Speegs

Bosley is truly unscrupulous with their sales tactics, they'd make a used car salesman blush. I live in Austin, and through an acquaintance had a coincidental breakfast with strangers a couple of years ago, a truly annoying individual at the table was sitting next to me, and I attempted to play nice and asked him what he did. He went into immediate sales mode and boasted that he oversaw all regional sales for Bosley in Texas, that all the sales people were trained by him. I played dumb, and he began to pontificate about hair transplantation and how good ones were undetectable...oblivious that the mildly amused man in front of him had three. He then pointed to his own hair and beckoned me to touch it, stating it was all implants and you could never tell...I didn't have the heart to tell him that as a veteran of the field I could tell, and he had a thin and mediocre transplant....but it was ironic he was oblivious that my entire frontal third and hairline had been restored by Dr Gabel. I was told after the breakfast that nobody liked him much, that he was a high school friend that just tagged along for the meal... And this is the person pushing sales in the second most populous state in the union, home to five of the top fifteen markets in the country... I was amused the Bosley man couldn't detect my transplant though.

If I knew what I know now when I started I'd have gone to Dr. Gabel for my first procedure instead of waiting to do so on my second. Biggest pointer is don't be afraid to travel, and consult with no less than five reputable doctors for opinions to consider.

A little bit unsure of what you're asking, but typically frontal hair and the hairline utilize single hair grafts to emphasize softness and the two and three hair grafts are implemented behind the hairline and immediate frontal hair to add density. Using single hair grafts in the hairline offers the most natural appearance. If you show noteworthy miniaturization in your donor, an ethical surgeon may be likely to refuse to operate on you.

Yes, Ziering is a chain clinic like Bosley, his business model and background is straight out of the now defunct Medical Hair Restoration model (remember those infomercials with baseball star Wade Boggs?) I'd avoid such places. As a rule of thumb, any practice that relies upon celebrity endorsements is to be avoided like the plague, also be skeptical of practices with more than one clinic, they rarely lead to you being the sole patient of the day with sole doctor priority attention.

Are you on finasteride to help curb future hair loss? That's step one. Gains made by a transplant can be in vain without preventative treatments being attempted. Where do you live regionally? Don't be afraid to travel, I traveled out of state for all three of my procedures. It's worth it for such a costly and permanent procedure, you need the peace of mind that you went to an elite physician. That's not to say Diep isn't a sound choice, but it would be advisable to consult with no less than 5 different doctors and compare their consultations before making a decision.

Why are you in such a rush to do a surgical procedure without knowing all the facts? I'm glad you've reached out, please do not rush your decision. A Transplant is expensive, permanent and lifestyle altering for either better or worse, so please take your time investigating. Also, if you are not on finasteride, please try it out ASAP. Please consult with several reputable doctors across the United States, and don't be afraid to travel to get the right fit for you. PS your donor looks good, but your hair loss is extensive and will likely require a conservative hair line unless you're prepared to live with a framed face and bald crown. I like the Spanker advice to test drive a shaved look before going the surgical route. Your dark hair and light skin also create a lot of contrast that will require more grafts, so I don't think you are an FUE candidate, it will require strip, and more than one procedure over the course of a few years. Restorations are journeys, so don't expect instant gratification, or even to be one and done.

Could be either/ or. You'll know around month 8 or 9 if your yield is coming in well.

A good doc can minimize a scar and camouflage it well, but not guarantee one won't exist, be careful of such language. It comes across as salesy.

Weird, is the message feature down? It won't let me compose a message to you from my laptop?

Yep, check your in box in a few.

I'm in same boat as the OP, 8 months out on round three and just waiting for it to finish growing in and mature.

Indeed, if this latest round doesn't achieve the density we were seeking, I'm willing to concede we've done what we can with what we have to work with. All this last round was for was to augment a couple of trouble spots that harsh light exposed and to give me even greater styling flexibility.

As for pics, I'm waiting for this third procedure to come in as i'm only 8 months post op. Feel free to PM me if you'd like to see some though.

Indeed, but to be fair I think my non Gabel procedure underwhelmed in growth below the 90 percent mark...hard to say. But yes, my fine dark hair and light skin lead to a stark contrast of the follicles and the scalp, forcing more grafts to up the appearance of density. I've been very lucky that my hair loss seems to have been stunted and stalled by 11 years of finasteride use. It failed to protect my diminishing hairline but has preserved the crown and mid scalp, giving me the luxury of tackling the frontal third with both barrels.

I'm not an authority on the EU doctors at your disposal, but if you're willing to travel to the United States or Canada, there are a handful of excellent doctors used to international patients that should be on your list to check out.

Dr. Gabel is worth traveling for, he's that good, I flew in from Texas on two separate occasions just to book appointments with him. Hair restoration is too big a deal to not go to a quality surgeon the first time, take your time and get it right. That said, Gabel should be near the top of the list for anybody considering surgical restoration for their hair.

As you can see in my signature, I've had two procedures with Dr. Gabel, the last one is only 8 months out but the first was 5 years ago, and the results were genuinely transformational. The latest round is just to spruce up the density in a few spots, and it appears to be growing in on track.

We Gabel vets are usually pretty happy with the results, I've had two with him, and always thought highly of his bedside manner in contrast with my first procedure with a different doctor.

Please shy away from either the NeoGraft or Bosley, both are mass marketed but underwhelming hair restoration rackets. I would be weary of anyone that advertises a robot above the surgeon, a robot is only as good as the surgeon using it. You sound more suitable for a FUT procedure based on what you've told us thus far, please take the time to research surgeons, some good ones exist in your area, but NEVER be afraid to travel either. I live in Texas and ventured out to Oregon for mine.

It depends on too may things to say without more information, your hair type, existing density, existing hair loss etc. To use myself as an example, I had a Norwood 3A pattern at the start of my transplant journey, and it ultimately took three procedures and 7000 plus grafts to recreate the frontal third, people with fine, dark hair and light skin require more grafts to create the illusion of density because they have more naturally occurring hair and scalp contrast than darker complected people.

I agree with the OP, been on finasteride for 11 years now, have had no side effects and my crown and mid scalp are preserved; which allowed me to use aggressive hair restoration to achieve frontal third density over the course of three procedures. Finasteride is a mana from heaven, the single most important tool in the arsenal against hair loss.

If you're two or three days post op, touch nothing! Follow your doctor's post op instructions above all else and do so diligently. Studies suggest that after day 6 the grafts are nearly impossible to dislodge, but to be on the safe side most clinics want you to leave your head alone 10 to 14 days.

I doubt 10 minutes of sunlight did anything more than give you vitamin D, were you burned? That said, transplant or no transplant, sun burn to the scalp can cause scar tissue that makes future transplantation difficult.

You have such advanced hair loss at such a young age that I would be uncomfortable with you pursuing a transplant with the modern methods available to you, I doubt you'll be satisfied with the results. If you're comfortable with a buzzed or near buzzed look, then I'd explore SMP exclusively, no need for surgery to blend in with the SMP if super short hair is your goal and desire anyway. Save yourself the expense, hassle and potential scarring and just go SMP is my advice based on your plan. 2000 grafts would not likely be sufficient to frame your face with any satisfying density, your hair loss is just too advanced.

It's an educated guess...one that FUT is usually better at getting right on average, just the same, hair even in the "safe' donor area is susceptible to some thinning later in life due to aging. But a responsibly performed transplant should not thin out drastically even in the event of age related thinning.