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they don't really say much, just that I haver to relax and not worry. And that they would take care of me in the future. Now what that means, I have no idea, as I have to do SMP for my donor now, but they didn't offer any help with that. My density was really good on the back of my head. I honestly can't believe that for such an amount of grafts I have to do SMP now., to look kinda even. I really never thought about it before. Going back, I would do another FUT procedure instead of FUE, if I knew these would have been the results on my donor. Also, during consultation Dr Arika told me that I had about 2k grafts left for future after I would have done the procedure. But honestly, looking at the actual denisity of my donor NOW, where would you pick 2k grafts from now...? It doesn't make much sense, and it makes me a bit angry that I wasn't offered any actual realistic approach to this surgery and a deeper assesment. Also it's not right that I should keep my hair super long for the rest of my life to hide the patchiness on the back of my head. And just "hope that Finasteride keeps working for the rest of my hair", as they said. I had faith in @Eugenix Hair Science, and I don't have anything against them. I have seen the amazing donor management of @Bandit90and @Melvin- Moderator, that were at the clinic about the same time as me. So we all know that they can do a great job. Still, if they would offer me a more serious support, instead of just telling me to relax, I'd surely be more understanding towards them. Anyone can make mistakes.

I'm not sure. I think because minox can have effects on your donor density? and maybe to have better planning where to transplant hair (if you stop taking minox, you'll loose some hair and i'ts more realistic apporach probably). but I'm not sure

Hi Sorry I don't understand your question (if you are asking me)...

Hi @Bandit90 so good to hear from you! I have been following your progress, and it's really amazing! So happy for you!! You are right it's month 6, I made a mistake there. And yes, I will postpone my SMP, even though it's really annoying having to keep long hair to cover the patchiness in the back of the scalp. I didn't think that would have been a possibility considering the limited number of grafts, and I was looking at the clinics results which are normally very natural. As far as the growth, I can say I'm quite happy considering it's still early. But the positive experience is limited by all the other issues and worries that I mentioned in the other posts. I take 0,5 mg finasteride per day ( I wanted to try 0,25mg but never did in the end) Anyways, what is ED / EOD? so great to hear from you mate!!!

Hi Zinedine, thanks for your honest feedback. For a final evaluation, I should wait 12 months, let's assume this is still in the growing phase... I am at month 7. But surely, I was expecting a better result at this point. The clinic is just suggesting that I should wait and I should keep my hair long to camouflage the patchiness on the back. I don't see that as a good option especially after 7 months... i have been waiting enough I think So I am going to do SMP to camouflage the back of my head (more money and more hassle), which sucks as I never even thought about doing SMP before for my linear scar, it wasn't bothering me, you just have to not shave your head over that scar. Now... well you see how it looks. I am taking FInasteride regularly (0.5mg/day) and I am not really willing to go up to 1mg, unless there is a proven science that it will increase its efficacy... Regarding minoxidil, I stopped taking it 6 months before surgery. Maybe I should start again (But I really hate the topical solution - been using it for years and it's really annoying!). In any case, at Eugenix they advised me to not use Minoxidil. I never took Dutasteride, and I am not too informed about its effects, dosages, etc... But yeah, I remember that at this stage, after my first HT, I was well happy and excited about the results - can't say the same about this time around. I apparently am not one of the miracle child of Eugenix like others members that had much better results overall Every suggestion and opinion is welcome anyways!

Yes I agree with what you say. the growing results are good - let's see how it looks in a few months anyways, there should be more growing. The planning and slits were done by Dr. Arika, so I was not on the basic package. Even if, honestly, there was not much "planning" involved. I rememberon my first surgery with Radha there was a lot more discussion and not only about my hairline position but my future hairloss and more. Anyways, I was not very smart willing to lower the hairline or to have a second transplant, and I feel that's my "fault". But again, if I was presented with a long term plan and if someone had a proper look at my donor density etc, I would have easily changed my mind. Also, the way the donor is depleted and patchy is really not satisfying to me (considering this is just my first FUE procedure). Even with longer hair, it looks pretty bad. Before, with the STRIP scar by the FUT procedure, I only had to worry about that linear scar, now all the back of my head is pretty messed up, and I have to spend more money for SMP. Again, team at Eugenix have been doing follow-ups with me and I appreciate it, and told me I shouldn't worry, but I don't feel too sure about that.

