biolizard

I put gel in it to try and control the unnatural 'curly'ness of the recipient hair. It is by a good margin a much more recent photo than the others I've posted. The transplant is certainly passable now. I still cannot say I'm in love with it though. It's ok, as long as I'm not trying to go swimming in direct bright sunlight or anything. I will say that pictures are a funny thing with HT. Can be VERY dependent on camera angle, lighting ect, I can make the same HT look different. In direct sunlight the HT looks the worst and is the most noticeable. Conversely, it looks the best fully dry with some volumizing gel and at night in a restaurant type lighting atmosphere. To accurately evaluate a HT one really has to see it in person to appreciate the nuanced imperfections. In my opinion, no HT is perfect, I don't care how good the surgeon supposedly is.

Nearly at the 10-11 month mark post 2,000 FUE Update: I honestly stand by my original stance. I have not had any great new revelations or changes in heart. I said it was a huge, impetuous, mid-life crisis mistake within days after the procedure. Unfortunately for me I realized my mistake too late, like a sobering splash of ice cold water, I knew instantly this was a monumental error in judgement on my part. The depression and self-loathing would follow for months and months afterwards. This will ultimately go down as one of the biggest blunders I've made in my adult life! I wish every day I would not have done it. I am unable to take Propecia/Fin. As I continue to lose hair (which I will, it's written in your genes) I'm only going to become more and more bizarre in my appearance. I have now backed myself into a proverbial corner with this HT. Not sure how or what I'm going to do 3-8 years down the road as my hair loss continues to advance. Anyway, my advice to everyone is to do what I was unable to do at the period in my life..... That is simply accept yourself. Hair Transplants are almost NEVER the answer! For what it's worth I continue wear a ball cap still to this day nearly everywhere I go. I don't like the way the HT took. My hair is normally straight, but the recipient hair transplant hair grew in with slight somewhat unusual 'curly' look. Looks a little odd to say the least. Even if someone can't immediately tell that I've undergone a HT, I often catch people almost subconsciously doing a 'double take' look at my head when they notice the more 'curly' hair of the recipient area. Anyway, life goes on. Peace and love to all. ✌️

I can't take the drug. The side effects are horrific! In some unlucky patients they can be permanent. How does permanent impotence sound? Sounds like a living hell in my opinion. The stakes are simply too high for me to take a chance on continuing to ingest a drug like that. Personally, I would rather shave my head. You can even increase you risk of male breast cancer with that drug. I'm not a fan of Fin/Propecia and would like to see better education and more explicit warning labels mandated.

Honestly your expectations may be a tad unrealistic. Even the best HT in the world will not be able to accomplish a "full head of hair" look. It will still look thin, possibly uneven, maybe some redness and scarring permanently to the scalp; and it definitely will not give you your youth back, trust me on that. I had my HT as a result of a 'mid-life crisis'. Have you tried Finasteride yet? Can you tolerate its side effects? It have been known to cause very long lasting permanent impotence in some unfortunate people. Many experience a significant reduction in libido, often times accompanied by serious depression. Try the big 3 medications for a while first and see how you respond to them. (Finasteride, minoxidil, ketoconazole)

Listen to HTsoon, he knows his stuff. At 44 I had a 2000 FUE HT, and it's been a rough go ever since. Things are just now starting to improve a bit. But damn the Doctor where I went did a terrible shit job of preparing me for the reality of what I was entering into by deciding to follow through with a HT. The recovery is not easy. It's a BIG F* N deal and don't let anyone try and pursuade you otherwise. With the amount of hair loss you have already experienced, I'm inclined to think you would have to go the FUT route. Are you ok with a strip scar on the back of your head? Educated yourself fully! Do NOT rush into a HT. I generally recommend to most people not to do it. Your only 27, my advice... Just don't do it, and thank me later. Happiness doesn't come from how you look, what you own, or what other people think of you. Trying to base your happiness off those things will lead to frequent discontentment and misery. Learn to accept yourself and you will be happy. As Seneca wisely points out "A man is as unhappy as he has convinced himself he is" Here is a clip of Joe Rogan discussing his thoughts on his HT (it may prove useful to you)

