JeffC45

I don't mean whether it is effective or what is happening physiologically that may make it work, I mean how is it administered? Can someone walk me through the process of what a PRP "session" looks like? Is blood withdrawn from the scalp with a syringe, treated with PRP, then reinjected back into the scalp with a syringe? Where on the scalp is the blood withdrawn? How long does the process take? How frequently does it need to be administered? How invasive is it?

Are we certain that that's a strip scar? Do strip scars ever wrap all the way around the head practically to the face like this? Could this possibly just be a natural crease in his hair?

Does anyone have any advice for how to apply a topical finasteride spray to the scalp? As someone who is about a NW2-NW3, I still have much of the hair on my crown, but have receding hairlines and a thinning front. I feel like the most effective place for finasteride is the crown. But should the spray be applied all over? Does the finasteride impact the entire scalp, even the areas that weren't directly sprayed? Is it worthwhile to also spray the receding hairline, where, as I understand it, finasteride doesn't have much of an impact? Keep in mind this stuff is very expensive, so one is limited to only a few sprays per application.

I'll add to the confirmed list: Sal Governale (of the Howard Stern Show). He discussed it openly, as well as the side effects he had from Propecia. There's a thread discussing it here. https://m.reddit.com/r/howardstern/comments/42n4ia/before_sals_hair_plugs/

Had a very similar, positive impression from him. PM'd you.

Looking it over, you're probably right. Whoever did his work, if it is a HT, did an incredible job.

This also worries me, as someone close to getting a HT. Is it common for someone (who presumably went to an elite surgeon) to have to resort to wearing a system so soon after a HT? (See also James Nesbitt comment above)

Speaking of James Nesbitt, does anyone else see him as sort of a red flag for HT's? He very publicly and openly displayed the results of 2 HT's which appeared to come out very well. Then recently, out of the blue, he showed up hosting the Ballon d'Or with what was *clearly* a hair piece (or at least extensions). Did his hair transplants go south? Thought that was pretty discouraging.

I'm not convinced that Tom Brady has had a HT. Sure his hair looks better than it did 10 years ago, but even in the old pictures he didn't look to be losing much hair. I'm not certain that his hair looking better is not just the product of him growing it longer. Same w/ McConaughey. I don't think there's any conclusive evidence he's had a HT. He might wear a piece. I think the best HT of anyone mentioned might actually be Wes Welker. Wonder if that was Strip or FUE.

I know quite a few threads exist filled with speculation about which celebrities we suspect have had a HT. I'd like to first concentrate on making a comprehensive list of celebrities who we KNOW (whether through their own admission or photographic evidence) have had HT. Then we can opine on whose is best. Then maybe move on to the "90% Sure had a HT" list. I'll start: Confirmed HT: Jeremy Piven Wayne Rooney Dennis Miller James Nesbitt Brian Urlacher A.J. McLean Who else can we confirm?

This is some fascinating and encouraging information. One question about the topical finasteride: does it have to be administered directly to the area of the scalp affected by MPB to be effective? In other words, if you spread it on your scalp and don't manage to cover all areas, is it absorbed by the scalp and effective in the entire "general area"? Can it be used in conjunction with Minoxidil? Have you, anecdotally, noticed patients have had less side effects than with the Propecia pill?

Don't want to have the finasteride debate. I am all too familiar with the side effects, because I've experienced them personally. I wish all the best to those fortunate enough to take it without sides and willing to risk its long term use, but never again for me. Depending on your age, degree of hair loss, etc, a HT without finasteride is most certainly an option. I've consulted with some of the top doctors on this forum, whose medical ethics I have no reason to question, and all have advised me that this is the case.

I'm in the midst of the long, arduous process of considering and planning for a HT. Part of the research I've done is to find old pictures of balding celebrities and looked at how they progressed over the course of their career. I feel like this will give me some idea of what kind of hair loss to expect based on age and NW level. There is one example of MPB that scares the living hell out of me: Bruce Willis. I am currently 39 years old and would categorize myself as between a NW2 and a NW3. Based on my age and current hair loss, before deciding on a HT, I would like to make an educated guess as to what my future hair loss will be. Since I am planning on going the no-Fin route, I do not want to get a HT a 40 only to lose everything behind my hairline over the next 5 years. Bruce Willis at age 39 looked similar, in hair loss, to me. By 44, his hair receded, but he still had a noticeable hairline. By age 49, basically the floor dropped out from under him and he looked like a full-blown NW6 or NW7. I know everyone is different, but is this type of rapid hairloss common? I like to hope that my hairloss will progress at the same pace it has my whole life and I can keep up with it with 2-3 HT's. But my biggest fear is that all of a sudden between 40-50 my hairloss will accelerate and make HT's almost futile and leave me looking ridiculous. Does hairloss generally maintain a steady pace or does it usually start to fall out more quickly when you hit a certain age?