Hi Guys, very sorry for not getting an update eariler, but have been really busy. The ugly ducking phase was bad, but I guess that's the same for everybody. Now I am at month 7, and things look better. I am quite happy with the result so far in the frontal area (still some months to go). Not very happy about how the donor looks and the amount of grafts I have left for the future I found out (after the surgery) that I maybe have some sort of diffuse thinning or retrograde alopecia on the sides, and probably I wouldn't have been an ideal transplant candidate. I talked about it also with Dr Sethi via Whatsapp (I had a great dinner with him and other patients, even though he didn't participate in my surgery), and basically he said "let's hope that Finasteride keeps working or it will be a problem". I have something in the range of 2k grafts left in my donor, if all goes well... that's worrying me a bit of course. My current concerns (pics will follow) are: 1) donor looks quite depleted and patchy, I think too much to be acceptable. I want to be able to have relatively short hair without looking like this (the first HT I had left a FUT scar but that was MUCH better than this, and easier to hide). even with long hair you can see that scarcity is obvious compared to the top. looking forward for your feedback 2) the front looks ok, and I know I still have a few months to get the final result, so it's hard to give a final thought about it!, but the air behind the frontal area, especially when wet, it's not very dense (I know some of it is behind the transplanted area, but still, I have to think about it. I have been taking Finasteride regularly. I think I am going to get permanent SMP, surely for my donor and sides, and most likely also for the front and midscalp, to better disguise the not dense frontal and upper area. I would like to know the memebers opinions on this. Apart from this, team at Eugenix all have been very helpful and supportive, but I think that with some more forward- looking I might have considered not doing the surgery or doing it with another approach. I recognize my fault in this, but I also have to say that they might take a better look at eat patient - I did not get assessed very deeply and with a lot of "thinking about the future". I can't just hope that Finasteride keeps my existing hair forever, what if I lose them? not much backup plan at that point! The team at Eugenix told me they will help me in the future in case I need, we'll see how that goes and mean!. Looking forward to have your feedback regarding SMP for giving an illusion of density on my scalp - it will be great to hear your opinions! So I have to be honest, not amazed by it, but I recognize my fault in not "studying" enough. Now I am looking to solve the estethical issue with permanent SMP, and I look forward to your opinions on this. THere is a very good SMP artist if Florence, where I live, this one. I am going to probably have the first session in a few months.

Actually they told me that survival rate is about 80% for scars as there is less blood flow in the area, but it could be less! I hope the best and thay they will all happily stay in there and grow healthy!

Thanks for your feedback @MazAB

Some more pics with artificial lighting this time - to me it looks a bit rough over where FUT scar used to be.. Any feedback at all? Thanks!

Hi guys so I'm on day 6 after HT, and before leaving (2 day after main surgery), I decided to put some beard grafts in the FUT scar, as suggested by dr Arika. She said I would have needed 800 grafts, but in the end only 400 were necessary, so that's great. All is going well, scabs are not removed yet so, so I will post some photos of that once that I was them in a couple days. So far, the only worry I have is the way the donor looks, it seems a bit uneven and patchy in natural light. approx 2200 grafts were taken from there (and my whole scalp was previously untouched, except for the FUT scar that now is covered by beard hair) Give me your opinions please! thanks guys

Nice meeting you yesterday @Bandit90! It's really not possible to describe what kind of happy and vibrant energy you get from Eugenix staff and owners, it's really unique and probably unseen in this field. Speak soon and happy growing !!

micropigemntation i'ts a really good idea in this case, actually... I guess it's also cheaper

Now I would ask you guys an opinion. I was suggested by Dr Arika to cover the FUT scar with 800 grafts of beard hair. I still have not decided. What do you think? I can still decide if doing it tomorrow...

Ok so guys here is my update just after the HT at Eugenix. There was a bit of delay due to the clinic so most of the surgery was moved to the 13th! Yesterday (the 12th of march) I met with Dr. Arika and she quickly drew an hairline (you can see that she has experience - and no time to lose!), then I decided to lower it a bit more and she said it would have been ok. We didn't discuss about remaning donor hair if I will need amnother procedure in the future (hopefully not!, but I still would have liked to have a review aboiut this important aspect - but maybe there is still time for that!). I was initially quoted with 1700 grafts needed but I knew it was going to be more. She said we might ahve reached 2000, we ended up with around 2240 slits, if I remember correctly. I have no details yet about graft type and count. After hairline design, Dr Arika did all the slits, silently, quickly and efficiently. Her strong presence reminded me of Dr. Radha, with whom I did my first HT (btw, is she still active? She never replied to my last emails, she always used to). Then we went into the first 200 something grafts (thats all we could do in that day - it was already late), done by members of the team - I don't know who exactly, as they move between different surgery rooms... on that day they told me they did 7 surgeries. Wow... As long as they keep the quality to the top, it's fine by me... Some of the names I wrote down are: Sushant, Sudhir and Bapun. They were all very young. Next day I got picked up at 9am and we went for the main extraction and implantation session. To be brief, I have to say the staff works really well, even though you never know exactly who's working on you, and they don't tell you much about what's going on (except mainly asking if you're feeling pain - then you get some more anestesia shots)... but everyone seems and feels professional. Some of the staff members speaks good English, normally the ones in the blue shirts - I guess they are the Sr doctors - but most of the time I was with red shirt doctors (I assumed they were the juniors - i might be wrong though). Even 5 people at the same can be working on you! The procedure lasted until 4pm approx. I leave you to the pictures before / during/ after that I took (I will also post the ones from Eugenix whe I Have them)

Hello fellow members, As some of you know I am on my way for my second HT at Eugenix. But I have a question that some of you may be able to answer to. I had my first HT in 2016 (FUT tecnique), and it had good results, but I have noticed that the transplanted hair (front and temples) are much drier (I normally keep my hair pretty at medium lenght), they get entangled much easier, and they feel somehow structurally different that the hair on the back of my head (which is basically where they came from...). Any of you experienced this? I just want to have some feedback to understand if I'm a strange case or if it's common to experience this. I hope that the second procedure will have some positive effect on this aspect too. Maybe this is due to less density in the area, and hence less moisture in the scalp and hair? Or some other reason? I have tried conditioners of any sort, they work well on the rest of the hair, but transplanted hair just seem to net absorb it or something... looking forward for your opinions

great to hear that!! thanks so much

thanks!