Biggest load of BS me.... 1."You can go back to work the next day." I realistically recommend 2 week MINIMUM! ( longer if you can swing it) 2. "May experience some slight swelling." I looked like an alien creature straight out of Star Trek for a about a week. 3. "Slight redness". My skin appears to be permenantly discolored and bumpy texture. Permenant scarring and damage done to my recipient area.

True. I have a lot of excess emotion and energy over this. I have to find some place to vent it. Also, I really want others to not repeat my mistakes. The way I went about this HT was totally wrong. It's funny, but after the fact, I now know everything I wish I would've done. I feel victimized by the slick FUE marketing out there. An FUE is not something that should be entered into lightly. It is MAJOR life altering SURGERY! And that's often NOT how it's portrayed by the hair transplant marketing machine. The reality is FAR different than what was advertised! At best I was GROSSLY underinformed, uneducated, and ignorant to exactly the immensity of the journey i was about to embark on. I was in a midlife crisis depression. I made an impetuous decision. I wanted to believe that things were as easy as the advertising made it seem, so I unsuspectingly went through with the HT. I'm sorry but, signing a sheet the day of surgery, full of fine print and medical-legal mumbo jumbo jargon does NOT count as me being properly 'informed'! I can see all the red flags NOW. At the time I was not able to see them. I do regret this HT and I would hate for someone else to replicate my mistakes. I've listed on other sites what I wish I would've done: (only learned this after it was too late for me) now I'm stuck just trying to make the best of this bad situation. And my hair misery will not end soon. It will just change form. Certainly I'll have MANY more problems to contend with soon in the near future as my native hair loss continues to progress. I am unable to take propecia. My HT surgeon NEVER once discussed ANY post op hair regimen. Again I had to do all that research on my own. Research that I should've been required to do PRIOR to a doctor permenantly altering my image. I am really disappointed to find out just how little even many of these 'recommended' docs do to ensure that what the patient wants, is also in the patients best interest. As patients we are frequently ignorant, self conscious, and freaked out about losing our identity and our hair. We are not in a solid state of mind many times. We foolishly trust that some of these 'doctors' will always do what's best for us. That is however, not often the reality of some of the HT industry docs I've experienced and read about. Here is a list of what I wish I would've done done prior to jumping into this major hair transplant surgery: - initial HT consultation with at least 2 coalition doctors - try the big 3 meds first for at least 6 months; pay attention to side effects - continue researching HT procedures, techniques, results and doctors for 12-18 months - understand location and cost should not be constraints - measure donor & recipient density/hair bulk, loss pattern - consult with dermatologist for any possible reactions - understand the procedure end to end including surgical process, expectations, common side effects in the skin, healing and care - consult with psychologist (no joke) to understand if I would be able to handle the change - consult with coalition HT doctor again and draft a master plan - see a HT result in person, performed by different doctors; all pictures can lie; lighting and angles deceive - Look for pictures and posts of good AND bad HTs - Know your options for HT repair - shave head and keep it that way for at least 1-2 months, see if you like it - read bald guys forums for support and tips to maintain a buzzed dome - After 12-18 months, if ready, try HT and be as conservative as possible

Leftygolfer.....How goes it you ask?...well... I'm at the 4 month mark exactly. Still do not not have anything close to resembling a socially acceptable result or look!!! It doesn't appear like it will be socially and cosmetically passable for quite some time. It sucks! I feel like just taking a razor to it and shaving my entire head bald some days! It's still red, discolored, and has textural visual abnormalities and irregularities to the recipient area. I just look like an odd ball and I cringe at times seeing myself in the mirror now. It's not cool. I'll try and post a pic to give everyone and idea. I still am required to wear a hat. My family wouldn't say it directly, but I'm certain they would be most embarrassed to be see with me in public without a hat on. Bottom line.....I'm still regretting it. That has not changed!

