TheGman

Hi guys, I've been using Retin-A/tretinoin for a couple years, on and off, to fight skin aging and acne. It's a wonderful tool to slow down the aging process I'm also fighting with a HT and the meds, and it limits my moderate acne, that could break out as I start biotin. Just protect yourself from the sun when you are using it. It makes your skin peel a little bit, and I'm worried it could spread a little to my recipient area. Some use it along with minoxidil to boost the penetration of the minox in the scalp. I've applied it yesterday, stopped one centimeter below the new hairline. I'm 13 days post-op. What do you reckon? Am I paranoid? If it ever spreads to the graft it should be ridiculously minimal I reckon. Would it be harmful to apply it there? If not I wouldnt even worry for one second. I'm always on the extra careful side of things, but I'm expecting an acne breakout and retin-a really is one of my best allies in my desperate but exciting fight against father time. Anyone with some hindsight? Thank you.

I've read many stories of people experiencing a severe shed as they made the switch from fin to dut, that's why I'm sticking with fin.

He was my first choice among a short list of FUE specialists. He gets good results consistently. He's on par with the top guys who charge twice as much. But it seems his clinic is becoming more and more busy and he takes care of the patients a lot less.

Knowing how many hairs is impossible I believe, all I know is that many of my grafts had two or more hairs, which is a good sign.

1: 3261 grafts. Dr Demirsoy only charged me 3200 since that's the number he quoted. 2: It should be but I've been using toppik for two years and I didn't lose hair at all in this period. Straightening products were more harmful to my scalp I reckon. But it's something that could harm the grafts during the first weeks. Most surgeons recommend to wait for two weeks before using those products sparringly, as long as you wash your hair right away. I was told to wait for two months. I have two(even three) jobs and I took a long break from my most important one in order to be back with toppik on, at 45 days.

Thank you! But with a buzzed NW1! With a buzzed NW3 I looked ten years older! Not looking forward to the shedding... the cap is ready.

On the day of the operation, I took a couple pictures, to say good bye to my bald temples, and to keep track of where I was before the operation: Dry and how I would normally look during the day if I'm not wearing any concealers: And wet: Muzaffer showed up to drive me to the clinic at 8am. He is as described by everybody here, and as you would expect him to be from his very nice and patient emails: genuinely friendly, honest and dedicated to the patients. I kept asking him questions he probably hears every day and I already knew most of the answers, being a hair loss geek, but you need to be reassured when things are about to get real after years of planning and hopes. He always answered in details, probably aware that I was pretty knowledgeable, but he never seem annnoyed and always went in-depth. The consultation: Dr Demirsoy inspected all of my scalp, and found that my hair was frizzier than on the pictures(I had sent him pics of my wet hair). We agreed not to touch the crown because the thinning is barely noticeable and to focus on the front. He first asked me about my hairline wishes. I was very anxious about him wanting me to have a high hairline like many HT patients, it looks weird and I don't see the point. But I had seen some of his hairlines that looked reasonably juvenile which was one of the reasons I picked him. So I drew my ideal hairline with a thin stick, adamant about having narrower corners just below the temples. He took some measures and told me about how low he could go, according to my forehead shape, and measured the distance from the eyebrows. I was extremely pleased with the design, it was almost exactly what I had in mind. It looked slightly uneven but Dr Demirsoy insisted because of the temple points being slightly lower on one side apparently, but it really didn't matter. We then took some pictures with the hairline design, here are a few of them: I was expecting them to wet my hair first, to make better before/after pics, because I had read that about many clinics, but they didn't, I expressed my surprise to Muzaffer who told me they wanted to keep a honesty policy. Muzaffer took me to his office and as soon as I signed, things went quickly. I was shaven by the nurses/technicians and we took another set of pictures: The black stains are toppik remnants I thought I had washed away with the many shampoos I had since the weekend. The operation was very long, Dr. Demirsoy did the extractions and the incisions and the technicians(3 nurses) placed the grafts. Dr Demirsoy was pretty positive because there were many grafts with 2,3 and even 4 hairs. It's one of the variables that are part of the equation that makes the final result. Here's a couple post-op picture: One day post op: The upper forehead swelling was very extreme and painful. But I could already see I wasn't going to experience much redness and Muzaffer commentated on that. A nurse did the first shampoo and Muzaffer gave me all of the instructions for the upcoming days. In the next few days, the swelling slowly went down from my forehead to my eyes and cheekbones (I felt better at this point and that's why I stopped wearing the headband I was given). I bumped my head a few times in random places but there was no bleeding so the grafts should be fine. I had planned to hide in London at a friend's place(only person who knows) until I could be presentable and come back to my hometown in France. We went to a Turkish restaurant and all of the waiters were balding turkish guys who immediatly asked me about all the details because they were planning on having a HT. It was surprisingly funny to talk in such a casual fashion about this usually embarassing topic. After 5 days, my appearance became bearable despite the scabs because the swelling went away. Day 5: Still extra paranoid about bumping my head, but the swelling went away and I no longer look like a circus freak in public places. I can finally appreciate how my hairline was designed and hope for the best possible yield. Day 8,9,10: I was instructed to start removing the scabs at day 8. It took me three attempts to remove nearly all of them. I finally get to see my temporary NW1.5 hairline with a buzzcut. It looks really thinned out, but mostly because the recipient area is considerabely shorter than the rest of the hair. Here's a pic of the hair with the scabs being washed away: Day 11: Return to my hometown, and I have almost no visible redness, no one can tell a thing. My best friend told me that it seems that my hairline got better thanks to fin. Going for my first jog when the night falls. I can finally wear hats and t-shirts. Now it's time to wait for the dreaded shedding. I was instructed to avoid concealers for two months, which is a lot longer than most recommendations, I'll start using them very sparingly at 45 days. I still can't believe I finally took the plunge.