Sure I wanted to post some pics. Photos just before my first HT (2015) Here photos of hairline design and just after the first HT (2015) Recent photos with wet/dry hair and natural light

Hello to all forum members! I’m just here to briefly document my second (and hopefully last) HT journey, as I did it for the first HT. It was very useful and inspiring to see other people’s experiences and results, so I’m happy to share mine. I am going to keep it brief but substantial! I’m not a native english speaker so excuse me for any mistakes and errors. My first hair transplant My first HT was in 2015, I was 27 y.o. and had a receding hairline (coupled with a big forehead!), NW2. I already posted a thread in 2015 about it (but the pictures have for some reason disappeared so I will try to post them again), but to sum it up: FUT technique with Dr Radha Palakurti (she did an incredible job in my opinion) 1 hair grafts 640 2 hair grafts 2064 3 hair grafts 319 Total number of grafts 3023 Overall, the experience was amazing and the results were very good, in my opinion. Dr Radha was conservative on the approach, and luckily I have a very generous donor, so I had room for more surgeries in the following years. Now the time has finally come! My current situation My hair have held up very well after my first HT, and I haven’t loss any crown hair, the receding has pretty much stopped (considering my family history I should be completely bald by now - all the men in my mum’s family are bald) Probably this is also thanks to 0.5mg Finasteride a day, I started taking it 1 year ago (never taken before), because I was noticing more receding. Minoxidil didn’t really do it for me anymore… I started when I was about 18 y.o. on and off, and it was very effective at the beginning, but I guess my body got used to it and it didn’t really work that much anymore. Also, I hated the greasy and oily hair it leaves. I am just over it for good. Furthermore, he staff at Eugenix told me to stop taking it at least 45 days preop (not looking to using it again, as they also suggested me not to) Now at age 34, I have been told by all the surgeons that I have talked to that my situation should be finally stabilized, and I can consider my second surgery. The upcoming surgery with Eugenix My clinic of choice was Eugenix (with Dr Arika Bansal); I think they have outstanding results. I am using the exclusive package option. The staff member I am in contact with (Aditya) is super helpful and always available. I had to change my surgery date from february 2022 to 12th of march 2022, and they were very accomodating with that. So far great experience! We expect to be using about 1700 grafts, but let’s see when we come to the in-person consultation. I believe we will need more than 2000, to create a bit lower hairline and fill in in the receding areas behind the first HT (nothing too dramatic but there is thinning...) That’s it for now, I will keep you posted and send updates as we go (I hope that I’ll be able to travel without problems, and that the flight doesn’t get delayed or canceled!)

great, I think I'll just travel to Kerala for a couple days, when surgery and first recovery is done! What about the headwash, the staff at Eugenix told me that it should be done at the clinic a week after the surgery... did you do it there as well, or you left earlier? I don't understand if it's something optional or if it's important to do it at the clinic. thanks Andrea

I already have my medical Visa for India actually! The staff at Eugenix gave me a certificate so I could apply for the visa, so all good with that!

Hi Melvin, the ht looks amazing! I am going to have mine at Eugenix in March, can't wait! I have a few concerns about traveling, but I see you actually came from the Maldives, so you managed to combine holiday with it, which is something I would like to do as well (maybe Thailand for 2 weeks before going to India) Was it hard for you to travel multulle countries during Covid times (airport checks, delays, etc) or was it all smooth sailing? I'm from Italy so regulations are different, but once in India I'm sure everything is pretty much the same. I already have my medical visa, but if you have any suggestion or tips it would be greatly appreciated. One last question: I read that there is a 10 days self quarantine at arrival in India, so once you arrived you had to wait or you got the visit and surgery sooner? Just to make sure I don't get stuck for too long, I plan to stay a max of 10 days total. Thanks for all the useful info, I will create a thread soon as well to document my journey!

Hi everyone ! little and final update on the ht. Everything is looking great, the hair is strong and it blends in very well. I stopped using minoxidil since a month or so since i used it for many years and i wanted to have a break from it. I would like to have you guys opinion on this! in these last photos the hair are wet and under direct light so u can see the density is not super high, but that's normal and with dry hair you cant't notice at all. i found out that the transplanted hair are harder to comb and generally drier, but that might be because of the minox (another reason i stopped using it), so it needs a bit of extra care, especially if you keep them long. In the end, i think Dr Rhada did a great job and i would go to her again in case of need, and I easily can reccomend her.