Very well stated HT. I love reading your post, you're so incisive and write so eloquently. Thank you for your post. I'm not going to rehash my whole story here on this thread (some are familiar my grievances from previous post and threads) , only to say that the of psychological evaluation needs to be seriously addressed within the hair transplant industry.

TY Harry for taking your time to write this up! Amazing job with great info.! Hearing from someone else who has lived with this 'redness/bumpiness' (or probably more accurately described in my case as a noticeable discoloration and textural abnormalities) problem for years helps give perspective to my issues. I just can sense that after a four months of this redness/bumpiness that there is really NO way that it appears it is ever going to go completely away and resolve. Too much trauma was done to the tissue to 'fully' heal back to entirely undetectable. There will liklely always remain some trace indicator and permenant discoloration and texture irregularities to the recipient area. I defy myself to peer into a mirror without taking notice and silently reprimanding myself for what I've done. Especially after being in a hot shower like you said previously. It becomes very red after showers. I could be back up for Santas sleigh in case Rudolph can't go for any reason. LOL. I haven't left the house without a hat, not even once. Nor will I. I honestly doubt I will ever love this HT. Really just wanted my youth back more than anything. A FUE or any HT is a poor substitute for a fountain of youth. Now I just look 'odd' to myself. When I walk past the mirror, it's like at initial glance, I'm looking at an imposter. It's a strange feeling to try and describe to get someone to understand. My new hairline is totally unfamiliar, even when I was a younger man I did not have this low of a hairline. It just look different," not me," and it bothers me. Which is sad because my exit strategy was a buzz down with a 1 or no guard. That's one reason I opted for the FUE. Now with that awkward unfortunate looking redness discoloration slight bumpy texture to my forehead scalp recipient area, it will make my inevitable exit strategy much more difficult and very noticeable. By the time I'm ready to buzz down and throw in the towel with regards to my hair, I doubt I may really care much about saving the follicles or damaging them I think. So V beam and micro needles all sounds like good options. Thank you very much for those suggestions. Ultimately Im sure grow to accept this and hopefully forgive myself. But, I sincerely feel at least on some level I will remain regretful of my decision to go the HT route. Acceptance of who I am and accepting the natural aging process with dignity would have been my best option. However, I lack self confidence and was self conscious of my aging, age related hair loss, and losing my youth, losing my looks. Lesson learned for me. I seriously doubt I will ever opt for any further augmentations of my appearance in the future.

