. There is one on Dr Rahal's photo gallery (it's the last picture) but I would like to see the full strip. I'd also like to see a close up photo of cm2 of the donor area (pre-op) and the recipient area (pre and post op).

Thank Eman, guys, yeah I guess having curly hair is also in my favor in that curly hair makes for a good come-over until the new hair matures. Just want to add, I can't say enough about planning and preparation to guys out there that are still considering the HT procedure. I worked it so that I could have enough time off of work and had plenty of time to choose and question doctors and pick the right one for me. I actually moved a couple weeks before the surgery (nobody in my new neighborhood yet knows me so they have no idea what my hair looks/looked like - I had the moved planned months in advance and was able to coordinate it with the HT which was a lucky but good move), I was also able to save some money and tell no one except one close friend about the HT. I understand that not everyone will have every luxury, but my advice to anyone planning an HT is work to get as many things in your favor as possible and you will be in position to have a seamless procedure, a manageable and comfortable recovery and on top of that, no one will have to know about any of it if you so desire.

Like I said in my post I think you'll be able to conceal it after two weeks. The only thing going against you is your blonde hair (blonde hair vs light skin vs red scar), but if your good with Toppik or Dermatch like I think you say you are, you should be able to pull it off (mainly the donor area will be the problem to conceal not the recipient). If you look at my pics I'm almost 2 weeks out and I could conceal if I wanted to. Actually I think EMAN commented on that. Procedure size... This is up to you, but I think these are some questions you need to ask and have answered by yourself, and various doctors. 1) What is you goal? You want the fullest head of hair possible or just some of your hair line and/or density back? 2) Can you afford and do you want to do all of the procedure in one session? 3) What is realistic? Perhaps you could start by using the NW type x 1000 FUs formula that is talked about here on this website. I believe that formula is for getting a lot of density.

yeah, no blog..

I had my HT done by Dr Arocha. I have diffuse thinning but as you can tell by my blog, the frontal area is much thinner than the middle and crown. My game plan is to get the hairline and frontal area about on even terms with the rest of the top of my head and then do a second larger session later to get as much density as possible all over. I'm in a business where long thick hair is an asset (not to mention my head is under a spotlight quite a bit) and keeping in mind the limitations of HT, Dr Archoa and I have planned accordingly to get back the fullest head of hair that is realistically attainable. The surgery went well. I experienced no pain. Dr Arocha and his staff was very conscious about asking me how I felt throughout the surgery. Everything happened as Dr Archoa said it would. I came back the next day and they shampooed my hair. Ten days later they removed the sutures. I have monthly follow-ups scheduled. Dr Arocha is very interested in seeing his patients follow-up with him, which I appreciate. Overall, a great experience and I'm looking forward to the results. Feel free to leave leave a reply or PM me if you have any questions about my progress, my experience or anything else that I may have left out here or on my blog. My HT Blog with Dr Arocha

I have. To me it feels like a slight bruising under the scalp were I'm thinning. iI have told doctors but this but they look at me like I'm crazy.

From your pics I think you have enough hair that you can conceal it. It's going to be challenging, that's for sure but I think you could pull it off. That is if you don't shave for the surgery. That might be something to consider when choosing a doctor. Also, I agree with Club Hair Vet, don't tell ANYBODY! It's all vanity but still, telling people could start troubles that you do not need. My suggestions - Decide if you're going to shave before surgery. That will obviously affect your strategy quite a bit. assuming you don't shave... Try to work plan this so that you can have about a week to two weeks of vacation. I don't know your situation but I think it's reasonable that the average worker can prepare for some or all of the time off consecutively. You hate to burn all of your vacation time all at once, but seeing how important this is to you, just do it. If you need to work an extra few months before you can take that amount of time off, do it.. From my experience, two weeks gives the recipient site time enough to heal that you could easily conceal it. The donor area however needs about 10 days before you can remove the sutures or staples. A couple of days after the sutures or staples removal you should be able to conceal that as well. With your hair type and skin color it may be a difficult task but it's certainly possible. Funny, I'm giving advice but I realize that my advice is "all things being equal".. but I think you can make this happen if it's that important to you. Also, be prepared to be an introvert for a few weeks to a couple of months. Not saying it's necessary, but you might find yourself spending more time alone than normal until things heal. Not a big deal. I'm two weeks post op and I can now style my hair and go out, etc, but I'm choosing to spend this time doing some productive things that don't require other people so much. Once again, this is my choice, but I figured it into my strategy. If you shave, which some docs like you to do (some say it makes a difference, some say it doesn't), you still may be ok with the recipient area after a couple of weeks (but there is a good chance that the recipient area may not be ready for prime time in two week - go look at everyone's blogs - if it isn't I don't think you will be able to conceal it like you will want to, although I might be wrong)... your donor area will most definitely not be ready in two weeks if shaved. But if you shave only the recipient area your donor will be ok, but then your hair cut is not styled for the professional world. Can you go to work with a half shaved head like EMAN has? (No offense EHAN, that was your strategy and you were obviously in a position to do that.) You have some serious decisions to consider, but if you make a plan and prepare properly I think you could pull this off.

One thought that keeps me optimistic is this - We are the first generation of humans EVER to have a decent option in getting our real hair back in a reasonably acceptable fashion (IMHO). Sure, 50 years from now it should be great, but 20 years ago and before, we had nothing (well, nothing good anyway..)

Arocha is not on the east coast but I saw quite a few examples from him doing african american hair.

I do want my scar to heal cleanly but in a way what's the big deal? I've got little scars all over my body from just years of living. When I was a kid somebody accidentally hit me in the back of the head with a gardening hoe (all jokes aside..) I still have a little scar from that but it's very hard to find. Everybody has scars. I have various small scares on my head from playing sports. An ex-gf scratched the heck out of my face one day, it left a small scar but within 6 months or so it was completely gone. I guess men don't like scars that are created for reasons of vanity. But, really what's the big deal? Nobody is ever going to see it or even care if they do. Do you know how many scars the person closest to you has? No idea, right? If I can keep a decent head if hair (my vanity) then I'll take the scar. I think scars are cooler that tattoos anyway... If the donor area is done well, and you take care of it, no one will ever know.