Are there steps that one can take after a Strip-harvest procedure to make sure that the scar does not "stretch" and heals properly? Is the determination of how well a scar heals entirely in the hands of the surgeon's skill, luck and you body's healing ability? Or, can a HT patient make a scar worse with improper treatment or certain activities while it is healing? Is there a window when a scar is at risk of "stretching"? Or can this happen at any time, even years after the surgery? Does the number of FUT procedures affect the risk of a visible scar? I assume the future exisions are made directly over the scar. But do multiple FUT procedures increase the chance of a visible scar? Is a #4 guard razor realistic with an FUT? Meaning, is the scar generally completely invisible? Or is that just something the doctors say to sell you on it? Anyone have experience wearing a #3 and #4 guard with an FUT scar? Finally, is a strip scar more visible when wet? Does an otherwise hidden scar become completely obvious while you are swimming?

I am planning on spending my recovery time from my FUT procedure at a resort, relaxing while away from work. The plan is to take the vacation 2 days after my sutures come out. I am obviously going to keep my head covered at all times and avoid all sunlight on my head. I also have no intention of submerging my head at all in the pool or hot tub. My plan is to spend some time in the hot tub (without submerging my head), spend some time wading in the pool (with hat and without submerging my head) and possibly spend some time sweating in the sauna. I may also swim in the ocean and have been told by a doctor that the ocean saltwater may actually be "good" for my head at this point. Anyone have any thoughts on this type of stuff so soon after the surgery? Thinking of how this might affect either the recipient area OR the scar (don't want it to stretch).

What doctor did your initial HT?

Who is this? What's his name?

This whole world of concealers is pretty new to me, so I'm not entirely sure how they work. However, I do believe these "fibers" are what I saw on the head of the person to whom I referred earlier. I'm assuming this person must have had extensive loss throughout his crown and vortex, which is why he must have used the concealers because his native (or transplanted, I couldn't tell) hair probably left much of his scalp exposed. In any case it was these "fibers" that looked so bizarre. Almost like he had thin hair covering a layer of black felt on his scalp. His scalp looked like the top of Mickey Mouse's head. I felt bad for the guy, and certainly didn't stare so that could notice, but I was seated behind him at an event and was fascinated. It looked insane and drew way more attention than if he just had a thinning head of hair. Like I said, I'm sure there are some types of hair loss that it looks fine on and totally works. Perhaps this guy just had way too extensive a case of hair loss to effectively use it.

As someone who has an FUT HT procedure planned in the next several months, I'm a little concerned about the number of people I see on this forum who refer to issues they have with "concealers." While I'm sure that some people can pull these off, the few times I've seen someone wearing concealer (basically, spray paint) on their heads, I thought it looked utterly absurd. In fact, I once was out with someone who was clearly wearing concealer on his head and I, literally, could not stop staring at it. This particular person looked so completely ridiculous to me that I could not believe someone would even dream of leaving the house with it on their head. Like I said, I'm sure some people can pull it off, but my impression of "concealers" is very, very bad. Now, I'm very concerned. Is it basically expected that you should wear some kind of concealer on your head after you get an HT? What percentage of people require a concealer to go along with their HT? If this is basically the norm, I would seriously reconsider the whole procedure.

I'm scheduled to undergo an FUT procedure in the next 6 months. While I have looked at hundreds of photos of HT procedures during my research, I have never (knowingly) seen a HT in person. This makes me a little nervous, as I would love to get an up-close look at what the results look like in real life, rather than a photograph, which can obviously be staged to look ideal. That being said, my biggest concern about the resulting hair is: how will this hair look when it is wet or sweaty? My current hair is probably a NW2 to NW3, but when I get sweaty while jogging or at the gym, it can look like a full-blown NW4-NW5. Water and sweat REALLY exposes hair loss. While I understand the "illusion" of an HT in ideal settings, do HT's look really bad in the heat, when ones head sweats? Also, what about the scar? If someone has wet hair from swimming or showering, does an FUT scar become visible?

This is a great result! Would love to see what this gentleman's "before" looked like with his hair similarly grown out for context.

Funny because I caught a glimpse of the back of Rooney's head and could have sworn I noticed the faint sign of a strip scar. Not sure what other think, but I thought he had a strip procedure.

First of all, Propecia: a) doesn't remain effective forever, b) does nothing for the hairline, and c) makes certain people impotent. Secondly, how do you have any clue whether Rooney takes Propecia or not? For all we know, he's been on it since he was 20. You look at that picture and say the man has nothing more than a "faint hairline"? Compared to a NW7? Frankly, that's delusional. Either that, or you have incredibly high standards for a HT. People just really seem to enjoy ridiculing Rooney's hair. I don't think it looks half bad. And this is coming from someone who despises Manchester United.

I mean, this is a guy with probably 5000+ grafts at this point. Surely, this looks a lot better than being a NW7, wouldn't you say? Cut the guy some slack.

Don't really get all of the criticism of Rooney's HT. It's hard to get a good look at his head while he's running around the pitch, but I don't think his hair looks half-bad. I mean, it's clear that Rooney was heading toward a NW6-NW7 without the HT. So the proper question is: does he look better than he would if he never had the HT and were bald as a cue ball? I think he clearly looks a LOT better. Seems like people unfairly compare him to other people with naturally full heads of hair. In which case, of course he looks way worse.