I especially like the addition on having someone contemplate the seemingly subtle (at first glance) difference between just desiring to have your hair back....vs....wanting a hair transplant. There is however in reality a BIG difference between the two that an inexperienced, gullible insecure person, in a poor state of mind, like myself will not usually spend adequate time pondering. The other thing I think that was particularly true in my case was ...do you really even want just your hair back at all? Allow me to explain. My desire for a HT came on the heels of an accumulation of unfortunate events simulataneously occurring in my life. For instance: -things not going well at work, -my wife and I were having martial difficulties, she was keeping frequent company of another male 'friend' which I disapproved of. -We had a 17 year old son hooked into drugs which landed him in whole heap of legal trouble surrounding that, not to mention the stress of having a kid sneaking and doing illegal drugs in your house while you were gone, -my mothers health was failing(I'm very close with my mom) -in summation I had A LOT of stress and was getting depressed and the kicker is it happened so insidiously I didn't really realize it while I was in it until it was too late. ******In other words I was eyeball deep in the clutches of a huge depressive MID LIFE CRISIS EPISODE!! FUE to the rescue?!?! I got uber excited about this newfangled FUE procedure I heard about. It was expensive but I justified and rationalized the expense of the HT by telling myself after all I'm going through I deserve this. The hard cold facts was however much more complex than just getting my hair back with a HT. No no.... what I wanted was NOT a hair transplant at all. I really wanted my YOUTH back!! Hindsight being 20/20, in reality I pined for the days of my carefree youth. A time in my life when I didn't have the concerns of the life crushing stressor I listed above. A hair transplant does NOT give you your youth back; I can vouch for that. I may get a little bit more hair on my head for a time period, but I'm still the aging middle age man I see in the mirror. The HT has not changed that and cannot realistically be expected to change that. Ultimately through many hours of reflection and introspection I have come to realize perhaps what I needed most was a psychologist NOT a HT doctor. I needed to address the problems in my life with the help of a qualified therapist, I needed to learn to accept the aging process with grace and dignity. Instead I opted to try and become someone else in a sense by altering my appearance. Altering myself on the outside to create a more youthful vision of myself. The HT so far has only added to my stress. In time I have no doubt I will grow to accept and make peace with what I have done. I'm working through that process now. I'm trying to learn to forgive myself for the human mistakes I have made and accept who I am NOW (after the HT) as a person. Though I will say It's sometimes hard to just let this go, to just be myself, when most days I have trouble even figuring out who I really am and what I really want out of life. Sorry to get so philosophical. Lol. Ok think I'll end it here. Thank you for reading.

I haven't thought about it in this way before, but you sir are exactly correct with this statement. FUE is both a blessing and a curse. I feel I too am somewhat of a victim of the FUE HT slick marketing machine as a whole. The wonderful new progressive, scarless, minimally invasive, back to work in 3 days office 'procedure'. It all sounded so good. In hind sight, The alarm bells should've been ringing loudly in my head, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." But for some reason, this normally very skeptical guy decide to foolishly proceed. Insecurity and vanity got the best of me. I thought at the time I had done my research and was knew what was going on, but looking back on it I was dreadfully ignorant to exactly the enormity of commitment I was entering into. I was a dumb ass for doing the HT the way I did. I desire for others to learn from my mistake and NOT repeat them. I wouldn't wish what I've gone through the last 4 months on anyone. Do Not rush into any HT!! With all the hindsight I have now, here's an exhaustive list of things I wish I had done: - initial HT consultation with at least 2 coalition doctors - try the big 3 meds first for at least 6 months; pay attention to side effects - continue researching HT procedures, techniques, results and doctors for 12-18 months - understand location and cost should not be constraints - measure donor & recipient density/hair bulk, loss pattern - consult with dermatologist for any possible reactions - understand the procedure end to end including surgical process, expectations, common side effects in the skin, healing and care - consult with psychologist (no joke) to understand if I would be able to handle the change - consult with coalition HT doctor again and draft a master plan - see a HT result in person, performed by different doctors; all pictures can lie; lighting and angles deceive - Look for pictures and posts of good AND bad HTs - Know your options for HT repair - shave head and keep it that way for at least 1-2 months, see if you like it - read bald guys forums for support and tips to maintain a buzzed dome - After 12-18 months, if ready, try HT and be as conservative as possible I would've never ever had the FUT strip scar surgery. So I heard about and very rashly rushed in this FUE. Everything sounded so wonderful with it, it had me thinking why in the heck should I tolerated balding with this amazing new hair loss correction technology out there. Had the FUE not even existed, then I would've been sparred this whole HT ordeal.

TY for the pics and keeping us updated on your progress. That kind of info is invaluable. I see the recipient area is still discolored compared to the surrounding skin. I'm around 3 1/2 months and my recipient area is really discolored with a bumpy texture too. Bugs the hell out of me. I think I may grow my hair out a little bit and see if that conceals the ugly reddened recipient skin area better. Here is a recent pic of mine for you to do a comparison. You can see why I'm not super thrilled with the way I currently look either.

Super advice! Eloquently and succinctly worded. I need to read that once a day to keep from losing what's left of my neurotic mind!