The situation seems to have stabilized. I thought I was cursed... I was honestly ready to go through the 23-hour drive to Istanbul.

I've only had two amateur and two pro fights, it's tough to be a competitor while having to deal with a full time job. I'm coaching and my current goal is to keep up with the young up and coming guys of my gym and be a decent sparring partner to higher level guys. I would love to get back in the game for real if I manage to have more free time, because it takes two daily sessions for several months to really be up there with the serious, legitimate competitors. Such a complex sport. Thanks for the kind words bro. The next few weeks are going to be tough too.

Thank you for your replies fellas, I'm planning on giving exercise a complete break for two weeks, then start a serious crossfit routine for a couple weeks, then come back on the mats/rings starting with easy drills and build up the intensity over the weeks. It sucks but I really don't want to ruin this HT.

Hello fellow MPB sufferers, my long-awaited procedure is scheduled in exactly one week from now. I've been going back and forth between joyful extasy and the fear of taking the plunge, but now is the time! I'm 30, my hairloss hasn't evolved much since I've been on the meds(fin and minox), and it"s been 6 years on fin and 8 years on minox. Here are a few pictures so you can get an idea of my current situation: Ignore the hairline and corner drawings I was just messing around, even if I do want the corners to be softened above the temple points, because straight, wide and high hairlines don't appeal to me at all: The heart of the problem: the devastated forelock: wet hair: And how I like to wear my hair, with a lot of dermmatch and a combover: I want to get a dense hairline, and focus on the front. I have high expectations. I have seen some awesome stuff from Dr Demirsoy and I want to become one of his best results. I'll never give up the meds and my hair is naturally quite thick. The crown has thinned a bit but it's still fine and won't prevent me from sporting a natural-looking nice hairline. I want as many grafts as possible. Wish me luck brahs!! I'll keep you posted with every single step I'll take towards my desired destination:

Hello fellow sufferers, I am still in research, even if Dr.Demirsoy seems like my likely choice right now, and I would like to know how long I'm going to have to stay off the rings/mats after my procedure. I see much more info online regarding this issue with strip surgery. Most people recommend avoiding wrestling and boxing for months because the scar could potentially stretch. But the issue isn't the same with FUE. I only have to worry about the grafts right? If yes, I must determine when it will be safe for me to get back to the practice room. If I can shampoo with normal force, then I can probably wrestle and rub my head against my opponent's, the mats, escape headlocks, get grabbed, take a few punches... I will use headgear as well. If anyone has some advice or some experience, that will be much appreciated. Thank you.