I know I know I know. ......You guys all make super solid points. And points I need to reread from time to time. I realize my personality and natural temperament are really NOT well suited for what in going through. You guys are all probably right. It seems I try and keep calm and keep calm, maintain....but beneath the surface my insecurities and uncertainties are seething and boiling. Until I just hit these manic freak out 'doomsday' episodes. I do apologize for tying up forum threads with what I'm certain is perceived as (justifably so) my whining, but mentally I am struggling with this process. I have no one to turn to that can even come close to relating to what I'm going through. I do not personally know of anyone that has had a HT. I promise I'm not a bad guy, just struggling with insecurity and body image issue. Here is a recent pic for those who asked.

I have seen other videos of FUE's on YouTube and such. Haven't really come across hardly anyone with a recipient area as red bumpy and discolored as mine is at 4 months out. I mean, 4 months, if the skin was going to heal back to a normal color I would think it would've done so by now? Just so discouraging to see my skin/scalp so damaged. Since I realize I'm may not be thinking rationally at times, as I'm quite often going through these periods of anxiety, depression and unhappiness with my HT, often venting my frustrations publicly on the forums with my HT; I'm really not naming the doctor at this time. In the interested of being 'fair' to them and not wanting to impugn them, I'm going to wait at least a year for more 'final' results before I explicitly name the doctor and post a series of further photos and videos. Hopefully things will improve like you guys said above? I'd love to chill out, and I do try, but having this purple-red discoloration highlighted on the front of my head makes everything so noticable and obvious. And I hate standing out like that! I think I may grow the hair out a bit. Maybe that will help conceal the bumpy damages discolored skin on the recipient area. Idk? Or maybe I should just shave it down with no guard. That may lessen the noticability of the transition between native and thin recipient hair? Idk what to do or what style to wear my hair to best to handle this complication. For now though the baseball cap is my very best'est friend.

I'm exactly at 3 1/2 to 4 month post op. I had a 2000 graft FUE. I hate my results. Still very displeased! My dissatisfaction with the HT only seems to intensfy more and more each passing week. I'm convinced that I will remain indignant and displeased with this atrocity called FUE done to my scalp. Im now nearly certain that this FUE was the worst mistake of my life! I've been overall VERY dissatisfied with nearly everything about this abomination that was done to my head. Not a single day doesn't go by that I don't say to myself this was the biggest stupidest mistake of my life! I'd kill to just have my old hair and normal scalp back. My recipient scalp area is badly discolored scarred and reddish. The hairs that are growing in the recipient area look thin and much less dense. It's like 'yes there are some extra hairs growing in an area that was previously hairless' BUT does it look good? HELL NO! It looks bizarre the hairline was not drawn evenly the skin scalp appears permenant lay discolored and disfigured ...and frankly it looks like shit now to put it bluntly! I really wanted desperately to have a discrete FUE HT. Now I look like an odd ball freak!! I absolutely will NOT go anywhere without a baseball cap on my head. My life and self confidence has been crushed following this FUE HT. The doctor free hand drew on an asymmetrical hair line. The badly discolored recipient area is EXTREMELY noticable and makes me resemble a burn victim weirdo. Plus I have very poor growth in the recipient area. I hate myself for what I have allowed to be done to me all in the name of vanity. Now I'm destined to walk the rest of my days forever regretful only to be reminded of my folly every single time I gaze into a mirror. Such an abject existence! Before this FUE I was merely self conscious about my male pattern baldness....now I'm positively disgraced, angry, dispirited and embarrassed beyond anything I've ever experienced. A bad HT is 1000 times worse than being bald!!! I wish I could undo the damage that was done to my me and my self image. TLDR: it been almost 4 months. My results are terrible. I'm becoming a neurotic mess taking the fast lane to panic freak out mode! If this keeps up for the first time in my life I may have to take antidepressants.

I'm exactly at 3 1/2 to 4 month post op. I had a 2000 graft FUE. I've posted photos if you want to take a look. I hate my results. Worst mistake of my life was going through with this HT! I've been overall VERY dissatisfied with nearly everything about this abomination that was done to my head. Not a single day doesn't go by that I don't say to myself this was the biggest stupidest mistake of my life! I'd kill to just have my old hair and normal scalp back. My recipient scalp area is badly discolored scarred and reddish. The hairs that are growing in the recipient area look thin and much less dense. It's like 'yes there are some extra hairs growing in an area that was previously hairless' BUT does it look good? HELL NO! It looks bizarre the hairline was not drawn evenly the skin scalp appears permenant lay discolored and disfigured ...and frankly it looks like shit now to put it bluntly! I really wanted desperately to have a discrete FUE HT. Now I look like an odd ball freak!! I absolutely will NOT go anywhere without a baseball cap on my head. My life and self confidence has been crushed following this FUE HT. The doctor free hand drew on an asymmetrical hair line. The badly discolored recipient area is EXTREMELY noticable and makes me resemble a burn victim weirdo. Plus I have very poor growth in the recipient area. I hate myself for what I have allowed to be done to me all in the name of vanity. Now I'm destined to walk the rest of my days forever regretful only to be reminded of my folly every single time I gaze into a mirror. Such an abject existence! Before this FUE I was merely self conscious about my male pattern baldness....now I'm positively disgraced, angry, dispirited and embarrassed beyond anything I've ever experienced. A bad HT is 1000 times worse than being bald!!! I wish I could undo the damage that was done to my me and my self image.

I'm 3.5 months postop as well. My recipient area is still red, as I noticed your recipient remain discolored and red like mine. I wish my skin would return to completely normal color as that's bugging the heck out of me right now. Hope you get satisfactory results, still way early at only 3-4 months.

I totally agree HTsoon. (I've read quite a bit of your post and often find myself in agreement with your points) I can't take fin but I am diligent in my twice daily Rogaine foam routine. Also, Joe Rogan has made statements in the past about how Rogaine helped him maintain his hair for a good while longer following his hair transplant. He eventually gave up the battle (as many have to do) and just shaved it down bald. We all have our breaking points of what and how much we will endur on our quest for hair. Joe seems perfectly happy and accepting of himself now that he is bald. Your right about Sam B having a great attitude about this whole hair journey. I would give a lot in order to have his relaxed approach to hair transplants. HOWEVER, he never has had to contend with bad results from what I've seen. All His results were good, and his healing was good. Myself on the other hand, a different story. My recipient area is badly discolored and scarred and bumpy now. My recipient head looks like 'burn victim' bullshit now and it drives me into a neurotic tailspin most days. I haven't found an effective strategy to combat my overwhelming self consciousness. Again id love to possess some of Sam B insouciance!

I love Sam B videos. He does a nice job and he isn't afraid to use himself as a Guinea pig for the benefit of the viewer.

I think the chance of 'permanent' or very persistent long last effects are the result of people being stubborn and continuing the drug even in the face of side effects. I'm 43 I recently had a FUE HT. I'm unable to take Fin. I'm doing Rogaine foam, Keto shampoo, and biotin supplement. We are both at that age where our testosterone levels NATURALLY decrease. To be further, augmenting this natural decrease in testosterone with medication is a recipe for disaster. Dude, listen to your body, it's trying to tell you it does not like Fin. When you ignore what your body is trying to tell you, that's when you get into serious trouble. Time to discontinue Fin while you are still ahead. You do NOT want to develop PFS! (Post Finasteride Syndrome). This will wreck your life. But don't take my word for it. Read for yourself ... Check out the web site Propeciahelp.com

LMAO! Now that's hilarious. So true, if I was inclined to just 'be a man' about it, then I would've (and should've) just buzzed my hair down and skipped the stupid ugly FUE I had. Such a mistake getting this HT.